| Fraud in Call Centres Call centres have had a bad press over the years, and the media continues to favour stories about staff selling data to criminal gangs, fraudsters coercing staff for this purpose, or deliberately infiltrating a call centre to steal data. |
| 12.12.2009 | Read more |
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| Developing Talent By Stephen BlakesleyPeople with talent fail at an alarming rate within organizations. According to Robert Kelley and Janet Caplan, researchers who studied workers at Bell Labs, most talented hires wind up as average or below-average performers. Among the people at Bell Labs and those of competitors, Kelley and Caplan found that 85 to 90 percent of the extremely talented people hired never rose beyond average, when it came to productivity. They also found that the 10 to 15 percent of hires who rose to “star performance” status were eight times more productive than the average or mediocre performers. |
| 08.06.2009 | Read more |
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| Do more with less
Despite financial woes in global economies, the situation in contact centres is pretty certain, even with the reports of some notable "staff adjustments." No matter what, the phones will continue to ring and agents will continue to be on hand to answer them. But at what cost? This, of course, is a question only you can answer because different contact centres have different objectives and face different realities.But how can more be done with less? |
| 08.06.2009 | Read more |
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| Call Centre Analytics Contact centre analytics is a hot topic that is rightfully attracting the attention of contact centre and senior managers. It fills a need for contact centres, which have many systems and even more reports, but little actionable intelligence to help them run their operations. |
| 05.06.2009 | Read more |
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| Ineffective monthly contests? It’s hard to walk into a call centre and not be immediately aware of posters and displays proclaiming the current “flavour of the month” contest. |
| 05.06.2009 | Read more |
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| 2009 will be challenging for CIOs When downturns hit, there is a certain inevitability to their impact on IT. Declining profits will place tremendous pressure on IT budgets in most sectors and regions. CIOs will be called on to rationalize projects, downsize organizations, renegotiate contracts, and seek out other cost-reduction opportunities. |
| 22.04.2009 | Read more |
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| Web 2.0in the Contact Centre Web 2.0 in the Contact Centre: More than Just a Passing Twitter Paul Stockford, Research Director, National Association of Call Centers and Chief Analyst, Saddletree Research, Paul.Stockford@nationalcallcenters.org It is important to remember that Web 2.0 services will mean more than just managing Facebook and Twitter among agents and customers. Web 2.0 as a business strategy will also extend into the technology architecture of the contact center itself. As operational managers gear up to understand and manage the impact of social networking tools on the customer service function, information technology (IT) managers will as have to start thinking about how they will eventually migrate their contact center to a Web 2.0 framework. |
| 22.04.2009 | Read more |
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| Restructuring your business The principal reason for restructuring your business is to allow it to best achieve its objectives. Proactive change - when you foresee a change in the market or economy that will affect the business and you make changes in order to better your position - is effective. Make sure that you are not changing just for the sake of it. Understand why you are reorganising the business and have a rational analysis of the situation. |
| 12.02.2009 | Read more |
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| Top 10 things your customers want you to know Several thousand consumers across 10 major industry segments were surveyed recently to find out what they really think about service and the attributes they like best or least. Concurrently, executives in each industry were also interviewed. The most startling result: Consumers say that enterprises "don't know and don't care" about their needs. |
| 21.01.2009 | Read more |
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| Wellbeing 2009 Our thanks go to Robertson Cooper ( www.robertsoncooper.com) for this interesting article. CCMA were delighted to have Dame Carol Black as a keynote speaker at our Wellbeing event in October 2008 and it's great to be able to follow up her presentation in this way. Now read on.... |
