This blog post is going to help to understand how the new addon named SAP's Agent Console, will help in improving the agent experience.
Agent Console is an Omnichannel customer service support application that helps agents to handle customer interactions via different channels in a unified manner. It is a high-productivity App that guides agents to support customer inquiries efficiently. Agent console was earlier referred to as New Agent Desktop. So, don't get confused as both are referring to the same solution.
In the past decade service processes have been redefined. It has now become important that every communication from customers should be recorded and it has become equally vital that every registered customer should get identified.
Agent console provides you with the inbuilt widget integration with CTI, Chat & SMS that will help the agents to know who the customer is (in case the customer is registered) and have this functionality on the same unified screen rather than toggling between screens.
Agent console provides you with out-of-the-box widget-based integration with any CTI system. The only pre-requisite for that is your CTI system should have a UI5/HTML5 softphone application capability that will be iframed in the console. The same thing goes for the chat integration as well.
For every interaction (inbound/outbound) with the customer, the system creates an activity document, and agents have the privilege to link that activity document.
Once you have an appropriate license and you have scoped in the agent console. You would need to configure the widget-based set up in the service and social.
Here is a high-level overview of the widget-based configuration
1. Go to Administrator Service and Social Configure Agent Desktop.
2. Select Configure Widget and Provider.
3. Enter the required provider details:
ŸProvider Name – “Name of the provider”
ŸProvider ID – “Unique Identifier for the Phone provider”
ŸProvider URL – “Widget URL of the CTI provider”
4. Enter the widget height and width (in pixels) in the Widget Size area.
5. Add Channels
ŸCategory – “phone”
ŸType - <blank>
ŸID – “A unique ID” (This ID would be sent by the CTI provider in their payloads)
ŸIdentify Customer By – “Phone”
ŸActive – “ON” (Only if the channel is ON system will recognize the payloads for this channel”)
There could be more than one phone channel configured in the system. For example, if you have different phone numbers in the CTI provider for different support teams then each of those could be configured as separate channels with IDs.
1. Go to Administrator Service and Social Configure Agent Desktop.
2. Select Configure Widget and Provider.
3. Enter the required provider details:
ŸProvider Name – “Name of the provider”
ŸProvider ID – “Unique Identifier for the Chat provider”
ŸProvider URL – “Widget URL of the Chat provider”
4. Enter the widget height and width (in pixels) in the Widget Size area.
5. Add Channels
ŸCategory – “Chat”
ŸType - <blank>
ŸID – “A unique ID” (This ID would be sent by the Chat provider in their payloads)
ŸIdentify Customer By – “Email”
ŸActive – “ON” (Only if the channel is ON system will recognize the payloads for this channel”) Ÿ
There could be more than one chat channel configured in the system. For example, if you have different chat channels in the provider system for different support teams then each of those could be configured as separate channels with different IDs.
1. Go to Administrator Service and Social Configure Agent Desktop.
2. Select Configure Widget and Provider.
3. Enter the required provider details:
ŸProvider Name – “Name of the provider”
ŸProvider ID – “Unique Identifier for the SMS provider”
ŸProvider URL – “Widget URL of the SMS provider”
4. Enter the widget height and width (in pixels) in the Widget Size area.
5. Add Channels
ŸCategory – “Message”
ŸType - <blank>
ŸID – “A unique ID” (This ID would be sent by the SMS provider in their payloads)
ŸIdentify Customer By – “Phone”
ŸActive – “ON” (Only if the channel is ON system will recognize the payloads for this channel”)
There could be more than one SMS channel configured in the system. For example, if you have different SMS shortcodes in the provider system for different support teams then each of those could be configured as separate channels with different IDs.
If we want to sum up the Voice /Chat/SMS integration capabilities, the below figure will help you to understand
In the current era, where the omnichannel experience is a must, customers can use any channel for addressing their issues/grievances/concerns, and if we see Email is one of the nonactive channels since the agents don't have to answer it in a real-time as what they do in chats or calls. Hence, It becomes important to identify the customers via email as well.
Agent Console enables agents to connect with customers via outbound e-mails. Outbound email is a built-in channel offered as part of the Agent console. No additional licensing is required. using this service only outbound emails can be achieved.
For inbound emails, the default email communication channel (B2B & B2C)has to be enabled as a part of the service cloud that will create tickets from each inbound email.
