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ATA News
ATA’s
Auditor Certification Training Now Available (7/08)
The American Teleservices Association (ATA) announced that the first auditor
certification training program for their self-regulatory organization will take
place September 10-12, 2008 at the Taylor Institute for Direct Marketing at the
University of Akron in Ohio. This program provides an extensive three-day
training course reviewing the ATA-SRO standards, the audit process, and the
accreditation process.
“Offering this certification program for auditors is an important step in
building the strength of our industry’s self-regulatory organization,” stated
ATA CEO Tim Searcy. “Though this training, the ATA will enable individuals to
assist contact centers in maintaining compliant operations. We have received
strong interest in enrollment in this innovative program, and we look forward to
working with the many skilled individuals who wish to become certified
auditors.” Upon successful completion of the auditor training, participants
will have an extensive understanding of applying the ATA standards to contact
center business practices.
The ATA plans to offer its SRO Auditor Certification training several times each
year. Companies seeking the services of an auditor may search for and select an
ATA SRO-certified auditor through its online tools at
www.atasroconnect.org.
For more information about ATA, visit
www.ataconnect.org or call 317-816-9336.
ATA
Supports FTC “Operation Tele-PHONEY” (7/08)
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the largest telemarketing fraud
sweep ever coordinated by the agency. Through “Operation Tele-PHONEY,” the FTC
filed federal district court complaints against thirteen allegedly deceptive
telemarketing operations. Combined with the actions by other enforcement
agencies, the sweep encompasses more than 180 cases that include civil and
criminal actions in the U.S. and Canada.
The American Teleservices Association
(ATA), a nonprofit professional trade association representing the contact
center industry, is in strong support of “Operation Tele-PHONEY.” ATA upholds
efforts to enforce ethical business practices to protect the public, both
business and consumer, from fraudulent telephone calls. The ATA does not
condone deceptive practices via the telephone and promotes channel-wide
self-regulation along with the support of consumer groups.
Tim Searcy, the chief executive
officer of the ATA, stated, “The current antifraud provisions contained in the
FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), as well as the existing state and federal
criminal laws, are sufficient to protect consumers, provided they are enforced
aggressively.”
ATA has taken its own measures
toward self-regulation and enforcement of fraudulent activities within the
teleservices industry by creating a Self-Regulatory Organization (SRO).
For more information about ATA’s SRO, visit
www.bryancave.com/ata-sro.
ATA Supports Congress’ Decision to Extend DNC
(4/08)
Congress recently addressed two bills affecting
the future of the National Do-Not-Call Registry (DNC). There are approximately
150 million people who have listed their phone numbers on the DNC Registry, and
there has been a large political effort to ensure that consumers’ information
will not be purged from this list.
H.R. 2601 was passed by a House vote and
forwarded to the president to allow the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to
continue to collect fees to support the DNC program.
H.R. 3451 would result in the DNC registry
becoming permanent, eliminating the need for consumers to reregister their phone
numbers after a specified period of time. This bill is set to be approved by
the Senate and then sent to the White House for review.
Tim Searcy, the chief executive officer of the
American Teleservices Association (ATA), said, “We are in support of a permanent
Registry, but we would like the assurance that it is being appropriately
updated. We would encourage the FTC or Congress to require phone companies to
provide a record of all disconnected numbers so they can be removed from the DNC
– making the list more accurate.”
Visit ATA at
www.ataconnect.org.
ATA
Joins the American Red Cross to Aid the Dominican
Republic
(1/08)
The American Teleservices Association (ATA)
announced that it will partner with the American Red Cross to aid victims of
Hurricane Noel in the Dominican Republic. Tim Searcy, chief executive officer
of the ATA, stated, “This is the first time the ATA has enlisted its entire
membership in a disaster relief effort.” The ATA is reaching out to its 500
members to provide assistance, as it has had a long-standing relationship with
many businesses in the Dominican Republic.
The ATA sought the help of the American Red Cross,
who responds to over 70,000 disasters annually. The core of Red Cross disaster
relief is the assistance given to individuals and families affected by disaster
to enable them to resume their normal daily activities independently.
Additionally, several of the ATA chapters are
incorporating these relief efforts into their local events to assist those in
need. By raising awareness and educating their members, both the ATA and the
American Red Cross aim to help the residents of the Dominican Republic rebuild
their lives in the wake of Hurricane Noel.
Visit the ATA at
www.ATAconnect.org.
