CALL CENTER FUTURE:Come incrementare le

performance

Luca LorenzonAccount Executive – Plantronics Italia

White Paper

• Titolo: I fattori di successo nei contact centre del futuro • 4° User Council Meeting 17,18 Maggio 2006 Napoli

• Chaired by Neil Salton – Go Corless (UK)– Azienda di consulenza specializzata in Workplace, ICT e

organizzazione aziendale

• Con la collaborazione di – Telecom Italia– Tim– Vodafone– Wind– Cos– Comdata– CCA – Customer Contact Association (UK)– CMMC

I fattori di successo

• People – necessità ed aspirazioni degli agenti

• Technology – IP & Mobility

• Workplace– design del posto di lavoro (workplace)

From Call to Contact …• The Call Centre has evolved to be about customer Contact,

not simply customer calls• The web gives customers many ways to make contact

– Variation in contact preferences by demographic

• Older generations prefer face to face, but a call is the next best option and tend to have longer calls – need to be routed to sympathetic minded agents

• Customer self service options are the key– Call-me-Back’ option for when browsing does not provide the

answer– ‘Click-to-Call’ e.g. Skype integration into E-Bay– SMS – Account updates etc– Email

– And of course voice …

People: What Do Agents Say - UK survey?

• 62% of agents are women– 39% aged between 18-25

• Older agents stay longer in their jobs– 50% aged 36-45 stay for > 2 years– 83% aged >46 stay for > 2 years

• Most popular facilities– Training rooms, Chill-out areas, Car parking & Internet

access• These facilities were quoted as reducing feelings of stress

and higher feelings of personal organisation and pride• 50% of 36-45 year old agents would like flexible working

opportunities, less than 18% are offered the chance• In spite of using call-routing systems, only 35% of agents are

provided with the correct information to manage the call

*Source : Benchmark Research 228 agents in 33 Call Centres 2004

People Issues• Agents must be fully acquainted with the your

brand, values and products• Sustaining motivation is vital to maintain customer

service levels• Softer aspects drive motivation and resultant

service – most motivation is about involvement and sense of contribution

• Agent discretion in situation handling– Create a feeling of autonomy and influence – meet the

needs of the customer needs now - within business rules

• Research has shown that these objective measures have a negative impact on motivation and productivity

People Issues

• Training and ongoing briefing sessions– Business objectives training– Tactical role training– Integration into marketing/selling operations

• Involve the Contact Centre in campaign design and development, utilise learning and avoid inefficiencies

– Maintenance of the training programme – the Contact Centre must always be integrated into the business

• Skill based call routing– Understanding agents skills and routing accordingly– Treating agents as individuals increases self worth &

feeling of making a contribution

• Interview with Anne-Marie Forsyth (CEO of the CCA)– “Staff attrition remains a challenge for the industry,

and will only be fixed if staff have the right quality of work, and they feel that the work really has purpose”

– CCA is lobbying for a drive towards best practice adoption– “Move away from just ‘buffering’ calls to truly handling

customers in the best way possible”• Contact centres need to be placed at the heart of the business

and the brand, and as stated in the earlier briefing, be fully integrated and not play the ‘bolt-on’ department role

– “Stop ‘dumping’ endless campaigns on the Contact Centre and disregarding the people skills”

• Ensure the Contact Centre is fully involved with campaign and activity planning and that the right agents work on programmes that suit their individual skills

Contact Centre Standards

People: workshop key findings• Motivazione

– Fondamentale per il successo– Bastano piccoli gesti (condividere un successo, messaggi semplici etc)

• Training– Continuo e a volte meglio se al di fuori dell’ambiete di lavoro– Non solo sulle attività ma anche sull’azienda

• Opportunità di carriera– Anche in Italia le persone rimangono a lungo (6-8 anni)– Capire gli skill delle persone e farle crescere in azienda

• Managment– Coinvolti e parte del team– Investire sulle persone (e non vedere questo come dei costi)

• Ruolo delle Associazioni– Riconoscimento sociale del profilo lavorativo e del settore– Sostegno nella crescita professionale

Technology• The first few seconds of a call really count & the right

technology can influence these important moments & personalising the initial routing can impact how the customer feels about the next stages of the call

– Voice over IP (VoIP)

• Disruptive technology : the compelling benefits– Wireless technology

• Flexibility of movement while connected– Monitoring and measuring

• How technology can help – contacts waiting etc.– Managing ambient noise & the impacts

