Key Takeaways from Transcom’s Tech Hub in Zagreb

One of the things that keeps the CX space interesting is getting to see up close and personal innovative ways of reshaping the relationship between enterprises and consumers.  Recently, Ryan Strategic Advisory had the opportunity to do just that during a visit to Transcom’s digital CX lab (Transcom Tech Hub) in bustling Zagreb, Croatia.

In an era where soundbites often trump facts and figures, the Transcom T:LABS provides a welcomed dose of reality and offers a glimpse into emerging technologies that will shape customer support in 2024 and beyond.  Among the most important takeaways from the recent visit, the following stand out:

• Experience – any visitor to the Transcom Zagreb Tech Hub is immediately struck by the extent to which the team piloting the various initiatives are well-schooled in the art of CX technology. Fundamentally, the lab’s success is the result of bringing together a group of people who understand not only the tech dynamics related to customer experience, but who have seen firsthand what works in front-line technology (versus what has not) and applying those lessons to new solutions.
• Innovation – thinking ‘outside of the box’ may sound like a late-90s management cliché, but there is something to it. The Transcom digital CX team clearly embraces the concept of not just doing things ‘the way they have always been done’, and this is to their credit; it is a differentiator in an industry that, the most part, is flooded with empty slogans about relatively generic digital solutions. Plus, it ensures that the Transcom digital offerings remain market-relevant, and fresh to the requirements of the client and the consumer.
• Pragmatism – ‘cool technology’ satisfies no one outside of the individual that developed it. If there is no practical application to a solution, no one benefits.  At Transcom’s Tech Hub in Zagreb, visitors are immediately struck by the pragmatic nature that drives its work. Its leaders are among the first to admit that while some technology may be cutting edge today, it may not be readily applied for months, perhaps even years.  But, key to this is their ongoing research and development efforts designed to take today’s ‘cool technology’ and aggressively transform it into a commercially viable tool as soon as possible.
• Disruption – uncomfortable conversations are not only allowed at Transcom’s Zagreb Tech Hub, refreshingly they are welcomed. The capacity to take a technological solution and stress test it using innovative techniques like hackathons and other such methods of ensuring the maximum watertightness before an offering goes live is important. This helps drive the viability of any digital CX service.
• Collaborative – the Transcom Zagreb Tech Hub does not operate as a silo. Visitors immediately bear witness to its bustling nature, with leadership interacting with team members in an ergonomic environment that is conducive to collaboration. And, it is not restricted to onsite; visitors from across the Transcom digital network participate virtually from around the world under the brand of T:LABS. The result is a global flavor that spices this local operation, which further encourages innovation.
• Commercial – Transcom is a BPO and supplies clients with both human talent and technology solutions that help drive positive business outcomes. It is clear to any visitor in the Zagreb Tech Hub that this is constantly on the minds of its leadership and various team members.  While all ideas can be put on the table, there needs to be a clear commercial line of sight for the enterprise.

To be clear, there is no blueprint for a CX services provider’s digital lab setup. Over the past decade, many third-party operators have worked to establish their own respective incubators to shore up their technology credentials.  What makes the Transcom Tech Hub experience so unique is the critical mass that it has achieved to date, combining experienced minds, audacious upstarts unafraid to challenge conventional wisdom, and even client stakeholders eager for the best digital offerings.