| 15.01.2009 | Read more |
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| Ten Tips to reduce turnover Our thanks go to Judy McKee, www.TrainYourCallCenter.com Befuddled? Bewildered? Bothered? Or just plain tired of contact centre turnover? You are not alone! Managers, are you taking names and taking blame? Agents, have you felt like the company micro-manages you on a daily basis? The turnover in contact centres today drives Human Resources crazy, management becomes overwhelmed and the agents are left out there feeling like their self-esteem has been steam-rolled. So, the agents quit, the managers get blamed and the HR department has to start all over again |
| 26.11.2008 | Read more |
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| Mobile Working - DTI Paper Mobile working is about freedom and simplicity. New technologies are making it easy to access information and work regardless of location. This brochure explains the benefits of mobile working; looks at some of the most common mobile technologies and gives you pointers on how to introduce mobile working to your business. This brochure is for: Any business that could benefit from staff being able to work offsite or on the move. It covers: How you can use mobile technologies to work more flexibly and improve productivity. |
| 03.07.2008 | Read more |
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| Looking after your voice You should visit your GP if you have any change in voice quality (hoarseness, roughness or breathlessness) any vocal fatigue where the voice tires and fades or any pain or discomfort that develops during speaking which lasts for more than two weeks. However, there are many things you can do to avoid problems. |
| 10.06.2008 | Read more |
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| Ten top life tips Our thanks go to Nassim Nicholas Taleb for these thoughts. |
| 03.06.2008 | Read more |
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| Homeshoring in perspective Sitel’s President, EMEA Dale Saville puts homeshoring in the UK in perspective |
| 16.05.2008 | Read more |
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| The future of offshore call centres: – from 2008 to 2013 So how is the offshore call centre outsourcing market shaping up after press backlash, the collapsing dollar and the threat of global recession? |
| 04.04.2008 | Read more |
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Coaching – a powerful catalyst for transforming performance When we were at school, perhaps the least useful criticism a teacher could offer us was to write ‘could do better’ at the end of our work.
It was hardly a helpful remark because, unadorned, it told you nothing other than that the teacher didn’t like your work very much and wasn’t even sufficiently inspired to offer suggestions for how you could actually do better.
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| 25.03.2008 | Read more |
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Example risk assessment for a call centre Find out about risk assessment from the HSE at:www.hse.gov.uk/risk/casestudies/callcentre.htm
This example risk assessment can be used as a guide to think through some of the hazards in your business and the steps you need to take to control the risks. |
| 13.03.2008 | Read more |
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| Do you care about diversity? This article is from CCMA sponsor Academee |
| 26.02.2008 | Read more |
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| Learning Portals: Windows to the World of Learning Today, ‘learning’ has replaced ‘training’ and learners are taking increasing responsibility for their own development. Only 17% of learning and development professionals responding to the CIPD’s 2006 survey of learning and development said that the formal training course takes priority in their organisation. In order to support this shift, it is important that organisations provide learning tools that enable learners to take control. One highly effective way to do this is to develop a learning portal. |
| 26.02.2008 | Read more |
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Ten Tips on Everyday Leadership Leadership is an aspiration. To be a leader is a mark of merit – not just a job title. Leaders are all around us. They move people; they bind people together; they inspire people to go beyond the known horizon.
We should all aspire to develop our leadership every day. Below are some ideas and tips that can help. They are based around what leadership is all about - and what can be done on a day-to-day basis to improve it.
