Where will your next job take you? It may be to the USA or South America – Perhaps it’s the Middle East or South Africa? Wouldn’t you like to hold a professional credential that demonstrates your high calibre contact centre leadership and is recognised around the world? The CCMA has teamed up with the Call Centre Industry Advisory Council to bring CIAC Certification to the UK for the first time.

Established in 2000, CIAC is a non-profit organisation that exists to support the long-term prosperity of contact centres. Founded on the premise that people are the foundation of business success, CIAC's mission is to promote excellence and professionalism in contact centres through highly effective leaders and managers and a committed, skilled workforce.

A global organisation, CIAC's work is focused on:

  • Cultivating high-calibre contact centre leadership and management through industry-competency standards and formal credentialing. CIAC Certification is fostering a new breed of contact centre leaders and managers that demonstrate the centre’s value to maximizing customer relationships and company profitability.
  • Workforce development initiatives that promote contact centres as a career destination. CIAC's work is helping to attract and retain a more qualified contact centre workforce with a career commitment.
  • Helping organizations embrace the correlation between high value human capital and business outcomes. By promoting a culture that develops and rewards exceptional performance, CIAC is driving a commitment to excellence in companies worldwide.

CIAC is not a membership organization or professional association. It is an industry, non-partisan organization with the charge to inspire and empower contact centre people and organizations to excel.

In 1998 CIAC was a volunteer-based coalition of contact and support centre practitioners and industry representatives who came together around the cause of assuring the long-term prosperity of contact centres. In year 2000 CIAC was incorporated as a non-profit organization with the charge to advance the performance of contact centres through more qualified and capable leadership and management.

Over a 2.5 year period, CIAC worked with contact centre executives, practitioners, training providers, and other representatives to develop competency standards and certification criteria. In mid-year 2003, CIAC introduced the first competency-based, professional certification for contact centre executives and managers. Under CIAC's non-partisan guidance and governance, CIAC Certification is rapidly becoming the recognized contact centre 'Credential of Leadership Excellence'.

With industry certification as the stating point, today CIAC works with organizations around leadership development and maximizing the full potential of their contact centre human capital. As a result of its experience working with organizations around the world, CIAC stands on the premise that a contact centre’s performance is in direct relationship to the performance of its people – specifically, their ability to demonstrate a high level of competence on the job.

Moreover, CIAC advocates that the quality of leadership, more than any other single factor, determines the success or failure of a contact centre. This is because competent, qualified leaders and managers have the influence, capability, and commitment to assure that all things necessary to accomplish the centre’s business goals are provided. Conversely, if the centre is not succeeding, neither are its people, and neither is its leadership. Excellence starts at the top. For this reason, CIAC’s primary focus for industry certification is the professionals who lead and manage contact centres.

Increasing recognition of the contact centre as the critical link between an organization and its customers is heightening awareness of the importance of contact centre leadership. Studies of the world's top performing centres show a common trait of outstanding leadership - a team of executives and managers that make a demonstrable impact on the company’s success by positively influencing the behaviour and performance of others and instilling a sense of commitment and desire to excel.

CIAC has identified the intellectual, skill, and behavioural characteristics of outstanding leaders and managers and defined these in the form of contact centre-specific competency standards. The application of these characteristics (competencies) results in outcomes indicative of:

  • Multi-disciplinary expertise that influences and contributes across the organization
  • A foremost focus on executing to accomplish business goals
  • Know-how to achieve and sustain performance that increases efficiency and profitability
  • Building toward long-term performance improvement by inspiring people to perform at their best

It takes many years of job experience to develop capability of this depth and breadth. However, today's fast growing and changing contact centre environment does not allow the luxury of time for a learning curve. Instead the competence underlying highly effective leadership and management of a contact centre must be deliberately cultivated. This is the purpose of CIAC Certification.

CIAC Certification equips contact centre leaders and managers to excel in the disciplines critical to business success. By developing and validating specialized knowledge, skills and abilities, CIAC Certification is cultivating a new breed of executives and managers who create and sustain contact centres that provide exceptional service, maximize customer value, and contribute to the success of the organization.

The first and only of its kind, industry-sanctioned CIAC Certification is the benchmark for excellent contact centre leadership and management. It is built around a framework that requires:

  • Mastery-level competence of job role responsibilities and requirements. Competency is based on industry-established knowledge, skill, and behavioural standards representative of high performance, results-based leadership and management of a contact centre. The Competency Standards are specific to the management role and applicable across all industries worldwide.
  • Formal validation of knowledge, skills, and application of expertise. The validity of the CIAC Certification Assessments is verified through ongoing comprehensive psychometric analyses that assure testing is industry relevant, universally applicable, free of bias, and non-discriminatory. CIAC Certification’s is the only standardized testing for validating the competency of contact centre professionals.
  • Recertification that promotes commitment to lifelong learning and continual improvement.

