Author: Peter Lyle DeHaan

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD

In every industry, there exists a Standard Operating Procedure, or SOP. This SOP is a collective compilation of what has been known, proven, and verified to work over time. It is the prevailing wisdom of how things should be done and how things are done for that industry.

This is the reason that SOPs exist – and it is wise to follow them whenever possible.

An SOP is largely static and remains essentially unchanged over time – until some outside force or opportunity presents itself. Then we see a paradigm shift, and a new or revised SOP emerges. For example, in the earliest days of call centers, information gathered from callers was handwritten.

Therefore, part of the SOP was to hire agents with neat and clear handwriting – it was a given. Then a change occurred; call center automation emerged and information ceased to be handwritten. Instead, it was typed into a computer database.

The need to hire agents with legible handwriting became obsolete and was replaced by the need for keyboarding skills. Typing tests became part of the new SOP. Contrast this to good diction and oral communication skills.

This was and still is part of the industry’s SOP. It will continue to be the case – until computer technology advances to the point of being able to effectively and conversationally interact with our callers. Then the industry’s SOP will shift again.

I frequently receive queries from people desiring to open a call center or start an answering service. Very few of these enthusiastic entrepreneurs comprehend the industry’s SOPs.

A frequent, reoccurring theme is that these startups will pay their agents more, charge their clients less, and offer better service than the competition.

This is simultaneously idealistic and impossible. I attempt to educate them on the industry’s SOP, but my efforts generally fall on unhearing ears.

To offload the repetitive and time-consuming nature of these communications, I launched two informational websites: StartACallCenter.com and StartAnAnsweringService.com, both of which offer basic startup advice and cover current SOPs.

There are also SOPs for trade publications, like Connections Magazine. Most of the time, I wisely follow these SOPs; other times, forced by necessity or born of opportunity, I blaze new trails. Consider the following:

Circulation/Audits

Connections is an advertiser-supported magazine. That is, advertising revenues cover the costs to produce the magazine and distribute it free to qualified individuals (i.e., potential buyers) in the industry. (Be sure and thank our advertisers for making Connections possible – without them, we couldn’t exist.)

The industry SOP is to have potential subscribers fill out a comprehensive profile and complete a detailed survey. Then, as part of the auditing process, these same subscribers must requalify each year. This is annoying to the subscriber and a time-consuming, costly endeavor for the publisher.

Our approach is more pragmatic and less complicated. Quite simply, we provide Connections to all industry participants who request it. And we continue to provide it until they ask us to stop.

There are no annual renewals, no surveys to complete, and minimal hassle. Occasionally, we do ask readers to confirm that they are still interested. If you receive such a communication, please respond right away, as we aren’t able to send repeated, ongoing requests.

For those advertisers who wish to verify our distribution numbers, there is no need to bother with the audit bureau; we simply provide a copy of the postage statement from the United States Postal Service to confirm the quantity mailed.

Editorial Staff

Another SOP is having an editorial staff and pool of writers to generate content. This is a huge expense that pushes advertising rates up and drives away advertisers. Again, we deviate from the SOP. As the publisher, I do minimal writing – save this column.

The rest of our articles are provided by readers and industry participants; they are the true experts who gladly share their experiences, insights, and ideas. We highly esteem these generous contributors who do so for the sake of advancing the industry.

The result is a magazine filled with practical content from real-world call center authorities, not theoretical verbosity that fails to both educate and elucidate – content that is found all too often in other trade publications.

Go Digital/Go Global

At Connections, we embrace digital distribution, an emerging SOP. This allows Connections to be provided to call center personnel in other countries, to which it would be cost-prohibitive to mail a printed copy. Currently, 10 percent of our distribution is done electronically via email.

These email messages contains three links: one to the table of contents, one to download a complete PDF of that issue, and one linking to our sponsor who makes this possible, CAM-X, the Canadian Call Management Association.

Currently, Connections is emailed to individuals in fifty-six countries, the top five being Canada, India, Mexico, South Africa, and the Philippines.

