Archive for February 5th, 2008
Posted by Ted Hopton on February 5, 2008
I had a funny thought tonight. For some reason, I had this urge to go to a bar and watch the election results on television, as if it were a major sporting contest. Of course, the thought was absurd, but it amused me, nonetheless. I wonder: is there enough interest in this election that it is on in some bars tonight and actually getting attention from the patrons? Are there some cheers going up from supporters, sitting on their barstools, as the results are posted?
I can’t really believe that’s the case, of course. I’m a political junkie and so I’m enjoying keeping up with the results as they come in tonight, but it’s not really what the crowd at the pub is likely to be doing. Sure, the TV may be on and some may be looking up at it, but I bet I would be the only one really following it closely if I were there.
Posted in Politics | Tagged: Politics, presidential election | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on February 5, 2008
OK, I’m impressed. I got a friendly email from the Obama campaign (I’m not really so gullible to believe the candidate sent it personally, but his name on it is a nice personal touch). It invites me to call people and urge them to vote for Obama.
Do I have to go to a phone bank somewhere to do this? Do I have to sit through some training so I know what to say? Do I even have to get up from my chair? No, no and no. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Call Centers, Politics, Technology, Web 2.0 | Tagged: barack obama, Call Centers, home agents, outbound calling, Politics, presidential election, social networking, Web 2.0 | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on February 5, 2008
Ever since I was first tasked many years ago with implementing a first call resolution (FCR) measurement in my call center, I have been acutely aware how big the gap is between the simple, laudable concept of FCR in contact centers and practical, accurate measurement of it. Donna Fluss tackles the topic, “First-Call Resolution Drives Contact Center Improvements,” thoroughly in ICMI’s Customer Management Insight (CMI), but my favorite part is the graphic she includes that lays out the pros and cons of each option for implementing an FCR solution in a call center. If you’re trying to figure out how to make FCR work in a practical, feasible way in your call center, click on the graphic to expand it and take a look:
Analysis of Call Completion Identification Methodologies
Is it just me, or is there no truly appealing option among all those FCR implementation choices — what’s a call center manager supposed to do? Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Call Center Management, Call Centers, Customer Sat, Customer Service, ICMI, ICMI Publications, ICMI's CMI, Metrics | Tagged: Call Center Management, Call Centers, Donna Fluss, first call resolution, first contact resolution, ICMI, KPI, Metrics | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on February 5, 2008
We get more questions at ICMI about metrics than just about any other call center management topic. This article, “Metrics: Expanding Perspectives to Increase Effectiveness,” by consultant (and popular speaker at ICMI’s conferences) Tim Montgomery, in ICMI’s Customer Management Insight (CMI) takes an in-depth look at conventional views of call center metrics — such as accessibility, productivity and quality objectives — and explains alternative approaches to measure what matters most in your contact center.
It’s a good review of the key principles for getting call center metrics right, so I recommend that you read it. Here’s Tim’s conclusion:
The best contact centers know that metrics are simply an indicator of opportunities, and that real positive change happens when leaders focus on the right behaviors that help the voice of your company get better.
call center metrics 
call center management
Posted in Call Center Management, Call Centers, Customer Sat, Customer Service, ICMI, ICMI Conferences, ICMI Publications, ICMI's CMI, Metrics | Tagged: Call Center Management, Call Centers, ICMI, ICMI's Customer Management Insight, Metrics | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on February 5, 2008
Introducing a new measure of call center performance: ICMI’s Global Service Index Report offers insights into customers’ perceptions of the call center service experience across sectors and countries.
Developed and executed by OmniTouch International, an ICMI Global Partner headquartered in Singapore, the Global Service Index Report will focus on a different industry sector each quarter. Upcoming sectors include the mobile industry, consumer electronics and hospitality. The results can be used to identify country, regional and global trends on an ongoing basis, and to document individual company performance standards within each selected country.
There’s a wealth of contact center management data and analysis in the report, so it’s certainly worth taking a look for yourself. Here’s an excerpt from the findings: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Benchmarking, Call Center Management, Call Centers, Customer Sat, Customer Service, ICMI, ICMI Publications, ICMI's CMI, Research, Statistics | Tagged: Benchmarking, Call Center Management, Call Centers, ICMI, mystery shopper, OmniTouch, Research | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on February 5, 2008
Learn what another contact center is doing in the Contact Center Spotlight on Pacific Gas & Electric, featured in ICMI’s Customer Management Insight (CMI).
Pacific Gas & Electric may be dedicated to turning the lights on in northern and central California, but in the competitive customer contact area, PG&E is shooting the lights out.
call center management
Posted in Call Center Management, Call Centers, ICMI, ICMI Publications, ICMI's CMI | Tagged: Call Center Management, Call Centers, ICMI's Customer Management Insight, Pacific Gas and Electric | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on February 5, 2008
Take a look at what four call center professionals have to say about getting IVR right, in this CMI article, “Characteristics of a Customer-Focused IVR System.”
call center management
Posted in Call Center Management, Call Centers, Customer Sat, Customer Service, ICMI, ICMI Publications, ICMI's CMI, Technology | Tagged: Call Center Management, Call Centers, customer-focused, IVR | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on February 5, 2008
If you’re looking for (or considering) a call center management position, you should read Layne Holley’s article in ICMI’s Customer Management Insight (CMI), “Sales and Analytics Driving Contact Center Compensation,” first. In addition to being a rich source of call center management salary data compiled from various sources, the article offers valuable insights regarding the skills being sought in call center management roles.
“The individuals who are going to be highly sought out or compensated differently to some degree are those with the proven ability to develop a sales or service strategy — or both — and who have strong analytical competence to measure and manage metrics — not just look at the numbers, but interpret that data and either develop a successful customer segmentation strategy or a cross-sell or upsell component to get more value out of each call,” he says.
Check it out.
call center management
Posted in Call Center Management, Call Centers, Career, ICMI, ICMI's CMI, Management, Research | Tagged: Call Center Management, compensation, salaries | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on February 5, 2008
Great article by Greg Levin in ICMI’s Customer Management Insight (CMI), Tactics of Truly Customer-Centric Centers.” I recommend reading it. Here’s a taste:
If I had a dollar for every contact center that claims to be highly customer-centric, I’d be able to purchase a condo in Aspen. If I had a dollar for every contact center that truly embodies customer-centricity, I’d be able to purchase a lift ticket in Aspen — maybe.
To get you started, here are the seven (7) “critical tactics of the most customer-centric contact centers” that Greg identifies: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Call Center Management, Call Centers, Customer Sat, Customer Service, ICMI, ICMI's CMI, Technology | Tagged: Call Center Management, customer satisfaction, Customer Service, customer-centric, Technology | Leave a Comment »
I had a funny thought tonight. For some reason, I had this urge to go to a bar and watch the election results on television, as if it were a major sporting contest. Of course, the thought was absurd, but it amused me, nonetheless. I wonder: is there enough interest in this election that it is on in some bars tonight and actually getting attention from the patrons? Are there some cheers going up from supporters, sitting on their barstools, as the results are posted?
