With the rapid pace of technological advancements and shifting customer expectations, contact center optimization has become an absolute necessity—not just a competitive advantage. In today’s fast-paced business environment, organizations that fail to optimize their contact centers risk falling behind.
According to HubSpot, over 89% of customers now expect faster service, and that expectation continues to rise. An optimized contact center doesn’t merely meet these demands—it actively transforms every customer interaction into an opportunity to foster loyalty and build trust. By refining workflows, adopting the right tools, and empowering agents with effective training, businesses can create a more responsive and personalized customer experience.
In fact, optimizing your contact center can have a direct impact on key performance metrics. Zendesk research shows that streamlined processes can lead to a 30% increase in customer satisfaction, making every interaction smoother and more rewarding for both customers and agents. Additionally, McKinsey found that an optimized contact center can reduce operational costs by up to 20%, allowing businesses to maintain service excellence while cutting unnecessary overhead.
To better understand the steps involved in optimizing contact centers, we spoke with Jeff Sheehan, a renowned CX consultant with years of experience helping national telecom providers and multinational corporations enhance their customer service operations. Jeff offers actionable strategies that cover everything from improving service delivery and streamlining internal operations to leveraging technology for greater efficiency. His expert advice not only addresses how to optimize day-to-day activities but also how to drive measurable ROI through long-term improvements in customer experience.
Whether you’re just starting your optimization journey or looking to refine your existing processes, Jeff’s insights can provide the practical guidance needed to take your contact center to the next level.
Jeff Sheehan
Jeff Sheehan is the Managing Director of CX JS Consulting based in San Antonio, Texas. His consultancy maximizes ROI from CX programs, specializing in technology, telecommunications, and banking clients.
Jeff’s journey into customer experience management
Q: Jeff, could you start by sharing a bit about your background and what led you to specialize in Customer Experience Management?
I have seen a pattern throughout my career: the contact center is the hub of customer experience management. Over time, I became interested in how this part of the business can do more than solve problems—it can create value for both customers and the business. That led me to specialize in CXM, focusing on contact centers.
Q: You’ve worked with a lot of different companies, from national telcos to multinational corporations. How did that shape your approach to customer experience?
Each industry is different, so companies want experts who have helped customers like them. However, the core ideas behind customer experience management (CXM) apply across industries. I’ve learned while working with clients that a company’s culture and structure can either help or hurt its customer experience.
A company’s culture and structure can either help or hurt its customer experience.
Achieving ROI with strategic CX for contact centers
Q: Your consulting services focus on achieving ROI through strategic CX for contact centers. How do you define and measure ROI in your work?
ROI in CXM is about the measurable value a business gains by making things easier for customers, improving agent performance, and lowering costs. The contact center handles most customer interactions and is full of data and opportunities. The financial benefits are clear and long-lasting by moving simple problems to self-service channels, improving processes, and raising customer satisfaction. However, like everything else in life, this is easier said than done.
Tackling agent burnout and turnover for long-term success
Q: In your LinkedIn bio, you mention that achieving ROI involves tackling three major pain points: agent burnout, rising contact volumes, and siloed data. How do you address these challenges effectively?
Remote workers may feel disconnected, and when agents leave, it costs the company a lot. If a CX leader keeps agents longer and reduces turnover, the company can save a lot of money. That’s where the ROI is from my Agent Retention Optimization solution.
My Customer Contact Optimization solution looks at what customers and the business value and what causes frustration. It identifies why customers contact the company and the cost of these interactions. Then, it uses experience and operational (X+O) data to solve the root causes of contacts. By simplifying or automating some interactions, you improve the customer experience, lower costs, and free up agents for more valuable tasks.
My CX Data Optimization Assessment helps contact center leaders maximize their existing technology, data, processes, and reporting investments. It unlocks hidden potential for improving insights and decision-making and creates a roadmap for future-proofing contact center operations.
Leveraging data to drive better CX
Q: Jeff, you’ve mentioned that traditional surveys have limits and inbound contacts are more valuable. Why are inbound contacts better for CX?
Roughly, only 2 out of 10 customer surveys are completed and often lean towards the negative. Plus, they are lagging indicators, making them weak as a source of decision-making data.
Aligning CX efforts with business goals
Q: You believe effective CX needs more than technology. What do businesses often miss when trying to elevate their CX efforts?
They often need to have a clear purpose for their CXM program. CX technology vendors have done a great job promoting surveys and scores, but businesses expect more from their investments in CXM. The CXM program must align with company and brand strategies and deliver real value tied to business goals.
For example, with one of my telecom clients, customer satisfaction and revenue improved once we linked their CX efforts to reducing customer churn. CXM should drive business results, not just track customer sentiment vis a vis an NPS score.