CIAC Certification is affecting a positive change in organizations around the world through a powerful validation of the contact centre’s value to customer loyalty and company profitability. Furthermore, it is influencing a corporate commitment to investing in the professional development of human capital, driven by the correlation between high performance people and business success. Equally important, CIAC Certification is raising the stature of contact centres and legitimizing contact centre careers. By establishing the competence needed for job success and advancement and defining a career path, CIAC Certification is attracting more skilled and motivated professionals to contact centre jobs.

CIAC Certification Professional Designations are based on job roles versus titles:

  • CIAC-Certified Strategic Leader (CCSL) – The CCSL designation is applicable to senior executives who are responsible for leadership and strategic management of a contact centre.
  • CIAC-Certified Operations Manager (CCOM) – The CCOM designation is applicable to managers who are responsible for day-to-day operations of the contact centre.
  • CIAC-Certified Management Apprentice (CCMA) – The CCMA designation is applicable to individuals who are starting a career in contact centre management. It is also applicable to contact centre supervisors for advancing into a contact centre operational management role.
  • CIAC-Certified Management Consultant (CCMC) – The CCMC designation is applicable to contact centre consultants and/or training professionals.

The Leadership and Management Standards represent mastery-level competence for leadership and management of a contact centre. The standards are specific to the management role and cover all strategic and operational requirements and responsibilities of the job. The standards are broad in definition and scope for worldwide applicability and to accommodate country-specific requirements. The breadth of the standards provides for international employment mobility, a necessity in today's increasingly global contact centre industry. The standards cover four domains of competence specific to the contact centre environment:

  • Managing People
  • Managing Operations
  • Managing Relationships
  • Leadership & Business Knowledge

Definition of the standards was facilitated by CIAC working with industrial psychologists/ competency modelling specialists and a broadly representative group of contact centre practitioners, training professionals, and consultants from around the world. The standards are modelled to drive results-based outcomes and in depth conceptual and practical comprehension and application of all aspects of contact centre business, strategy, operations, leadership, and management. The development process included research of other standards and extensive profiling to identify job role responsibilities, requirements, and outcomes indicative of superior performance. Evaluation and validation of the standards were conducted at each phase by rigorous psychometric analyses. Final validation included worldwide industry review and approval. CIAC conducts ongoing analysis of the competency standards to assure industry-relevance and currency.

The CIAC Certification Assessments test knowledge and skill comprehension and application of contact centre professionals against industry competency standards in four domains:

  • Managing People
  • Managing Operations
  • Managing Relationships
  • Leadership and Business Knowledge

Conceptual and practical comprehension of knowledge and skill is assessed with four (4) scenario-based assessments that correspond to the competency domains. Professionals pursuing certification as a CIAC-Certified Strategic Leader and CIAC-Certified Operations Manager also complete a Work Product to demonstrate application of expertise on the job and a 360° Review to assess behavioural characteristics. The Work Product is completed after the knowledge assessments. The 360° Review can be completed at any time in the certification process; many organizations prefer to begin with the 360° Review. Certification Assessment Results and Status Assessment scores and 360° Review feedback are provided directly to candidates. Candidate records are confidential and released to other parties upon a candidate's written authorization.

  • CIAC promotes that industry certification is to be used for professional development purposes only.
  • CIAC provides assessment results to candidates. Candidates are responsible to share test results with their manager(s).

Assessment Scoring CIAC understands the importance of accurate testing results. The knowledge assessments are computer-scored and have one correct answer. Subject matter experts score the Work Product using a validated instrument. 360° Reviews are computer-scored, providing totals and mean values for each competency domain.

Communicating Assessment Results Scores for the knowledge assessment are sent to the postal or email address specified by candidates within four (4) hours of testing completion. Scoring notification is "PASS or FAIL".

Certificates of Completion Candidates receive a “Certificate of Completion” upon successful completion of each knowledge assessment.

Awarding of CIAC Certification Professional Credential Upon completion of all certification requirements, CIAC awards the applicable professional credential. Recertification is required every three years to maintain an active credential.

CIAC Certified Strategic Leader (CCSL) - The CIAC-Certified Strategic Leader designation requires a minimum of one to three years of experience in a role that is responsible for leading a contact centre in a strategic capacity. Candidates complete four knowledge assessments, a Work Product, and a 360° Review. Completion of the Work Product and 360° Review assessments require current employment in a centre. Persons with the required experience that are presently not employed in a centre can start the certification process; however, completion requires employment in a centre. A minimum score of seventy five percent (75%) is required on each of the four knowledge assessments and the Work Product. A mean score of 3.0 (on a scale of 0 - 5) is required in each competency area of the 360° Review with a 3.5 overall score requirement. All testing must be completed within two years from the date the first assessment is completed.

