United Concordia Dental’s Customer Call Center Achieves Certification as a Center of Excellence

BenchmarkPortal recognizes the exceptional efficiency and effectiveness of United Concordia Dental’s Customer Call Center by awarding it Certification as a Center of Excellence. The granting of certification is based on a company’s operational metrics, customer satisfaction and agent satisfaction.

United Concordia Dental’s Customer Call Center has been certified as a Center of Excellence by BenchmarkPortal, a leading contact center researchand consulting organization. “Only the top 10 percent of those benchmarked annually achieve this distinction,” said BenchmarkPortal CEO Bruce Belfiore. “Achieving Center of Excellence certification is an acknowledgement of strong management and leadership in the call center industry.”

“Center of Excellence certification indicates that the contact center delivers superior customer service within a responsible cost structure,” said Belfiore. "A great contact center operation reflects its management's passion for balancing the demands of high quality and low costs. United Concordia has shown its ability to achieve that balance through its objective performance metrics. We have validated its metrics and have certified that United Concordia is, indeed, among the best in its industry. I congratulate United Concordia on a job well done.”

About United Concordia Dental
United Concordia is a leading national dental carrier and delivers high-quality, cost-effective dental programs. Headquartered in Harrisburg, Pa., the company has more than six million members, a network of more than 76,000 unique dentists at over 164,000 access points nationwide and is licensed in all 50 states, D.C. and Puerto Rico. United Concordia has a companywide dedication and commitment to superior customer service, which is evident in the design, implementation, administration and servicing of its dental benefits programs. For more information about United Concordia products, visit http://www.UnitedConcordia.com.

Florida Power & Light Company’s Customer Care Center Achieves Certification as a Center of Excellence

Florida Power & Light Company's Customer Care 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. “Achieving Center of Excellence certification is an acknowledgement of strong management and leadership in the call center industry.”

To achieve certification as a Center of Excellence, a company must undergo a rigorous benchmarking process, which compares the organization’s operational metrics to those of its peers, using the world's largest database of contact center metrics. During this process, BenchmarkPortal experts audit and verify key data from the contact center applying for certification.

Factors (called key performance indicators) such as first call resolution, cost per call, call waiting time, customer satisfaction, agent satisfaction and utilization of human resources are taken into account. BenchmarkPortal is able to scientifically gauge how the contact center being studied compared to other centers in the same industry, and if the performance of the contact center is superior. Customer satisfaction, which relates to customer loyalty and business growth, is the goal, balanced by financial metrics which show that the center is being operated efficiently.

"A great contact center operation reflects its management's passion for balancing the demands of high quality and low costs,“ said Belfiore. “FPL has shown its ability to achieve that balance through its objective performance metrics. We have validated its metrics and have certified that FPL is, indeed, among the best in its industry. I congratulate FPL on a job well done.”

“Benchmarking delivers a crackerjack profile of a contact center’s operations that can inspire management to move forward aggressively,” added Belfiore, who has been with the company since 2000.

About Florida Power & Light Company
Florida Power & Light Company is the largest rate-regulated electric utility in Florida and serves the third largest number of customers of any electric utility in the United States. FPL serves approximately 4.6 million customer accounts and is a leading Florida employer with approximately 10,000 employees as of year-end 2011. During the five year period ended December 31, 2011, the company delivered the best service reliability among Florida investor-owned utilities, while its typical residential customer bills, based on data available in December 2011, are about 25 percent below the national average. A clean energy leader, FPL has one of the lowest emissions profiles and one of the leading energy efficiency programs among utilities nationwide. FPL is a subsidiary of Juno Beach, Fla.-based NextEra Energy, Inc. For more information, visit http://www.FPL.com

CallTalk, Wed. 8/15 - Eliminating Your Customer Service Blind Spot With Co-Browse Technology

 

Eliminating Your Customer Service Blind Spot With Co-Browse Technology 

Join host Bruce Belfiore and Dusty Stanford, Sales Director, LiveLOOK, as they co-browse technology. Customer service strategies have evolved over time to cover every communications channel - phone, chat, email, social media and more. But, with the exception of in-store service, most companies have lacked a visual component to customer service communications. Learn how Co-Browse Technology is now being used in call centers to create a visual connection, enabling agents to see exactly what a customer sees on the screen during a call or chat.

