AI is rapidly becoming a cornerstone for driving efficiency and enhancing customer experiences in the contact center. But reaching true AI maturity requires more than just the latest tools — it’s about creating a culture where people are empowered to work alongside technology. Here’s why focusing on your team is crucial for AI success.
Why Culture is Key to AI Adoption
Imagine you’ve just introduced advanced AI tools to your contact center. The potential is huge, but if your team isn’t ready to embrace the change, the results will likely fall flat. A strong culture of AI-readiness ensures that agents, managers, and leaders are all aligned on the value AI brings. It’s about moving from “AI might replace us” to “AI will augment our performance.”
Our research demonstrates that despite this seemingly prevailing thought that AI is here to take humans’ jobs, the majority of contact center agents actually embrace generative AI and view the technology as a tool to increase their success at work. In fact, the majority (65%) of customer service agents welcome real-time hints and suggestions from AI during their customer interactions. Additionally, 95% of agents currently using AI report being able to more rapidly and competently resolve customer queries.
When teams understand that AI is not here to take their place but to support them and are given the necessary information, transparency, and tools to be successful, resistance to change diminishes. Agents become more comfortable using AI-powered tools like Cresta’s real-time Agent Assist, and leaders can more confidently drive initiatives that align with broader business goals.
Emphasizing a Growth Mindset Among Agents and Leaders
At the heart of AI readiness is a growth mindset. When contact center agents and leaders prioritize learning and adapting, they’re better positioned to leverage AI’s capabilities. This mindset means embracing challenges, persisting through setbacks, and viewing feedback — whether from a manager or AI-generated insights — as an opportunity for improvement.
For example, Cresta’s Agent Assist provides agents with in-the-moment coaching, turning every call into a learning experience. When agents see these AI prompts as a tool to improve their customer interactions rather than as criticism, trust in the technology grows. Leaders can support this shift by communicating openly about AI’s value and recognizing team members who use AI tools to enhance their performance.
Too often, frontline agents – who stand to benefit the most from AI – are left out of key conversations, making it difficult for them to feel invested or heard. Critical to the first phase of implementing AI in the organization is securing buy-in, mapping out the project’s vision and execution plan and ensuring the message resonates across the entire organization. David Garza, VP of Sales and Sales Operations at Brinks Home, believes that most important is to ensure that everyone, at every level, fully understands and embraces the initiative.
This approach also helps to set expectations early on and make sure that everyone is aligned on what success looks like at every phase of the process. Critically, this also allows everyone an opportunity to weigh in, ask questions, understand what the implications are for their role, and debrief on any concerns.
Reskilling and Upskilling: Preparing Teams for AI Integration
For a contact center to reach AI maturity, its workforce must be equipped with skills that allow them to leverage AI tools effectively and confidently. This involves investing in reskilling and upskilling programs that prepare teams to work alongside AI solutions, while also opening new doors for career growth and advancement for those embracing AI in their roles.
Training shouldn’t just focus on tool usage but also on understanding the broader impact AI can have on customer engagement, service quality, and career trajectories.
Consider creating training programs that address:
- How to interpret AI-generated insights: Help agents understand the data and recommendations provided by AI tools to make informed decisions, quickly.
- Adapting to new workflows: As AI reduces cognitive load by taking over routine tasks, agents can shift focus to complex customer interactions, honing skills like empathy, problem-solving, and strategic thinking.
- Fostering data literacy: Equip managers and agents with the ability to read and act on AI-driven metrics, making them active participants in the AI journey.
- Creating new career pathways: Establish career and promotional tracks for those excelling in AI-related roles, positioning them as leaders in AI-enabled customer experience.
By prioritizing these skills, contact centers not only boost operational efficiency but also empower their teams to become co-pilots with AI — and build future-proof careers within a dynamic, AI-driven environment.
Making AI the Heart of Your Business Processes
When adopting new technology in the contact center, the approach often involves replacing core systems (like voice or chat platforms) or layering in new tools (like a knowledge base) to enhance functionality. These changes typically demand entirely new processes — from training teams on new workflows to rewriting how tasks are handled.
AI, however, is different. To truly unlock its potential, the focus shouldn’t be on creating brand-new processes but rather on enhancing and optimizing your existing ones. Whether you’re using tools like Agent Assist or Conversation Intelligence, AI lie at the heart of your processes, seamlessly integrating into your current workflows to amplify efficiency and effectiveness.
Here’s why this approach lays a critical foundation:
- Smoother adoption: It’s easier for teams to adapt when the processes they already know are simply improved. For example, enabling supervisors to use AI insights within their existing coaching routines minimizes friction and builds trust in the technology.
- Faster time to value: The less disruption your colleagues face, the quicker you’ll see tangible results. Starting small and scaling gradually with AI — a “crawl, walk, run” approach — may seem slow at first but leads to transformative gains once you’re underway.
Of course, as AI becomes central to your operations, your processes will naturally evolve. Fast-forward 18 months, and your workflows may look entirely different, with AI embedded at their core. But to reach that level of transformation, start by treating AI as the central tool to elevate the foundations you already have. The journey begins with small, meaningful steps that build toward big, lasting change.
Fostering Collaboration Between AI and Human Teams
A successful AI implementation is one where humans and machines work together seamlessly. While AI can automate routine tasks and provide data-driven insights, human agents bring empathy, creativity, and a personal touch that machines cannot replicate. The integration between AI and agents is what transforms a contact center from merely digital to truly customer-centric.
For example, with Cresta Insights, managers can identify trends and provide targeted coaching to agents, creating a feedback loop that helps both AI and human capabilities evolve together. When AI and agents share the common goal of delivering exceptional customer experiences, they can reach new heights of productivity and customer satisfaction.
Real-World Example: How a Mindset Shift Drove AI Success
Brinks Home’s transformation through Cresta AI underscores how a mindset shift across the organization accelerates AI success. With Cresta’s real-time coaching and guidance tools, Brinks Home achieved a 15% reduction in average handle time (AHT) and significantly increased first-call resolution rates.
This AI implementation not only streamlined workflows but also enhanced agent consistency and customer satisfaction, ultimately driving down costs. By aligning their teams with a proactive approach to AI adoption, Brinks Home standardized their coaching, improved transparency, and optimized processes to achieve measurable, lasting results.
Ready to Build a Culture of AI-Readiness?
The journey to AI maturity starts with your people. By fostering a growth mindset, investing in re-skilling programs, and promoting collaboration between agents and AI tools, you can create a contact center that’s equipped to thrive in an AI-driven world. Cresta is here to support you with solutions designed to make AI adoption easier for your team — because a future-ready contact center is one where technology and people grow together.
Take the first step: Assess your team’s readiness for AI and explore how Cresta’s tools can help you create a culture of AI readiness. Let’s build a future where your contact center isn’t just keeping up but leading the charge in customer experience innovation. Get in touch with us today!
Stay tuned for the next installment of this AI Maturity series, where we’ll be diving into how to optimize the processes in your organization to set yourself up for AI success.
