DBS has retrained its customer center employees to take on new roles as customers become more digitally savvy.
Voice biometrics specialists, live chat agents, and customer experience designers are among the 13 new job roles that DBS Bank has introduced in recent years as it creates the customer center of the future, the bank said in a media statement on Thursday.
As it creates the customer center of the future, the bank has upskilled and retrained over 500 customer center employees and eliminated common customer pain points such as long waiting times. «By investing in our people, we have been able to transform from a labor-intensive department with a high turnover rate to one that is technology-enabled where employees are more fulfilled and armed with future-forward skills,» said Geeta Sreeraman, DBS’ Head of Customer Centre, Singapore.
Transforming Labour Intensive Work
Customer centers are traditionally labor-intensive departments. At DBS Singapore, its customer center processes over four million inbound customers' calls every year. But with new digital initiatives and new roles created, call volumes have dropped 12 percent over the last year. Over the next three years, the bank predicts call volumes will drop by a further 20 percent.
As customers become more digitally-savvy, DBS has expanded its service channels online and on social media to serve its customers. DBS' customer center has also incorporated technologies such as voice biometrics, chatbots, and data analytics so that callers can experience shorter call waiting times and opt to resolve their banking queries independently via the bank’s website, on their mobile banking app or through the bank’s Facebook or Twitter channels.
Digital Skills
In 2017, DBS committed to investing S$20 million over five years to equip employees with digital skills to become a future-ready workforce. Since then, the bank has rolled out a company-led Professional Conversion Programme (PCP), an AI-based learning tool available 24/7 and scholarships that encourage peer-to-peer learning.
The new roles in DBS’ Customer Center are:
- Social media relations manager
- ‘Live’ chat agent
- Customer experience designer
- Demand manager
- Mobile app developer
- Business intelligence lead
- Content creator
- Knowledge platform designer
- Voice biometrics specialist
- Natural language processing engineer
- Scrum master
- Digital evangelist
- VTM manager