ATA
Supports FTC Director Testimony on DNC
(12/07)
In a Capitol Hill testimony, The
Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Bureau of Consumer Protection director Lydia
Parnes touched on the Do Not Call (DNC) Reauthorization Act. If passed, this
bill would make the DNC Registry permanent. Ms. Parnes testified that the FTC
will not remove any telephone numbers from the DNC Registry until Congress
passes a bill to make the DNC Registry permanent or the FTC passes a rulemaking
on the topic.
Tim Searcy, the chief executive officer
of the American Teleservices Association (ATA), said, “We would be in support of
a permanent Registry if we had the assurance that it is being appropriately
updated. We would encourage the FTC or Congress to require phone companies to
provide a record of all disconnected numbers so they can be removed from the DNC
– making the list more accurate.”
Searcy continued, “Until that happens,
we support the extension of the current list.”
Currently, the DNC Registry is set on a
five-year cycle, expiring after five years to allow the FTC to properly cleanse
the registry and to provide consumers the opportunity to reconsider their
registration.
The ATA can be
reached at
www.ATAconnect.org or by calling 317-816-9336.
ATA Supports
Reauthorization of Do-Not-Call Registry Fees
(10/07)
The
American Teleservices Association (ATA) announced its support of the Senate
Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee’s bill reauthorizing the Federal
Trade Commission to charge telemarketing companies fees to purchase the
Do-Not-Call Registry, which allows them to check their call lists against those
individuals who have opted out of receiving certain telephone solicitations. In
particular, they expressed excitement over the provision of the bill that calls
for a reduction from the current maximum access fee from $17,050 to a national
maximum of $14,850.
“After a
steady increase in DNC access fees, this fee reduction and eventual
stabilization brings much needed predictability to the industry,” commented Tim
Searcy, chief executive officer of the American Teleservices Association.
ATA did
note that the issue of access fees should not be the only aspect of DNC
legislation that should be under serious consideration. With Searcy’s
direction, one goal of ATA is to encourage the government and regulators to look
more closely at strengthening regulations concerning “established business
relationships” as well as consumer protection enforcement provisions.
For more
information about ATA, go to
www.ATAconnect.org.
ATA Turns Its Focus on Delivering the
“ICE” (9/07)
The American Teleservices
Association (ATA) has made it their mission to spread the message and tools for
creating the “ideal customer experience” (ICE) for teleservices companies. At
this year’s ATA Convention and Expo, September 30–October 3, attendees will
learn best practices on hiring, training and workforce management, as well as
strategies to balance performance with compliance, evaluate service delivery
systems, and investigate technology – all of the tools they need to create
“ICEmakers” in their organization.
Tim Searcy, ATA chief executive
officer, explained the association’s motivation to focus on the customer
experience. “Our goal was to assemble a roster of speakers with expertise at
various stages of a customer’s experience within teleservices to speak on what
works – and what doesn’t work – in creating the ideal customer experience.”
“Consider the current state of
teleservices – specifically, customer service and telesales,” Searcy added. “A
lack of positive customer experience has spawned consumer complaints leading to
new laws regulating the industry and the promise of even more unwanted
government attention in the future.”
ATA represents more than 4,000 contact centers that
account for over 1.8 million professionals worldwide.
For more information, contact ATA at 317-816-9336
or visit
www.ataconnect.org.
ATA
Supports Obama Comments on Telemarketing Fraud (7/07)
The American Teleservices
Association (ATA) responded to comments made by Senator Barack Obama concerning
telemarketing fraud. Senator Obama said that, while telemarketing and
electronic commerce “represent important ways for many seniors to participate in
the economy as merchants and consumers,” he is concerned about whether the
enforcement actions of the Federal Trade Commission are sufficient to prevent
fraud targeting the elderly.
As a nonprofit trade association
dedicated to teleservices (call centers, users of telemarketing, suppliers, and
consultants of call center services), ATA believes the issues of fraud
enforcement must be examined more universally and not focused solely on
telephone business practices. Tim Searcy, chief executive officer of the ATA,
commented that “fraud is fraud regardless of the channel the criminal
uses…direct mail, email, advertising, person-to-person, etc. This issue is far
larger than the teleservices industry.”
ATA has taken its own measures
toward self-regulation and enforcement of fraudulent activities within
teleservices. Recently, ATA released its first draft of contact center
self-regulatory standards. Once finalized, ATA and the Federal Trade Commission
will likely determine the appropriate enforcement structure for the new
standards.
For more information about
ATA’s self-regulatory standards, please visit
www.bryancave.com/ata-sro.