About CallTalk 

Broadcast monthly, directly over the Internet to your desktop, CallTalk covers informative and educational topics that impact today's call center. This show is hosted by Bruce Belfiore, CEO of BenchmarkPortal. It is aired without the participation of vendors so that topics will be free from their influence and guided by the needs of its listeners.

 

Guest Host: Dusty Stanford, Sales Director, LiveLOOK 

Dusty Stanford is the Sales Director at LiveLOOK. He has been involved with technology for the last 25 years and has worked with some of the leading call center companies in the world. Dusty has held numerous positions in the contact center environment, and he successfully leading his own center. Dusty has extensive knowledge about call center operations.

Date: Wed., Aug 15th, 2012

Time: 10am PT / 1pm ET

Duration: 30-45 Minutes

Games Agents Play, Tips From Our CEO, Bruce Belfiore

Ah, agents. We love them. We nurture them. We mentor them...and there are times we would like to strangle one or two! In particular, when they learn to game the system in one way or another, it makes us want to give them the boot.

By gaming the system I mean finding ways to shirk their responsibilities or provide sub-optimal service to customers. Let's review a few of the most common challenges and discuss ways to deal with them.

Excuses. This is fertile ground for issues that drive us nuts. There are excuses for being late or absent for work, excuses for not adhering to schedule and excuses for shoddy performance. Please send me your favorite “silliest excuse of all” and I may feature it on a future posting.

Aux-Out. This goes by different names, but it is when agents place themselves into Aux and then back into Available. The act of switching into Aux, even if for a brief period, takes them out of queue. Then when they go back into Available mode, they are put at the back of the line and will be the last to be sent an incoming call by the system. Agents who have low average number of calls handled per hour or per shift may be playing this game.

Transfers. Agents who don't want to handle difficult calls are often tempted to simply toss the call up the line, rather than become competent to answer a difficult question themselves. Keep any eye out for excessive calls transferred.

Hold Time. I still remember the first time I went to a center that indicated "zero" after-call work time. I thought I would find a wonderfully trained workforce using a wonderfully functional knowledge management system. Instead I plugged in for my side-by-sides and heard "may I put you on hold for a second" and saw the agent filling in the caller’s CRM record while pretending to be looking up the answer. After-call work time had "migrated" to hold time! It turned out that the agents did this because their system allowed them only a few seconds between calls, so they created their own ACWT during the call itself by putting the caller on hold. I have seen variations on this numerous times since.

So what is a manager to do?

First, try to have "game-proof" technology insofar as possible. Second, build a culture of honest dealing right from the interview and training stage. Talking openly about these issues lets agents know you are on to games and that you expect them to be honest in their work. Third, have sanctions for people who disobey. Make the consequences of gaming the system clear to all, then enforce them when violators are discovered.

Always try to foster an open and positive environment. Agents are less likely to shirk their work if they enjoy performing it and respect you as their manager.

Do you have other stories of games your agents play? Please send them in and we may utilize them in a future posting. Thank you!


Bruce Belfiore
BruceBelfiore@BenchmarkPortal.com

TMC.net Interviews Bruce Belfiore about iBenchmark

CEO, Bruce Belfiore was recently interviewed by TMC.net to discuss Benchmarking automation. Watch this video to learn about how automated benchmarking can help improve your center.

