Management

Nissim Ziv presents What Makes a Good Team Leader? How to Be a Good Team Leader? posted at Job Interview Guide, saying, “Almost everyone in the team would want to become a leader, but there are very few who would actually have the characteristics to be a team leader.”

Nissim Ziv presents Employee Job Performance Review: How to Prepare for a Performance Review posted at Job Interview Guide, saying, “Employee job performance is the key to a company’s success. Whether you work for a small business or a large corporation, you and your coworkers are essential components of a working engine.”

Work Environment

Heidi Miller presents Top 5 Call Center Links for 12-23-09 posted at Spoken Communications.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the call center blurbs carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page. ]]> http://callcenterblurbs.com/call-center-blurbs-carnival-4th-edition/feed/ http://callcenterblurbs.com/call-center-blurbs-carnival-3rd-edition/ http://callcenterblurbs.com/call-center-blurbs-carnival-3rd-edition/#comments Sun, 13 Dec 2009 16:35:03 +0000 Jam Mayer-Flores http://callcenterblurbs.com/?p=347 Welcome to the December 14, 2009 edition of the Call Center Blurbs Carnival.

This edition’s contributors presented us a video of a call center that rocks their customers, reminds us what we would do if we didn’t fail, which is great when motivating call center agents, and remember that feelings can be kept at a minimum when dealing with customers.

Jobs

Anya Portnik presents What would you achieve if you knew you couldn’t fail? posted at Gavin Ingham.

Quality

Heidi Miller presents Rockin’ the customer experience: how HotTopic does it posted at Spoken Communications, saying, “Love this video because it shows that to have high-quality customer service, the company should provide a fun, high-quality experience for call center agents.”

Training

Case Ernsting presents Let Go of Your Ego – How To Minimize Personal Feelings While Serving Customers posted at FinditLocal411 Blog, saying, “Customer service is the name of the game with call centers. As you continue to handle customer complaints and concerns, remember that to keep your ego in check..even if the callers is 100% wrong.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the Call Center Blurbs Carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

It showed how their organization’s culture dictates how they treat their own customers.  Entering their call center, you see young people on the phones within a casual environment, music videos being played in the background and agents could go to work as if they were going a party that resembles their line of accessories.

Here in the Philippines, most centers have a casual environment but very few resemble the client organization’s culture.  Some would say “It is because most are outsourced.  The culture and the work environment is dictated by the parent company, not the account.”  True, but isn’t each account headed by an operation’s head that is responsible for overall customer service based on the standards of it’s client?

I’ve been fortunate to experience the difference when the client’s culture is infused into the operation’s floor.  From training to the daily grind of assisting customers, the environment they work in is infectious and will definitely help in focusing on delivering excellent service.

Kudos to Hot Topic! Their video just proves this works and should be duplicated by other centers.

If you have a video you’d like to share, send me the link and tell me your story.

Electronic Catalogs are the essential parts of any online store and they are the building elements of the web enabled market.  Every company depends on a well designed catalog that could explain and express their products and services.

E-cataloging brought in the required reach in e-business, spreading like wild fire.  The key to a successful online business is by having a vast online presence.  The Catalog process service for online stores and e-commerce websites is the process of converting manufactures paper catalog into web page catalogs.  The catalog process involves a team of well organized content writers, graphic designers, web researchers and data entry personnel to work together to put in the information from the manufacturer price list, manufacturer site and also from various other sources to create a buyer friendly and web friendly catalog page.

A company cannot lose focus on their core business by concentrating on the catalog process. Hence the ideal option for any online store is to outsource the catalog process to experienced and professional hands.  A Catalog processing company understands the client products and work on the catalog page with the help of a well outlined description by the content writers and image artists who bring out the product images which inspire the buyer to navigate through the online store.

Catalogs need regular updating and monitoring which becomes troublesome for online business owners to manage.  Outsourcing companies monitor the changes in the product and track the prices and offers that are available for similar products and suggest the suitable change on the catalog page.

Any catalog processing company that offers the following service to online stores:

• Add new products
• Update existing products
• Track pricing and offers on competitor’s websites

The benefits that online stores enjoy by outsourcing the Catalog Process are cost savings by 60%, professionalism, good turn around time and high quality service.  Bring success to your online trading services with outsourced catalog process services.

I found her on Twitter and reconnected.  She informed me that she published her first book containing most of her comic strips and is now available in National Book Store and Powerbooks.  I had to get a copy and include it in my bookshelf.

To my delight, at the back of the book, she included an excerpt of my review back in 2007.  Though I was hoping she included my name, nevertheless, it pointed to a blog where I spent a couple of years writing for.  That was enough to bring a smile to my face. I was grateful.

Being someone who spent 8 years in the industry, reading this book made me think of the good (and bad) old days.  Though I think most of the strips were negative, it was the truth.  Instead of taking it as it is, I challenge the readers to find ways on how to change this truth.

When Ken the supervisor reprimands Clover on his absenteeism, he ignores the reason why his agent couldn’t make it to work. Though saying, “Wala po akong pamasahe eh (I don’t have money for transportation) could be an excuse, the reality is these agents may not have money at all.  This is true for new hires or a single mom who is dependent on each pay check to settle the necessary bills to feed her kids.  After seeing the humor in the strip, I look at it as something to address, not only in operations but within Human Resources.

Definitely something to think about as you browse through the pages of the book.