FTC Supportive of Self-Regulation for Contact Center Industry
(6/07)
The American Teleservices Association
(ATA) released the first public draft of self-regulatory standards for the
contact center industry at their annual Washington Summit in April. The
standards were compiled by ATA’s Self-Regulatory Organization (SRO).
A keynote speaker at the Summit was
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioner J. Thomas Rosch. “The FTC strongly
encourages self-regulatory efforts that provide clear guidance to industry and
create effective enforcement mechanisms to protect consumer rights,” stated
Rosch. “I would like to compliment [ATA] on the thoughtful and thorough job
[it] has done in undertaking this comprehensive self-regulatory initiative.”
Commissioner Rosch acknowledged that professionals within an industry have the
“inside knowledge on how best to craft best practices” and said that
self-regulation provides a “critical complement to the FTC’s law enforcement
actions.”
Tim Searcy, chief executive
officer of ATA, is optimistic about the future of these standards. “The ATA
continues its commitment to a balanced approach of consumer driven contact
delivery and business encouragement through self regulation.”
To comment review or comment on the
standards (through June 23), visit
www.bryancave.com/ata-sro. Questions concerning the standards should be
directed to ATA.
ATA (www.ATAconnect.org)
represents 4,000 contact centers employing 1.8 million professionals.
ATA Raises Money for BBB
Foundation
to Promote Ethical Business Practices (6/07)
The American Teleservices
Association’s (ATA) Great Lakes Chapter, in conjunction with The Better Business
Bureau Foundation, on March 21 provided an in-depth workshop on the rules and
regulations for businesses that utilize the telephone to market their products
and services to consumers.
In developing a workshop that
would benefit Better Business Bureau members, the two organizations realized
that many small businesses do not have the resources to identify all of the
requirements for conducting business by phone safely. The workshop was a
fund-raising event, netting $2,300 to support the Better Business Bureau
Foundation. A portion of the proceeds will help fund the Students of Integrity
Scholarship Fund and support other foundation programs.
Presenters Michele Shuster of
MacMurry, Cook, Peterson, and Shuster, New Albany, OH and Jim Beuoy of OKS-Ameridial
Worldwide, North Canton, OH led the workshop on behalf of the ATA.
The BBB Foundation educates consumers and businesses about marketplace ethics and wise
decision-making, awarding up to six annual $1,000 Students of Integrity
Scholarships.
The ATA (www.ataconnect.org)
is a nonprofit trade association dedicated to advocacy of the teleservices and
legislative compliance.
ATA
Releases Teleservices Glossary of Terms (5/07)
The American Teleservices Association (ATA) recently released their first
version of a glossary of teleservices terminology. The glossary (available in
both electronic and printed form) contains over 500 terms utilized by inbound
and outbound contact centers. The tool was designed to serve as a quick
reference guide for experienced teleservices professionals or as a training tool
for new professionals.
ATA also plans to
develop an online tool where users can provide feedback about the definitions.
ATA chief executive officer, Tim Searcy, believes this initiative will bring a
higher level of uniformity to the industry. “In
my thirty-plus years of experience in the teleservices industry, I have seen
countless discrepancies in the terminology surrounding call centers. A clear
glossary with a dynamic means of change would be have been invaluable to me, as
well as literally thousands of people I have worked with in this business.”
Founded in 1983, the American Teleservices Association represents more than
4,000 contact centers employing more than 1.8 million professionals in the
United States and numerous foreign countries.
For more information, visit
www.ataconnect.org or call 317-816-9336.
ATA to Unveil Self-Regulatory Standards
at Summit (4/07)
The American Teleservices
Association (ATA) announced plans to unveil Self-Regulatory Standards to its
members and other industry professionals at the 2007 Washington Summit, April
22-25 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City.
The Self-Regulatory Organization
(SRO) of the American Teleservices Association will conclude a yearlong
development process by delivering the first public draft of the standards to all
attendees. Attendance at the event will include 300 executives, compliance
officers, government affairs officers, attorneys, and other professionals from
diverse industries. Attendees will have the opportunity to provide their
feedback and directly influence the future of the standards.
“Dramatic changes in
teleservices have created a pressing need for consistency and reliability which
can be counted on by consumers,” said Tim Searcy, chief executive officer of the
American Teleservices Association. “We believe that an entity independent of
call centers available to create broadly accepted standards would help satisfy
that need. Our goal is to use a combination of existing state and federal
regulations and new standards to provide better customer service.”
More information can be
found at
www.ataconnect.org.
