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October 2007 Volume 15, Number 8 Homebodies: The New Contact Center Agents By Jim Mitchell The home represents a huge labor pool for call center agents. Experience shows that home-based agents are more skilled, more likely to have college degrees, older than the average call center employee, and many have management experience. They also tend to have flexible schedules. From the Publisher Mind Your Business: Q & A with Steve Michaels Strategies for Hiring in a Virtual Call Center By Mary Naylor Successfully hiring remote agents is a challenge for many call centers. You can't recruit remote agents the same way as in-house staff; however, you can build on what you already have in place. Follow these tips to ensure your new home-based agents are screened and recruited just as thoroughly as their in-house counterparts. Benefits of Virtualization for Call Centers By John Hird At call centers, there are two ways to go "virtual." The first is using a pool of remote agents, typically working from their homes; the second is an alternate call center location, conveniently located near a plentiful labor pool. Either way, virtualization allows call centers to tap into new labor markets that otherwise would be unavailable. |
Call Center Best-Practices Make the Difference By Matt Harless Call center success starts with agent training. However, for long-term results, the training must be followed up with good supervision and an environment of support from seasoned staff. What Does an Agent Really Cost, and Could You Use an Extra One or Two? By Doris Primicerio When you add in benefits, training, and turnover, the effective hourly cost of an agent can really add up. Agent outsourcing is an alternative that may be worth considering as a response to high agent cost.
Teleservice agency, outsource call center, telemessaging company, or telephone answering service: regardless of what they're called, here is our current listing. Creating a Virtual Contact Center By Randy Saunders There is growing interest in using Software as a Service (SaaS) to create a "virtual" or "hosted" contact center. This allows agents to be located away from a traditional center and work from home. |
Service Recovery: The Art of Damage Control By Nancy Friedman, The Telephone Doctor What happens when customer service goes wrong? Can you successfully recover from bad service? The answer is yes; if you go about it in the right manner. Whitepapers: Consumer Survey 2007: USA Results and Global Results, submitted by Genesys Call Evaluations Help Lillian Vernon Get Its Upsell Program Down Pat by Howard Lee The US Contact Center: Operational Review, Executive Summary, submitted by ContactBabel From MyArticleArchive: Are You Making a Sale or Making a Client for the Long Haul? Retention: Your Most Important Competitive Edge Overcome a Talent Shortage: Create a Gen-X Friendly Workplace Your Clients Aren't as Loyal as They Used To Be Why Most Diversity Initiatives Fail How Have Your Customers Changed In The Last Five Years? News · Classifieds · Vendor list · Home
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