The use of gig workers in customer service

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Economic and logistical challenges have resulted in businesses turning to the gig economy to support and scale their customer service and sales efforts while lowering their fixed costs and in-house overhead. Brands and retailers have begun leveraging gig workers to ensure high-quality customer experiences while only staffing and paying for the actual work needed.

The use of gig workers in customer service – known as GigCX – is becoming increasingly common. GigCX works by sourcing freelance customer support agents to perform on a per-task basis. This gives businesses the flexibility to take on additional GigCX agents when necessary, allowing organizations to ensure top-quality service during high-volume periods.

GigCX not only benefits enterprises and retailers but the agents themselves. According to Aspect Software, while 16% of customer service agents currently work in the gig economy as “on-demand” agents, 41% of all agents and 51% of Millennial agents said they would be interested in an on-demand job in the future.

Business Continuity in Times of Crisis
When the pandemic hit back in March 2020, customer service operations went into crisis mode. Physical contact centers were shut down, with agents hastily transitioned to a work from home (WFH) model and field service crews immobilized, yet calls from customers for assistance skyrocketed. Harvard Business Review reported that businesses dealt with more than double the number of “difficult” customer service calls in the early days of the pandemic. Another survey corroborated these findings, with just under half (45%) of U.S. consumers saying they have required technician assistance during the COVID-19. With the pressure on, some brands caved, leaving frustrated customers on hold for hours. In times of crisis, businesses have come to realize that utilizing freelance GigCX workers can go a long way toward ensuring business continuity.

More info: what is the gig economy