• Agents and customers

Contact Centre VoIP• IP communications changing how calls can be handled & from

where they are taken• Move agents into other parts of the business• Home working ‘Virtual Contact Centre’• Mix of virtual & production floor according to

the nature of the call– 1st level contact on site, 2nd level

support/escalation may be virtual– Single converged IP network, savings on capital cost +

running costs– Opportunity to move agent groups more easily for agent

job change, sharing, training etc

Wireless Networks• In-building wireless networks

– Freedom of movement for staff– Ability to change location temporarily for meetings or

break outs– Collaborative working & training sessions– Easier for other teams to co-locate on ad hoc basis– Meeting room booking etc

• Guest WiFi networks– Improve client/supplier experience when on site– Guest portal to allow for printing, finding local

information

Technology – workshop key findings

• Ruolo della tecnologia– Partner invisibile che deve assiste e non ostacolare– Da integrare gradualmente per non impattare le operations

• VoiP– Principale innovazione tecnologica degli ultimi tempi– È stato implementato velocemente ma l’evoluzione dei softphones

avverrà nei prossimi anni– Aiuterà la diffusione del telelavoro (ancora limitato in Italia)

• Wireless– Tecnologia ancora di nicchia– Sarà inevitabile con l’evoluzione dei nuovi posti di lavoro

• CRM e software in generale– Principale area di frustrazione– I sistemi devono permettere all’agente di aiutare il cliente al

momento della chiamata

• Merrill Lynch London– Very noisy trading floor

environment

• British Telecom– Telesales

Workplace Design - Have We Moved On?

• Cellular Operations– Combined 4 buildings, great

deal of natural light and a focus on relaxation areas

• First Direct– Large floorplan with supervisor

area in the centre– Fairly densely populated but

open feel

• IBM Scotland– Investment in lighting,

Colour variation, Plants, Open space

• Orange– 450 seats in 5,600 sq

metres– As you move around the

Contact Centre, it is like being in an Orange retail store – brand immersion

Workplace – workshop key findings

• Cosa si sta facendo– Cercare di personalizzare la postazione– Cura della luminosità e posizione della postazione– Qualità video – audio– Parcheggi e collegamenti con i mezzi pubblici– Ottenere servizi minimi: acqua, frigoriferi,

televisioni– Protezione dal rumore

Workplace – workshop key findings

• Dove si vorrebbe arrivare

– L’ambiente di lavoro è fondamentale – investimento per migliorare la qualità del lavoro con evidenti riflessi sulla produttività delle persone

– Purtroppo è ancora visto come un costo– La fase di progettazione è fondamentale per evitare che le

aree relax vengano poi trasformate per mancanza di sale– Diminuzione della diffidenza nei confronti dei telelavoratori –

ricerche dimostrano che la loro produttività è eccezionale– Valorizzare l’aspetto dell’educazione delle persone verso la

propria salute (fare esercizio, bere molto, etc) – Incentivare le convenzioni per dare servizi agli operatori

(lavanderia, cinema, etc)– Estendere le iniziative locali “best practice” in modo da

trasformarle in interventi aziendali a livello macro

Conclusioni

• People- gli operatori devono essere considerati parte integrante dell’azienda- è importante creare un senso di appartenenza tra gli operatori e l’azienda- Training e motivazione i due elementi chiave - dare riconoscibilità sociale sui media al lavoro nei Call Centre e

rafforzarne la percezione nel mercato

• Technology– la tecnologia è importante, ma deve creare benefici, mantenere

continuità– il wireless ha un ruolo di nicchia, ma è importante per alcuni ruoli nei Call

Centre– VoIP è una tecnologia che comporta costi significativi ma vantaggi

operativi

• Place– Posto di lavoro accogliente è di ispirazione non solo per i lavoratori

ma per la comunità– E’ un investimento, non un costo

I fattori di successo nei contact centre del futuro

Employment Contract

Use of technologies for efficiency, time saving, mobility, information access, choice

Opportunity to make efficiencies

Opportunity to save space

Reflection of

varying workstyles

Mobility

Customer focus & response

Greater speed

Work/life balance

Social demographics

Staff attraction

& retention

Shift to task/skill orientated work force

Improved security

Decreasing cost

Learning and sharing knowledge

Parity across the organisation

Improve collaboration

Virtual environments