Virtual contact center agents - and the processes, management style and technology that support them - should not be seen as cost-cutting measures per se.
Instead, they are a tool to improve business reaction times and access on-demand capabilities that can, and should, improve service quality.
This ebook will tell you more about Virtual Contact Center Agents.
How we at IBM iX reimagined an ecosystem & kick-started the journey to the future using research & Enterprise Design Thinking. The story of transformation of the leading heavy equipment finance provider in India. It’s the story of how research was used to create a platform that binds multiple providers together in orchestrated workflows, enabling them to work together seamlessly and transform from within to a new way of competing. It is also the story of how deeply design-led the transformation was. It’s a story that continues on a path paved with data to shine some light into hitherto unexplored spaces, empowering the grassroots end user with the tools to create his own success. Watch this space to see it unfold.
How do you know you're ready for a Design Sprint?Highland
For leaders who want their teams to embrace human-centered approaches and collaborate in new ways, Sprints are a fantastic way to start.
Join Highland’s CX Practice Director David Whited and Lead Experience Designer Amrita Kulkarni as they share how Research Sprints and Design Sprints make Design Thinking—a reliable methodology to address complex, ambiguous problems—accessible in a way they have never been before. David and Amrita will introduce the purpose and philosophy of Sprints, talk through the differences between Research and Design Sprints, and what kind of issues, problems, or opportunities are the right fit for each.
We’ll be joined by Jennifer Severns, CXO, and Jennifer O’Brien, Innovation and Insights Manager, from the American Marketing Association, who will share how their organization has used Sprints to catalyze a culture of Design Thinking at the AMA. They will reflect on the realities of introducing Sprints and Design Thinking into an established organization, sharing advice for helping others think and work in new ways.
Attendees will learn:
- How are Research Sprints different from Design Sprints
- When is the right time or moment to conduct a Sprint
- What it takes for Sprints to be successful
- How to amplify Sprint outcomes for change in your organization
Create Your End User Adoption StrategyErica Toelle
We all know that End User Adoption is an important area of focus in your SharePoint project. In this session we will take a closer look at the End User Adoption work stream on a SharePoint project, and the associated roles, responsibilities and tasks for the project plan.
These are slides I used to keynote the inaugural MarTech Delhi event in India. It covers the topic of CX (Customer Experience) and provides practical advice to build a roadmap and strategy for your organization.
APM Benefits Summit 2017 : Realising benefits in a changing world
Implementing a benefits-led approach to portfolio management
case study by Thomas Coleman and Penny Chalton, Deliotte MCS Ltd
22 June 2017APM
How we at IBM iX reimagined an ecosystem & kick-started the journey to the future using research & Enterprise Design Thinking. The story of transformation of the leading heavy equipment finance provider in India. It’s the story of how research was used to create a platform that binds multiple providers together in orchestrated workflows, enabling them to work together seamlessly and transform from within to a new way of competing. It is also the story of how deeply design-led the transformation was. It’s a story that continues on a path paved with data to shine some light into hitherto unexplored spaces, empowering the grassroots end user with the tools to create his own success. Watch this space to see it unfold.
How do you know you're ready for a Design Sprint?Highland
For leaders who want their teams to embrace human-centered approaches and collaborate in new ways, Sprints are a fantastic way to start.
Join Highland’s CX Practice Director David Whited and Lead Experience Designer Amrita Kulkarni as they share how Research Sprints and Design Sprints make Design Thinking—a reliable methodology to address complex, ambiguous problems—accessible in a way they have never been before. David and Amrita will introduce the purpose and philosophy of Sprints, talk through the differences between Research and Design Sprints, and what kind of issues, problems, or opportunities are the right fit for each.
We’ll be joined by Jennifer Severns, CXO, and Jennifer O’Brien, Innovation and Insights Manager, from the American Marketing Association, who will share how their organization has used Sprints to catalyze a culture of Design Thinking at the AMA. They will reflect on the realities of introducing Sprints and Design Thinking into an established organization, sharing advice for helping others think and work in new ways.
Attendees will learn:
- How are Research Sprints different from Design Sprints
- When is the right time or moment to conduct a Sprint
- What it takes for Sprints to be successful
- How to amplify Sprint outcomes for change in your organization
Create Your End User Adoption StrategyErica Toelle
We all know that End User Adoption is an important area of focus in your SharePoint project. In this session we will take a closer look at the End User Adoption work stream on a SharePoint project, and the associated roles, responsibilities and tasks for the project plan.
These are slides I used to keynote the inaugural MarTech Delhi event in India. It covers the topic of CX (Customer Experience) and provides practical advice to build a roadmap and strategy for your organization.
