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title: Solutions Spotlight | March 2026 | The Surge Reality
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The real reason contact centers fail under pressure. Designing for surge is no longer optional. Here's why volatility is now the baseline and what leaders must do next.  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­    ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­  

| View in browser Hi Friend,   The idea of “normal volume” in customer care is already outdated. What used to be a spike is now the operating environment.   Across regulated industries, demand is triggered, not predictable. Policy changes, enrollment cycles, and outages are driving sustained surges that expose operational gaps fast.   Most organizations are still designed for averages. That is the risk.   According to the State Reported Medicaid Unwinding Data Brief, call volume surged 150%+, with abandonment exceeding 30% in multiple states. At the federal level, the Social Security Administration’s Telephone Metrics shows nearly 1 in 4 calls went unanswered.   This is not a staffing issue. It is a system design issue.   What breaks under pressure is not just capacity, but governance, escalation, and the ability to respond in real time.   And as automation absorbs routine work, what remains are higher-stakes moments, where accuracy and empathy matter more than speed. Surge does not just test operations. It defines trust.   The organizations adapting are not reacting faster. They are designing differently: Elastic infrastructure that scales without sacrificing quality Predictive playbooks for high-pressure moments Seamless transitions between automation and human support High emotional intelligence (EQ) at scale Because customers do not remember average experiences. They remember what happens when something goes wrong. That moment is where trust is built, or lost.   This month’s Market Pulse, by Nick Adler, explores why “normal volume” no longer exists, and what it takes to operate effectively in a surge-driven environment. Why volatility is now structural, not situational What actually breaks under pressure How leading organizations are redesigning for surge Read the March Market Pulse → As 2026 planning accelerates, this is a conversation worth having now, before volatility becomes your default operating model.   Warm regards,   Gary Ash Chief Revenue Officer, Working Solutions   Celebrating 30 years of trusted, onshore contact center excellence.  What CX Leaders Should Do Now Three priorities are becoming clear: Design for surge, not averages Define governance before pressure hits Measure stability and trust, not just speed Optional, but increasingly critical: maintain a trained, flexible reserve workforce that can activate quickly when demand spikes.   The Shift The organizations that will win in this environment will not be the fastest to react.   They will be the ones engineered to perform under pressure.   Explore More If this is a priority for your team, these resources expand on how to operationalize surge readiness: Navigating Peaks and Valleys in Healthcare Contact Centers → Open Enrollment Member Services: What to Get Right → Ready to Elevate Your CX Let's discuss how to apply these insights to your business Schedule a Free Consultation → Subscribe to the Solutions Spotlight - LinkedIn Edition for monthly insights and updates, straight to your feed Subscribe → Nick Adler Director of Operational Insights for Working Solutions The Surge Reality   In regulated environments, “average” planning breaks down fast; exposing gaps in capacity, governance and trust.   In this month’s Market Pulse, Nick Adler breaks down what’s changed, and what leaders must do next: Why “normal volume” no longer exists What actually breaks under pressure How to design for surge, not averages If your operation is still built for stability, this is required reading. Read the March Market Pulse → Why Onshore CX Outsourcing Delivers Empathy, Performance and ROI   Onshore CX isn’t a cost premium. It’s a performance multiplier.   With contact center attrition still topping 30% industrywide, replacing a single agent can cost $10,000–$20,000 in recruiting, onboarding and lost productivity. The math is simple: stability, empathy and operational rigor drive stronger outcomes, and stronger ROI.   If customer trust is your growth strategy, onshore execution isn’t optional. It’s strategic.   Deliver Empathy, Performance and ROI →   Working Solutions, 6275 W. Plano Parkway, Plano, Texas 75093 sales@workingsol.com      \|     workingsolutions.com Unsubscribe      \|     Manage Preference |
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