ATA Launches Benchmarking Tool with
Purdue (4/07)
The American Teleservices
Association (ATA) launched a new benchmarking tool for companies with inbound or
outbound contact centers. The association partnered with Purdue University's
Center for Customer Driven Quality (www.ccdq.com)
to produce in-depth analyses designed to encourage participants to conduct a
self-assessment of their call center performance as compared to top performing
contact centers.
“Benchmarking is an absolute
necessity for contact centers to establish or maintain their competitive
advantage,” stated Tim Searcy, chief executive officer of the American
Teleservices Association.
The benchmarking reports provide
contact centers with a means to compare their performance with that of their
peers and competitors. Companies may use the results to help improve employee
and customer satisfaction and/or increase their operational efficiency and
effectiveness. Participating contact centers will have the option to select the
free “reality check” report, or the more “in-depth” industry report, valued at
$1,500. ATA Members will receive both reports.
According to Richard Feinberg,
director of the Center for Customer Driven Quality at Purdue University,
“Benchmarking is like going to the doctor for a checkup. It is essential to see
what is normal and what may be abnormal.”
For more information, visit
ATA’s Web site at
www.ataconnect.org.
Purdue Partners with ATA
(3/07)
Purdue University’s Center for
Customer Driven Quality will team with ATA (American Teleservices Association)
to collect research and provide education on the more than 57,000 contact
centers in the United States.
“The call center is at the
forefront of delivering customer satisfaction, and our Center for Customer
Driven Quality has been at the forefront of producing research and education
since 1989,” said Richard Feinberg, director of Purdue's center. “Through our
partnership with one of the largest trade associations of contact centers in the
nation, we can continue to provide broad educational, research, and professional
leadership to companies everywhere.” An estimated 25 billion calls are made to
companies to ask questions, solve problems, or conduct business, according to
Feinberg.
“Education is a core belief of
the ATA,” said Tim Searcy, ATA’s chief executive officer. “Purdue’s research,
especially their benchmarking studies, is both innovative and beneficial to the
growth of business. Everyone has been interested in accurate, timely, and
relevant benchmarking information to improve operations in contact centers, and
our partnership with Purdue delivers on that need.”
Contact Purdue’s Center for
Customer Driven Quality at
www.ccdq.com; Richard Feinberg can be reached at 765-494-8301 or
xdj1@purdue.edu. ATA’s (www.ataconnect.org)
Tim Searcy can be reached at 317-816-9336 or
tim@ataconnect.org.
Washington Summit to Address Political Climate of
Teleservices Channel
(1/07)
The 2007 ATA (America Teleservices
Association) Washington Summit will take place April 22-25, 2007. This year’s
summit will be host to three influential speakers, including Paul Begala,
political contributor and Democratic strategist on CNN's The Situation Room;
ATA CEO, Tim Searcy; and Bill Greener of Greener & Hook, who performs strategic
consulting structured around public opinion, public policy, and political
considerations.
The teleservices channel currently
employs nearly 4 percent of the United States workforce. Contact centers employ
over 5.2 million people in almost 57,000 locations. These statistics are just
one piece of evidence that demonstrates the necessity of this channel to work
closely with both Washington policymakers and consumers to strive toward a
symbiotic balance of interests.
Attendees will consist of CEOs, vice
presidents, compliance officers, government affairs officers, attorneys, and
other professionals, all seeking guidance on new regulations and compliance
standards, pending legislation that will affect their business practice, and,
perhaps most importantly, having the opportunity to meet with policymakers about
issues that affect the livelihood of their industry.
For more
information, contact Zachary Rice, director of government affairs, at
317-816-9336,
zach@ataconnect.org, or visit
www.ATAconnect.org.
ATA’s Commitment to the Industry Reflected in Promotions
(1/07)
Two dedicated and respected individuals
within the American Teleservices Association (ATA) received promotions effective
November 1, 2006. Zachary Rice was promoted to director of government affairs.
Rafael Manzón was promoted to director of business affairs.
Rice will coordinate all legislative
and regulatory priorities for the ATA on Capitol Hill and in state houses across
the country as well as manage the ATA-PAC. He will continue the strides the ATA
has taken over the last several years to keep contact centers in compliance with
federal and state regulations.
As director of business affairs,
Manzón will be responsible for the comprehensive management of the ATA’s
non-dues revenue activities. Additionally, he will be responsible for
maintaining current member services that depend on outside partners as well as
developing new member services.
These promotions mark a significant
turning point for ATA members. According to Tim Searcy, CEO of the ATA, “The
ATA’s unwavering commitment to the teleservices channel in both valuable
business relationships and government affairs will directly benefit our
members.”