There are times when a customer either calls from another number or a customer is calling for the first time itself. In both cases, customers won’t get identified. Agent console has the functionality where the calling customer can be searched based on the following objects :
The agent can enquire customer about any of the above objects and can search him/her in the system.
Customer Manual Search
While for the cases where the customer is not registered in the system, the agent will go ahead and can create the below-mentioned objects :
The customer hub is the heart of the agent console. This is the area that is most used by the agent in day-to-day operations. The customer hub provides a single unified screen that brings everything to a single page. It provides 360-degree information about the customer to help agents in order the issues quickly.
As soon as the customer calls in, the customer hub opens automatically and the details of the customer ( if registered ) are displayed.
The customer hub consists of multiple action panes which help the agent while interacting with the customer:
The customer card is one of the important facets of the customer hub. This facet provides the details of the identified customer. All the Accounts/contact person/individual customer-related data gets popped up on the customer card. The important part to note here is, that you can add custom fields from the other systems such as S/4, ERP, or any third-party system.
The timeline shows a list of all the Activities (phone, Chat, SMS, etc.,) along with any significant events (e.g.: the creation of an order) that occurred on a customer record. Events in a timeline are listed in chronological order.
It gives liberty to an agent to choose time ranges of interaction while searching for a particular activity. Agents can filter out the interactions /objects of their choice and open it directly from the timeline
The Objects tab in the Customer hub shows business objects in the solution related to the current customer. E.g.: Tickets and registered products. This adds to the 360 views of customer details. Currently, as part of the standard product offering only Registered products and tickets are shown under this facet.
However, other custom business objects can also be brought in that are part of your business process.
As a part of the customer hub facet, create pane provides the service agents the liberty to create multiple transactions without toggling to another pane. Currently, the solution offers Ticket and Registered products to be created as a standard.
However, custom transactions for instance Customer 360 from S/4 and Service Order creation from a third-party system are also supported.
With Session overview, agents can create tickets for any active communication. This is the part of the customer hub where the agents can write the interaction notes for customer communication ( active/inactive ).
Also, the agents can tag previous tickets of customers and registered products in the same session.
Agents can easily link multiple objects for the active session with a customer. This could be for follow-up or a new issue related to their prior one. Agents have the possibility to link the following objects
It is important for the agents to have ready access to the knowledge base where they can not only refer for their use but also can share the same with the customer. Agent console provides out of the box integration with Mind Touch knowledge base (This is a separate licensing component, please check with your SAP Account Executive)
Agents can directly access the knowledge base from within the console. This helps them with quick and accurate resolution.
Also, the agents can search for knowledge articles and preview their content within the widget without navigating out. A full view option for article detail is available for the convenience of the agents.
In case you are further interested in how Agent Console works, please go through the attached webinar
https://gateway.on24.com/wcc/eh/2983783/lp/3723674/enhancing-agent-performance-with-the-agent-consol...
SAP's Agent console is a separate add-on (which requires an additional license), on top of SAP Service Cloud. This tool not only eases the life of the agent but is a much broader step in lines of providing a delightful customer experience. With SAP Service cloud's ML functionalities and Agent consoles unified solutioning capabilities, this combination will truly be a next-gen solution in today's Service-oriented industries.
We hope you all will have a good read! Please provide your feedback and suggestions, so that we know where to focus in our forthcoming blogs.
For more such topics you can also follow me here rohitb161
You can also refer to other blog posts on the SAP Service cloud from here
If you want to ask questions about a particular solution, you can click here and start asking
Cheers!
Rohit Bhan
What is an SAP's Agent Console?
Agent Console is an Omnichannel customer service support application that helps agents to handle customer interactions via different channels in a unified manner. It is a high-productivity App that guides agents to support customer inquiries efficiently. Agent console was earlier referred to as New Agent Desktop. So, don't get confused as both are referring to the same solution.
Capabilities of Agent Console
Capabilities of Agent Console
Customer Auto Identification
In the past decade service processes have been redefined. It has now become important that every communication from customers should be recorded and it has become equally vital that every registered customer should get identified.
Customer Identification via Active channels
Agent console provides you with the inbuilt widget integration with CTI, Chat & SMS that will help the agents to know who the customer is (in case the customer is registered) and have this functionality on the same unified screen rather than toggling between screens.