BenchmarkPortal Announces: Teachers Credit Union (TCU) Achieves its second Certification as a Center of Excellence

BenchmarkPortal recognizes the exceptional efficiency and effectiveness of the Teachers Credit Union Member Call Center by awarding it Certification as a Center of Excellence for the second year in a row. The granting of certification is based on a company’s operational metrics, customer satisfaction and agent satisfaction.

The Teachers Credit Union (TCU) member call 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. “Achieving Center of Excellence certification is an acknowledgement of strong management and leadership in the call center industry.”    

To achieve certification as a Center of Excellence, a company must undergo a rigorous benchmarking process, which compares the organization’s operational metrics to those of its peers, using the world's largest database of contact center metrics. During this process, BenchmarkPortal experts audit and verify key call center data from center applying for certification.

Factors (called key performance indicators) such as first call resolution, cost per call, call waiting time, customer satisfaction, agent satisfaction and utilization of human resources are taken into account. BenchmarkPortal is able to scientifically gauge how the contact center being studied compares to other centers in the same industry, and if the performance of the contact center is superior. Customer satisfaction, which relates to customer loyalty and business growth, is the goal, balanced by financial metrics which show that the center is being operated efficiently.

“Center of Excellence certification indicates that the contact center delivers superior customer service within a responsible cost structure,” said Belfiore. "A great contact center operation reflects its management's passion for balancing the demands of high quality and low costs. Teachers Credit Union has shown its ability to achieve that balance through its objective performance metrics. We have validated its metrics and have certified that Teachers Credit Union is, indeed, among the best in its industry. I congratulate Teachers Credit Union on a job well done.”

“Benchmarking delivers a crackerjack profile of a contact center’s operations that can inspire management to move forward aggressively, even in a less-than-robust economy,” added Belfiore, who has been with the company since 2000.

CallTalk Thursday, July 19th, Rethinking Agent Satisfaction...Listen in!

The Meaning of Life . . . in the Call Center: Rethinking Agent Satisfaction  Join host Bruce Belfiore and Dr. Teresa Amabile, Harvard Business School Professor, as they discuss agent satisfaction. Is employee engagement as strong as it could be in your organization? Is everyone highly motivated to do a great job every day? In this episode of CallTalk, Professor Amabile describes a decade of research into the hearts and minds of people at work. Her results, and their implications for what managers and supervisors do every day, may surprise you. About CallTalk  Broadcast monthly, directly over the Internet to your desktop, CallTalk covers informative and educational topics that impact today's call center. This show is hosted by Bruce Belfiore, CEO of BenchmarkPortal. It is aired without the participation of vendors so that topics will be free from their influence and guided by the needs of its listeners.   Guest Host: Dr. Teresa Amabile, Harvard Business School Professor  Teresa Amabile is the Edsel Bryant Ford Professor of Business Administration and a Director of Research at Harvard Business School. Her research investigates how life inside organizations can influence people and their performance. She is the coauthor of The Progress Principle, Creativity in Context, andGrowing Up Creative, as well as over 150 scholarly papers, chapters, case studies, and presentations. She has presented her theories, research results, and practical implications to various groups in business, government, and education, including Google, Pixar, Intel, TEDx Atlanta, Procter & Gamble, Novartis International AG, and Motorola. Listen on July 19th! Date: Thur., July 19th, 2012 Add To Your Outlook or iCal Calendar Time:10am PT / 1pm ET Duration:30-45 Minutes Topic:The Meaning of Life . . . in the Call Center: Rethinking Agent Satisfaction Special Offer:The first person to ask a live question will receive a complimentary $1500 Benchmarking Survey. Please call (347) 857-3117. Archived Shows:If you missed this show or would like to view our archived shows, please follow this link. http://www.icontact-archive.com/XY2wLKXhL4PGHI40xdzKLiya6hypj5k7?w=4#linkedinshare

BenchmarkPortal Announces Call Center Campus Week Nov. 5-9, 2012, in Las Vegas | BenchmarkPortal, LLC

BenchmarkPortal Announces Call Center Campus Week Nov. 5-9, 2012, in Las Vegas | BenchmarkPortal, LLC

Call Center Campus Week Includes Call Center Training, Certification Workshops and Symposium. “Improving Customer Service & Loyalty” is the theme for this year’s Call Center Campus Week.

