Jay Ollero:
Hello, I am Jay Ollero and welcome to the CX Espresso. This microcast features leading customer experience experts who share their thoughts on trends, tools, and best practices and customer experience. CX Espresso are single shots of hot CX topics served to you by Aucera. Today I am joined by Mickey DeChellis, Vice President of Customer Solutions. Mickey, welcome to the CX Espresso.

Mickey DeChellis:
Thanks, Jay. Great to be here.

Jay Ollero:
Well, first of all, you're the newest member of our Aucera sales team, so welcome officially to the Aucera team. And what are your initial thoughts of Aucera since joining?

Mickey DeChellis:
Yeah, I'm very impressed. I feel really lucky to be on board at such an exciting time in the company's evolution. I think a couple things that have really jumped out to me most, one is the experience levels throughout the company. From the leadership team all the way down through the delivery teams on everything, HR, accounting, quality, content, training, you name it. And as you experience the culture of the company, it allows you to understand why so many people come to work for Aucera and then they stay with Aucera. And I think it's very unique for a contact center outsourcing company, and I love that. Second, I would say is our ability to deliver for our clients. I've gotten out to some of our offices. I've seen the passion that we put into achieving and exceeding the outcomes that clients are looking for. I've previously managed outsourcers in my career, and it's great when you have a partner that understands what you're trying to accomplish. They run with it and manage it. And I've seen how we do that very well.

Jay Ollero:
Well, you mentioned the phrase ability to deliver. I know you've recently worked in the utility industry and Aucera has utility clients. How do you feel about our capabilities to serve that industry?

Mickey DeChellis:
Yeah, I did. I spent 14 years working in that utility space, and I feel that Aucera really is perfectly suited for the utility industry. As a whole, the utility industry puts so much focus on customers. [inaudible 00:02:40] is always number one, and when you partner with utilities, you learn that quickly. Utilities know that customers expect a lot as their customers experience great service from other shopping experiences that they have, they demand that from their utility. And Aucera has great customer satisfaction scores, we benefit by working with many customers in many different industries on being friendly, convenient, helpful, things that are very important to customer service leaders. The other thing I would mention is, again, what I talked about, utilities have tenured employees. People go to work in the utility industry and they stay. It's so similar to our business, as I was mentioning, and it's a good thing because it's not simple work. There's a lot to know. Having longevity and positions makes you better and you see that in the results delivered to customers.

Jay Ollero:
Are there any trends in the utility industry that come to mind that are important for companies like Aucera to take note of?

Mickey DeChellis:
Definitely. I can reflect on several that I think all relate to customer's experience. Number one, affordability. It's really important right now amidst rising energy prices, utilities are putting a ton of focus on reducing costs, wanting to be as efficient as possible. Things like self-service, critical. Utilities know that customers want digital options, the web, chat, social, mobile apps. These channels need to work together. Utilities have to grow this, and it's going to then help them to be as efficient as possible to keep costs down. But reliable phone support is still important. Many of their customers want to call and utilities don't want customers waiting on hold. So use of outsourcers can really assist them to manage volumes, including the spikes that are quite common, whether that's the time of the year, the time of the month, or in response to something like major storms. The other area I would speak to would be data systems tech. Utilities have been working hard to get data from silos and deploy into a single platform. And I think many continue to work at this, but it's going to be important because it allows them to leverage new technology such as AI, to improve service to customers who want answers quickly. But they're also being careful in the rollout of anything AI. And lastly, what I would say is utilities, they're doing great at engaging customers on more offerings and services than ever before. Whether it's a new pricing plan, whether it's products such as an EV, at-home Charger, some type of green energy solution or even a warranty. I think outsourcers can really assist them due to their experience with other sales programs at other utilities as well as in other industries.

Jay Ollero:
Well, here's a question. You brought up using outsourcers. Obviously our industry is going through a transformation, but Aucera is also going through a transformation, not just with our name, but how we assist our clients. What comes to mind as it relates to this transformation?

Mickey DeChellis:
I think the biggest thing that comes to mind is being a technology partner, not just an outsourcer of great labor. Aucera assists clients with a technology roadmap for the future. And right now that's an AI roadmap. So many companies right now, they're not sure what to buy, when to buy, what tools they should be looking at and implementing AI is a big challenge. It's not only just with cost, but with time and figuring it all out. I spoke to a client the other day that said if he could do it all over again, he'd use a BPO to roll out a recent major new technology. It consumed that person's team full-time. It was just a challenge to get through. And at Aucera, we can be a customer's Guinea pig to get them started, can help lead them to decisions on what to buy and what to allow your partners to get done for you. Of course, at the same time, we assist companies with impressive contact center services at a great price, whether it's inbound, outbound, back office, whether it's sales, customer care, payments, you name it. We've got experience in our domestic, near shore and offshore locations. And then lastly, what I would tell you, I've been very impressed with our company's use of technology partners. We realize that we can't do everything ourselves to serve our clients. So we've added tools utilizing AI for analytics, coaching, training, even workforce management, advanced tools. That's just to name several. And ultimately, that allows us to reduce costs, reduce handle time, and provide better sales and service results.

Jay Ollero:
Well, there you have it. Mickey, I appreciate you joining me today. That was a lot of fun.

Mickey DeChellis:
Yeah, I love it, Jay. This is really cool.

Jay Ollero:
You take care. We'll talk to you soon.

Mickey DeChellis:
Okay. Thanks a lot, Jay. Appreciate it.

Jay Ollero:
Thank you for listening. I am Jay Ollero. And if you'd like to submit CX questions for consideration, please email us at CX Espresso at aucera.com. And if you'd like to learn more about Aucera, please visit aucera.com. Aucera is one of the nation's largest privately held contact center companies. Aucera provides bespoke cost-effective customer services and solutions, headquartered in Mahwah, New Jersey. Aucera's customer engagement services are available at Onshore USA, Nearshore, and Offshore locations for a wide variety of industries.