Phone Channel Integration
Chat Channel Integration
Agent console provides you with out-of-the-box widget-based integration with any CTI system. The only pre-requisite for that is your CTI system should have a UI5/HTML5 softphone application capability that will be iframed in the console. The same thing goes for the chat integration as well.
For every interaction (inbound/outbound) with the customer, the system creates an activity document, and agents have the privilege to link that activity document.
Once you have an appropriate license and you have scoped in the agent console. You would need to configure the widget-based set up in the service and social.
Here is a high-level overview of the widget-based configuration
Widget Based Configuration
- High-level configuration snapshot for Phone-based widget integration :
1. Go to Administrator Service and Social Configure Agent Desktop.
2. Select Configure Widget and Provider.
3. Enter the required provider details:
ŸProvider Name – “Name of the provider”
ŸProvider ID – “Unique Identifier for the Phone provider”
ŸProvider URL – “Widget URL of the CTI provider”
4. Enter the widget height and width (in pixels) in the Widget Size area.
5. Add Channels
ŸCategory – “phone”
ŸType - <blank>
ŸID – “A unique ID” (This ID would be sent by the CTI provider in their payloads)
ŸIdentify Customer By – “Phone”
ŸActive – “ON” (Only if the channel is ON system will recognize the payloads for this channel”)
There could be more than one phone channel configured in the system. For example, if you have different phone numbers in the CTI provider for different support teams then each of those could be configured as separate channels with IDs.
- High-level configuration snapshot for Chat-based widget integration :Ÿ
1. Go to Administrator Service and Social Configure Agent Desktop.
2. Select Configure Widget and Provider.
3. Enter the required provider details:
ŸProvider Name – “Name of the provider”
ŸProvider ID – “Unique Identifier for the Chat provider”
ŸProvider URL – “Widget URL of the Chat provider”
4. Enter the widget height and width (in pixels) in the Widget Size area.
5. Add Channels
ŸCategory – “Chat”
ŸType - <blank>
ŸID – “A unique ID” (This ID would be sent by the Chat provider in their payloads)
ŸIdentify Customer By – “Email”
ŸActive – “ON” (Only if the channel is ON system will recognize the payloads for this channel”) Ÿ
There could be more than one chat channel configured in the system. For example, if you have different chat channels in the provider system for different support teams then each of those could be configured as separate channels with different IDs.
- High-level configuration snapshot for SMS based widget integration :
1. Go to Administrator Service and Social Configure Agent Desktop.
2. Select Configure Widget and Provider.
3. Enter the required provider details:
ŸProvider Name – “Name of the provider”
ŸProvider ID – “Unique Identifier for the SMS provider”
ŸProvider URL – “Widget URL of the SMS provider”
4. Enter the widget height and width (in pixels) in the Widget Size area.
5. Add Channels
ŸCategory – “Message”
ŸType - <blank>
ŸID – “A unique ID” (This ID would be sent by the SMS provider in their payloads)
ŸIdentify Customer By – “Phone”
ŸActive – “ON” (Only if the channel is ON system will recognize the payloads for this channel”)
There could be more than one SMS channel configured in the system. For example, if you have different SMS shortcodes in the provider system for different support teams then each of those could be configured as separate channels with different IDs.
If we want to sum up the Voice /Chat/SMS integration capabilities, the below figure will help you to understand
Channels usage in Agent console
Customer Identification via Non- Active channels
In the current era, where the omnichannel experience is a must, customers can use any channel for addressing their issues/grievances/concerns, and if we see Email is one of the nonactive channels since the agents don't have to answer it in a real-time as what they do in chats or calls. Hence, It becomes important to identify the customers via email as well.
Agent Console enables agents to connect with customers via outbound e-mails. Outbound email is a built-in channel offered as part of the Agent console. No additional licensing is required. using this service only outbound emails can be achieved.
For inbound emails, the default email communication channel (B2B & B2C)has to be enabled as a part of the service cloud that will create tickets from each inbound email.
Email Capability in Agent Console
Email Editor in Agent console
- Here are the high-level steps on how to configure the outbound email in the Agent console:
- E-mail is preconfigured in the Agent Console add-on for SAP Service Cloud
- No additional configuration is required for agents to send e-mail messages.
- The “From” address is based on your tenant URL, for example, noreply@xx.company.crm.cloud.sap.