Interestingly, in the past year, hundreds of US-based subscribers have requested to receive Connections electronically. As a bonus, our electronic subscribers receive their copies a week or more before our mailed subscribers.

If you would like to join this growing number of digital subscribers, you may request the electronic version – and cancel your printed version – on our website. You may also request copies for your coworkers and update your mailing label.

Mailing Lists

It is also SOP for magazines to sell and rent their mailing lists. We frequently receive such requests. We steadfastly decline to share your information with others. Although it is an additional source of revenue, this is not an opportunity that we pursue – and we have no intention to do so.

(Full disclosure: We once traded some names with a strategic partner in order to complete a joint project. Another time we did a test mailing on behalf of an advertiser, but we controlled the mailing and the list remained confidential, as will always be the case.)

Email Addresses

Your email address is critical for us to maintain your subscription as it is the only cost-effective way to contact you if we need to verify or update your mailing information. As such, we are not able to accept and maintain subscriptions without email addresses. This SOP is essential to follow.

Just as with inquiries for our mailing list, we field requests to sell our database of email addresses. We have never done this and we never will – even though this, too, is an SOP and another potential revenue source. We are also asked to do email blasts to subscribers.

We have never done this, either, but it is an option under consideration. If we do pursue this, be assured that the number of such messages would be strictly limited and their content carefully screened.

Again, we would retain total control over the email addresses, and recipients would have the option to quickly opt out at any time. This SOP can’t be dismissed, as the trade magazine industry as a whole is migrating towards the Internet.

Trade Shows and Conventions

Most trade magazines promote and operate a complementary annual trade show or convention; it is a final SOP worth discussing. These events reportedly represent up to 40 percent of a magazine’s annual revenue. As such, they make for an attractive pursuit.

This too, has been a consideration – and request – for Connections Magazine. However, there are already several industry associations with their own events that focus on the teleservices and outsourcing call center arena. It is our preference to work with these organizations as appropriate — you will note coverage of their events in these pages throughout the year.

Whether it’s a call center, a trade magazine, or another business, be cognizant of that industry’s SOP. Follow it whenever you can, and deviate from it when you must; just be sure to know the reasons why you do what you do and the justification for it. After all, SOPs are “Standard” for a reason.

Read more in Peter’s Sticky Series books: Sticky Leadership and Management, Sticky Sales and Marketing, and Sticky Customer Service featuring his compelling story-driven insights and tips.

Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, is the publisher and editor-in-chief of Connections Magazine, covering the call center teleservices industry. Read his latest book, Healthcare Call Center Essentials.

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD

People often contact me looking for information about the outsourcing call center industry. Sometimes I am able to point them to content residing on the Connections Magazine website or one of our other related online resources. These queries are the easy ones.

Other times the inquiries relate to benchmarking and statistical issues for outsourcing call centers. These are harder to address. In doing my literature search for my thesis and dissertation, I found virtually no statistical data for outsource call centers.

Although there is available information about call centers in general, the vast majority relate to in-house call centers and is generally not applicable to outsource call centers. All too often, the particular outsourcing call center metric sought does not exist in a published or statistically trustworthy form.

Sometimes I can answer these types of questions with empirical data or by experiential observation. However, even this can be misleading. Consider a frequent area of interest: ascertaining an acceptable agent occupancy rate. (Agent occupancy is the percentage of time that an available agent is processing calls or information.) 

The answer is, “It all depends.” First, it depends on the form and function of the call center. Centers that handle multiple contact points, such as phone calls and email, should realize a higher occupancy rate; that is, non-time-critical activities (processing email) can be done at slow times or between time-critical activities (answering calls).

Some centers can fill agent idle time with ancillary support activities, such as data-entry, transcription, and so forth. Again, occupancy rates increase.

However, the size of the call center is the main variable affecting both feasible and ideal occupancy rates. I have seen occupancy rates as low as the mid-twenties to as high as the mid-nineties and everywhere in between.

In certain circumstances, any of these results could be the appropriate occupancy rate. Conversely, they could also be the wrong rate. The key reason for this hinges on the primary reason for call centers in the first place: economies of scale.