BenchmarkPortal’s College of Call Center Excellence will conduct its Call Center Campus Week this Nov. in Las Vegas. At this annual, unique call center industry event, call center managers and decision-makers can attend certification workshops, sessions and discussions throughout the week. Industry experts, along with BenchmarkPortal’s premier team of instructors, will lead and guide classes and group discussions that explore the latest developments in the call center industry and engage participants of the best practices required to operate a profitable and reputable call center.

BenchmarkPortal intends that attendees gain new and practical insights, as well as strategies that contribute to their organizations’ strengths and sustainability. The training at the Call Center Campus should also enhance individual leadership skills of attendees. Call center leaders will have the opportunity to interact with their peers, learn how to raise their best practice skills to new levels, participate in discussions to inspire innovative thinking and explore compelling avenues for advancing the call center industry. Participants will walk away with incredible tools that can be immediately applied in their centers.

The Call Center Campus Certification Training will occur Nov. 5-7 and includes certification workshops, access to the two-day symposium to follow, benchmarking survey, networking breakfasts and breaks, and lodging.
- Call Center Management Certification: Nov. 5-7, 2012
- Call Center Workforce Management Certification: Nov. 6-7, 2012
- Call Center Quality Assurance Certification: Nov. 6-7, 2012

The Call Center Campus Symposium on Nov. 8th and 9th involves industry-leading keynote speakers, learning sessions, ‘hot topic’ roundtable discussions, and a networking reception.

About BenchmarkPortal 
BenchmarkPortal’s founders pioneered the first contact center benchmarking study in 1995. Now custodian of the largest database of contact center metrics in the world, BenchmarkPortal is a leader in certification, training, consulting and research for the customer contact industry. Its team of professionals has gained international recognition for expertise and innovation in best practices. BenchmarkPortal’s mission is to help management optimize the performance of their center in terms of both costs and quality, encourage customer loyalty and build enterprise value. For more information on BenchmarkPortal please call 1-800-214-8929 or visithttp://www.BenchmarkPortal.com.

CALL CENTER CAMPUS WEEK in Las Vegas, Nov. 5-9, 2012

BenchmarkPortal’s College of Call Center Excellence will conduct its Call Center Campus Week this November in Las Vegas. This annual, unique call center industry event presents an opportunity for attendees to get on the fast track to upgrade customer service and to drive their call centers’ performance to the top.

Industry experts, along with BenchmarkPortal’s premier team of instructors, will lead and guide classes and group discussions that explore call center challenges and emerging trends in the industry.

“Improving Customer Service & Loyalty” is the theme for this year’s Call Center Campus Symposium. The two-day program - unlike any other - features talks and discussions to inspire innovative thinking and engage participants in exploring compelling avenues for advancing the call center industry.

View The Call Center Campus Web Page  »

View The Call Center Campus Brochure  »

Call Center Campus Training: November 5-7, 2012

• Certification Workshops in Call Center Management, Quality Assurance and Workforce Management will equip you with the skill set that you need to improve your center's performance and lead to your professional certification. Workshops take place on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
• Access to 2-Day Symposium on Thursday and Friday is included with your participation in our certification workshops.
• Benchmarking: All students participate in our call center benchmarking survey. Results provides your company with a snapshot of your call center vs. industry peers.
• Networking Breakfasts and Breaks: Get to know your peers throughout the week with continental breakfasts, coffee breaks and afternoon snacks.
• Lodging: Registration to the Certification Workshops includes your lodging at the NYNY Hotel in Las Vegas.