APM Benefits Summit 2017 : Realising benefits in a changing world
Implementing a benefits-led approach to portfolio management
case study by Thomas Coleman and Penny Chalton, Deliotte MCS Ltd
22 June 2017APM
Denver Startup Week 2019: Choosing a Direction Learning How to Test Ideas and...BrittanyRubinstein
As part of Denver's 2019 Startup Week, Crownpeak's Director of UX, Ari Weissman and Lys Maitland, Experience Research Manager at a national healthcare organization, presented a joint session on "Choosing a direction: Learning how to test ideas and designs."
Portfolio Management in times of uncertainty
Sandie Grimshaw
Balancing your change portfolio
APM Portfolio Management SIG Conference 2017,
11 May 17,
Holiday Inn Bloomsbury, London
Your Challenge:
Implementing a shared services model is a difficult process to undertake, and is comprised of many different components. Becoming a shared services provider is comparable to becoming a vendor and most IT groups don’t have the capabilities to easily make the transition.
Most companies look to achieve cost reductions through offering a shared services model. Adopting a shared services model doesn’t always result in these intended cost reductions. Simply combining the operations of two IT organizations doesn’t necessarily result in economies of scale and cost efficiencies. Before leaping forward with your shared services implementation, determine if the project will deliver value to your organization.
Our Advice - Critical Insight:
Implementing a shared services model needs to be viewed as more than simply extending a current service to other sites. The organization providing services essentially turns into a vendor. As a vendor, think of the IT service you’re offering as the “product.”
Remember that there are people, process, and technology capability pre-requisites to successfully becoming a shared services provider. These capabilities are not typical for the average IT shop, and need to be taken into consideration when you look to transition to a shared services model.
Our Advice - Impact and Result:
Before jumping into the implementation of your shared services project, assess your customer requirements and your current people, process, and technology capabilities to assess whether your organization is ready to implement a shared services model.
Understand the financial implications of moving to a shared services model prior to implementing. Make sure there is a strong case for implementation.
Digital Transformation - How to Deliver Meaningful ResultsBizagi
Stop right there, here is the inescapable truth: Every large business, everywhere needs to transform in order to survive – and transformation is beyond difficult. So let’s get beyond the aspiration and talk about the practicalities of this journey for real businesses. This presentation is intended for all business and technology leaders tasked with delivering digital change in 2017 and beyond.
Read MWD Advisors’ Research Director Neil Ward-Dutton as he shares his analyst insights into how you can deliver meaningful results from your digital transformation initiatives this year.
Neil shares his views on one of the most common mistakes that businesses make when trying to digitally transform – which is to think only about the front-end, marketing driven side of the customer experience.
Find advice on how to:
• Manage change more collaboratively, quickly and cost-effectively
• Improve the customer experience through operational change
• Select the right technology to enable strategic digital innovation
How to Make Data and Analytics Central to Your Finance Digital Transformation...Workday, Inc.
Data—you have tons of it, but are you making the most of it?
View this slide deck with KPMG and Coleman Worldwide to learn how you can take control of your data with Workday to safeguard the bottom line and understand opportunities for finance and IT to partner.
6 Steps to Confirm Successful Workday DeploymentZaranTech LLC
Workday HCM Training & Certification provided Online from USA industry expert trainers with real time project experience
Workday HCM Tutorial for Beginners | Learn Workday HCM Online | Workday HCM training - This is a video recording of a Live Webinar presentation by our Sr. SAP Solution Architect and trainer who is also a Manager in handling SAP Implementation projects.
Get More Free Videos - Subscribe ➜ https://goo.gl/5ZqDML
COURSE PAGE: https://www.zarantech.com/workday-hcm-training/
REGISTER FOR FREE LIVE DEMO: http://promo.zarantech.com/free-webinar-workday-hcm/
CONTACT: +1 (515) 309-7846 (or) Email - info@zarantech.com
"workday hcm tutorial"
"free workday hcm training"
"online workday hcm training"
"Best workday hcm training"
"workday hcm training for Beginners"
"Best workday hcm Training"
Reviews / Testimonials from past trainees are saying: https://goo.gl/ZVfnE4
Refer your friends to ZaranTech - http://www.zarantech.com/be-a-friend-tell-a-friend.
How to Get “Rolling” with Monthly ForecastsWorkday, Inc.
The year 2020 showed us that annual plans are apt to change. Moving forward with agility will be key, but implementing a smooth cadence of monthly rolling forecasts might be easier said than done.
View now to see where things often break down from a modeling and data movement perspective, and learn the best ways to get your organization on board for a change.
In today’s changing digital landscape a key challenge is instilling the up to date skills and expertise within your organisation to embrace and leverage these changes. Choosing the right supplier to help you bridge this skills and expertise gap is crucial in helping you cope. In this discussion we cover some criteria that you should consider when assessing your options.
