| Google Chrome announced Chrome was announced last week and immediately took 1% market share in the web browser space. It's an obvious challenge to Microsoft, as Google attempts to expanding from search and integrating an already diversified lineup of web-based applications into the browser as a platform.? |
| Read more | Posted: 11.09.2008 |
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| Royal Mail improves customer service with intelligent web self-service system. As part of its drive to increase self-service, the Royal Mail is delivering enhanced online customer service through ‘Ask Sarah’ |
| Read more | Posted: 08.08.2008 |
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| Worldwide Call Centre Agent Certification CIAC Launches Worldwide CSR Certification Pilot |
| Read more | Posted: 06.08.2008 |
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| BT - 21st Century Life Index Report A major survey carried out by Ipsos MORI and commissioned by BT reveals that the technological advances people hoped for ten years ago have become the reality today and that we are already living in the technological utopia envisaged in 1998. |
| Read more | Posted: 05.08.2008 |
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| FSA - Treating Customers Fairly ? The June report from the FSA on TCF, Treating Customers Fairly, makes dark reading with only 13% of companies making the March deadline on MI. And optimistically with "very substantial effort", only 80% likely to make the December deadline on embedding behaviours. |
| Read more | Posted: 01.08.2008 |
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| Is offshore voice dead? There's been a lot of talk amongst our clients in the UK and overseas about India and the use of voice. Is it dead because customers don't like it or because it's hard to make work? Should we be bringing it back onshore, moving to newer destinations? |
| Read more | Posted: 01.08.2008 |
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| CCF Conference Hear from Sky, YouGov, O2, Tesco, & Lego at the annual CCF Conference |
| Read more | Posted: 31.07.2008 |
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Poor audio quality says YouGov According to a recent YouGov survey 69% of contact centre agents had experienced hearing issues. While 75% of these agents had experienced problems with customers using mobile phones, more worryingly 59% had problems with a noisy contact centre and 55% had headset or handset issues.
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| Read more | Posted: 31.07.2008 |
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| Customer Service Excellence - The Government Standard The Government wants public services for all that are efficient, effective, excellent, equitable and empowering – with the citizen always and everywhere at the heart of public service provision. With this in mind Customer Service Excellence was developed to offer public services a practical tool for driving customer-focused change within their organisation. |
| Read more | Posted: 10.07.2008 |
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UK Call Centre 2008 Report The UK now has 6,255 call centres and another 170 are forecast to open by the end of the year – an increase of three per cent. And at present there are 586,300 agent positions, equal to about 950,000 staff members, a rise of four per cent.
These numbers are from a detailed 79-page study, UK Call Centres Market Development 2008 (see end of article), by Market and Business Development (MBD), which forecasts an increase of two per cent in the number of call centres next year.
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| Read more | Posted: 30.06.2008 |
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| 10th anniversary for Europe’s No 1 Call Centre Event Call Centre Expo celebrates its tenth anniversary this year at the NEC, Birmingham alongside its now permanent neighbour, Customer Management Expo, following the success of their co-location in 2007. |
| Read more | Posted: 26.06.2008 |
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Customer focused - Police contact centres The first survey that measures how the police service in England and Wales conducts and manages contact with the public has been launched by Police Minister Tony McNulty.
The National Benchmarking Exercise 2008 report compares contact with the public to how it is handled by other public sector and private businesses. |
| Read more | Posted: 19.06.2008 |
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Over 50 and on the scrapheap? Do call centres discriminate against older workers?
How old is the oldest agent in your call centre?
Research from a wide ranging YouGov survey shows that on average only 10% of call centre agents are aged over 50 or more. |
| Read more | Posted: 19.06.2008 |
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| MBE for CCMA Board member! Congratulations go to Pauline Smith, long time CCMA Board member and Assistant Director at Staffordshire Police for being awarded an MBE in the Queens Birthday Honours today. |
| Read more | Posted: 14.06.2008 |
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| The evolution of the contact centre worker Independent research commissioned by Siemens dials in on the much-maligned contact centre operative; unique insight proves that traditional stereotype doesn't ring true. |
| Read more | Posted: 13.06.2008 |
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| Orange returns from India Orange's passage to India is on hold after new CEO Tom Alexander has outlined plans for the mobile operator to hire 500 new customer care staff in the UK while also cutting 450 jobs in administration, management and support functions. |
| Read more | Posted: 12.06.2008 |
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Police 'pleasantly surprised' by phone review Merchant’s review of police phone services, released yesterday, was well received by the UK police force community, in spite of media reports to the contrary.
