On October 10, 2005, the New Jersey Commerce and Economic Growth Commission re-certified Response Design Corporation as a woman-owned business. The steps of certification are prescribed under the state’s unified certification act as a method to insure businesses and governmental agencies that companies are sound and transparently minority owned.

The company’s president and founder, Dr. Kathryn Jackson, knows the importance of certification. She says that the scrutiny of the certification process is important to her customers, “Our clients need to know that we are willing to put our status in writing when they ask us to. Working with consultants that are certified helps the call centers demonstrate their dedication to diversity.”

The balance between cost and quality that U.S.-based call centers have struggled to maintain is now surfacing in relatively new offshore operations. Many U.S. companies have outsourced their call center operations because call-handling costs can be as much as 80 percent lower in far-offshore locations such as India and the Philippines. However, if organizations that outsource parts of the customer-facing process encounter customer defections and hidden costs, these potential savings will be negligible. Several researchers predict that more than 80 percent of organizations that outsource customer service and support with the primary goal of reducing cost will fail.

Customer service has become a competitive differentiator for most companies. Research reveals that company strategists are turning to call centers to “get it right” the first time and at the right cost.

Dr. Kathryn Jackson, renowned call center expert and Response Design Corporation® co-founder, welcomes industry professionals to her interactive blog, the “Uncommon Call Center.”

Say “call center” and most people react negatively. Everyone has a horror story about trying to reach a competent company representative through the telephone and sales calls that incessantly interrupt the dinner hour. Indeed, call centers have a mixed reputation. However, the Katrina disaster has once again illuminated just how vital this communication link is.