The smallest call center, or at least the smallest staffed call center, will have one person working per shift, 24/7. There will be times when this solitary agent is extremely busy (peak daytime traffic) and other times when virtually no calls are arriving (the middle of the night).

As such, occupancy rates will vary greatly throughout the week, from quite low to moderately high.

Also, whether you blame it on Erlang or Murphy, there is a tendency for calls to bunch up. Most of my interaction with readers, authors, and vendors is done via email, so the phone does not ring too often.

I continue to be surprised at going several hours without a phone call, only to have two arrive at once. I talk to the first caller, while the second goes to voicemail. In a call center, this second call would go into the queue and wait for the “next available agent.”

In a one-person operation, that wait can be substantial. Even though the occupancy rate is still low, the service level has already begun to erode.

Taken further, the occupancy rate of a one-person call center can be forced higher by driving more calls to it without increasing staffing. As such, there will increasingly be callers in queue, hold times will mushroom, and the average answer time will skyrocket to unacceptable and insane levels.

In short, the only way for a solitary agent to realize a high occupancy rate is to have calls continuously in queue.

Although “it all depends” on many other factors, small call centers can generally only achieve average occupancy rates in the mid-twenties to upper thirties percentage range. Attempting to push rates higher will result in call center suicide.

As call centers get larger, efficiencies increase and there are more agents available to more quickly handle the calls in queue. Therefore, traffic spikes are easier to deal with as there are more available agents taking the calls. The midsize call center can experience occupancy rates hovering around 50%, plus or minus.

Larger call centers, enjoying an even greater economy of scale, can respond better to traffic peaks and can therefore keep agents occupied a higher percentage of time while still maintaining an acceptable service level.

Occupancy rates in the seventies become a realistic goal. Lastly, it is the very large call centers, with hundreds of agents working simultaneously that can experience call center nirvana. They can provide acceptable service levels even though their agents are chugging along at occupancy rates in the mid- to upper nineties.

All of this to indicate, that as far as the ideal occupancy rate, I can correctly say, “It all depends.” I’m not being caviler, flippant, or smart-alecky, merely factually honest.

Another common area of interest is determining an appropriate percentage of expenses spent on labor. Here too, “it all depends,” with call center size being the primary variable. Again, starting with the smallest of call centers – one agent per shift – there is a potential for overhead to be low and therefore labor costs will be high.

This is because it is often the manager or owner who is taking calls. Administrative and support tasks can be effectively handled between calls and at slow times during the day (or night). As a result, all functions in the small call center can be highly integrated and efficient; this means low overhead.

Therefore, the percent of expenses spent on labor can therefore be in the area of 50 to 70%.

When small call centers increase in size, a disproportional amount of effort and expense go to expanding corporate, management, and control structures. Supervisors need to be added, customer service staff become necessary, an accounting function is separately identified, and so on.

As a result, a much higher percentage of expenses is allocated to non-agent areas and the percentage spent on labor correspondingly decreases. The mid-sized call centers can be the most inefficient with labor percentages dropping below 50%.

For larger call centers, the support and organizational structure is cost-efficiently expandable and scaleable to handle increased economies of scale. As a result, with the increased scope comes a decrease in the percentage of costs spent on nonoperational functions.

This resultantly pushes the percent spent on labor back up. For the largest call centers, experiencing massive economies of scale and great efficiencies, labor percentages rise to the 70, 80, and even 90% mark. This is because of all other costs being spread over more and more agents.

From a business standpoint, this is the most efficient and cost-effective call center scenario.

Given these two examples, one might conclude that larger call centers are ideal. After all, with increased size comes increased call occupancy rates and greater efficiency (that is, increased labor percentages and correspondingly decreased overhead percentages).

There are, however, some downsides experienced in the larger call center: increased management and control issues, along with far greater complexity.

So, in determining what the ideal call center size is, I can unequivocally state, that “it all depends.”

Read more in Peter’s Sticky Series books: Sticky Leadership and Management, Sticky Sales and Marketing, and Sticky Customer Service featuring his compelling story-driven insights and tips.

Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, is the publisher and editor-in-chief of Connections Magazine, covering the call center teleservices industry. Read his latest book, Healthcare Call Center Essentials.