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| Read more | Posted: 06.06.2008 |
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| New regulations to protect UK customers A new consumer protection legal weapon has come into force this week aimed at cracking down on unscrupulous companies who either mislead customers or use aggressive sales tactics. |
| Read more | Posted: 30.05.2008 |
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Global Contact Centre Benchmarking Report Ten years on, and still not listening.
A study conducted into the £66 billion global contact centre industry has revealed that customers are waiting longer than they were ten years ago to have their phone calls answered by contact centre agents. |
| Read more | Posted: 29.05.2008 |
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| Blogs let customers see through the spin 2 ears, 1 mouth - Honesty is the only way now blogs let customers see through the spin |
| Read more | Posted: 28.05.2008 |
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| The winners of the ECCCO Awards 2008 Six outstanding European companies were honoured with the 2008 ECCCO Awards for excellent customer service by the European Confederation of Contact Centre Organisations (ECCCO) yesterday: |
| Read more | Posted: 25.04.2008 |
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| IAIN BANKS SCOOPS TOP CALL CENTRE AWARD At the Annual Awards dinner held by the Call Centre Management Association the top award went to Iain Banks who heads up the Samsung account at Sykes Global in Edinburgh. |
| Read more | Posted: 25.04.2008 |
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| Making difficult jobs less stressful. Workplace stress can be reduced by making it easier for people to do difficult jobs, according to Professor Coulson-Thomas, chairman of cotoco limited and Professor of Leadership and Direction at the University of Lincoln |
| Read more | Posted: 27.03.2008 |
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| Customer Service Excellence standard Cabinet Office Minister for Transformational Government Tom Watson MP recently launched the new Customer Service Excellence (CSE) standard – a practical tool to support and drive public services that are more responsive to people's needs. |
| Read more | Posted: 26.03.2008 |
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| People management pays, says independent study New practical framework will help any employer make improvements and measure impact.A new report delivers the most compelling evidence to date of the link between effective people management and business success. The two-year study suggests that organisations with a comprehensive approach to people management perform better than those without, indicated by higher profits per employee, higher profit margins and higher productivity. It also identifies 12 core measures that any organisation can track to assess the impact of their people management practices on business performance.. |
| Read more | Posted: 24.03.2008 |
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| Top five global call centre outsourcers revealed Research from Datamonitor critically assessed nine global contact centre outsourcers across three dimensions, including client satisfaction, services and technologies assessment and market impact. |
| Read more | Posted: 14.03.2008 |
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| Cutting Edge: Phone Rage Thanks to Times Online reviewer Tim Teeman for this piece on the Cutting Edge programme shown on Channel 4 on the 6th March 2008 |
| Read more | Posted: 07.03.2008 |
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| Verbal Abuse Guide launched A digital phone rage guide aimed at halting verbal abuse at work has been launched by the Scottish Government as part of its Violence At Work campaign. |
| Read more | Posted: 28.02.2008 |
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| Are you being served? A recent report from national charity Citizens Advice reveals that gas, electricity and telecoms companies are still failing on customer service as the charity calls on companies to improve practices. |
| Read more | Posted: 14.02.2008 |
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| Racial discrimination case A British worker of Indian descent was sent home from a work trip to India because his boss in India said his accent was "not English enough" according to the Times. |
| Read more | Posted: 07.12.2007 |
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| Payment Card Industry - Data Security Standard On 1st January 2008, the credit card industry will introduce a new standard for contact centres known as PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry - Data Security Standard) to determine how credit card details are processed. Many contact centre managers however, are still not aware of what these new standards entail. |
| Read more | Posted: 06.12.2007 |
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| Unfeeling female bosses fail to win over staff Female managers who are seen as unkind, insensitive and unaware of other’s feelings are judged as worse bosses because of it – but men who exhibit the same qualities aren’t. |
