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Conquer the Mobile Workforce Challenge
If you've got branch employees, field workers and telecommuters who work on a variety of devices, like PCs, Macs and smartphones -- you're not alone. Your helpdesk should be equipped with the right tools to support an increasingly mobile workforce. If you're still using tools like VNC and RDP, you may be hindering both your helpdesk and the mobile employees you support.
See how easy it is to support anytime, anywhere workers with LogMeIn Rescue.
Tech Firms Jockey Ahead of Recovery
In a brutal year, technology companies responded by hunkering down and developing new products at a faster rate as they tried to wrest sales from one another. While 2010 isn't expected to be a blockbuster, consumers have shown they are still willing to spend on gadgets, at least for hot products like Apple Inc.'s iPhone and Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle. There are also signs that frozen corporate budgets are thawing-- driven by aging equipment, falling hardware prices and new offerings, notably Microsoft Corp.'s Windows 7. In addition, spending on computer hardware, software and services declined 5.2% to $3.2 trillion in 2009, according to Gartner. But the research firm expects technology spending by businesses to rise 3.3% in 2010 helped by an improving economy.
Discover Financial Services Extends IT Agreement with IBM Through 2015
IBM has announced it will provide information technology (IT) services to Discover Financial Services through 2015 as a result of an extended outsourcing agreement between the two companies. As part of the agreement, IBM will continue providing management and support for some of Discover's most critical IT operations. IBM will make investments in software, processing, and storage technologies that will result in improved operations, efficiency, reporting and compliance.
Dependable HomeTech Optimizes Workforce Management with InVision Software On Demand
Dependable HomeTech (DHT), a Canadian based provider of technology support services for residential and business customers, has selected InVision Enterprise WFM for optimizing the scheduling of its call center agents. By implementing the technology from InVision Software, a supplier of enterprise-wide workforce management (WFM) solutions, DHT aims for improving the efficiency of its disparate service departments. InVision is providing its solution on an ASP (Application Service Providing) basis meeting DHT's needs of a robust and cost-effective implementation.
Free 2 chapter sample of How to Tell Anyone Anything: Breakthrough Techniques for Handling Difficult Conversations at Work
How do you get support agents to improve their support metrics - or even shower more often? And how do you get an entire support team to buy in to performance change? The answer lies in recent behavioral science on how to coach people.
Author Rich Gallagher, a former help desk executive and communications skills expert with a track record of "turning around" support team performance, explores the new mechanics of effective coaching in his latest book How to Tell Anyone Anything: Breakthrough Techniques for Handling Difficult Conversations at Work. A top 10 career skills book in the US and top 250 bestseller in Canada, this book will teach you the real secrets behind reducing turnover, improving morale, and creating self-sustaining high performance.
As a special offer for SupportIndustry.com members, get a free two-chapter sample of How to Tell Anyone Anything by clicking here...
Contact Center Recruitment & Compensation Survey Forecasts Increase in Hiring by More Than 10 Percent in 2010
FurstPerson, a company that provides pre-employment hiring solutions to the contact center industry, announced the results of its second annual Contact Center Recruitment and Compensation Survey. Despite the rise in North American unemployment rates, the survey found that approximately 68% of contact center leaders forecasted an increase in hiring volume over the next 12 months - an increase of more than 10 percent from 2008. The survey polled leaders representing more than 100 contact centers and highlights business practices throughout the U.S. and Canada to help contact centers find, hire and keep the best talent.
The survey highlighted many noteworthy results concerning attrition. Compared to 2008, 2009 voluntary turnover was consistently lower, suggesting that contact center employees are more reluctant to leave their positions. The current economic conditions may be driving reduced voluntary attrition. Consistent with 2008, a center's attrition rate is negatively related to a center director's tenure. Additionally, the overall average cost of attrition in North American contact centers was $4,284.73 per agent which is 22% lower than 2008. Last, the most productive sourcing strategies remained the same from 2008 to 2009, including employee referrals, national job boards, company Web sites and print ads.
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US contact centers spend over $12bn each year asking customers to identify themselves
New research by ContactBabel has found that US contact centers spend $12.4bn each year simply making sure that the caller actually is who they say they are.
Research for the report has found that 59% of calls require identity verification, but that only 3% of these are dealt with entirely through automated processes, leaving the rest for contact center agents to ask security questions to callers.
One solution to this wasted time is to implement a voice verification system, which use spoken words to generate a voiceprint. A voiceprint can be compared with a previously enrolled voiceprint to verify a caller's identity. These systems are not affected by factors such as the caller having a cold, or using different types of phones, or aging.
Identity verification processes are typically based on one or more authentication factors that fall into the following generally-accepted categories:
- something you know -- e.g. password, identity number or memorable information
- something you are -- a biometric such as a finger print, retina pattern or voice print
- something you have -- a tangible object, e.g. a number-generating key fob, or the 3-digit code on some credit cards.
Combining these factors, for example, by asking the caller an answer to their secret question (thus checking the answer, as well as the veracity of the voiceprint) creates a more complex, and potentially more secure two-factor or three-factor authentication process. Increasingly, regulations require two-factor authentication processes. Financial institutions' can no longer rely simply on passwords to protect web banking services. Voice verification systems are now delivering levels of accuracy and security that have proven robust enough for use by banks and insurers.
