Recognition

A strong focus on agent empowerment and engagement, excellent incentives that are tied to customer-centric KPIs, and a solid C-sat measurement/management process are the key reasons why NCS Pte. Ltd. earned the ICMI Global Call Center of the Year award (Small/Medium category) in 2009.

A motivated frontline is essential to high performance -- and customer satisfaction -- in the call center. Here are several key principles of agent motivation.

Judson Linville, executive vice president of the company’s Service Delivery Network, describes American Express’s philosophy, noting, “The American Express inbound service network has a massive opportunity to shape the brand. It is shaped by each customer experience. We use the momentum of the inbound service call to deepen both the relationship with our customers and their loyalty.” Linville credits four major strategies as key to driving sales in his organization: 1) structured call routing, 2) predictive hiring assessments, 3) a focus on fewer metrics, and 4) leveraged variable pay.

For years, contact centers have coveted a familiar list of key performance indicators -- service level, average speed of answer, number of calls handled, abandon rate, wrap-up time, et. al. But recent research suggests that no single KPI has a bigger impact on customer satisfaction than does first call resolution (FCR).

1-800-GOT-JUNK? specializes in two things: 1) getting rid of junk; and 2) holding on to staff.

Are your customers happy? Six best practices for providing top-notch support and ensuring a long-lasting relationship.

Need a little inspiration in your incentives? In these three success stories, contact centers combined targeted needs and goals for their agents and enterprises with creative juices to develop meaningful rewards and fun and engaging ways to meet them.

The possibility of a business slowdown sends many organizations into cost-cutting mode, which usually translates into reduced head count.

At Salt River Project, it’s hard to tell if the things on top of employees’ noggins are headsets or halos. If you ask SRP’s customers and members of the local community, they’ll swear it’s the latter.

Our industry is obsessed with awards and accolades — “best” this and “best” that. We seem to always be on the lookout for contact centers that “have it all” — veritable customer contact superpowers with nary a chink in their armor. But the fact of the matter is that, while numerous centers are doing many things very well, none are without their share of challenges and shortcomings.