AI, Performance, and the Modern Agent with Steve Morrell

AI, Performance, and the Modern Agent with Steve Morrell

From Working Smarter: Presented by Calabrio by Calabrio

December 16, 2025 · 47 min · Season 5 · Episode 11

About this episode

The episode discusses the impact of AI on contact center agents, exploring agent burnout and the effectiveness of productivity improvements.

AI is saving contact centers time, but is it actually making life better for agents? In this episode of Working Smarter , Dave Hoekstra chats with Steve Morrell from ContactBabel about new research into agent burnout, the evolving role of the agent, and what really happens when productivity goes up but KPIs don’t change. From AI-powered self-service and agent assist to analytics that tell us why customers are calling, they explore whether time saved is being reinvested wisely, or quietly driving new pressures. The conversation also digs into manager empathy, agent empowerment, and why up to 25% of call time is still spent hunting for information, proving that the data is there, but we may be asking the wrong questions.

People in this episode

Guest: Steve Morrell

Topics covered

  • AI
  • contact centers
  • agent burnout
  • productivity
  • manager empathy
  • agent empowerment

Keywords

  • self-service
  • agent assist
  • analytics
  • customer calls

Mentioned in this episode

Products: AI-powered self-service, agent assist, analytics tools

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