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD

My daughter graduated from college this spring. She majored in English and minored in Math; her focus — and passion, however — is elementary education. Although reports abound of a teacher shortage, that is not the case in our area. With above average compensation and several respected local schools churning out qualified educators, there is a glut of teachers seeking employment. The all too typical result is that aspiring teachers are relegated to substitute teaching for a time before landing that coveted full-time position. Their other option is to move out of state.

I had endeavored to brace my daughter for the likelihood of subbing for a year or two, thereby gaining experience, acquiring confidence, and building a reputation. Indeed, that did seem to be her path. With scores of applications submitted, backed by a strong resume, an impressive portfolio, and a voluminous website to match, nary an interview had been granted.

After months of waiting, her first interview finally occurred. Then there was a second interview, which was followed by an offer of employment. This fall, she is teaching first grade and influencing the next generation.

I don’t recall too much about my own first grade teacher. I do know that I really liked her and heard my parents say, on numerous occasions, that Mrs. Frank had given me a great start in school, a strong foundation on which future teachers could effectively build.

Another stellar educator who was highly influential was Miss Robinson, my fourth grade teacher. Our class was a challenge to her – a good challenge. Many of us had been in a “split” room the year before, half third grade and half fourth grade. Once our third grade assignments were complete, we were allowed to do fourth grade work. The result was the Miss Robinson inherited a batch of students who had already mastered much of the fourth grade curriculum. She worked hard to provide us with additional lessons and opportunities that would keep us motivated and challenged, without similarly handicapping our fifth grade teacher. One such instance was a science module on electricity. I was mesmerized. Little did I know that this would serve as the impetus for continuing interest and a subsequent vocation, leading me down a varied and unpredictable, but most fulfilling career path.

We moved that summer and I started at a new school. I quickly realized three things. I was far ahead in math, hopelessly behind in grammar, and had been placed in the wrong class by the school secretary. It is said that teachers often give more attention to students on the edges, both those with great promise, as well as those who struggle. My knowledge and understanding of things unfamiliar to my peers, catapulted me to a position of prominence. The result was that my teacher gave me special attention and esteem, while my classmates viewed me with academic awe and respect. Although I didn’t learn much academically that year, I did undergo a metamorphous of self-perception. Put succinctly, I began fifth grade as an above average student who felt average and ended the year as an above average student who was convinced he was exceptional. That single attitudinal change altered the trajectory of my educational path – and ultimately my life. Yes, Mrs. Wedel influenced me immensely.

In seventh grade, I had Mr. Snow for English. It was clear that he loved to teach and equally apparent that he loved seventh graders. He invested extra time and effort in me during lunch and after school, getting me caught up on my grammar and punctuation. Our class read and studied, Dickens’ classic story, A Christmas Carol. Mr. Snow helped us dig into this timeless tale and mine its many truths. The conclusion was inescapable for me and equally profound. Like Dickens’ Scrooge, we have a choice on how we live our life; it can be for selfish purposes or it can be for the joy of living and the benefit of others. I chose the later.

That year I also had Mr. Binder for science. He was a strict and demanding instructor with high expectations, and I feared him – at least in the classroom. However, he also faithfully served as my track coach for five years, where he functioned in a much different role and with significant influence on me. It was on the track where I learned many of life’s important issues and where I experienced my happiest moments as a teen. Although I was not an athlete, athletic opportunities – via a highly effective teacher/coach – helped to shape me more than anything learned in the classroom.

In high school it was Mr. Grosser who affected me greatly. With a passion for molding young minds, he was part educator and part entertainer. There was never a dull moment in his classroom, where the unexpected became routine. Sometimes he addressed the course material; at other times he digressed. Regardless, throughout it all, he wanted us to think, profoundly and deeply. His influence was significant and helped me mature as an individual and prepare for adulthood.

The standout mentor of my college years was professor Britten. Intellectual and insightful, he quietly communicated profundity with ease, effectiveness, and aplomb. I found myself hanging on every word. Nothing he said was wasted and everything had significance. He was the teacher whose class one took, not because of the subject material, but because of the instructor.

