Driving Call Center Performance (AAA Southern California)

Since 1902, AAA has assisted North American motorists at home and abroad. Today, it’s a leading provider of automotive, travel, insurance, banking and loan services, serving more than 50 million members across the U.S. and Canada.

Needless to say, there are few organizations in which contact centers are more essential. (Ask any AAA member whose car has broken down in the middle of nowhere!) So when it comes to maximizing its call centers’ quality, AAA has pursued all available avenues.

“We attended several training sessions from both in-house consultants and vendors on management principles,” explained Ann Dimery, Site Manager at AAA’s Southern California affiliate. “The difference I experienced with ICMI was that all of the material was specifically written for a person managing a call center,” she said. “I had several years of experience, but I had not attended training classes that possessed the key elements of call center operational standards. It was enlightening to learn the core elements of the business to which I had devoted my professional career.”

As Dimery discovered, ICMI Professional Certification provides insights not only on the ‘hows’ of contact center management, but on the ‘whys’ as well. “I wanted to demonstrate to my management staff the importance of their position – why reporting the analytics each day was so critical to our business,” she said. “We were the core service that brought customers to our organization, but it was through this program that my staff became aware that running a successful call center is a highly recognized profession.”

Dimery herself shared in the learning experience. “My knowledge of the call center business has expanded. I now have an understanding of the key operational components of call center management,” she explained. “Understanding how important it is for your company’s core values to be stable and how its cohesiveness distinguishes your brand or the uniqueness of your company was an ‘aha’ moment for me,” she added.

To Dimery, the path forward is clear. “I would encourage anyone pursuing a career in call center management to attain this certification,” she said. “It’s well-structured and includes insightful instruction on the day-to-day and long-range management strategies one would need to start and manage a call center operation of any size, in addition to the other topics needed to understand this growing business. “

ICMI Professional Certification – the industry standard for professional excellence in contact center management – is available through ICMI, the leading global provider of comprehensive resources for customer management professionals for more than 25 years.

To learn how ICMI Professional Certification can provide the same benefits to your organization’s contact center, visit www.icmi.com/icmicertification and request information today at www.icmi.com/Certification/Request-Information, or contact Todd Piccuillo at [email protected] or 203-242-6632.