Call center

At almost every seminar I teach or attend I get asked,

Everyone in your contact center must understand how you calculate productivity. Without an agreed upon calculation, you can never truly trust the numbers.

Voice recognition software has long been used to collect customer information for the customer service agent prior to the live connection of the call. But voice recognition software in use on the agent desktop is now showing promise in its ability to lower costs by reducing call handle times and provide a better service experience for the customer and agent.

Multichannel contact centers must be prepared to perform at a high level, which requires funding. But you need the support and buy-in of senior management to make your case to get the funding.

Today

According to a recent Customer Experience Impact Report by Harris Interactive on bad call experiences 80% of customers will go to competitors after a bad call–up from 68% in 2006. But an interesting breakdown in the report was the bad call experiences by geographic regions and the behavior associated with geography.

A recent survey published in USA Today, indicates that 45% of customers identify customer service as the biggest influence on remaining loyal to a company. Clearly customers will stop doing business with companies due to the quality of the experience.

An approach called

Does your contact center have what it takes to be the employer of choice in your area?
Kathryn Jackson, founder of Ocean City, NJ-based Response Design Corp. lists just some of the must-haves to attract the best contact center candidates

Once thought to be too expensive for the call center, e-learning is hot. Through the Web, E-learning allows your customer service reps to brush up on customer service skills or training between calls and shifts. This is the first in a three-part series on the value of e-learning.