Denver Startup Week 2019: Choosing a Direction Learning How to Test Ideas and...BrittanyRubinstein
As part of Denver's 2019 Startup Week, Crownpeak's Director of UX, Ari Weissman and Lys Maitland, Experience Research Manager at a national healthcare organization, presented a joint session on "Choosing a direction: Learning how to test ideas and designs."
Portfolio Management in times of uncertainty
Sandie Grimshaw
Balancing your change portfolio
APM Portfolio Management SIG Conference 2017,
11 May 17,
Holiday Inn Bloomsbury, London
Your Challenge:
Implementing a shared services model is a difficult process to undertake, and is comprised of many different components. Becoming a shared services provider is comparable to becoming a vendor and most IT groups don’t have the capabilities to easily make the transition.
Most companies look to achieve cost reductions through offering a shared services model. Adopting a shared services model doesn’t always result in these intended cost reductions. Simply combining the operations of two IT organizations doesn’t necessarily result in economies of scale and cost efficiencies. Before leaping forward with your shared services implementation, determine if the project will deliver value to your organization.
Our Advice - Critical Insight:
Implementing a shared services model needs to be viewed as more than simply extending a current service to other sites. The organization providing services essentially turns into a vendor. As a vendor, think of the IT service you’re offering as the “product.”
Remember that there are people, process, and technology capability pre-requisites to successfully becoming a shared services provider. These capabilities are not typical for the average IT shop, and need to be taken into consideration when you look to transition to a shared services model.
Our Advice - Impact and Result:
Before jumping into the implementation of your shared services project, assess your customer requirements and your current people, process, and technology capabilities to assess whether your organization is ready to implement a shared services model.
Understand the financial implications of moving to a shared services model prior to implementing. Make sure there is a strong case for implementation.
Digital Transformation - How to Deliver Meaningful ResultsBizagi
Stop right there, here is the inescapable truth: Every large business, everywhere needs to transform in order to survive – and transformation is beyond difficult. So let’s get beyond the aspiration and talk about the practicalities of this journey for real businesses. This presentation is intended for all business and technology leaders tasked with delivering digital change in 2017 and beyond.
Read MWD Advisors’ Research Director Neil Ward-Dutton as he shares his analyst insights into how you can deliver meaningful results from your digital transformation initiatives this year.
Neil shares his views on one of the most common mistakes that businesses make when trying to digitally transform – which is to think only about the front-end, marketing driven side of the customer experience.
Find advice on how to:
• Manage change more collaboratively, quickly and cost-effectively
• Improve the customer experience through operational change
• Select the right technology to enable strategic digital innovation
How to Make Data and Analytics Central to Your Finance Digital Transformation...Workday, Inc.
Data—you have tons of it, but are you making the most of it?
View this slide deck with KPMG and Coleman Worldwide to learn how you can take control of your data with Workday to safeguard the bottom line and understand opportunities for finance and IT to partner.
6 Steps to Confirm Successful Workday DeploymentZaranTech LLC
Workday HCM Training & Certification provided Online from USA industry expert trainers with real time project experience
Workday HCM Tutorial for Beginners | Learn Workday HCM Online | Workday HCM training - This is a video recording of a Live Webinar presentation by our Sr. SAP Solution Architect and trainer who is also a Manager in handling SAP Implementation projects.
Get More Free Videos - Subscribe ➜ https://goo.gl/5ZqDML
COURSE PAGE: https://www.zarantech.com/workday-hcm-training/
REGISTER FOR FREE LIVE DEMO: http://promo.zarantech.com/free-webinar-workday-hcm/
CONTACT: +1 (515) 309-7846 (or) Email - info@zarantech.com
"workday hcm tutorial"
"free workday hcm training"
"online workday hcm training"
"Best workday hcm training"
"workday hcm training for Beginners"
"Best workday hcm Training"
Reviews / Testimonials from past trainees are saying: https://goo.gl/ZVfnE4
Refer your friends to ZaranTech - http://www.zarantech.com/be-a-friend-tell-a-friend.
How to Get “Rolling” with Monthly ForecastsWorkday, Inc.
The year 2020 showed us that annual plans are apt to change. Moving forward with agility will be key, but implementing a smooth cadence of monthly rolling forecasts might be easier said than done.
View now to see where things often break down from a modeling and data movement perspective, and learn the best ways to get your organization on board for a change.
In today’s changing digital landscape a key challenge is instilling the up to date skills and expertise within your organisation to embrace and leverage these changes. Choosing the right supplier to help you bridge this skills and expertise gap is crucial in helping you cope. In this discussion we cover some criteria that you should consider when assessing your options.
Building a Business Case for Replacing Your Call Center ACDGenesys
As an executive responsible for call center infrastructure, you understand the limitations of your legacy ACD. The challenge is how to calculate the ROI for replacing legacy systems with a SIP-based contact center infrastructure that can deliver an omnichannel customer experience.