- The “From” address in e-mail messages created in the agent console is configured as a no-reply Messages sent to this address are ignored and not recorded in the system
Customer Manual Search
There are times when a customer either calls from another number or a customer is calling for the first time itself. In both cases, customers won’t get identified. Agent console has the functionality where the calling customer can be searched based on the following objects :
- Account
- Contact
- Individual Customer
- Ticket
- Registered Product
The agent can enquire customer about any of the above objects and can search him/her in the system.
Customer Manual Search
While for the cases where the customer is not registered in the system, the agent will go ahead and can create the below-mentioned objects :
- Account
- Contact
- Individual customer
- Registered Products
New Customer Creation
Customer Hub
The customer hub is the heart of the agent console. This is the area that is most used by the agent in day-to-day operations. The customer hub provides a single unified screen that brings everything to a single page. It provides 360-degree information about the customer to help agents in order the issues quickly.
As soon as the customer calls in, the customer hub opens automatically and the details of the customer ( if registered ) are displayed.
Customer Hub
The customer hub consists of multiple action panes which help the agent while interacting with the customer:
- The Customer Card:
The customer card is one of the important facets of the customer hub. This facet provides the details of the identified customer. All the Accounts/contact person/individual customer-related data gets popped up on the customer card. The important part to note here is, that you can add custom fields from the other systems such as S/4, ERP, or any third-party system.
Customer Card
- Timeline :
The timeline shows a list of all the Activities (phone, Chat, SMS, etc.,) along with any significant events (e.g.: the creation of an order) that occurred on a customer record. Events in a timeline are listed in chronological order.
It gives liberty to an agent to choose time ranges of interaction while searching for a particular activity. Agents can filter out the interactions /objects of their choice and open it directly from the timeline
Timeline Pane
- Objects
The Objects tab in the Customer hub shows business objects in the solution related to the current customer. E.g.: Tickets and registered products. This adds to the 360 views of customer details. Currently, as part of the standard product offering only Registered products and tickets are shown under this facet.
However, other custom business objects can also be brought in that are part of your business process.
Objects Pane
- Create
As a part of the customer hub facet, create pane provides the service agents the liberty to create multiple transactions without toggling to another pane. Currently, the solution offers Ticket and Registered products to be created as a standard.
However, custom transactions for instance Customer 360 from S/4 and Service Order creation from a third-party system are also supported.
Create Pane
- Session Overview
With Session overview, agents can create tickets for any active communication. This is the part of the customer hub where the agents can write the interaction notes for customer communication ( active/inactive ).
Also, the agents can tag previous tickets of customers and registered products in the same session.
Sessions Overview Pane
Agents can easily link multiple objects for the active session with a customer. This could be for follow-up or a new issue related to their prior one. Agents have the possibility to link the following objects
- Link Ticket from Object screen.
- Link Registered Product from Object screen.
- Link Previous Activities in the timeline like Phone, SMS, and Chat.
Object Linking
- Knowledge Base
It is important for the agents to have ready access to the knowledge base where they can not only refer for their use but also can share the same with the customer. Agent console provides out of the box integration with Mind Touch knowledge base (This is a separate licensing component, please check with your SAP Account Executive)
Agents can directly access the knowledge base from within the console. This helps them with quick and accurate resolution.
Also, the agents can search for knowledge articles and preview their content within the widget without navigating out. A full view option for article detail is available for the convenience of the agents.
Knowledge Base Pane
In case you are further interested in how Agent Console works, please go through the attached webinar
https://gateway.on24.com/wcc/eh/2983783/lp/3723674/enhancing-agent-performance-with-the-agent-consol...
Conclusion:
SAP's Agent console is a separate add-on (which requires an additional license), on top of SAP Service Cloud. This tool not only eases the life of the agent but is a much broader step in lines of providing a delightful customer experience. With SAP Service cloud's ML functionalities and Agent consoles unified solutioning capabilities, this combination will truly be a next-gen solution in today's Service-oriented industries.
We hope you all will have a good read! Please provide your feedback and suggestions, so that we know where to focus in our forthcoming blogs.
For more such topics you can also follow me here rohitb161
You can also refer to other blog posts on the SAP Service cloud from here
If you want to ask questions about a particular solution, you can click here and start asking
Cheers!
Rohit Bhan
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