CIAC Certified Operations Manager (CCOM) - The CIAC-Certified Operations Manager designation requires a minimum of one to three years of experience in a role responsible for the operational management of a centre. Candidates complete four knowledge assessments, a Work Product, and a 360° Review. Completion of the Work Product and 360° Review require employment in a centre. Persons with the required experience that are presently not employed in a centre can start the certification process; however, completion requires employment in a centre. A minimum score of seventy five percent (75%) is required on each of the four knowledge assessments and the Work Product. A mean score of 3.0 (on a scale of 0 - 5) is required in each competency area of the 360° Review with a 3.5 overall score requirement. All testing must be completed within two years from the date the first assessment is completed.

CIAC Certified Management Apprentice (CCMA) - The CIAC-Certified Management Apprentice designation requires candidates to complete four knowledge assessments. A minimum score of seventy percent (70%) is required on each assessment. This designation does not complete a Work Product or 360° Review. All testing must be completed within two years from the date the first assessment is completed.

CIAC Certified Management Consultant (CCMC) – The CIAC-Certified Management Consultant designation requires candidates to complete four knowledge assessments. A minimum score of seventy percent (75%) is required on each assessment. This designation does not complete a Work Product or 360° Review. All testing must be completed within two years from the date the first assessment is completed.

Work Product Overview

Candidates for CIAC Certification as a Strategic Leader and Operations Manager complete a Work Product to assess the application of required knowledge and skills on the job. The Work Product also validates ‘transfer of learning’, i.e., proof that candidates can effectively apply the subject matter knowledge and skills.

The Work Product is completed at the workplace following completion of the four knowledge assessments. Six weeks (30 workdays) are allowed for its completion. Before submittal to CIAC, it is required for the candidate’s superior to review and approve the Work Product.

Work Product for CIAC-Certified Strategic Leader (CCSL)

Subject matter areas addressed in the Work Product for the Strategic Leader designation include (not all inclusive):

  • Alignment of Centre Objectives with Corporate Business Goals
  • Employee Retention Strategies
  • Professional Development and Training Strategies
  • Career Path and Succession Planning
  • Technology Alignment with Business Objectives
  • "Voice of the Customer"
  • Service Level Agreements
  • Facilities Management
  • Disaster Recovery and Contingency Planning
  • Performance Metrics and Performance Improvement Strategies

Work Product for CIAC-Certified Operations Management (CCOM)

Subject matter areas addressed in the Work Product for the Operations Manager designation include (not all inclusive):

  • Managing To Achieve Business Goals
  • Contact Centre Organizational Structure and Rationale
  • Key Performance Indicators
  • Performance Metrics and Performance Improvement Tactics
  • The Centre’s Communications Plan
  • “Voice of the Customer"
  • Service Level Goals; Maintaining Service Level

360° Review Overview

Professionals pursuing certification as a CIAC-Certified Strategic Leader (CCSL) and CIAC-Certified Operations Manager (CCOM) complete a 360° Review. The 360° Review assesses the candidate’s demonstration of behavioural characteristics identified as essential for high performance contact centre leaders and managers. The behavioural competencies are contact centre specific and apply to the job role. Candidates receive a report with detailed feedback on the outcome of their 360° Review.

The 360° Review is based on an analysis of responses to an online questionnaire that is completed by the candidate (self) and selected ‘raters’, i.e., manager, direct reports, and peers, including cross-functional peers for the CCSL designation.

The 360° Review can be completed at any time in the certification process. Companies often elect to complete it first because of the resulting insights. To initiate the 360° Review, candidates select raters based on pre-defined criteria. For the CCOM designation, raters in addition to self include the candidate’s manager and up to five direct reports and five peers. For the CCSL designation, up to five cross-functional peers are also selected. A higher number of raters in each group results in a better overall evaluation outcome. Additionally, it is important that selected raters are willing participants and commit to timely completion of the questionnaire. Fifteen (15) workdays are allowed for completion of the 360° Review process.

Raters evaluate the candidate’s consistent on-the-job demonstration of behaviours across the following seven categories:

  • Goal Oriented Characteristics - Achievement, Initiative, Concern for Continuous Improvement
  • Helping/Service Characteristics - Customer Service, Interpersonal Understanding
  • Leading Others Characteristics - Team Leadership, Developing Others Thinking
  • Problem Solving Characteristics - Analytical/Problem Solving, Decisiveness
  • Innovation And Change Characteristics - Creativity and Innovation, Change Management, Risk Taking
  • Communication Characteristics - Communicating Effectively, Influencing, Negotiating, Organizational Awareness
  • Personal Effectiveness Characteristics  

Raters describe the candidate with respect to each behavioural competency and sub-competency category according to the below ratings. It is essential raters provide honest, straightforward feedback on the candidate’s demonstrated behavioural characteristics in order for the candidate to gain accurate insight into how others perceive his/her behavioural performance.

