By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD Go back with me a few years. Internet-centric companies were the next big thing. It was purported that they would change how business was done, render traditional commerce models obsolete, and usher in a new way of valuating companies—at historically unfathomable and untenable levels. They were the dotcoms! Their basic premise […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, Ph.D. What is your self-service strategy? Is it in-place and fully functional? Perhaps it’s moving forward, slowly but surely. Conversely, you may still be contemplating what your self-service offerings should be – if any at all. If you do make self-service available to your callers, is it used much? How is […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD “My labor percentage is down to 28%,” boasts the owner of a mid-sized call center. “Have you ever heard of anyone lower?” he continues, as though seeking affirmation. “Twenty-eight percent!” I exclaim. “So, it’s good?” he probes, still seeking validation. I carefully consider my response. “No, it’s terrible!” I pronounce. […]
Closing a Sale but Alienating a New Customer in the Process Is Bad Business By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD Back when my family had an entertainment subscription (aka cable TV), a new network launched, and we wanted to watch its shows. I wondered if my provider would offer it, but repeated contacts to our provider via […]
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 […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, Ph.D. With the United States’ fall elections behind us, I am now recovering from the inundation of all messages political. From these saner confines of a post-election U.S., I can address the “serious” problem of outsourcing. Succinctly put, outsourcing, an often prudent, wise, and cost-effective practice, has been politicized. Once a […]
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 […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, Ph.D. Years ago, as a first-time manager, I was green and had much to learn. I walked down the hall with my boss; he had just given me yet one more assignment, a task that I didn’t have time to do. I protested at his directive, insisting that I already had […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD My son, Dan, recently completed his first year of college. After spending last summer relegated to working a smattering of part-time odd jobs, he desired a different outcome for this year’s educational respite. He learned that it was important to start his search early to beat out the competition. By […]
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 […]