View this slideshare and learn how to:
Compute cost savings from pooling agent resources
Calculate hardware and maintenance savings
Estimate the benefits of a consistent customer experience
Get more in the white paper: Should You Update or Abandon Your Call Center ACD? Why Companies Choose SIP-Based Contact Centers http://gsys.co/VGQxK
[To download this presentation, visit:
https://www.oeconsulting.com.sg/training-presentations]
Digital Customer Service is customer service that is provided through digital channels, like website support, live chat, email, social media and messaging apps.
As much as technology has improved our lives, for many people customer service experiences remain unnecessarily frustrating. By adding new digital silos, many companies have created disjointed islands of context, knowledge bases and automation. However, if digital self-serve and human support are fully integrated and aligned to customer needs and expectations, digital customer service can bring significant benefits such as increased revenue, reduced cost to serve, and higher customer satisfaction.
This presentation defines what digital customer service is and the importance of creating a smooth and seamless omnichannel support for a compelling customer experience. It explains the eight most commonly used digital channels and the mistakes to avoid. Finally, it covers the key techniques and skills for the delivery of excellent customer service and the best practices to manage an omnichannel support system.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Acquire knowledge and the key concepts of Digital Customer Service
2. Describe the approach, practices and skills for delivering efficient and effective Digital Customer Service
3. Highlight the pitfalls to avoid and success factors for Digital Customer Service
CONTENTS
1. Introduction and Key Concepts of Digital Customer Service
2. Approaches and Practices of Digital Customer Service
3. Techniques and Skills for Human Supported Digital Customer Service
4. Pitfalls to Avoid and Factors for Success
To download the complete presentation, visit: https://www.oeconsulting.com.sg/training-presentations
Transforming from Call Center to Contact Center How-To GuideDemand Metric
Executive Summary
If loyal customers are the lifeblood of a successful marketing program, call centers are the heartbeat. It is within the call center that happy customers become loyal advocates or disenchanted. All too often, however, call centers are viewed by marketing professionals as an afterthought instead of a key to customer loyalty, customer satisfaction and as a lead generation.
Modern marketers must move from seeing Customer Care as a secondary supporting function to one of primary importance to marketing programs and lead generation, along with other digital marketing and sales activities.
This How-To Guide challenges marketers to view the call center as a potential source of revenue and lead generation as well as the hub of Customer Care. This report discusses the misperceptions around call centers and shows modern marketers how to transform their call center (cost center) into a Modern Contact Center (profit center) by recognizing its strategy in lead generation and customer experience.
This brief 11-page How-To Guide is designed to provide practical advice for building a Modern Contact Center and outlines the following:
Executive Summary
Opportunities & Challenges of the Call Center
Creating a Modern Contact Center
Contact Center Application Selection Criteria
Action Plan
Bottom Line
Demand Metric's How-To Guides are designed to provide practical, on-the-job training and education and provide context for using our premium tools & templates. If there is a topic that you would like to see covered, please contact us at info@demandmetric.com (link sends e-mail) to make a content request.
The Digital Customer Experience: Why the Future of the Communications Industr...Brian Solis
Brian Solis and amdocs explore the impact of connected customers on the traditional funnel and the need for designing digital customer experiences (DCX). Today’s customers don’t think in terms of channels nor do they see departments. Digital customers simply want to interact with service providers in a consistent manner — wherever, whenever, and via whatever device they’re using. Even though the customer is changing, business models and approaches aren’t keeping up. Operators are not fully equipped technologically or philosophically to personalize customer touchpoints based on behaviors.
How to Choose a Digital Transformation Company? - By DataToBizKavika Roy
Looking forward to enabling digital transformation in your business? Here’s a list of the top digital transformation companies that can help
To Read the Full Article: https://www.datatobiz.com/blog/top-digital-transformation-companies/
Get your free whitepaper at https://ap.pn/2M6sDs4
New customer expectations across all facets of engagement are challenging how traditional contact centers operate. Pressure is building to optimize customer experience, improve agent productivity, and deliver on strategic business initiatives.
But, the market conditions are changing and organizations have to be prepared to embrace:
-- The growing complexity and number of communication channels
-- New and evolving regulatory compliance requirements
-- Disruptive technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
Forward thinking leaders are leveraging technology to transform their operations into Intelligent Contact Centers™, redefining the customer experience—and business value they bring to the organization.
Download the whitepaper for insight into how organizations are building next generation contact center applications. https://ap.pn/2M6sDs4
Addressing the contact center opportunity, discuss five important contact center trends, and explain how companies can embrace these trends to create a smart strategy that can improve the top and bottom line.