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| 26.02.2008 | Read more |
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| Outsourcing Outsourcing producing more than a 25 per cent return on investment but it’s about more than just the money |
| 15.02.2008 | Read more |
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Well Being Gap UK economy missing out on over £12 billion a year because of the well-being gap
Robertson Cooper has recently published research revealing that the UK economy could grow by £12 billion a year if just a small increase in staff engagement and well-being levels was achieved. |
| 06.12.2007 | Read more |
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| Hanging on the Telephone A summary report on the effectiveness of call centres as evidenced by the Citizens Advice Bueaux in the Uk |
| 10.10.2007 | Read more |
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Data protection problems - and solutions
Protecting sensitive data can be precarious when you don’t know what you should be targeting, let alone where you start. David Taylor, vice president of data security strategies at enterprise data security management company Protegrity, looks at the main problems firms face and what they can do about them. |
| 08.10.2007 | Read more |
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| How businesses can reduce identity fraud A report published by Experian reveals that many businesses are still in the dark ages when it comes to making sure customers are who they say they are. |
| 14.08.2007 | Read more |
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| Preparing for the Ofcom changes to 0870 numbers Thanks to Media Hawk (www.mediahawk.co.uk )for this one. |
| 01.08.2007 | Read more |
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| HSE advice regarding call centre working practices The aim of this document from the Health and Safety Executive is to help all call centre industry stakeholders interpret the relevant regulations and guidance within the context of call centre working practices in order to protect the health and safety of those employed in the industry. |
| 25.07.2007 | Read more |
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| Managing remote call centre agents: 14 best practices Many organizations are embracing the concept of remote call center agents, but the most significant concern is how to manage these agents without personal contact from the call center supervisor. In her latest column, Donna Fluss outlines best practices for hiring and managing remote staff in the call center. |
| 04.07.2007 | Read more |
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| An evaluation of work design and well-being. RR169 - Psychosocial risk factors in call centres: An evaluation of work design and well-being. Download it at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrhtm/rr169.htm |
| 18.06.2007 | Read more |
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China's Burgeoning Call Centre Industry After more than ten years of rapid development, China's call centre industry has become one of the largest and most dynamic developing markets in the world.
By Mr. Wang Houdong 02/02/2007 |
| 18.06.2007 | Read more |
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| Ask yourself these fundamental questions - Part 2 Our thanks to Keith Dawson at Call Center Magazine for this. |
| 04.05.2007 | Read more |
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IVR - Ten Top Tips and a Gold Standard The gethuman standards have been designed with simplicity and directness so as to eliminate ambiguity and enable testing and certification. There may be more than one way to accomplish each, but the result must be as follows:
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| 03.05.2007 | Read more |
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| Constabulary - Beyond the Call Beyond the Call is the very latest research into police contact management and contains best practice and recommendations. |
| 02.05.2007 | Read more |
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| Linking call monitoring to customer satisfaction The key to call centre success is achieving both efficiency and effectiveness. But getting this balance right is can be costly and doesn’t always work. Oscar Alban, Principal, Global Marketing Consultant, Witness Systems offers some advice |
| 30.04.2007 | Read more |
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Customer and Churn Rates Return on Customer and Churn Rates by Scott MacStravic. PhD
The fact that customer churn is a bad thing for firms is widely known. Given the high costs of acquiring new customers in the first place, compared to the far lower costs of retaining them, investments in CRM that yield longer customer lifetimes usually pay off handsomely. The mathematics of this reality are rather elegant and demonstrate both the significant impact of reducing churn rates, and the diminishing returns of doing so.
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| 18.01.2007 | Read more |
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| How to introduce professional qualifications in to your contact centre Agents + professional qualifications = more capable, customer-oriented staff. It's not a difficult equation. And, what's more, there are six simple steps you can take to introduce these professional qualifications in to your business and implement them effectively. Here, Natalie Calvert, managing director of the consultancy Calcom Group, puts it all in basic terms |
| 15.01.2007 | Read more |
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| Computer says no - to bad service New research points to people as the key to a brighter future for UK contact centres |
| 09.01.2007 | Read more |
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| Contact Centres under threat? Thanks to GREG LEVIN the Creative Projects Specialist for ICMI for this entirely humorous piece. |
| 21.12.2006 | Read more |
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Business Performance Management It synchronizes the objectives of the executive suite with contact center management goals and provides tools, processes and a framework for sharing time-sensitive and critical customer information with the rest of the company. And, it achieves these pivotal goals while improving agent productivity and satisfaction.
