• The Foundation of Customer Satisfaction? Teach Your Team to Build Rapport

  

  The numbers are in—the edict has been passed down through the channels and the ball is now in your court. “Increase customer satisfaction scores.” Or, “Drive more sales.” Or, the nebulous “Build better rapport with customers.”… [more]

  

• Tracking Customer-Focused Metrics

  

  For years, contact center managers have been measuring operational metrics like average handle time, average hold time, turnover, sales per representative, average time to respond, and so on. But are these the most important metrics… [more]

  

• The Employee Experience: Motivate, Empower, Invest

  

  There’s a concern brewing in employers everywhere. If the economy keeps moving in a positive direction, employees may take their talent elsewhere. A trend for 2012 is improving the employee experience. Douglas Matthews, president… [more]

  

• The Role of Consistency in Professional Support - Part 1: Employee Coaching

  

  Consistent support is fundamental to maintaining high customer satisfaction scores, customer loyalty, and customer longevity. It is a key element in world class service. Customers generally do not care if you have one call center in… [more]

  

• The Role of Consistency in Professional Support – Part 2: Troubleshooting Skills

  

  Consistent troubleshooting skills are integral to providing world class customer service in support centers. Customers want timely, professional, and consistent issue resolution – every time. Benefits of Consistent Troubleshooting… [more]

  

• Employee Satisfaction: It Starts With You

  

  When managers hear they need to improve employee satisfaction to achieve customer satisfaction, they often don’t know where to start. Employees are at the front line, assisting customers first hand. If employees are unhappy, there’s… [more]

  

Featured Articles

• Employee Retention: Y You Need a Strategy Employee retention has become a common topic in call centers as the economy starts to improve. According to a 2011 survey included in an article written by Calabrio, 70 percent of Generation Y contact center agents are contemplating leaving their current role ...
• Call Center Best PracticesCall centers that handle service and support calls are, unfortunately, often viewed as cost centers. Although these centers usually don’t bring in revenue directly, they do contribute to the company’s goals in many valuable ways, most notably in reinforcing th...
• E-learning's Missing IngredientTo quickly scale training globally, e-learning surely is the answer.  Today’s global landscape is driving this need. And … as organizations transition from instructor-led training to self-paced e-learning, it’s easy to forget two principles – structure and soc...
• The Role of First-Call-Resolution in Customer SatisfactionThere is an obvious and undeniable correlation between First-Call-Resolution (FCR) and customer satisfaction. When one goes up – the other follows. Unfortunately the opposite is also true. When one percentage goes down so does the other. Successful call center...
• Insurance Customer Service: Five Tips for Serving Older CallersAs a large portion of the baby boomer population prepares to retire, call centers in the insurance industry will field more calls from older customers. To help agents successfully serve this base of customers, they need to learn skills and specific tactics to ...
• Empowerment Is the Key to Increased Employee EngagementEveryone wants to feel like they make a difference at work. Everyone wants to feel that his or her opinion counts. That is where empowerment comes into play. When you empower your employees, you let them make key decisions regarding their jobs and customers. B...
• So You Want to Become a Customer Service LeaderMuch has been written about what Contact Center and Customer Service Leadership should do to motivate, mentor and be successful with their teams. But what should an Agent or Customer Service Rep do to be successful in their quest for promotion? 1. Be willing ...
• Call Center Coaching: 5 More Tips to Ensure Your SuccessOur previous post on call center coaching titled, “Call Center Coaching: 5 Tips to Ensure Your Success,” gave tips to help you improve your management style in a support or call center environment. We’re pleased to present the next 5 essential skills that w...