Archive for the ‘Research’ Category
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 | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on February 12, 2008
Sometimes the “science” stories in mainstream media just re-hash old news, re-packaging it in ways that non-scientists can more readily appreciate. And I, for one, do appreciate that and like learning in this way.
But here’s an article that is new news: “Finding May Solve Riddle of Fatigue in Muscles.” Personally, I didn’t even know this was a riddle. I thought it was well understood that lactic acid causes the pain in tired muscles. Turns out I am at least six months behind the times on that one:
For decades, muscle fatigue had been largely ignored or misunderstood. Leading physiology textbooks did not even try to offer a mechanism, said Dr. Andrew Marks, principal investigator of the new study. A popular theory, that muscles become tired because they release lactic acid, was discredited not long ago.
Instead, here’s the latest theory: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Health, Research, Science, Sports | Tagged: calcium leaking, lactic acid, muscle fatigue, Research, Science, Sports | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on February 12, 2008
I find science news stories fascinating, and there’s one in the NYT that explains research that’s been done on a rather commonly known phenomenon, but digs into how it works: “You Remind Me of Me.” We’ve all heard before that people tend to like other people who are similar to themselves. It may even seem obvious why (we’re all narcissistic to some degree).
But what kind of cues or behavior make us feel this way? And how do these feelings affect what we think and do? It turns out the researchers found that it can be pretty superficial stuff that gets us to “identify” with someone else. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Health, Human Interest, Research, Sales, Science | Tagged: flattery, human behavior, imitation, mimic, Research, Sales, Science | 1 Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on February 8, 2008
What is this, Depressing Scientific Reports Day? A billion people are going to die from smoking and now I read in the NYT that the gung-ho drive toward biofuels is doing more harm than good, according to two scientific studies: “Biofuels Deemed a Greenhouse Threat.” Where’s a rock to crawl under?
Almost all biofuels used today cause more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fuels if the full emissions costs of producing these “green” fuels are taken into account, two studies being published Thursday have concluded.
Well, we darn well better take into account the full impact of producing any fuel. One of the studies’ authors refers to the prior failure to do this as an “accounting error.” That sounds harmless, but it’s not. It’s one heck of an error: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Environment, Research, Science | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on February 8, 2008
That’s an attention-getting headline, isn’t it? Even though the date by which the billionth death would take place is the year 2100, it’s still an appalling prospect. But that’s the point the World Health Organization wanted to make, of course, in their report issued today, “WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2008.” I read this AP article about it on Wired: “Tobacco Could Kill 1 Billion by 2100.”
The World Health Organization warned in a new report Thursday that the “tobacco epidemic” is growing and could claim 1 billion lives by the end of the century unless governments dramatically step up efforts to curb smoking.
Governments around the world are complicit in this travesty, it’s clear: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Ethics, Health, Human Interest, Politics, Research, Science, Trends | Tagged: cigarettes, epidemic, smoking, tobacco, WHO Report, world health organization | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on February 6, 2008
Here’s the headline from the NYT article: “Feel Like a Fraud? At Times, Maybe You Should.” Sometimes when I read these articles about studies that probe into the way people think, feel or act, I wonder if there’s anything really new or significant in them. Is this stuff already obvious? Apparently not, since there was a “study” about it. Did you already know this, for example?
“Particularly when people think that they might not be able to live up to others’ views of them, they may maintain that they are not as good as other people think,” Dr. Mark Leary, the lead author, wrote in an e-mail message. “In this way, they lower others’ expectations — and get credit for being humble.”
Well, now you *know* since it’s an outcome of a study. Similarly, this conclusion: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Health, Human Interest, Research, Science | Tagged: fraud, Health, Research, Science | 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
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 4, 2008
Is there a medical link between mind and body? A Harvard professor examines the history behind the idea in The Cure Within. I have not read the book, but based on the ideas put forth in the NYT review, “Faith and Healing,” it might be worth looking at.
In “The Cure Within,” her splendid history of mind-body medicine, Anne Harrington tries to explain why we draw connections between emotions and illness, and helps trace how today’s myriad alternative and complementary treatments came to be. A professor and chairman of the history of science department at Harvard, Harrington has produced a book that desperately needed to be written. Some 60 million Americans use these therapies in the effort to combat serious diseases like cancer and AIDS, as well as the normal physiology of aging. In the United States, office visits to providers of complementary and alternative medicine now outnumber visits to primary care physicians. The costs of such care approach $40 billion dollars a year. Books, talk shows and Web sites present riveting testimonials of clinical benefits from Eastern breathing techniques, dietary supplements, positive thinking and prayer.
read more | digg story
Posted in Books, Health, Research, Science | Tagged: Anne Harrington, Books, review, The Cure Within | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on February 2, 2008
The NYT Check Point column, “Clinton and the Iraq War Amendment,” elucidates the details underlying Hillary Clinton’s explanation of her Iraq War Senate vote.
The senator has been consistent in explaining her opposition to the Levin Amendment, which, she felt gave the Security Council of the United Nations a veto over American presidential power.
Sounds good, until you dig deeper:
But Mr. Levin and defenders of his amendment assert that her description of the measure is simplistic and misleading.
In fact, the vote tallies that night in the Senate are even more revealing that all in the room knew what they were and were not voting for: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Politics, Research | Tagged: fact-checking, Hillary Clinton, Iraq War Resolution, Levin Amendment, Politics | Leave a Comment »
