If you’re handling more customer support requests remotely, and doing it with a more remote team, you’re not alone. A recent IDG study commissioned by Rescue finds that nearly two-thirds (64%) of customer care agents are working remotely as part of fully remote or hybrid workforces, and 22% more requests are being handled remotely today than prior to the pandemic: 57% of customer support tech requests are handled remotely today, up from 35% in the “before times.” 

Having experienced the many benefits of digital-first, remote-first ways of doing business, customers, employees, and managers alike have forever changed their expectations and aren’t turning back now. Just two years ago (which may feel more like a lifetime), the question was, can you pivot to remote-first support?

Now the question is, can you improve it?

Top 3 Challenges Standing in the Way, According to Your Peers

According to IDG respondents, remote and in-facility support teams have three big challenges to overcome, which ultimately drive what customer care and support leaders need from their remote support tools.

1. How to consistently simplify the support experience (50%)

Digital-first ways of living, working, and doing business have spoiled customers to want easier, faster processes. Half of customer support leaders surveyed are looking for ways to make support simpler for customers. If this tops your list, consider how your remote support tool enables you to support customers today and where you need to improve.

• Is your connection method setting a good tone for the rest of the support experience?
• Is it fast and easy for customers to connect to a remote support session – within seconds?
• Is the connection method convenient for them, creating a seamless experience?
• Does it work like magic, even for less tech-savvy users?
• Is it clear to the customer that it is your company accessing their device?
• Are customers aware they can accept or decline access to the technician?
• Can customers get help with any device, including PCs, Macs, mobile devices, and physical equipment and spaces?
• Is there constant communication between tech and customer, whether by chat or voice?

2. Providing agents with secure, reliable tools (49%)

As remote work heightens security concerns and risk, nearly half of the respondents also have their eye on securing the remote support experience. Questions to consider:

• Are you able to restrict agent access to only using the functions they need, and nothing more?
• Is there functionality (or better yet, layers of functionality) to prevent malicious actors from tricking customers into support sessions?
• Are you able to add your company branding so customers know they are in the right place for support?
• Do you have access to granular security controls and restrictions to protect your customers and business?

3. Gaining visibility into agent performance (49%)

Now that in-person desk drive-bys and check-ins are no longer possible, another top challenge involves how supervisors are able to manage agent performance in a remote-first world. Can your remote support solution help bridge this gap?

• Do your agents have easy access to collaborate with senior technicians in a session?
• Can you seamlessly transfer a session to another agent?
• Can you invite an agent into an existing session?
• Are supervisors able to monitor chats and provide coaching during a session?
• Can you easily pull KPIs for senior leadership?
• Do you have a detailed dashboard of metrics that are important for you to track?
• Can you see how productive and efficient your support agents are?

So, do your remote support tools measure up?

Remote support tools have long been indispensable in support operations. But pandemic trends are impacting long-term remote support strategies, including the need to stay on top of increased security threats. As a result, many contact centers are taking stock of their existing technology portfolio to determine whether their current toolset is up to the task.

Register for our upcoming webinar, "Remote Support Tools: Then vs Now," as we discuss these trends, along with five key considerations for evaluating remote support tools today. You’ll walk away with clear steps to overcome a new set of challenges created by flexible work and digital habits and to ultimately deliver an exceptional customer experience.