| Read more | Posted: 23.11.2007 |
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| Barclays wins first ever health, work and wellbeing award Northwich-based Barclays Commercial Bank, Customer Servicing has won the inaugural Health, Work & Well Being Award category at this year's National Business Awards, sponsored by Orange. |
| Read more | Posted: 16.11.2007 |
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HSE issues Crown Censure
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) called HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to a Crown Censure Monday 22nd October 2007, for failure to comply with a Crown Improvement Notice and failure to ensure reasonable thermal comfort in a call centre in Bathgate, West Lothian. |
| Read more | Posted: 15.11.2007 |
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| Who will be the top 50 UK Call Centres? CMP Information announces the launch of the first ever ‘Top 50 Call Centres For Customer Service’ - an exciting new initiative designed by CCF magazine looking to tackle the poor public perception the industry often faces. |
| Read more | Posted: 15.11.2007 |
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| Flexible working regulation changes On 1 October 2007, the DTI will be making some minor technical changes to the flexible working regulations. These concern the definition of employees who are eligible to make a request for flexible working in order to care for a child. |
| Read more | Posted: 28.09.2007 |
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UK enquiry urges businesses to consider needs of vulnerable customers Companies must no longer ignore their responsibilities to vulnerable customers, concludes a parliamentary inquiry
The inquiry report from the All Party Parliamentary Group on Corporate Responsibility calls for companies to identify their vulnerable customers and take measures to meet their needs running throughout the company’s operations, marketing and product design. |
| Read more | Posted: 31.08.2007 |
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| CCMA investigates “Behavioural Profiling” Recruiting the right staff to provide exceptional customer service and then holding on to them has a long been high on the list of issues to resolve in the Call Centre world. |
| Read more | Posted: 15.08.2007 |
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| 'Sound Safety' E-learning course The CCMA (UK) is proud to announce the launch of the brand new and unique 'Sound Safety' E-learning course for telephony operatives. |
| Read more | Posted: 15.08.2007 |
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| Leave for Parents Thanks to Peter Done, Managing Director at Peninsula for this update which appeared in the Sunday Times on the 5th August 2007 and is given without legal responsibility: |
| Read more | Posted: 06.08.2007 |
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Sex and the Powerpoint Thanks to Carol Midgley and the Times for this piece!
Prepare to be startled by the next sentence.More than 60 per cent of business executives think about sex while listening to boring presentations. Shocking, eh? |
| Read more | Posted: 30.07.2007 |
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| The true impact of direct marketing A new report from the Future Foundation has revealed that the direct marketing industry impacts on the UK economy to the tune of £43.7billion. The industry has also seen a 9.5 per cent growth in employment since 2004, rising to 886,000 — 3.1 per cent of total UK employment. |
| Read more | Posted: 27.07.2007 |
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Real world challenges of Workforce Optimisation Real world challenges of Workforce Optimisation highlighted in Sabio Industry Panel Debate
Industry Panel Debate chaired by CCMA’s Ann-Marie Stagg shares WFO best practices and identifies key lessons learnt |
| Read more | Posted: 26.07.2007 |
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Nature of outbound is changing, Nature of outbound is changing, says Protocall One
The results of the systems integrators, ProtoCall One survey on silent calls have been revealed, just over a year after Ofcom published a new policy on persistent misuse of outbound diallers. |
| Read more | Posted: 02.07.2007 |
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Chey Garland awarded CBE
Our congratulations go to Chey Garland, Founder and Chief Executive of Garlands Call Centres, who has been awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List 2007. Ms Garland was given the award for services to Business in the North East.
Commenting on the award of the CBE, Chey said "I'm absolutely thrilled.
I've derived enormous pleasure from what we have achieved at Garlands Call Centres, and owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the fabulous people that have helped me build the company to where it is today."
Chey Garland leads an award-winning outsourced customer contact business with an annual turnover that's expected to top £50 million in the year to 31st October 2007.