Call Center Campus Symposium: November 8-9, 2012

• Industry-Leading Keynote Speakers: Listen to thought-provoking speakers share how their companies implemented successful programs that focus on achieving excellence and improving customer service.
• Learning Sessions: Customer Satisfaction, Agent Satisfaction, Social Media, Metrics, Technology and more
• “Hot Topic” Roundtable Discussions: Share business challenges, approaches and best practices on a number of hot topics with your peers.
• Networking Reception: Enjoy complimentary drinks and hors d’oeuvres while networking.
• Awards Ceremony: 2012 Top 100 Call Center Contest Winners
• Networking Breakfasts and Breaks: Get to know your peers throughout the week with continental and buffet breakfasts, coffee breaks and afternoon snacks.
• Lodging: Registration to the Symposium includes your lodging at the NYNY Hotel in Las Vegas.

Call Center Campus Symposium

The Call Center Campus Symposium offers sessions that provide a hands-on learning environment. Attendees can obtain new skills, reflect critically on their work and learn from other individuals and organizations confronting dilemmas similar to their own. At the same time, call center leaders can learn how to raise their best practice skills to new levels, while sharing their best practices with peers.

BenchmarkPortal intends that attendees gain new and practical insights, as well as strategies that contribute to their organizations’ strengths and sustainability. The training at the Call Center Campus Symposium should also enhance individual leadership skills of attendees. As a Call Center Campus attendee, not only will you benefit from the opportunity to interact with your peers, BenchmarkPortal Experts and other industry leaders, but you will walk away with incredible tools that can be immediately applied in your center. Our mission is to create a compelling networking event for the call center industry - one that focuses on networking and building relationships and that does not require exhibiting or catering to end-users. This is a vendor-neutral event that focuses on the core topics, hands-on learning, increasing one’s knowledge of best practices and driving success in your career and center.

Price:
Call Center Management: $2450
Quality Assurance: $1450
Workforce Management: $1450
Symposium: $475


Preferred Partner Discount: Center of Excellence Members 15% off.

Group Discounts: If you have 2 or more individuals that would like to take the call center training course please contact us for a group discount!
Online Contact Form | 800.214.8929 Ext. 1 

Cannot be combined with other offers or discounts.

CallTalk: Assessing the Competitive Landscape for Market Expansions or Consolidations

Assessing the Competitive Landscape for Market Expansions or Consolidations 

Join host Bruce Belfiore and James Trobaugh, Senior VP, CBRE Labor Analytics Group, and Mark Seeley, Senior Managing Director, CBRE Labor Analytics Group, as they discuss call center expansions and consolidations. Leading with labor, CBRE executives reveal their unique insight and approach when addressing one of the biggest enterprise challenges moving forward - how to successfully implement solutions at the intersection of human capital and real estate.

About CallTalk 

Broadcast monthly, directly over the Internet to your desktop, CallTalk covers informative and educational topics that impact today's call center. This show is hosted by Bruce Belfiore, CEO of BenchmarkPortal. It is aired without the participation of vendors so that topics will be free from their influence and guided by the needs of its listeners.

Guest Host: James Trobaugh, Senior VP, CBRE Labor Analytics Group 

As one of the founding partners and Senior Vice President of the CBRE Labor Analytics Group (LAG), Jim has spent the last 17 years developing a specialized practice within CBRE that has led to over 800 site and market evaluation assignments, touring more than 650 cities. Jim creates value, utilizing his expertise, relationships and broad base knowledge of site selection, transaction services and client advisory solutions for strategic planning, market assessment and portfolio optimization - all focused at the intersection of labor and real estate.

Guest Host: Mark Seeley, Senior Managing Director, CBRE Labor Analytics Group 

As the Senior Managing Director for CBRE’s Labor Analytics Group, Mark leads the Labor Analytics Group consulting practice. Mark has practiced corporate location and labor analysis consulting for over a decade. He specializes in site selection, workforce strategy development, portfolio optimization, on-site labor assessment and economic incentive analysis and negotiations.