As a pioneer in the staffing industry, and in the study of workforce preferences, Kelly takes a high-level look at collaboration as it pertains to the global worker today. In addition to analyzing worker preferences and psychographic insights based on survey data from the 2015 and 2014 Kelly Global Workforce Index™ (KGWI), this report pulls insights from Kelly Free Agent research (2015) survey data and other research sources. Unless otherwise noted, all statistics come from recent Kelly workforce research data.
Maßnahmen gegen den Fachkräftemangel in Europa in den Bereichen Mathematik, Informatik, Naturwissenschaft und Technik: Warum eine Strategie der Inklusion entscheidend ist.
Wenn wir den massiven Fachkräftemangel in den MINT-Berufen (Mathematik, Informatik, Naturwissenschaft und Technik) in Europa lindern wollen, müssen wir schleunigst damit beginnen, mehr Frauen einzustellen. Und wir müssen dabei an einem Strang ziehen. Zur Optimierung des MINT-Talentepools durch größere Diversität bedarf es jedoch mehr als nur ein wenig zusätzlicher Mühe bei der Personalanwerbung. Vor allem gilt es, ein Klima der Inklusion zu schaffen, das die Einstellung und Bindung von Frauen in der MINT-Branche begünstigt. Gleichzeitig müssen Unternehmen die Beseitigung von Vorurteilen und Barrieren zur Priorität erheben und zur Chefsache erklären; Führungskräfte müssen aktive Unterstützung leisten und institutionelle Verantwortung übernehmen. Des Weiteren ist es von wesentlicher Bedeutung, Frauen in diesen Berufen ein besseres Mentoring zu bieten und die Diversität weiter zu erhöhen. Denn es steht eine ganze Menge auf dem Spiel – und das betrifft nicht nur Ihr Unternehmen, sondern die Zukunft der Branche in ganz Europa.
Als Pionier auf dem Gebiet der Personaldienstleistungen und der Erforschung von Arbeitnehmervorlieben bietet Kelly Services eine umfassende Analyse, die verdeutlicht, weshalb es so wichtig ist, gegen die Unterrepräsentation von Frauen in Europas MINT-Branche anzugehen. Dabei untersuchen wir auch, welche Faktoren Unternehmen berücksichtigen müssen, um diese Spezialistinnen langfristig zu binden.
Neben der Analyse von Arbeitnehmervorlieben und psychographischen Einblicken auf Grundlage der Umfrageergebnisse aus dem Kelly Global Workforce Index von 2014 und 2015 werden in diesem Bericht auch Erkenntnisse aus der Kelly Free Agent Research-Studie von 2015 und sekundären Quellen berücksichtigt. Sofern nicht anders angegeben, stammen alle Statistiken aus aktuellen Arbeitsmarktstudien von Kelly.
The Kelly Global Workforce Index (KGWI) is an annual global survey that is the largest study of its kind. In 2015, Kelly collected feedback from 164,000 workers across 28 countries across the Americas, EMEA, and APAC regions and a multitude of industries and occupations.
This study is taking a high level look at:
- Work-Life Design as it pertains to the global worker today.
- Women in STEM Talent Gap - a study that at the gap of women talent in STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Math – fields.
- Career Management – specifically the emerging trend of do-it-yourself (“DIY”) career development – as it pertains to the global worker seeking to be as resilient as possible in today’s uncertain environment
- Collaborative Work Environment as it pertains to the global worker today.
Here is our second global report on the topic Women in STEM.
Want to move your career forward? Looking to build your leadership skills while helping others learn, grow, and improve their skills? Seeking someone who can guide you in achieving these goals?
You can accomplish this through a mentoring partnership. Learn more about the PMISSC Mentoring Program, where you’ll discover the incredible benefits of becoming a mentor or mentee. This program is designed to foster professional growth, enhance skills, and build a strong network within the project management community. Whether you're looking to share your expertise or seeking guidance to advance your career, the PMI Mentoring Program offers valuable opportunities for personal and professional development.
Watch this to learn:
* Overview of the PMISSC Mentoring Program: Mission, vision, and objectives.
* Benefits for Volunteer Mentors: Professional development, networking, personal satisfaction, and recognition.
* Advantages for Mentees: Career advancement, skill development, networking, and confidence building.
* Program Structure and Expectations: Mentor-mentee matching process, program phases, and time commitment.
* Success Stories and Testimonials: Inspiring examples from past participants.
* How to Get Involved: Steps to participate and resources available for support throughout the program.
Learn how you can make a difference in the project management community and take the next step in your professional journey.
About Hector Del Castillo
Hector is VP of Professional Development at the PMI Silver Spring Chapter, and CEO of Bold PM. He's a mid-market growth product executive and changemaker. He works with mid-market product-driven software executives to solve their biggest growth problems. He scales product growth, optimizes ops and builds loyal customers. He has reduced customer churn 33%, and boosted sales 47% for clients. He makes a significant impact by building and launching world-changing AI-powered products. If you're looking for an engaging and inspiring speaker to spark creativity and innovation within your organization, set up an appointment to discuss your specific needs and identify a suitable topic to inspire your audience at your next corporate conference, symposium, executive summit, or planning retreat.