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| Public Sector Contact Centres Council The Delivery Council has responsibility for customer contact across government. In the mid- to long- term the Council will focus on setting and implementing the strategy for delivering modern customer contact for public services. |
| Read more | Posted: 20.06.2007 |
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| 101 ways to improve customer service Written by independent consultant Keith Gait, it is a must read for everyone who manages customer facing staff, or works with the public. |
| Read more | Posted: 08.06.2007 |
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Fun or not? Poking fun at colleagues might be socially acceptable but could lead to claims of harassment
It is reported that approximately 81 per cent of HR professionals believe that society thinks it is acceptable to tease people about having ginger hair. 72 per cent think that it's alright to rib someone if they're follically challenged. |
| Read more | Posted: 08.06.2007 |
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Global Forum update WORLD'S FIRST CONTACT CENTRE GLOBAL FORUM ATTRACTS DELEGATES FROM 41 COUNTRIES.
Find out who was there and what they thought. Email Christina@ictcomms.com for the 2007 report and news of 2008.
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| Read more | Posted: 01.06.2007 |
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| The 21st century call centre employee comes of age as work exceeds expectation UK call centres are currently thriving,characterised by satisfied and committed workers, according to the Adecco Call Centre Census 2007. |
| Read more | Posted: 31.05.2007 |
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| Global Industry Co-operation The presidents of more than 30 contact centre industry associations, representing 40 countries, have committed to consolidated action to raise industry professionalism and performance standards. Meeting during the world's first Contact Centre Global Forum in Cannes, France, last week |
| Read more | Posted: 04.05.2007 |
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| How Did Carnival UK Become The UK's Best Contact Centre Workplace? At the CCMA awards event this week Carnival UK was awarded the first ever CCMA "Best Contact Centre Workplace"......find out how they did it and how YOU can too! |
| Read more | Posted: 30.04.2007 |
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| Listen and learn when dealing with complaints A new survey by YouGov has revealed that more than two thirds of people have made a complaint about customer service in the past year. |
| Read more | Posted: 13.04.2007 |
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| Call centres get thumbs down Satisfaction with call centres as a whole has fallen from 82 percent in 2006 to 68.3 percent this year, according to a new study from Dimension Data which surveyed 403 centres in 42 countries,with those run by internet service providers and telephone companies doing worst. |
| Read more | Posted: 22.03.2007 |
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| Outsourcing providers are set to face tremendous challenges Contact center outsourcing vendors are struggling to adapt industry-specific solutions to both new and established clients |
| Read more | Posted: 22.03.2007 |
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| Red Noses all round! Thanks to our friends at Call Centre Focus for this one! |
| Read more | Posted: 16.03.2007 |
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| Acoustic Safety E-learning CCMA is pleased to announce the launch of its brand new and unique 'Sound Safety' e-learning course for call and contact centres. |
| Read more | Posted: 06.03.2007 |
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| Repetitive Strain Injury Today is international (RSI) day and the CCMA have teamed up with Amicus in order to help to spread the word so that we all become more aware of what it is and how to avoid it. |
| Read more | Posted: 28.02.2007 |
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| Launch of the ASP 'Sound Safety' e-learning course for call centre operatives With the support and commitment of one of the leading communications equipment brands - GN Netcom - ASP have in association with Skills Agencies, the CCMA (UK) and Atlantic Link been able to complete and launch the most advanced and cost-effective online e-learning hearing safety course available to the global call centre market today. |
| Read more | Posted: 23.02.2007 |
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| World's 1st Independent Call Centre Telephony Equipment Tests The Acoustic Safety Programme (ASP) and National Physical Laboratory (NPL) have completed Phase 1 of the World's first truly independent tests of the major call centre communications equipment brands, supported by the Dti, CCMA (UK), Industry and Unions. |
| Read more | Posted: 23.02.2007 |
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| The Global Report on Call Centre Practices Businesses these days operate in a global economy — and call centres are a prime example. And now there is a new free resource that offers fresh insight and analysis on customer management issues, and how customer contact trends and developments across the world are impacting virtually every organisation in today’s communications-driven economy. |
| Read more | Posted: 23.02.2007 |
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| Ofcom issues revised consultation on silent calls Ofcom has issued a consultation on revisions made to its silent calls regulations, following the decision to fine four companies last week. |
