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Efficiency Secret Revealed: The Hidden Cost of Multi-Tasking in the Support Center
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by Dave Brown, Support Center University
A great many support centers suffer from a serious efficiency problem -- and they don't even realize it's an issue! In fact, many managers are under the mistaken impression that they are encouraging productivity - when they are actually hampering it! This article discusses a very common flaw in support center process design. I'm going to tell you how I discovered the problem and how it affects the typical complex support center. Once you understand the issue, you'll be able to estimate the impact to your own department. I will also share several alternative approaches that you can use to avoid the problem and increase the efficiency of your operation.
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[Full Article]
Mar-22-2010 |
Don't Forget the Human
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by Rosanne D'Ausilio, Ph.D., President Human Technologies Global, Inc.
To create the right experience, companies must make a fundamental shift from managing the numbers to managing the relationships. But again the feet and the mouth don’t always go in the same direction. So, what differentiates one company from another in today’s economy is its relationship with the customer, and who has that awesome responsibility? Your front lines, and/or anyone who has interaction with the customer, current, potential, or future.
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[Full Article]
Mar-22-2010 |
Voice Self-Service is Essential for Achieving Top 2010 Enterprise and Contact Center Goals
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by Donna Fluss, founder and President of DMG Consulting LLC
A Q3 2009 survey asked 107 enterprise, contact center and IT executives and decision-makers from around the globe to identify their top goals and priorities for 2010. Surprisingly voice self-service solutions (also known as interactive voice response systems or IVRs) are expected to play a key role in helping enterprises of all sizes achieve their 2010 objectives.
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[Full Article]
Feb-19-2010 |
Performance Metrics and Conditioned Response: Improving Support Center Quality and Productivity
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by Dave Brown, Support Center University
Staffing -- Labor -- Headcount. Whatever you call it, it is the largest expense for support centers and typically accounts for 60-70% (or more) of budgets. That’s why headcount is typically targeted during belt-tightening and budget cutting exercises. As painful as it may be, there’s no ‘easier’ way to cut 5% or 10% from the operating budget. As such, it is also your biggest opportunity for efficiency improvement and cost reduction. So, while cutting headcount reduces expense and adding tools often improves productivity -- what about going straight to the source and motivating agents to improve their own performance? Research has shown that 20% productivity improvement and 50% reduction in turnover can be achieved by most support centers through effective performance management.
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[Full Article]
Feb-19-2010 |
Don't Push Send (yet)!
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by Rosanne D'Ausilio, Ph.D., President Human Technologies Global, Inc.
How do you answer these six questions:
1. Have you ever written and sent an email in haste?
2. Have you ever sent an email without reading it over first?
3. Have you ever forgotten to attach the attachment?
4. Have you answered only two of the three questions asked?
5. Have you ever sent an email when you're angry? And then regret it later?
6. Have you ever sent a detailed email that needs follow up on either your end or the receiver's and you never print it out so as to know how to follow up? And then you have to search through all your sent emails to find it?
I think we all have done at least one or two (or three) of these. I know I have. When there is sensitive information, what is your process before pushing 'send?' This article presents six suggestions.
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[Full Article]
Feb-19-2010 |
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