As you may have noticed we are holding a free monthly discussion (see www.contactcenter.ning.com for details). This month (June 5) the topic is attendance management. I asked a question on one of my business networks (LinkedIn) to get some insights on what people are grappling with when it comes to this topic.

I have been impressed with how giving busy people are with their time. I have gotten great responses, great questions, great feedback, and one gentleman went out of his way to introduce me to another gentleman he felt had some innovative practices in this area.

This reminds me to be continually aware of how I can help people. For example,

I got an email this morning from a business associate who has a friend looking for a consulting project. My first reaction was, "No, I don't know of anything off hand." Then I thought about what it would take to "pay it forward." To help this person in the same way that people have helped me.

Isn't that the essence of good business? Isn't that the reason for networking? We give, we receive, we pay it forward so others can succeed just as we do. I only hope I can remember this the next time I think I am to busy to invest a couple of minutes to help another business contact.

Thanks everyone for the wonderful lesson.

I have just started down the long road of Internet business networking. Yes, it takes diligence but I have seen good results. Jobs are posted and people are matched. I've asked questions and gotten great answers. I've made good contacts with people that I would have otherwise never met.

What experiences have you had? Are you part of any networks you would recommend? Do you have any hints to make the experience more useful?

I am part of:
LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/)
Fastpitch (http://www.fastpitchnetworking.com/),
Plaxo Pulse (http://pulse.plaxo.com/pulse/).

If you haven't tried it and want to have access to good people, this is definitely one way to go.

Here is a link to a whole bevy of business blogs. While you will need to sort through them, it certainly gives you a view of what's available:

Join our New, Free Peer-to-Peer Forum

The Contact Center Performance Forum helps an enterprise improve the performance of its contact center by participating in and listening to the dialogue of experienced professionals.

Free events, discussion groups, questions and answers.

http://contactcenter.ning.com/

We'd love to see you there! Come check us out!

Kay

I know that I have been missing for almost a year now. I got consumed with a consulting project and developing a new call center elearning product. I am going to try to be more faithful. My desire is to now share with you some of the research I've been doing for the training. Please stay in touch. I am really going to! Let me know what you would like to hear about. Have any questions you would like for me to answer. I'll be glad to dig it out for you.

I have come across a piece of research that I would like to cite properly, but I do not know its context. If you are familiar with this research, could you contact me at kjackson@responsedesign.com and help me locate its source?

It is:

“The National Science Foundation researched more that 400 companies and found companies that instituted a measurement and feedback system increased productivity by 43 percent and companies that instituted a measurement, feedback, and incentive system, increased productivity by 64 percent.”

It is an important finding. It could help us make the case that organizations that add more components to their performance management infrastructure see the greatest increases in their productivity.

What if a company instituted a measurement, feedback, and incentive system and linked it to training? How great an increase in productivity do you think we would see?

During a recent best-practice study, I heard an unusual story. It was a call center certification tale that piqued my curiosity. I must admit to becoming a little jaded because of all the call center certifications that have come and gone in my 20-plus years in this industry. But the one was different.

The best-practice study partner talked about his J.D. Power and Associates call center certification. What struck me was how this executive enthusiastically described his experience, which included multiple stages of assessment and random surveys of recent callers to assess customer satisfaction levels. To cinch the deal in my mind, this exec related that when J.D. Power learned of the company's offshore outsourcing partnership, it insisted on auditing the partner. J.D. Power assessors would not recognize excellence until they were sure the company's customer experienced consistent quality.

No, I don't have any affiliation with J.D. Power certification. But because I was so struck by the executive's excitement and the thoroughness of the certification process, I felt I had to write about it. The certification involves a two-part standards test. Organizations pay a fee to be certified, but they pay for each step separately and do not proceed to the next step without passing the one previous to it.

The first step is a site audit during which J.D. Power looks for the presence or absence of key policies and procedures. The second step is the customer surveys. J.D. Power surveys a random sample of callers for each center or application directly after the customer's interaction with the organization. Centers must score above the 80th percentile to pass the customer satisfaction step.

Investing in certification isn't for everyone—some do not have the time, money, or level of quality. However, if you have been investing in your policies, procedures, and customer satisfaction, it might be time to benchmark your current performance and J.D. Power certification would be a great way to do it. I don't know if investing in the certification would earn you an instant credential. However, I know that, no matter what the outcome, the valuable feedback you receive from J.D. Power would certainly help you prioritize your current investment opportunities.