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| 11.12.2006 | Read more |
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| Can the 'dress code' damage the brand? The recent case of a small religious icon the size of a 5p piece was nearly big enough to damage the reputation and share price of one of this country’s premiere institutions and world leading brands. Fiona Mckay, Head of Seminars for MJL, the UK's leading Health and Safety and Human Resources consultancies, discusses the issues. |
| 11.12.2006 | Read more |
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Release your inner sparkle Thanks to Hannah Lovegrove (www.orangetreeyoga.com) who has devised this four minute sequence offering help for the desk-bound!
She says: “The sequence will tone and strengthen your arms, refresh your brain and improve your lung function and digestion. Repeat two or three times a day whenever you need a lift”.
* If possible, have a watch with second and minute hands so that you can check the length of the holds until you are familiar with the sequence.
*The sequence involves some deep breathing but it’s important to breathe normally between stretches to allow your diaphragm to relax and avoid hyperventilation.
*It’s designed to be done seated on an office chair or a low backed chair without arms.
*Make sure your feet are well planted on the floor; if they don’t reach put them on one or two thick books. |
| 04.12.2006 | Read more |
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Ask yourself these fundamental questions ..about how call centres operate. You must deal with any disconnect between corporate policy and call centre operations. Unless someone in the call centre points out that disconnect, the call centre itself is going to be the focal point of accountability when problems erupt into the public sphere. It's the call centre manager's butt that's on the line when an overzealous rep meets a super empowered customer. It's the call centre’s interaction that gets recorded, either by your monitoring system or by the customer himself.
This implies that you as call centre professional have the tools at your disposal to diagnose these impending problems. And as the custodian of the customer experience within the organisation, it's on the call centre manager to alert corporate management to the dangers their policies are causing to customer experience and to brand management. |
| 01.12.2006 | Read more |
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| How web chat was primed at the British Army When the British Army began investigating ways in which it could rely less on face-to-face recruitment methods in the late nineties, the growing popularity of the web made it the obvious medium to explore. |
| 24.11.2006 | Read more |
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| The Seven Deadly Sins of IVR The sales pitch for interactive voice response (IVR) is very compelling - being able to offer 24-hour service to customers without human intervention. However, a large number of IVR applications fail to work well. Jonty Pearce from Call Centre Helper(www.callcentrehelper.com) looks at seven of the greatest sins! |
| 24.11.2006 | Read more |
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| Take Your Call Centre Back To Basics These questions and recommendations are not meant to be the complete solution. They are simply suggestions to get you started moving your call centre back to the basics. |
| 14.11.2006 | Read more |
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| Call Centres - yesterday and today |
| 10.11.2006 | Read more |
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| IVR - Friend or Foe? Paul English, CTO and founder of travel search engine site Kayak.com, but best known for his headline-grabbing and consumer applauded IVR Cheat Sheet, uses his aptly titled presentation, "Rage against the Machine," to focus on customer frustration with IVRs and tips for alleviating aggravation. |
| 10.11.2006 | Read more |
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| Setting up and assessing outsourcing partnerships Thanks to Budd for this one (www.budd.uk.com).Developed by the CBI and the DTI, the Craft website provides some interesting frameworks for setting up and assessing your outsourcing partnerships. |
| 10.11.2006 | Read more |
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| New DMA regulations With new DMA regulations for silent calls and answering machine detection - Call Centre Technology (CCT) have published a brief on the new regulations. You can find further information on their website (click on Links from this website) |
| 30.10.2006 | Read more |
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Better Service Better service, lower costs and happier people: too good to be true?
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| 27.10.2006 | Read more |
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| Reinvention of workforce management (WFM) |
| 27.10.2006 | Read more |
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Six Steps to Lose Your Customers If I were to summarise these six steps into one piece of advice that advice would be to not take your customers for granted. Stay connected to your customers. Understand their wants and needs. Invest in their success. Work out how to do it better than anyone else.
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| 27.10.2006 | Read more |
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OFCOM statement on persistent offenders Ofcom published this statement in March 2006 regarding persistent misuse. It sets out its position in respect of its powers under the Communications Act 2003 to take action against companies which cause consumers, anxiety, annoyance & inconvenience as a result of persistent misuse of electronic communications networks & services. Since March, Ofcom has served Notifications on 7 companies for persistent misuse, all of which related to silent calls generated by automated dialling equipment.