These are but some of the teachers who highly influenced me, they are the best of the best. Aside from academia, I have had many notable “teachers” in the business world as well – some may even be reading this article. Although not teachers, per se, they are nonetheless educators and have played a role in guiding me to become the person that I am today.

If you are a teacher, be encouraged that you are influencing others, even if you don’t know it. You may never be affirmed by those you teach, but you are making a difference, to every student, every year.

If you are not a teacher, know that you, too, influence others. Whether a business owner, a manager, a supervisor, or a front-line call center agent, you influence those around you by what you do, the things you say, and how you treat others.

Throughout my life I have been most fortunate. Nevertheless I did encounter a couple of instructors who were not teachers and a few more who were burnt-out and coasting. In the same way, not everyone in the business world has had a positive influence on me either, even though most have. The lesson here is to be astute and discerning as to whom you allow to influence you.

Whether you are a teacher, a leader, or a follower, you can influence others. Like Scrooge, you can either influence negatively by pursuing a life of selfish inward concern or influence positively by choosing to make a difference in others by sharing, giving, and influencing them in an encouraging and profound manner. Although they may seldom thank you for the role you play in their lives, know that you are making a significantly lasting and notable impact as you pursue the path of positive influence.

Read more in Peter’s Sticky Series books: Sticky Leadership and Management, Sticky Sales and Marketing, and Sticky Customer Service featuring his compelling story-driven insights and tips.

Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, is the publisher and editor-in-chief of Connections Magazine, covering the call center teleservices industry. Read his latest book, Healthcare Call Center Essentials.

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD

Last month’s column, entitled “Answering the Call,” discussed the decreased call volume that most inbound call centers experienced in past years; many are still in the throes of this downturn. At this same time, a groundswell against outbound calling and its associated practices occurred, ultimately led to the enactment of the national “Do Not Call” (DNC) law in the United States.

This has caused some outbound calls centers to abandon outbound calling altogether and migrate to handling inbound calls. Other outbound centers changed their focus to the largely unregulated business calling arena, instead of languishing in the more restrictive and volatile area of consumer calling.

Fortunately, outsourcing call centers have the luxury and flexibility of redefining themselves merely by refocusing their sales and marketing efforts; the in-house call center is not so fortunate. Expanding into other call center opportunities is a wise step during times of uncertainty and monumental change. In fact, diversification is always a viable and advisable business strategy, providing a hedge against volatility and the unknown.

The opposite of diversification is specialization. In business and marketing terms, this is pursuing niche markets. For the call center, this means developing services specifically geared towards a particular industry and establishing an expertise, understanding, and proficiency that is unobtainable by a more broadly focused call center. Increased efficiencies will result, affording the option to charge less, improve profitability, or do both. An example of a niche market is the medical industry. Even with this focus, there are many call center opportunities within, such as medical answering service, telephone nurse triage, physician referral, appointment setting and verification, pharmaceutical sales and support, patient follow-up, and coordinating clinical trials. Other niches might include property management or transportation. There are also regional opportunities, such as serving the logging, shipping, or oil and natural gas industries. These each have their own subniches. What a call center elects to pursue should hinge on the potential size of that market, the call center’s current connection and affinity with the niche, and their interest in serving that market. (Never pursue a promising niche if expertise or interest is lacking.)

Pursuing a niche, however, is akin the to proverbial adage about “putting all your eggs in one basket.” So the key is to develop multiple niches. This is another version of diversification; you are literally diversifying your specialization. Lest you think this is a matter of semantics, it is not. As you establish yourself in one market niche, pursue a second and then a third.

The examples given above are just that; they are not recommendations. So how do you determine what niches to pursue? If you are broad-based call center, look at the types of accounts you currently handle. Do you see any trends, groupings, or categories? Poll your staff. Ask them which types of accounts they like and why. Also consider items such as the degree of profitability, intensity of customer service and support, and payment and collection history. These factors often vary by industry or subgroup and should be identifiable. Ideally, you want to pursue a niche that you are already good at and have proven yourself, your staff enjoys and serves well, can be charged profitable fees, does not overtax your support team, and pays on time. It is unlikely to identify a market segment that meets all these criteria perfectly, but do seek to match as many items as possible.