About PMI Silver Spring Chapter
We are a branch of the Project Management Institute. We offer a platform for project management professionals in Silver Spring, MD, and the DC/Baltimore metro area. Monthly meetings facilitate networking, knowledge sharing, and professional development. For event details, visit pmissc.org.
2. As service once again becomes a key
differentiator for brands, the c-suite and
operational staff are finally on the same
page—both are looking longer and harder
at the prospect of virtual service delivery
that is both scalable and of high quality.
/02
But how does an organization achieve this in a contact
center environment? With so many fixed costs and the
very real prospect of high staff turnover, contact centers
are rarely seen as hubs of innovation. Yet the rise of the
virtual agent workforce is changing all that, fast.
3. Virtual contact center agents—and the processes, management
style and technology that support them—should not be seen as
cost-cutting measures per se.
Instead, they are a tool to improve business reaction times and access on-demand capabilities
that can, and should, improve service quality.
For some businesses, which are accustomed to the peaks and troughs of seasonal demand, the
issue of scalability has been a long-running concern. For other businesses, the productivity and
cost-efficiencies of virtual environments are taking on new relevance as economic imperatives
apply continued pressure.
The benefits of virtual agent models are clear:
1. Businesses are not required to carry large, extra headcount volumes at the enterprise level.
2. The utilization of each agent is maximized and agents are given the right amount of work.
3. Delivery of quick response times to call volume fluctuations to avert service level crises.
In fact, virtual agents in a well-managed technical environment can reduce costs, lower enterprise
risk and raise the bar on service quality.
Introduction /03
Herearesixkey
recommendations
forensuringyour
virtualcontactcenter
workforcecandeliver
thesebenefits.
4. Invest in your intellectual capital and
robust
partnerships
/04
01
5. Repeatable service outcomes require planning and structure,
but not necessarily permanency.
Every contact center is ultimately seeking to deliver great, repeatable service outcomes
to its customers. This is how loyalty, trust and sustainable business propositions are built.
So, even though many contact centers will use highly competent and efficient temporary
labor for some aspects of their work some of the time, relying on this approach without
considering the strategic value of your contact center workforce is rarely advisable. This
is not to say you shouldn’t hire temporary labor for your center, but that you simply must
have a strategic approach to doing so.
This is primarily because, without some level of continuity or holistic planning, a
temporary workforce will find it difficult to provide the consistency of quality that
your business strategy demands. Any good outsourcing model should provide the
opportunity for your outsourcer to build deep knowledge about your business, and
to continuously work with you (as your partner) to enhance and refine the model in
response to changing business conditions.
Invest in your intellectual capital and robust partnerships /05
6. If quality and efficiency are your goals, you need a scalable approach that delivers these
three things:
• The right model for business that’s well managed and is supported by good
technology (your own or your outsourcing provider’s);
• Access to training and recruitment processes that support quality service outcomes,
even during demand fluctuations;
• An outsourcing relationship that is based on shared operational understanding and
continuous improvement.
If you want to improve your service outcomes and innovate your business model at the
same time, there’s plenty of evidence that the right virtualization partner can enable your
contact center to lead that charge instead of just following it.
Invest in your intellectual capital and robust partnerships /06
8. It’s not just during emergencies that the value of a
virtual contact center should be recognised.
We all know about the business continuity benefits of virtual workforce models—this is
nothing new. But, what about the incremental, less visible continuity issues that arise in
contact center environments on a daily basis?
We would argue that a virtual agent workforce model is perhaps most valuable in
addressing the ‘everyday’ issues of scale, not just those that arise during emergencies.
Seek to lower all kinds of service and scale risk /08
Our experience of running
a virtual agent contact
center during Hurricane Ike
proved its business continuity
benefits under extreme
circumstances. Leading
up to and during Ike’s
impact, our team achieved
the following:
• Hired 60 contact center
agents by the customer’s
target date. These agents
were recruited outside
the customer’s region,
which meant they were not
affected by the hurricane
and could provide the
assistance needed.
• Addressed the customer’s
space constraints and
lack of training resources
by successfully training
those agents in an existing
Kelly®
facility, which was
converted into a classroom
and on-the-job training
environment.
Hurricane Ike: Virtual agent contact center
• Answered more than
30,000 calls over a
10-day period during the
hurricane catastrophe
period—in addition to
its core responsibilities
day-to-day.
• Managed agent
performance to
established customer
service levels using our
own ‘KellyConnect’ call
center technology.