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| 12.10.2006 | Read more |
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| Call Center Manager Horoscopes |
| 30.08.2006 | Read more |
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| Constabulary - First Contact Report Download the latest call handling report from HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary.This very wide ranging and thorough report will be of great interest to everyone involved in call centres in the UK and of particular interest to those of you working in the public sector. |
| 30.08.2006 | Read more |
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| Four ways to make major cost savings in the call centre (without damaging services) This article deals with waste in Call Centres and Customer Service Operations. |
| 10.05.2006 | Read more |
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| OFCOM's final silent calls verdict Telemarketing firms that harass the public will now face fines of up to £50k for every offence – a tenfold increase from previous levels. |
| 13.04.2006 | Read more |
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| Adopting Six Sigma in the call centre For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of Six Sigma just think of the quality circle concept. When applied to the call centre the aim is to increase customer satisfaction through better customer service... |
| 29.11.2005 | Read more |
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| R3 a formula for supporting differentiated service delivery sharing secrets of service delivery. A White Paper prepared by the Proctor Consultancy. |
| 29.11.2005 | Read more |
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| Working nation views from people at work. A Vodafone study. (download pdf file). |
| 29.11.2005 | Read more |
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| Call Centre to Contact Centre How to Successfully Blend Phone, Email, Web and Chat to Deliver Great Service and Slash Costs |
| 20.11.2005 | Read more |
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| Could you join the top table Investors in People (IiP) recently unveiled a new version of its standard, designed to boost an organisation's performance through staff training. But the revised framework, launched during Investors in People Week, was immediately condemned by one critic. |
| 20.11.2005 | Read more |
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| Crush those Rocks Every organisation faces increasing demands - from customers, from owners, from shareholders, from everyone. Every individual working for a firm wants the firm to improve. |
| 20.11.2005 | Read more |
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| Ergonomics Awareness The office has changed rapidly over the past 20 years and continues to evolve, taking onboard new technologies and sometimes subtly different working practices. |
| 20.11.2005 | Read more |
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| How to Optimize the Customer Experience in your Contact Centre White Paper from Pepper & Rogers. |
| 20.11.2005 | Read more |
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| Me? A Contact centre manager? You must be joking! Michael Anglin, Director of Change Management at Minerva plots the progress from agent to manager in 10 easy to follow steps! |
| 20.11.2005 | Read more |
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| Optimising workforce performance Historically, call centres have managed their workforce by reviewing performance using basic call statistics...it doesn't necessarily provide a complete approach to managing the workforce for effective service delivery. |
| 20.11.2005 | Read more |
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| Right-Channelling - Making Sure Your Best Customers Get Your Best Service All customers are not created equal. Some are more valuable to your business than others. |
| 20.11.2005 | Read more |
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| Stress or Pressure? Creating the right environment “Call handlers are asked to produce both quality and quantity, to combine strength and stamina with emotional labour to deliver one hundred and eighty seconds of ‘bubbly personality’ one hundred and twenty times a day” |
| 20.11.2005 | Read more |
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| The Role of e-Service within the Public Sector A Study of the Public’s Attitude towards e-Government. |
| 20.11.2005 | Read more |
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| Learning and Development in The Palm Of Your Hand A Personal Digital Assistant With Training ( PDA withT) is a facility which delivers real time solutions anywhere, anytime in a Contact Centre environment. |
| 04.10.2005 | Read more |
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| Principles behind effective budgeting William Gladstone, four-time prime minister of England in the mid-1800s, once said, "Budgets are not merely affairs of arithmetic but, in a thousand ways, go to the root of prosperity of individuals, the relation of classes and the strength of kingdoms." Was he stretching the point? I don’t think so. |
| 30.11.2004 | Read more |
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