The next consideration is how many niches to pursue. I advise three at the minimum. That way if one niche market falls apart, you have the other two to prop up your call center and maintain some degree of ongoing viability. Of course this assumes that each niche represents an equal portion of business. A general guide is that it is unwise to derive more than half of your business from anyone industry or market.

Having discussed diversification and specialization within the traditional call center environment, let’s take a step back to seek a broader understanding. A call center, by definition, is a “centralized place from which calls are made and received.” Arguably, today’s call center is neither! They are not centralized, nor do they deal with just calls. The label “contact center” was advanced as a more accurate and broadening term to reflect the current reality of many call centers and future direction of the industry. Even so, this does not address the reality that call centers are increasingly not centralized, but dispersed, with multiple locations and home-based representatives. However, decentralization is another discussion for another time.

Although it is not my intention to relabel the call center industry, it is my goal to redefine it for the sake of gaining a better understanding of the vast potential that exists. Instead of thinking of being a call center, let’s adopt the mindset that we are “communication processors.” So stop thinking calls and start thinking communication processing.

Yes, we will still make and receive calls (after all, that is “processing information”), but we can do so much more. Consider the Internet. It seems that the Internet is affecting all areas of business, life, and human existence. How does this relate to the call center, or more correctly, the information processor?

Quite simply, everything that you can do with a call today, you need to be doing with email tomorrow. Screen email, prioritize email, redirect email, answer email, and send email. Every organization that is online has at least one, probably more, general purpose email addresses, such as sales@…, service@…, and info@… How quickly are these messages responded to (assuming they are handled at all)? Your call center needs to handle these email addresses for each of your clients. You need to start today.

Here’s what I mean.  Your agents will periodically check these email addresses for your clients (or email can be directed to your staff as it arrives). Your agents will delete all spam. Of the “real” messages, some will get forwarded to various departments or individuals following a protocol established by your client. Once the email has been forwarded, rely to the sender, thanking them for the message and noting whom it was assigned to.

Some inquirers will be requesting information. Your agents can provide that information. This might be in the form of an email response (be it typing a written reply, selecting prewritten text, attaching a document, or sending a link), faxing a form, mailing a brochure, or even calling that person.

Instead of (or in addition to) making outbound calls to your clients’ customers and prospects, you can also engage them via email, sharing information, requesting feedback, and marketing and selling products. Although it is true that these types of proactive email services can be automated, that is also their weakness. They are automated. How much more effective might communications be with a personalized approach to an appropriately targeted list?

The opportunities don’t stop with email. What about text chat? This is a rapidly growing means of communication, especially with the younger crowd. Your call center should become the centralized communication processor for all of your clients’ general text chat options: respond to questions, process information, forward requests, and so on. Staff at many organizations already have too much expected of them. It simply isn’t an option to pile on one more thing. Plus, there is no need to; you can handle this for them.

A third category is website “talk to me” and “call back” buttons. This is an ideal call centers service. Essentially, it is a 24×7 quick response to visitors’ questions who are viewing your clients’ websites. These email, text chat, and “call me” options fall under the general category of being a Web-enabled call center. (While we’re are at it, let’s not forget fax and snail mail; these are obvious opportunities for tomorrow’s information processor.)

How do you proceed? Visit each of your client’s websites. Send an email to their generic email address. Note how long it takes them to respond. Do they have an option for text chat and “call me?” While you are there, note if the site is up-to-date. This implies an ancillary service you can offer. By now you have several ideas of how you can better serve your clients.

The future of call centers may reside with the Internet. The opportunities are limited only by imagination and creativity.

Read more in Peter’s Sticky Series books: Sticky Leadership and Management, Sticky Sales and Marketing, and Sticky Customer Service featuring his compelling story-driven insights and tips.

Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, is the publisher and editor-in-chief of Connections Magazine, covering the call center teleservices industry. Read his latest book, Healthcare Call Center Essentials.