| Read more | Posted: 09.02.2007 |
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| Site of Blood Operators who handle 999 emergency calls may wish to consider resigning now. |
| Read more | Posted: 05.02.2007 |
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| Brits talk to call centres more than their own family One in seven Brits speak to a call centre more often than their friends or family, a new report claims. |
| Read more | Posted: 02.02.2007 |
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| Done properly CRM works! The Gartner Customer Relationship Management Summit 2007 focuses on the technology, strategies and tactics on “how to” win new customers, delight existing ones, cross sell and drive down the cost of sales and marketing! |
| Read more | Posted: 30.01.2007 |
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| Are UK call centres back in fashion? Our thanks to Insight Exec for this one (www.insightexec.com) |
| Read more | Posted: 18.01.2007 |
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| Many British workplaces resemble a marriage under stress, says report Relationships between employers and employees in many British workplaces resemble a marriage under stress, according to the CIPD. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), in a survey of 2,000 UK employees, has found that around one-third of employees (30 per cent) say they rarely or never get feedback on their performance. |
| Read more | Posted: 08.12.2006 |
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| Network your way into a new position Research by the Chartered Institute of Accountants showed that networking was a very effective way of finding a new job. Of those surveyed under 35 years of age, a quarter got a job through networking; between the ages of 35 and 50 it was half and over 50 it was above 80%. |
| Read more | Posted: 04.12.2006 |
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| Free Training Tool BACS, the company behind Direct Debit, has joined forces with John Wiley & Sons to create Direct Debit for Dummies — a free reference guide |
| Read more | Posted: 24.11.2006 |
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| Domestic issues more stressful than work Everyday domestic life is more stressful than work pressures for 68% of the nation’s workers, according to new research into the causes of stress by UK experts in workplace issues, Croner. |
| Read more | Posted: 03.11.2006 |
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| Hard skills national award launched for Call Centre Agents The UK’s first ever nationally recognised ‘hard skills’ certificate for call centre agents is now available. |
| Read more | Posted: 03.11.2006 |
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| CCMA & MITIAL launch benchmarking programme The UK Call Centre Management Association (CCMA) is launching a new benchmarking service in partnership with Mitial Research International (Mitial). |
| Read more | Posted: 02.11.2006 |
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| Another CCMA Membership benefit released! To add even more value to CCMA membership the updated Call and Contact Centre Educational Opportunities Research Report is now available.If you are not already a CCMA member then JOIN TODAY to receive this comprehensive report completely free of charge. |
| Read more | Posted: 01.11.2006 |
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| Identity fraud Identity fraud is a topic that has been in the news for a few years now and, of course, applies to any situation or opportunity a thief has to obtain an individuals personal details. |
| Read more | Posted: 31.10.2006 |
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| Stop managing for cost - manage for a great experience. In a lengthy inteview with Fortune magazine,Michael Dell the founder and Chairman of Dell had some interesting things to say about customer service... |
| Read more | Posted: 27.10.2006 |
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| The rise of the machines is here. Advanced speech technologies could soon bring the public’s frustration with call centres to an end, a report by IBM has claimed. |
| Read more | Posted: 27.10.2006 |
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| Data theft and how to prevent it The Channel 4 investigative show dispatches -- and a campaign in The Sun newspaper -- has highlighted how bank and credit data is being stolen in Indian call centres. |
| Read more | Posted: 09.10.2006 |
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| Fairtrade New research released today by the Fairtrade Foundation reveals that, despite growing support for Fairtrade in the UK, only 17 per cent of UK workers say their companies are currently serving Fairtrade products at work. |
| Read more | Posted: 06.10.2006 |
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| Channel 4 documentary on data theft This week's Channel 4 documentary on data theft in Bangalore call centres has caused a major storm with dire predictions that the offshore contact management industry might be fatally undermined in India. |
| Read more | Posted: 06.10.2006 |
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| CIAC and CCMA Partner The Call Centre Industry Advisory Council (CIAC), the global standards and certification body for customer contact professionals has named the UK-based Call Centre Management Association (CCMA) a ‘CIAC Association Partner’. |
| Read more | Posted: 02.10.2006 |
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