Archive for the 'ICMI Publications' Category
Posted by Ted Hopton on March 19, 2008
Posted in Call Center Management, Call Centers, Customer Service, ICMI, ICMI Membership, ICMI Publications, Metrics, Research, Statistics, Trends | Tagged: Call Center Management, call center metrics, Call Centers, FCR, first call resolution, first contact resolution, ICMI, ICMI Membership, KPI, Metrics, research report | No Comments »
Posted by Ted Hopton on March 12, 2008
Call center metrics are the source of so very many questions we hear at ICMI. What should be measured, how should you measure, what standards or benchmarks exist for each measure, how do you interpret and act on measured results — all of these and more are issues that trouble many call center professionals at one time or another.
So it should not be surprising that the March 2008 issue of ICMI’s Customer Management Insight (CMI), includes two articles that address call center metrics. Cliff Hurst, of Career Impact, Inc., offers his thoughts in “Identifying the KPI’s that Matter Most” and Fred Van Bennekom, of Great Brook Consulting, provides his own explanations in “Measuring Service Effectiveness.” I know both of them, as well, since they have been speakers at ICMI’s conferences and I respect the experience and judgment that each brings to the table.
It’s interesting, though, that Fred is in his “sweet spot,” since his area of expertise truly is in measurement, particularly statistical measurement, while Cliff is probably best known for his work on quality monitoring. I think this difference shows in the two articles and the approaches each writer takes.
You’ll see in Fred’s a precise organization, where every metric or method gets defined and then has its advantages and then its shortcomings explained in order. He knows in depth what he’s talking about and so can get to the point concisely. I like the graphic he included, too, which again shows the orderly way he has addressed his subject:
The Portfolio of Customer Feedback Research Techniques
What I like about Cliff’s approach, however, is that this material does not come across as routine when he writes about it. 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, Career Impact Inc., Cliff Hurst, Customer Service, Frederick C. Van Bennekom, Great Brook Consulting, ICMI, KPI, Metrics | No Comments »
Posted by Ted Hopton on February 20, 2008
If you’ve been around the call center industry any length of time (say, 5 minutes), you’ve heard the buzz about “agent empowerment.” It’s a hip-sounding phrase, and if you’re a call center representative it has a nice ring to it. If you’re a call center manager, however, it may sound more vague and perhaps threatening to you (”I’m supposed to be the one with the power, right?”).
Of course, if you’re a call center manager, the chances are you’re a “people person,” anyway — since that’s an essential quality for success in the people-intensive call center environment — so you may already be touchy-feely and confident enough to appreciate the idea of empowering your employees. Don’t be scared: it will be good for you!
To help everyone understand the truth behind the buzz about agent empowerment, ICMI assigned our crack research team (that would be Greg Levin) to investigate. You can read the report for free if you’re an ICMI Member, or download it for $24.95 if you’re not so privileged. Here’s what you can expect: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Call Center Management, Call Centers, ICMI, ICMI Membership, ICMI Publications, Management, Research, Trends | Tagged: agent empowerment, Call Center Management, Call Centers, ICMI, ICMI Membership, ICMI Publications, Management, Research, Trends | No Comments »
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 | No Comments »
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 | No Comments »
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 | No Comments »
Posted by Ted Hopton on February 5, 2008
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 | No Comments »
Posted by Ted Hopton on January 28, 2008
I recently posted a response in ICMI’s QueueTips Forums, responding to a call center manager who was struggling to find the right words to explain her call center’s value proposition.
Since in my first career I specialized in teaching writing, I suggested a couple of methods to help get the words flowing (free writing, role playing), and I also attached a free copy of an article from the ICMI Members Online Archive, “The Elevator Conversation and Other Call Center Management Challenges,” written by a leading industry expert, Kathleen Peterson, and published in Call Center Management Review.
If you’d like to read the forum thread, contribute to it, or just download the free article, go to ICMI’s QueueTips Forums.
call center management
Posted in Call Center Management, Call Centers, ICMI, ICMI Publications, ICMI's QueueTips, Strategy | Tagged: Call Centers, ICMI, ICMI's QueueTips, value proposition, writing | No Comments »
Posted by Ted Hopton on December 22, 2005
I’ve long been concerned about the disconnect between customer perception of call centers and the rosy reports produced by many call centers about their customers’ satisfaction with their performance. How can so many centers have such satisfied callers while the industry as a whole gets low marks?
Now there’s some research that documents this “perception gap.” Aspect has created an “index” to measure contact center satisfaction. There’s a summary of the research findings in the January 2006 issue of Call Center Management Review. Here’s an excerpt: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Call Center Management, Call Centers, Customer Sat, Customer Service, ICMI, ICMI Publications, Research | Tagged: call center, Customer Sat, Customer Service, ICMI, Research | No Comments »
I’ve already written about how difficult it is to walk the talk when it comes to First Contact Resolution (FCR) — see, First Call Resolution: Great Principle, Hard to Apply.
