Let’s get the rant part of this blog out of the way right up front: I am not a fan of Net Promoter Score (NPS®)1 for the contact center. No hidden agenda here. I am tired of the topic coming up and wish it would go away. But I will continue to engage in thoughtful… Read More »
My campaign to get everyone to fix their “IVR” or front-end menus and scripts starts NOW. We have all heard the complaints – whether from customers of your specific contact center, or just from friends and family who presume you are a sympathetic ear for their most recent suffering at the hands of bad user… Read More »
Workforce Optimization (WFO) technology continues to advance. Tools such as Workforce Management (WFM) and Quality Monitoring (QM) have achieved widespread deployment. A full WFO suite delivers an array of intertwined functions to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the center, and optimize the hiring, training, performance, and development of the most valuable (and expensive) resource… Read More »
Too often, the pursuit of technology is driven by speed and constrained by resources. Experience shows this to be a bad combination.Technology success demands careful implementation planning as well as effective technology monitoring and support. Implementation and Testing Getting implementation right takes time, well-structured plans, and commitment from the contact center, IT, vendors and/or their partners…. Read More »
Change seems to be reaching new heights. Additions, consolidation, and moves affects the number of sites. Companies add outsourcers, use existing outsourcers in new ways, or move outsourced activity in-house. Then there is the whole merger and acquisition scramble which can set everyone on edge, whether it is with the vendor that supplies the technology… Read More »
Maxed out. That’s how we find many contact center leaders and their IT counterparts. Too much to do, not enough time to do it, and the urgent always trumping the important. Sound familiar? Most centers find ways to attend to their technologies’ daily demands, some of which are routine (e.g., run reports, build schedules) and… Read More »
Omni-channel is new buzz word to promote “seamless” and “integrated” customer interactions across all modes of contact. It’s not a new concept. For years, it’s what people intended for “multi-channel customer contact.” They just haven’t been able to achieve it. So to make old things new again, the market has a new word. Unfortunately, changing… Read More »
Momentum and excitement builds around new contact center technology as you make a vendor and product selection and set forth on your journey with exciting possibilities ahead. Unfortunately, a variety of implementation challenges can arise that knock the wind out of your sails. To optimize results, invest the time up front to plan and prepare…. Read More »
While contact centers and their IT departments have plenty of demands on their all too limited time, consumer information protection, and data security needs to get on the radar. The Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standards (DSS) provides a set of technical and operational requirements that applies to anyone who “stores, processes, and/or transmits”… Read More »
Even though the contact center industry has been around for decades, it’s still hard to define, manage, and meet Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Beyond the fundamentals – e.g., total contacts, service levels, abandons, handle times, et al – management is concerned about: First Contact Resolution Business Outcomes (sales, saves, conversions, etc.) Cost per X (contact,… Read More »