"Back office" refers to business functions that aren't directly customer facing, such as claims processing, accounting, and order fulfillment. Back office optimization is the process of streamlining, automating, managing and measuring such work, and is often accomplished using call center concepts such as workforce management and task queuing. These can be difficult to perform manually due to the variable nature of the back office tasks.
Back office processes can affect the customer journey just as much, if not more, than front-end operations. If a claim is processed incorrectly or an order goes out late, for example, that not only creates a negative customer experience, but such issues also require contact center resources to resolve.
Even the best agents may not be able to overcome the damage done by inefficient back office operations. Savvy businesses realize this and have embarked on back office optimization efforts.
Having high quality end-to-end processes and supporting technology is a key component to succeeding in the experience economy. Sophisticated consumers expect every touchpoint they have with a company to be of a consistently high quality. Back office optimization is a component in meeting those expectations.