9. Operational scale demands can be generated by any number of internal or external
forces, including:
• Seasonal demand: The floristry industry has extreme peak needs during Valentine’s
Day, Mothers’ Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. A virtual solution ensures proper
training plus easy management of the required peaks, without expanding training
facilities or adding full-time employees.
• E-commerce activities: In some cases, service agents need to verify and validate
customer requests and posts through their global e-commerce sites. Given the
difficulty in predicting traffic in peer-to-peer commerce, a virtual model is ideal to
support this low-cost business model because it is easily and quickly scalable in
response to variability in web traffic.
• Marketing activities and sales: A virtual solution manages the demand peaks
generated by time-sensitive special offers that can be the result of specific marketing
activities. The virtual agent network maintains service quality at all hours of the day
and night.
Seek to lower all kinds of service and scale risk /09
11. Competitive advantage requires focus, repetition and training
scalability at the right cost.
A repeatable, high-quality training capability is the beginning of a serious competitive
advantage for any contact center.
As long as the learning curve associated with each new ‘hire’ can be accurately
predicted, managed and facilitated through a highly supportive virtual environment,
with real-time feedback and collaboration tools, virtual agents will do as well as in-
house agents. And, the faster they can be trained and deployed, the more attractive the
training investment is for both parties.
In our experience, a best-practice training approach that scales well without sacrificing
quality requires the following:
• Flexibility in the ratio of full-time/part-time agents.
• A minimum number of part-time hours should be provided to retain part-time
workers and ensure they do not seek additional employment elsewhere..
• A 70% FTE utilization rate—this provides the appropriate level of engagement
without risk of burn-out.
Turn training processes into strategic assets /11
12. A strong training program that enables agents to enter your workforce quickly and
competently will also assist in talent retention, providing the flexible work that many
good employees want. Those who simply cannot access a physical work location for any
number of reasons can be attracted and retained by virtual models.
Typically, the larger the footprint of a virtual workforce, the easier it is to leverage the
benefits of a scalable training program that can flex up or down across a virtual network,
all the while building intelligence about your customers and your processes. Tailored
approaches for small organizations can also realize the same benefits over time.
/12Turn training processes into strategic assets
14. Getting the right mix of in-house and outsourced labor means
something different for every business, so choose your virtual
model wisely.
In a virtual contact center model, your ability to attract and retain talent will depend
almost entirely on the quality of the employment and service experience that your
specific model enables. Your ability to alter the mix of in-house and outsourced labor fits
squarely into budget and headcount constraints allocated by leadership—and both of
these issues must be considered carefully before choosing which virtual model will work
for your business.
Simplified, there are three basic outsourcing approaches that provide flexible access to
labor in a virtual model:
1) A pilot program: This is a good way to get your feet wet and gain valuable insights
for your business before committing to one specific virtual model. You may wish to
provide the technology solution to support the model, or the outsourcer may provide
it, but it is critical that clear separation between your pilot program and your existing
model is created in order to compare data. If both teams are ‘sharing’ technology, be
Consider each model in light of budgets and talent supply issues /14
15. clear about how you will separate the data for comparison at the outset. Selecting
a proven partner in the virtual space who understands the complexities and
management strategies required for successful virtual operations will be critical in
both setting up your pilot and comparing it with existing operations.
2) Outsourced Solution (with thought leadership and direction provided by
the customer): Many companies who understand the value of outsourcing and the
operational expertise that comes with an outsourced model, remain reluctant to ‘turn
over the keys to the ship’. An outsourced partnership, by definition, is just that—one
of collaboration and ongoing input from the customer with the focus on day-to-day
management and oversight provided by the outsourcer. The customer maintains
control and direction over where the ship is headed, while the outsourcer provides all
the functions behind the scenes to keep the ship afloat and fully operational.
3) Complete navigation: Some customers have very clear SLA and metric expectations
and want to completely turn over the function to an outsourcer, expecting service
delivery of the goals. In this scenario, ‘how’ the outsourcer gets there, ‘how’ they
choose to navigate, combined with full operation of the behind the scenes functions
remain 100% with the outsourcer. This relationship still requires a partnership for
success, yet there is less directional involvement than option two.
/15Consider each model in light of budgets and talent supply issues
17. In virtual workforces, a shared vision is key to success.
It is not location or physical proximity, but a shared vision and purpose that make positive
collaborations possible. It is not an office building, but leadership, culture and a clear
understanding of the task ahead that sets employees on a parallel course with your
business goals.
That’s why, when building a virtual workforce model for customer contact roles, it’s
important to foster both a sense of trust and of personal responsibility, but also a sense
of being part of something collective. This requires an employer brand that is accessible
and applicable to both in-house and outsourced labor.
A successful virtual customer contact center is one in which the brand is embodied by
tangible actions—not just words. It’s enabled by technology, but it is facilitated and
reinforced by good management practice and a supportive culture that promotes
feedback, diversity and inclusion.
