The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Achieves Certification as a Center of Excellence

The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis customer contact center has been certified as a Center of Excellence by BenchmarkPortal, a leading contact center research and consulting organization. “Only the top 10 percent of those benchmarked annually achieve this distinction,” said BenchmarkPortal CEO Bruce Belfiore. “Contact centers that achieve certification are remarkable in their ability to balance a commitment to service excellence with cost effective service strategies.

Participate in Ground-Breaking Research - 4 Different Research Initiatives.

BenchmarkPortal has a long tradition of original research focused on the contact center sector. Twenty-six books, hundreds of white papers, case studies and articles are testimony to our research contribution to the customer contact sector.

We are inviting members of our community to raise their hands to participate in ground-breaking research for 2013-2014, including an innovative Harvard Business School-led project. This year's research concentrates on two areas:

1. Contact Center Agents
2. Financial Returns from Contact Center Improvements

Please Participate! If you would be interested in participating, visit our website here: http://www.benchmarkportal.com/call-center-newsresources/news-articles/2013/08/participate-ground-breaking-research-4-different-res

The Projects Under Consideration Are As Follows:

• Harvard Business School Research on "Idle Time" During Work.
• Inner Work Life Research Study:
• Does Contact Resolution Lead To Sales?
• Customer Contact and Shareholder Value: Case Studies On Contact Center ROI.

Contact Center Economics 101: When WFM Means Workforce Manna

here are literally thousands of contact centers that are on (or over) the cusp of needing advanced workforce management systems.  Continuing to spreadsheet your workforce needs as your center grows and becomes more complex may seem like a thrifty thing to do – but it isn’t.  Some of the best returns on investment (ROIs) from contact center investments come from installing appropriate WFM systems.

Consider the fact that most contact centers spend 60% to 70% of their budget on front line personnel.  Consider as well the fact that a competent workforce management system can allow you to increase your agent-related metrics, including occupancy, utilization and adherence to schedule.

Click here to continue reading this article: Contact Center Economics 101: When WFM Means Workforce Manna

How To Understand & Embrace Advanced Workforce Management

In today’s advanced contact center environment, Workforce Management (WFM) should not be thought of as only a process, but a culture that uses data to drive systems and practices toward optimum results. Centers that continue to maintain their WFM practices on spreadsheets often miss out on the big picture in terms of planning and adjusting the needs of staffing. Conversely, centers that use WFM software can more readily and easily focus on the changing business needs of the center on a minute-by-minute basis. These changes include agent skill/split needs for product lines, inbound vs. outbound, voice channel vs. email or text, supervisor distribution, call monitoring, coaching, mentoring and training needs, and more.

Click here to listen to the show and continue reading this article: http://www.benchmarkportal.com/call-center-newsresources/calltalk-online-radio-show/calltalk-archive/workforce-management-advanced

Organizational Structure: Foundation for Contact Center Success

We have all seen photographs of sinkholes that have swallowed buildings whole.  Weak underpinnings can have tragic consequences; what you don’t see can really hurt you.

In the contact center world, organizational structure is often a weak underpinning that impedes success.  It is not necessarily the first thing we see when we assess a center, but it becomes apparent when we review org charts, operations and reports.  Most commonly, we see issues in the following contexts:

To Read about Growth Situations, Shrinkage, Functional Change, Mergers and Acquisitions, Outsource/Insource Decisions, and At-Home Agents...Click this link: http://www.benchmarkportal.com/call-center-newsresources/news-articles/2013/08/organizational-structure-foundation-contact-center-s

MAXIMUS Physician Profile Operations in New York and New Jersey Achieve Certification as Centers of Excellence

BenchmarkPortal recognizes the exceptional efficiency and effectiveness of the MAXIMUS Physician Profile Operations in New York and New Jersey by awarding their call centers as Certified Centers of Excellence. The granting of certification is based on a company’s operational metrics, customer satisfaction and agent satisfaction!