According to J.D. Power, the benefits of their certification are:
1. Allows you to identify and focus on the critical areas that impact customer satisfaction
2. Supports your initiatives for performance improvement and revenue enhancement
3. Provides independent third-party feedback derived from customer interviews
4. Provides a mechanism to measure the impact of operational changes and their effect on customer satisfaction
5. Helps purchasers of outsourced services identify call centers that provide the highest levels of customer service

If you would like more information on the J.D. Power's certification go to:

http://www.jdpower.com

or contact Jonathan Brookner at 203-354-4593 / jonathan.brookner@jdpa.com

Have you gone through a call center certification process? If so, what do you think are the benefits (or downsides) to becoming certified? What have you learned as a result of going through a certification process? Are you as excited about your certification process as this executive was about J.D. Power? If so, tell us about your experience.

Do you still say, “I work in the call center?”

If yes, why?

You have so many other options: “I work in customer service,” “I am a customer advocate,” “I work in customer relations,” “I am a part of customer contact,” and so on.

I remember in the late 1990s when we tried to change our name as the first step in receiving respect. Since then, we have earned the respect by taking on new responsibilities, gathering essential data, integrating into the rest of the organization, and in some cases, earning revenue. Suddenly the drive to change our name is not so important anymore because the term “call center” has stretched itself to cover all contact types and various customer relationships. A recent poll found that the vast majority of us continue to say, “I work in the ‘call center.’” I do not know what makes “call center” so comfortable, even though we handle more than calls and aren’t centered in any one place anymore.

A similar term is “grocery store.” We might say we are going to the grocery store to use the ATM, have our prescription refilled, order a deli tray, pick up some light bulbs, select a flower arrangement, get a flu shot, buy some stamps and a bus pass, and maybe buy some groceries. We do not have to change its name to “SuperCenter” or “MegaMart” to know it means more than Campbell’s soup, Folgers coffee, and Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes.

“Call center” is a term that describes entities throughout the world; it is a standard term. As a consultant, I am often asked, “How many call centers are in the United States? How many are there worldwide?” Wouldn’t it be interesting if our industry had its own SIC so we could more easily find others like us?

Has your company changed the name of your department to something other than “call center?” If so, what’s the current name? Has your company recognized your call center for meaning much more than just calls?

Do you still say, “I work in the call center?”

If yes, why?

You have so many other options: “I work in customer service,” “I am a customer advocate,” “I work in customer relations,” “I am a part of customer contact,” and so on.

I remember in the late 1990s when we tried to change our name as the first step in receiving respect. Since then, we have earned the respect by taking on new responsibilities, gathering essential data, integrating into the rest of the organization, and in some cases, earning revenue. Suddenly the drive to change our name is not so important anymore because the term “call center” has stretched itself to cover all contact types and various customer relationships. A recent poll found that the vast majority of us continue to say, “I work in the ‘call center.’” I do not know what makes “call center” so comfortable, even though we handle more than calls and aren’t centered in any one place anymore.

A similar term is “grocery store.” We might say we are going to the grocery store to use the ATM, have our prescription refilled, order a deli tray, pick up some light bulbs, select a flower arrangement, get a flu shot, buy some stamps and a bus pass, and maybe buy some groceries. We do not have to change its name to “SuperCenter” or “MegaMart” to know it means more than Campbell’s soup, Folgers coffee, and Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes.

“Call center” is a term that describes entities throughout the world; it is a standard term. As a consultant, I am often asked, “How many call centers are in the United States? How many are there worldwide?” Wouldn’t it be interesting if our industry had its own SIC so we could more easily find others like us?

Has your company changed the name of your department to something other than “call center?” If so, what’s the current name? Has your company recognized your call center for meaning much more than just calls?

Welcome to the Uncommon Call Center blog.
I understand that call center management teams are "running around with their hair on fire" and that becoming overwhelmed by too much information is a great possibility. So, each time you visit, you'll find not only a bit of research, but also my opinion about how the research affects us. You'll notice that each blog is short and written in my personal tone - nothing too formal or academic, just a single dose of uncommon common sense. My hope is that it will meet a special need of yours and that you will keep returning. Please let me know if you would like me to research something special for you.

If you ever find yourself thinking, "Gosh, I can't even get to the 'must dos' now ... how am I ever going to address this topic?" I urge you to take a deep breath and focus on the important. I have been "preaching" the tyranny of the urgent for years. This lesson teaches us that the "urgent" often crowds out the "important" in our daily lives. While many things may appear urgent (especially in the call center) there are a limited number of "importants."

So, read these entries and act on some as "important" while tucking the others away as "future."

After all, just like Rome, the call center can't be built in a day.