What is benchmarking? At its simplest, benchmarking is objectively comparing your call center with others. Brad Cleveland of Incoming Calls Management Institute states that “Benchmarking is comparing products, services, and processes with those of other organizations, to identify new ideas and improvement opportunities.” Whereas Dr. Jon Anton of Purdue University defines benchmarking as “A structured, […]
Headsets were an invention, born out of necessity, to prevent the fatigue and strain caused when agents worked all day on the phone. In order to free both hands for operating equipment, handwriting messages, and filing papers, operators of yesteryear could not hold a telephone handset with one hand, but would pinch the device between […]
A few years ago I bought a new car. Although it wasn’t my practice to take my cars to their respective dealers for maintenance, a new car changed that habit. After all, there was warranty work to be considered and their coupons for low cost oil changes were enticing. It was about the time that […]
How Call Centers Can Outsource Parts of Their Own Operation Most readers of Connections Magazine are outsourcing service providers, offering an array of telephone-related and contact services to their clients. Just as organizations, businesses, and individuals can outsource call processing to telemessaging and teleservice companies, these call centers can in turn outsource certain aspects of […]
Almost every day, someone asks me, “How can I get more sales?” In fact, for my clients and prospects, increasing sales is usually a primary concern. Rarely does anyone tell me that their company is making all the sales they want. I wish they would ask me easier questions, like “How can I improve quality,” […]
As the economy becomes more global and society becomes more ethnically diverse, differences in language become more pronounced. In some areas, where there is a heavy concentration of a particular ethnic group, it is not uncommon for call centers to effectively be bilingual. In some areas of the United States this is often manifested in […]
Why Certifications and Awards Matter More than Rates About three years ago, I started to sense that it was time for a career change. Work wasn’t fun any more. Many of the things I relished weren’t being pursued at my company or had been delegated to others. My days were filled with tasks that I […]
It amuses me to tell people that I went to college for 26 years. Their reactions vary from shock to admiration, from pity to surprise. As a high school sophomore, I learned that the local community college would admit select high school seniors. Acting partly out of youthful arrogance and partly from moxie, I met […]
At the risk of appearing self-congratulatory, this issue marks my first anniversary at the helm of Connections Magazine. Normally, I would let such an event go by without fanfare, however, since so many readers have taken the time to ask, “How are things going?” I think it is appropriate to update you on the status […]
I will admit it – I have a propensity towards idealism. I think that life should be fair and that everyone, regardless of position or past, ought to be granted equality of opportunity. This perspective causes me to advocate impartiality when distributing calls in the call center, with each call handled in the order in […]