Overall, it was a good kick-off for Hazel.  It needs improvement but worth sharing with colleagues.  I look forward to seeing a different perspective on the second book.

To get a taste of call center humor, you can see her comic strips at Manila Bulletin (printed version) every Sunday.  Better yet, why not buy a copy for yourself and your team?  Let me know what you think and I will send your comments back to Hazel.

First Contact Resolution (FCR): Top Myths, Methods and Tips to Measure it and Improve it

Whether you have been working on FCR for 5 years, or you just heard of the term, this webcast will help you step up to the next level:

Attendees will learn:

How best to measure FCR- even if your company is technology-challenged and capital-constrained

Top myths and misconceptions of FCR measurement

Industry benchmark data for FCR

5 methods and tips to improve FCR

How to get other departments involved in FCR improvement

How to structure and analyze FCR data in order to take action

Hear the results of the 3rd Annual Contact Center Satisfaction Index (CCSI) as CFI Group examines the success and shortcomings of contact centers to reveal what actually affects customer satisfaction, loyalty, and behavior right now. This discusses the measured affects of the immediate challenges facing contact centers, including CSR performance, problem resolution, off-shoring, and multichannel trends.

This webinar will review Google’s industry leading enterprise search technology and how it is being used by organizations worldwide to improve customer service. Additionally, the webinar will address how organizations can gain a concrete ROI through these solutions – thereby reducing costs and improving customer service.

Thank you to those who contributed! Keep them coming.

Not all of the submissions have been included in this edition since they are not related to the main content of the blog.  If a post has been submitted that can be useful to the readers such as training sessions that can be taken, then this will be included.  I’ve added some of my own discoveries to this carnival to spruce up this issue.

Jobs

Nissim Ziv presents another great article for job hunters.  Technical Support Interview Questions and Answers posted at Job Interview & Career Guide, saying “This article provides interview questions for technical support positions; it also provides tips on answering these questions.”

News

PRNewswire presents Contact Center Industry Must Prepare for the Upturn: says Frost & Sullivan posted at PRNewswire, saying “Frost & Sullivan hosts two day Customer Contact Philippines 2009 summit in Manila.”

Charlie Morasch presents Dr. John McElligott opens 24-hour medical call center for truckers posted at Land Line Magazine, saying “Dr. John McElligott, who formerly ran a chain of trucker medical offices at truck stops, has helped open a new subscription-based call center that serves truck drivers and their families.”

Outsourcing

Surbhi Bhatia is also back presenting Obama Takes on Outsourcing – But Should We Care? posted at The Viewspaper.

Training

Anya presents The first Recruitment Juice Live event posted at Gavin Ingham.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition (December 14, 2009) of the Call Center Blurbs Carnival using our submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

To start off, here are some webinars that I found.  Enjoy learning!

Archived or On-Demand Webinars

Repeat Calls: Assessing the Damage, Calculating the Cost

Join First Call Resolution expert Rob McDougall, as he details the five major financial factors affected by repeat calls. After viewing this webinar, you will be able to create financial impact model and put hard numbers to the concept of First Call Resolution.

Long Time, No See: How to Keep Work-At-Home Agents Connected

Leveraging the Agent Scorecard to attain overall Excellence

Agents -  what do they WANT to know:  How can I hire, monitor, coach using a unified Scorecard for feedback?

Business IQ - what do they NEED to know: Where and if the organization might prioritize a change for branding and investments?

Customer - what do you KNOW about them: What levels satisfaction to service recovery can help the Agent fulfill a request?

Systems is the 4th dimension!  How might you forecast and give probability to the unknown processes and technologies?

Upcoming Webinars

A Contact Center Manager’s Blind Spot
December 15, 2009 | 2PM EST

Join this webcast as we discuss real world examples through three different case studies on how the continuous monitoring of the agent technology interaction profitably impacts the contact center.

How your Offshore Contact Center can Significantly Reduce Hiring Costs & Make Better Hiring Decisions
December 2, 2009 | 3PM EST

In this webinar, find out WHY companies are switching from informal interview “evaluation” to standardized, automated language testing and learn HOW they are seeing the business impact of this change in the screening of contact center agents.

This edition is a good mix from our contributors focused on job interviews and a view on the industry from India.  Thank you to those who contributed.

Jobs

Nissim Ziv presents two posts for this edition.

Call Center Interview Questions and Answers: Call Center Interview Tips posted at Job Interview Guide, saying, “In the call center industry, one of the most challenging issues is handling different customers – irate customer, offensive customer and defensive customers. Therefore, the call center job interviews focus on your experience/skill facing a given situation – what does one usually do if ABC..?”

BPO Interview Questions and Answers posted at Job Interview Guide, saying, “The interview of a BPO employee and the related questions and answers are quite complicated. The article provides some simple tips, questions and their answers.”

Outsourcing

Surbhi Bhatia presents his views on Call Centres: A Phone Call Leading to Nowhere? posted at The Viewspaper » The Viewspaper.

Training

Jeremy Ulmer presents Need Sales Coaching? Top 10 Questions You Should Ask Before Hiring a Sales Coach posted at Sales Coaching | Business Coaching | Life Coaching, saying, “Are you looking to hire a sales coach to improve your career, leadership, life, business and sales results?  Here Are My Top 10 Questions to Ask Before You Hire a Sales Coach So You Can Achieve Breakthrough Results.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition (November 30, 2009) of the Call Center Blurbs Carnival using our submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.