Remember, it’s the culture that binds /17
18. Apart from having technology that enables effective collaboration and feedback on staff
performance, a good virtual model must fulfil the following criteria:
• Ensure internal communications strategies adequately address the virtual
workforce and engage them in dialogue. This means scheduling all-staff
meetings/updates in a way that enables virtual workers to participate, as well as
actively seeking input from virtual workers about change, strategy and big-picture
business issues, as well as the day-to-day operations. It also requires analysis of data
collected about this workforce segment to ensure their input/feedback is addressed.
• Ensure adequate representation of this workforce segment in
management team decisions. Depending on the size of the workforce and
the structure of your organization, direct managerial representation for virtual
workers may not be required, yet ensuring their unique circumstances and value is
considered when new strategies, policies and procedures are developed will be.
This segment holds specific knowledge, and having adequate channels to filter this
up to senior management is an important way to keep customer interests at the
center of the organization.
/18Remember, it’s the culture that binds
19. • Avoid ‘special’ treatment or different policies for one segment of the
workforce unless there is a clear, practical reason why this is the case.
Virtual technology may facilitate agility and efficiency, but it cannot make these things
happen alone. Your outsourcing provider and the virtual team it engages must know
your business, understand your customers and play an integral role in developing
service intelligence in the virtual space.
/19Remember, it’s the culture that binds
20. /20
Look for a turnkey approach if you’re new to
virtualized
workforces
06
21. Every innovation is an experiment. Finding a proven model that
has already worked elsewhere lowers the risk of moving to a virtual
work model.
KellyConnect is a proven and effective, scalable virtual model for customer-facing staff.
Our solutions have been tested and used consistently on a large scale, by thousands of
agents in various locations. We’ve discovered through this experience that any model
you choose must have the following:
• Appropriate use of automation in handling customer inquiries
• Training on appropriate use of the knowledge base and skill-set of each agent
• Skill-based routing to direct calls in the most efficient way
• An appropriate mix of both full-time and part-time agents in the baseline staffing
population to ensure the model can be scaled up or down with seasonality
• An opportunity for self-service when appropriate.
Look for a turnkey approach if you’re new to virtualized workforces /21
22. The other critical element in a turnkey approach to virtualization is the need for the
right social media tools and processes to reinforce your company culture and unique
approach to service differentiation. The solution must be robust enough to facilitate
communication and collaboration that is as good as (if not better than) that which is
experienced by an internally housed team.
/22Look for a turnkey approach if you’re new to virtualized workforces
23. At Kelly, we have worked with many companies—large and small—across most industries
to implement virtual customer contact and technical support workforces. We have seen
virtual workforces deliver results through our own technology solution, as well as with
our customer’s own platforms. We have also seen a virtual model become critical to
contingency plans as well as fundamental to operating smarter on a daily basis. We’ve
seen it improve service, not just the bottom line.
/23
Conclusion
Virtualmodelsarenolongertechnologicalexperiments—theyare
aprovenwaytomanageissuesofscalebetter,cheaperandfaster.
References:
http://www.fujitsu.com/downloads/EU/ie/pdf/news/events/Virtual_Workplace_Whitepaper.pdf
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/wireless/ibm-predicts-demise-of-traditional-offices/222
24. EXIT
About the author
Kim Sokol is the Strategic Development Director for KellyOCG’s KellyConnect Center of
Excellence. Kim joined KellyOCG in 2008 to help launch KellyConnect outsourcing solutions.
She is responsible for both sales and account management of customer care and service desk
programs. Kim holds a bachelor of science degree from the United States Military Academy at
West Point. She earned a masters degree in business administration from Wilmington University
and has over 20 years of administration, operations, and sales experience. She is also a Certified Outsourcing
Professional (COP) with the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) and is currently serving
as President of the Great Lakes Chapter of SOCAP®
International.
About KellyOCG
KellyOCG®
is the Outsourcing and Consulting Group of workforce solutions provider Kelly Services, Inc. KellyOCG is a
global leader in innovative talent management solutions in the areas of Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), Business
Process Outsourcing (BPO), Contingent Workforce Outsourcing (CWO), including Independent Contractor Solutions,
Human Resources Consulting, Career Transition and Executive Coaching, and Executive Search.
KellyOCG was named in the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals®
2013 Global
Outsourcing 100®
list, an annual ranking of the world’s best outsourcing service providers and advisors.
KellyConnect is a pioneer in the set-up and maintenance of virtual workplaces. We have access to local talent via
440 Kelly-owned branches across the US. We combine this with the intellectual property of understanding how to
deliver plug-and-play technology solutions (if you don’t have your own).
Further information about KellyOCG may be found at kellyocg.com.
For more thought leadership go to talentproject.com