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Survey Shows 62% of CEOs See IT Having a Key Role in Post-Recession Strategy
Sixty-two percent of CEOs recognize that IT-enabled changes will be a key element in their post-recession strategy, while only 13 percent disagree, according to a recent survey by Gartner, Inc. Preliminary results from the survey show 42 percent of business leaders are already focusing more on revenue growth than cost control.
In the third quarter of 2009, Gartner conducted a targeted web-based survey of 190 senior business executives, 81 of whom were CEOs, which probed their views and priorities for 2010 and beyond. It examined companies in the US and UK with annual revenues of more than $1 billion and specifically excluded technology service providers and government.
In 2009, CEOs initially placed cost cutting at the top of their priorities to cope with the sudden and severe recession. In 2010, the focus for 71 percent of business leaders is a return to revenue growth.
Twenty-nine percent of business leaders expect to see a return to revenue growth as their primary focus in 2010. Only 10 percent do not expect revenue growth to be their primary driver until beyond 2011.
Similarly, business leaders' investment attitude towards IT is reasonably positive. In addition to the 43 percent of respondents who will increase IT investment level, 45 percent will keep the same IT investment level, while only 13 per cent of business leaders will decrease IT investment level.
CEOs and business executives are also changing the order of their priorities in 2010. In particular, they are making customer focus the top priority for 2010, with 85 percent of respondents reporting that retaining and enhancing their existing customer bases will be their top priority next year. Also, attracting and retaining skilled talent rose to the No. 3 priority, while reducing costs has become less important, falling from the No. 1 priority in 2009 to the No. 5 priority for 2010. This latter trend is also reflected in their views on the capabilities that IT can bring to the business. They recognize IT's contribution to business performance beyond managing costs and that it has a role to play in processes, flexible working, decision making and legal support.
Although business leaders will start to drive through an economic recovery next year, very few anticipate a return to the way things worked in 2007 and certainly do not expect the pace of business to be as rapid. The survey found that CEOs and business executives expect only low business-activity growth in 2010. When asked about their expected changes in core production or service activity volumes in 2010, 20 per cent of respondents expect no change, 49 percent expect an increase, but 31 percent expect a decrease. Of those who do expect volume growth, 50 percent predict it will be less than 5 per cent and more than three quarters foresee it will be below 10 percent.
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Top 10 Best Ways To Scare Off Your Customers
Customer care is still regarded by many as a costly activity or a burden on resources. Some organizations have already recognized the importance of customer care, and a few are very advanced in its practice. But often it seems that companies just don't care enough about their customers after the sale has been made. If your company seems to be determined to lose its customers, here are 10 tongue-in-cheek tips that will most certainly help speed the process.
Full Article...
The Importance of Real-Time Data in the Contact Center
Call center technologies are making it easier than ever to capture performance data. This article looks at some of the challenges call center managers face today and the technologies that help overcome them -- and looks toward advances that help managers see performance data at the agent level to improve customer service and sales.
Full Article...
Four Ways to Motivate, Inspire and Engage Agents
Now is the time for all good managers to come to the aid of their agents. It's time to motivate, inspire and offer suggestions of confidence and sincere good ideas. There is that famous but stale old saying, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." This does not work anymore. When the going gets tough, the best managers inspire instead of pressurize. There are four types of people sitting at their desks. They are waiting for the phone to ring or dialing for dollars. Take some tips from a Behavioral Analyst and inspire this way.
Full Article...
5 Tech Tips for Better Service
Today, the gap between customers' expectations and the service they actually receive is huge. Customers expect personalized, consistent, accurate, and timely service. However, many companies don't equip their agents with the right technology to satisfy these demands. There's no denying that it's an ineffective system and technology is often to blame. This article presents five tips that hold technology more accountable and improve the overall customer service experience.
Full Article...
The Next Wave of Enterprise Collaboration Technology
Even though almost every enterprise has special purpose solutions available for collaboration and process management, good, old email always ends up being the primary method for both for information workers. This can be called the enterprise collaboration and process paradox and is the dirty little secret of both collaboration and process execution in business. Realistically, there doesn't seem to be any way to displace email as the king of collaboration and processes -- or is there?
Full Article...
The Power of Pause: How to be More Effective in a Demanding, 24/7 World
by Nance Guilmartin
One of the most frustrating dilemmas for working people today is how to be effective when we feel we don't have time or we're facing non-stop demands. The Power of Pause process is a dynamic practice that Nance Guilmartin has taught thousands of people worldwide, equipping them to regain control of thoughts and avoid miscommunications. This tested method helps readers to take a moment to wonder what's called for when we feel we're short on time, attention, temper, or choices. In that instant, we can use a simple method to rewire our overloaded circuits, tap into our "missing-in-action" common sense, and raise our communication intelligence. This process is not about slowing down the pace of workday life. It is about enabling anyone who is time-pressed to make savvier choices and avoid costly mistakes.
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2009 Service and Support Technology Showcase Now Available
SupportIndustry.com has released the 2009 version of our Service & Support Technology Showcase. This in-depth buyer's guide features the latest tools and technologies in the support services industry that enable support operations to deliver superior customer service.
To view the listings, click here.
2009 Service & Support Metrics Survey: The Results
This annual Supportindustry.com survey explores the state of enterprise service and support -- technology adoption rates and deployment plans, financial challenges, workforce issues, performance metrics and other industry trends. The results reinforce previous years' findings, highlighting support organizations' continued adoption of better-integrated and responsive technologies, efforts to improve processes, and growing recognition of the strategic role of service delivery in corporate growth. Key metrics to benchmark your support operation were also captured and discussed.
Get your copy of the results today!
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