An Internationally Recognized Mark of Excellence (HP Enterprise Systems)

As a center head for HP Enterprise Services, Anatolijus Fouracre oversaw the transition of more than 500 employees from Barclays Bank to HP – a daunting task made easier by expertise gained through ICMI Professional Certification.

“ICMI provides a solid educational foundation for call center management while enabling the development and sharing of leading practices to enhance basic call center management concepts,” Fouracre said. In addition, ICMI’s training delivery approach – based on real-life experience and examples, group sessions with other practitioners, and high-quality material – was well matched to our needs and expectations.”

Fouracre explained how the program helped him to grow professionally. “Becoming an ICMI-Certified Call Center Strategic Leader gave me a more disciplined and methodical approach to assessing a call center’s state and developing an improvement program, a set of standards to implement sound management practices, and industry recognition that has assisted me in international operational environments by providing credibility and trust,” he said. “Since my certification in 2009, I’ve relocated overseas and have continued to employ many of the concepts enhanced through the formal training by ICMI. I’ve successfully used my North America-based certification in Europe and do not see a need to recertify with a European body, as my company recognizes ICMI certification internationally.”

Fouracre also discussed the program’s impact on the business as a whole. “Our decision to enroll key operations staff was driven by our desire to develop a consistent call center management discipline based on industry-recognized standards,” he said. “We chose to certify four key managers in our organization, some of whom were not call center professionals. Leaders of other departments learned the importance of the call center’s functions, which provided several opportunities for managers to advance to call center management positions. We also developed several process improvements stemming from broader use of call center technology. For example, we were able to utilize schedule adherence methodology in administrative departments using telephony tools.”

Interpersonal communication improved almost immediately. “While most of our team has worked in a call center environment for some years, one of the initial noticeable differences was the fact that we started using common nomenclature for concepts we previously found controversial.” Fouracre explained. “Instead of relying on the strength of one’s opinion or conviction, we were able to standardize our thinking on several concepts and start using industry-accepted concepts and calculations. This took a lot of emotion out of performance data and allowed us to make better decisions.”

Naturally, the time commitment was a consideration, but it didn’t pose a problem. “Most of the training could be completed outside of work hours,” Fouracre noted. “With sufficient planning ahead of time, we were able to accommodate the business and the course schedule. I feel that our goals of being certified were certainly met.”

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.