TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--HFS Research recognized Sykes Enterprises, Incorporated (“SYKES” or “the Company”) (NASDAQ: SYKE), as a true industry leader, ranking SYKES #1 for vision and go-to-market strategy and #3 overall in their Front Office Customer Engagement Operations Top 10 Report, published January 31, 2019. This ranking acknowledges SYKES’ operational excellence as well as a series of recent strategic acquisitions and partnerships that redefine the company as a digital customer experience powerhouse, including becoming the first call-center provider with significant automation capability. The report also ranks SYKES #3 for digital investment and capability.
HFS Research Vice President Melissa O’Brien says, “SYKES has taken a differentiated approach with investments in its digital capabilities, most recently with its acquisition of Symphony Ventures. This demonstrates SYKES putting a stake in the ground with RPA which, combined with its core business process expertise and other complementary services, placed SYKES as the leader for vision and go-to-market strategy in our Customer Engagement Operations Top Ten.”
To compile this report, HFS analyzed the capabilities of 25 service providers across the customer engagement–services value chain. While traditional contact centers continued to score well in terms of execution, this year’s report noted a significant difference in the results for the innovation categories, with information technology (IT) service providers and consultancies leading the pack. According to HFS, “In the future it may not be the ‘usual suspects,’ but the providers that leverage niche capabilities, digital marketing and CX design assets for their operations who are winning …”
The report emphasized SYKES’ serious investments in digital capability to expand their solutions across the entire customer lifecycle — from the digitization of business processes to marketing, sales and care. In November 2018, SYKES made a notable advancement with the acquisition of Symphony Ventures Limited, a global consulting, implementation and managed services firm specializing in intelligent automation (IA) and robotic process automation (RPA). The acquisition is consistent with the company’s core strategy, as implementing, designing and managing digital operations is a precursor to achieving the best possible digital customer experience.
Other recent investments that further expand SYKES’ digital capabilities include Clearlink (2016), a leader in digital marketing, sales and data science; Qelp (2015), an innovator of online self-help software; and a partnership with XSELL Technologies (2017), which enhances the sales capabilities of its agents through a cloud-based machine learning platform. The acquisition of Alpine Access in 2012 also differentiated SYKES with an established, reliable and secure home-based service option that allows for rapid scalability and flexibility.
SYKES President and CEO Chuck Sykes says, “We’ve always focused on helping customers, one caring interaction at a time, and that’s why we’ve continued to look for ways to add value to the entire customer journey. We aim to be the digital partner our clients can grow with — and with our latest investments, we are providing the services and insights our clients need to increase brand loyalty and drive revenue growth in today’s digital-first world.”
Sykes added: “I’m so proud of the positive acknowledgment from HFS Research. Thanks to our vision and our investments in digital capabilities, we believe SYKES is uniquely positioned as the automation-led partner of choice for enterprises looking to create a more intelligent customer experience.”
The research behind this Top 10 ranking considers interviews with 300 enterprise services clients from the Global 2000 in which HFS Research asked specific questions regarding service providers’ innovation efforts and execution/performance. The research is augmented with information collected in Q3 and Q4 2018 through provider RFIs, structured briefings, client reference interviews, buyer networking events and publicly available information sources.
Download a free copy of the report here.
About Sykes Enterprises, Incorporated
Sykes Enterprises, Incorporated (“SYKES” or “the Company”) is a leading provider of multi‐channel demand generation and global customer engagement services. The Company provides differentiated full lifecycle customer‐engagement solutions and services to Global 2000 companies and their end customers primarily in the technology, financial services, healthcare, communications and transportation & leisure industries. SYKES’ differentiated full lifecycle management services platform effectively engage customers at every touchpoint within the customer journey, including digital marketing and acquisition, sales expertise, customer service, technical support and retention. The Company serves its clients through two geographic operating regions: the Americas (United States, Canada, Latin America, South Asia and Asia Pacific) and EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa). Its Americas and EMEA regions primarily provide customer‐engagement solutions and services with an emphasis on inbound multichannel demand generation, customer service and technical support to its clients’ customers. These services are delivered through multiple communication channels including phone, email, social media, text messaging, chat and digital self‐service. The Company also provides various enterprise support services in the United States that include services for our clients’ internal support operations, from technical staffing services to outsourced corporate help desk services. In Europe, the Company provides fulfillment services, which includes order processing, payment processing, inventory control, product delivery and product returns handling. Its complete service offering helps its clients acquire, retain and increase the lifetime value of their customer relationships. The Company has developed an extensive global reach with customer engagement centers across six continents, including North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa. It delivers cost‐effective solutions that generate demand, enhance the customer service experience, promote stronger brand loyalty, and bring about high levels of performance and profitability. For additional information please visit www.sykes.com.
