Categories
Call Center

Working Without a Net

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD I first heard about the ‘Net over 20 years ago from one of my electronic school buddies. He landed a job with a computer mainframe manufacturer and was assigned to work at a university. He regaled me with tales of instantaneously sending text messages across the country and doing so […]

Categories
Healthcare Call Centers

Welcome To AnswerStat Magazine!

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, Ph.D. Let me be the first to welcome you to the premier issue of AnswerStat magazine. AnswerStat is dedicated to providing you, our readers with practical, relevant, and useful information about healthcare and medical related call centers. We are an advertiser-supported publication, which allows us to send this magazine to you, […]

Categories
Call Center

Implementing Remote Agent Stations

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD For years, starting when the teleservices industry was in its infancy, call center managers have likely wish that their staff could work from remote locations. The reasons for this vary, from tapping into a different labor market to providing a local presence and gaining greater efficiency by tying together multiple […]

Categories
Call Center

What I Learned on My Summer Vacation

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD This fall, the thoughts of school age children everywhere are focused on returning to school. Some approach the new school year with dread and trepidation, a few with excitement and high expectation, and others with inevitable acquiescence and acceptance. Regardless of their personal perspective, many will be faced with the […]

Categories
Healthcare Call Centers

Benchmarking Your Call Center

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, Ph.D. 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 […]

Categories
Call Center

Agent Headsets

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD 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 […]

Categories
Call Center

A $175 Oil Change

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD 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. I […]

Categories
Call Center

Outsourcing Options

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD 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 their business to other companies. […]

Categories
Call Center

A Little Help From My Friends

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD “You need a hobby,” my wife exclaimed in exasperation. I don’t recall the circumstances, but it is safe to assume that I was doing something she deemed a nuisance. Regardless of the cause of her frustration, her impromptu advice gave me pause. Yes, a pastime, a relaxing diversion, would be […]

Categories
Call Center

How Can I Get More Sales?

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD 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 […]