How AI and analytics deliver personalized customer experiences
Q: And when it comes to unlocking CX data, how can AI and analytics work together to deliver deeper insights and personalize customer experiences?
AI can identify why customers are disrupting their day to contact your business and then be used to reduce unnecessary contacts and cut costs. It can also automate tasks like after-call work and call routing, improving efficiency. These advances improve the customer experience and offer clear cost savings, showing a solid ROI.
Key lessons from the Customer Experience Management Field Manual
Q: Your book, Customer Experience Management Field Manual, is a guide for great CX programs. What inspired you to write it, and what should readers take away from it?
I wanted to give CX professionals a practical guide that connects the holistic ideas behind customer experience management with the real work that needs to be done for the business. The book is filled with actionable frameworks for building and running CX programs. Whether someone is starting from scratch or refining an existing program, I wrote it to be a helpful reference for CX leaders.
Reducing costs and improving CX with optimized processes
Q: In your book, you talk about aligning CX with business goals. Can you provide an example where this led to a big change in one of your projects?
I worked with a large telecom company that needed to cut 30% of its call volume in one year, saving millions of dollars. Using the Customer Contact Optimization method, we found that billing contacts were too high due to confusing promotional offers. By simplifying promotions, making bills more transparent, and giving customers tools to understand their first bill, we met the volume reduction and cost savings goals, plus it reduced churn while also improving the customer experience.
Driving innovation and customer loyalty at Apple
Q: Jeff, you helped introduce Apple’s products to different customers. How did you deliver tailored solutions and build lasting relationships with Apple?
In my time at Apple, I helped launch 32 products. The key lesson I learned was that Apple lives its mission, vision, and values. Their products are designed to enrich lives, reflecting how we interact with customers. For example, I helped a man with a hearing aid connect it to his Apple Watch for clear calls and helped a woman recover voicemails from her late father. These interactions built strong customer loyalty.
Sales coaching for small business growth
Q: You created a successful sales coaching program that drove revenue growth. What were the core parts of that program?
We made Apple’s services for small businesses more visible. Many staff didn’t know about Apple’s business programs, so by raising awareness and supporting the team, we were able to grow significantly in that area.
Using customer feedback to bridge service gaps
Q: Mentorship was a key part of your role at Apple. How did you use customer feedback to improve service and bridge the gaps between customer expectations and staff skills?
At Apple, we didn’t focus on CX scores. Instead, we used the direct feedback verbatim from customers to improve. Employees and managers could see this feedback and use it to have conversations about how to improve service. It was a great motivator that balanced the employee experience with the business goals.
Emerging trends in contact center optimization
Q: With your experience at Apple, how do you think technology—such as AI and data analytics—can enhance customer support and service delivery?
The technology is there to add real value, but the secret lies in the development and implementation of your use cases. Focusing on specific goals and using tools like AI to automate tasks or identify customer needs can make a big difference.
AI is ready for action in three key areas: identifying why customers contact the company, automating after-call work, and intelligent routing to reduce unnecessary transfers.
Q: Finally, Jeff, what emerging trends in customer experience are you excited about, and what advice do you have for companies looking to stay ahead in CX?
I have two thoughts on this. First, companies need to focus on simplicity and integration. This means redesigning CXM programs to challenge every task of a customer to remove irritants, and get to what customers truly value. The second is to focus on the contact center as the hub of your CXM program. The rich data sets from the many and varied customer contacts with the brand provide immediate opportunities to operate and innovate strategically.
Recap on insights from Jeff Sheehan
Jeff Sheehan reflects on his journey as a CX consultant, emphasizing the critical role contact centers play in delivering exceptional customer experiences and driving measurable business results. With his extensive experience working alongside national and multinational telecom companies, Jeff demonstrates how companies can significantly enhance their contact centers by simplifying processes, addressing agent burnout, and leveraging the power of AI to optimize service delivery and ROI.
According to Jeff, the key to improving customer experience (CX) lies in reducing complexity, empowering agents, and ensuring alignment between contact center strategies and broader business goals. Organizations can elevate service levels with the right tools and approach, leading to greater customer satisfaction.
For example, investing in a robust help desk platform can streamline operations by reducing incoming call volumes, thanks to automated call routing systems. This makes the customer experience more efficient and empowers agents to focus on high-priority tasks. If you're considering a platform switch, Help Desk Migration can make the transition seamless, automating the data transfer from any ticketing system or email provider (such as Gmail or Outlook) to your new system while preserving automated call center functionalities.
Jeff emphasizes three key priorities when optimizing your contact center effectively: simplify internal processes, utilize technology to enhance human touchpoints, and ensure that your contact center operations are fully aligned with your CX goals. This alignment ensures that both customer and agent experiences are smooth and efficient, ultimately driving better outcomes for the business.
