Managing World-Class Call Centers: Site Visit Findings.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Excellence in contact centers is becoming increasingly critical to driving client retention and boosting market share. A study by benchmarking leader Best Practices, LLC, reveals critical steps top executives undertake to ensure call centers achieve high-performance standards and deliver first-rate customer service. E[acute accent]Best Practices, LLC is now offering a discount on all benchmarking research. Save 10% on all published research through July 2 and receive one free seat to the Best Practice Database with Five Star Access. Visit http://www3.best-in-class.com/rr404.htm for more details. E[acute accent]"Managing World-Class Call Centers: Site Visit Findings," profiled in a summary available online at http://www3.best-in-class.com/rr349.htm, details specific practices top companies use to increase call center performance. For example, top companies:

E[acute accent]--Develop early warning and monitoring systems to monitor and manage call volumes.

E[acute accent]--Employ a team approach to resolve customer complaints.

E[acute accent]--Employ a multi-phased team recruitment process to select the most qualified candidates.

E[acute accent]--Develop an integrated approach to orientation and initial job training to support employee productivity and service excellence.

E[acute accent]--Support career development by aligning performance appraisals with employee career planning to help employees' progress towards career objectives.

E[acute accent]--Empower customer service representatives to make service decisions that drive customer satisfaction and loyalty.

E[acute accent]--Develop process management and process control techniques to ensure customer service quality.

E[acute accent]"Managing World-Class Call Centers: Site Visit Findings" compiles best practices from site visits at 11 world-class call centers, including two Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award winners. The study also includes the following findings:

E[acute accent]--Performance statistics, such as abandoned call rates, answer rates, handling time, hold time and save rates

E[acute accent]--Call center organizational structures, including staffing levels for management and customer service representatives

E[acute accent]--Employee reward and recognition systems, including salary ranges and incentive programs

E[acute accent]--Call center rep evaluation and management practices, including performance scorecards and coaching techniques

E[acute accent]"Recent research has shown that 70 percent of customers will buy products from companies with excellent customer service reputations," said Chris James, Best Practices, LLC vice president. "Companies need to bolster call center proficiencies to capture and retain these empowered customers." E[acute accent]Download a summary of "Managing World-Class Call Centers: Site Visit Findings," at http://www3.best-in-class.com/rr349.htm. For more information, contact Mike Rogers at 919-767-9255 or at [e-mail].

E[acute accent]ABOUT BEST PRACTICES, LLC

E[acute accent]Best Practices, LLC is a research and consulting firm that conducts work based on the principle that organizations can chart a course to superior economic performance by studying the best business practices, operating tactics and winning strategies of world-class companies. For more information, call 919-403-0251 or visit http://www.best-in-class.com/.