1 = Not at all well (Rarely, if ever, true of this person)
2 = Not very well (Seldom true of this person)
3 = Moderately well (Sometimes true of this person)
4 = Very well (Often true of this person)
5 = Extremely well (Almost always true of this person)
N/E = No evidence (Unable to rate this person)

Following completion and submittal of the 360° Review questionnaire, the resulting information is compiled into a feedback report that is provided to the candidate. This report reflects aggregate averages for each rater group, with the exception of self and manager. Summary information as shown in the below Illustration A is reported in addition to detailed ratings for each competency area, including strengths, development needs, and areas where the candidate is perceived to be above or below CIAC Certification 360° Review requirements.

The final outcome of the 360° Review is a point-in-time reflection of the raters’ perceptions of the candidate as determined from the evaluation criteria. Candidates often find they see themselves very different from how others perceive them. CIAC encourages the collective feedback be used in a constructive manner to examine differences and explore how and why such differences in perceptions exist. To avoid potential issues, individual direct report and peer ratings are kept confidential. The insights gained from the 360° Review empowers the candidate to make significant advancements to better communications and relationships, internal and external, to his/her business unit. The desired end result is that the candidate benefits from the 360° Review outcome in the spirit of identifying areas of concentration for self-improvement, professional development, and career enhancement.

The CIAC Certification 360° Review parameters require that candidates meet two criteria: 1) a score of 3.0 or above on all ‘Behavioural Clusters’; and 2) an average score across all seven ‘Behavioural Clusters’ of 3.5 or higher. If the required scores are not achieved, candidates are required to complete and submit a Professional Development Plan that specifies how areas of concern will be corrected. Additionally, candidates are required to complete a follow-up 360° Review within twelve months from completion of the original.

The 360° Review is a value-added feature of CIAC Certification and consistently proves to be highly regarded by candidates and their organizations. Validation of a candidate’s behavioural traits along with validation of knowledge and skills is a fully encompassing indicator of competence.

CIAC-Certified Professionals are required to recertify every three years to maintain an active credential. Recertification is achieved through successful completion of a (one) Master Knowledge Assessment . It is necessary that recertification is completed prior to expiration of the current certification. Recertification assures competency currency and demonstrates commitment to continual learning and improvement. To further assist this, CIAC-Certified Professionals are encouraged to participate in ongoing professional development activities. These activities encompass a wide spectrum of formal and informal educational and professional experiences including continuing education and training, publications, presentations, and teaching.

This letter was written to address how CIAC Certification differs from contact centre certification. Names and other identifying information have been removed to protect the organization’s privacy.

Dear Mr. Smith:

We are pleased to engage the CIAC Certification process for Company’s contact centre leadership and management team. We applaud your organization’s recognition of the important role of these professionals and the correlation between their effectiveness and company performance. To create a best-of-class centre requires leaders and managers with the capability to achieve and sustain top performance. This is the calibre of leadership that CIAC Certification cultivates. By developing and validating mastery-level competency of job role requirements, CIAC Certification will equip Company’s leaders and managers with specialized expertise to operate a centre that consistently delivers superior service and business results.

John Doe has requested that I address CIAC Certification in comparison to site/ centre certification. The first distinction is that CIAC Certification is administered and governed by an industry non-profit, non-partisan body. CIAC exists to support the success of contact centres as opposed to for profit. CIAC Certification is for a different purpose than is site/centre certification – its focus is on building and validating the competence of contact centre professionals. While CIAC Certification does not directly compete with site/centre certification (in purpose), it may at times compete for budget dollars. CIAC uses these opportunities to help corporate decision-makers keep the ‘cart behind the horse’. A contact centre is a seamless execution of people, technology, and processes; however, the centre’s performance is most influenced by the capability of its people. Competent people are what enable a centre to achieve and sustain top operational performance. Developing the competence of the centre’s leadership and people comes first as this will result in operational performance worthy of site certification. With this understanding we now see that CIAC Certification enables and supports contact centre site certification and quality programs like Six Sigma.

To further clarify the point we often pose the question: "Would you go to a hospital that is certified but its doctors are not licensed or would you travel on an airplane that has been certified mechanically sound but its pilots aren't licensed?" The issue is not a choice of professional certification or centre certification, rather realizing that the journey to service excellence starts with people.

We look forward to working with your organization.

Fredia Barry, President
Call Centre Industry Advisory Council