Both
Rafael Manzón and Zachary Rice may be reached at 317-816-9336; ATA’s Web site is
www.ataconnect.org.
ATA Awards for Technology
Advancements (12/06)
The 2006 Technovation Award, bestowed
at the 2006 American Teleservices Association’s Annual (ATA) Convention,
recognized companies with the most innovative products and services.
The winners met specific criteria in the areas of innovation, uniqueness,
usefulness, availability, customer experience, and cost.
“Every year, industries within the
teleservices channel are making leaps and bounds in technological
advancements,” stated Tim Searcy, CEO of the ATA.
“The ATA Technovation Awards recognizes this innovation and fosters a
continuing focus on new product development.”
The winners in the New Product Category
were:
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Bridge Decision Technologies: for CenterBridge, a strategic planning
application creating hiring plans, budgets, and forecasts.
-
Noble
Systems:
for its contact center technology solution, Noble ComposerTM, an
agent desktop with flexible scripting and a graphical interface.
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SER
Solutions, Inc.,
for CPS Enterprise Edition, an outbound product, offering predictive dialing,
call blending, outbound IVR, and more.
-
TeleDirect International, Inc., for Liberation’s Dialog Management
Solution, which provides a unified agent desktop.
In the New Service Category, the
winners were:
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NobelBiz, for LocalTouch, a service designed to increase outbound
campaign effectiveness.
-
Orion Marketing Group, Inc., for Chat2Phone, a proactive Web chat
service.
For
more information about ATA, visit www.ataconnect.org.
ATA Pleased Over FTC Decision on
Abandonment Rate Issue (11/06)
The American Teleservices Association
(ATA) announced that their supplemental comments to a petition to amend the
abandonment rate effectively triggered the FTC’s announcement that it will
request comments regarding amending the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) standard
pertaining to how to measure the maximum acceptable abandonment rate. “Although it appeared that the previous petition had stalled, subsequent
comments and efforts by the ATA have created a new opportunity to address the
problem,” stated ATA CEO, Tim Searcy.
An outbound call is “abandoned’ if
a person answers it and is not connected with a sales representative within two
seconds of the person’s completed greeting. Both the FCC and FTC
prohibit abandonment at a rate of 3%; however, they differ in their measurement
standard. The FCC’s standard measures the 3% rate over a 30-day period.
The FTC’s current standard is to measure per day, per calling campaign.
The dual standards and resulting confusion have caused many outbound contact
centers to struggle to adhere to the two conflicting federal standards.
“The FTC’s current standard
presents contact center management with significantly greater compliance
obstacles,” added Searcy.
For
more information about ATA, go to www.ataconnect.org.
ATA
Supports FTC’s
Enforcement Efforts
(3/06)
In
response to the FTC’s announcement of their settlement with DirecTV, the ATA
(American Teleservices Association) has announced its enthusiastic support of
the Commission’s decision to its members and media partners.
“The
ATA supports the FTC in their efforts to enforce the guidelines in place for the
teleservices industry,” said ATA CEO, Tim Searcy. The
ATA encourages its members to review their practices and procedures to ensure
they are in compliance with the FTC’s regulations.
“The
ATA is glad to see the FTC showed restraint with this enforcement. The
settlement allows DirecTV to move on and conduct business that is compliant. ATA
has been encouraging much greater enforcement and we are pleased with the
FTC’s actions today,” said Mr. Searcy.
“It’s
not about breaking the rules or finding a way to get around them. It’s
about understanding the rules so that your company can be in compliance,” said
ATA’s Manager of Government Affairs, Zachary Rice.
The
ATA hosts several Compliance Seminars throughout the year.
The goal is to educate attendees about the details of regulations and how
they can ensure that their companies are not targeted for actions.
For
more information, visit www.ataconnect.org.
ATA
Welcomes Two New Team Members
(9/05)
ATA
(The American Teleservices Association) has welcomed two new members to the
management team. Andrew Johnson
has joined ATA as the Manager of Member Services, and Zach Rice has become
Manager of Government Affairs.
Before
joining the ATA, Johnson worked with the Indiana Academy of Family Physicians
in their education department, coordinating the speakers and materials for the
annual meeting. Johnson also
worked on the Congressional campaign for Indiana’s seventh district in 2002
where he managed the Rising Star Committee.
Rice
has been involved in Indiana’s legislative process through several facets.
He has worked for the Indiana Secretary of State, Indiana Auditor of State,
and the Majority Caucus in the Indiana State Senate.
For more information,
visit www.ataconnect.org.
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