Here we are, smack-dab in the middle of the Holiday Season. It is critical that contact center management keeps this top of mind when interacting with contact center agents. This issue is twofold: agents are just as stressed-out as everyone else and at the same time, call volume seems to escalate at this time of year. Agents are going to feel a lot of pressure, but by the same token, this is the prime time to capture some business intelligence that customers impart when they contact your center. The good news is there are plenty of things you can do to ensure a positive outcome from these dual events. While the holiday season can be very hectic, please take a little time to delve into the information we provide in this issue. It could make your season much happier.
Click here for digital version

Autumn is here, and as it always does, it has a way of making everyone feel it is time to be a little more serious than we have been in the last two to three months of summer. Typically, fall also marks the beginning of trade show and conference season, which, for those who participate, usually means a lot of idea sharing, new business directions and a general feeling of belonging to the industry in which we toil.
Click here for digital version

In this issue, we provide a lot of food for thought on behind-the scenes issues. First, and most often overlooked, is a “peek” into back-office operations. In Trend Watch, you’ll learn how to take the blinders off and avoid tunnel vision when it comes to what’s happening in the back office and how that affects what happens on the front line. Question, question, question! Feature Focus provides a 360-degree view of today’s workforce management and workforce optimization – two of the most important aspects of day-to-day contact center life. And while you’ve got your mind wrapped around human resources, don’t overlook Expert Advice (employment processing outsourcing). Controlling costs – always top of mind — is the theme of Profile and Bottom Line. And if you want to stay on the playing field on equal footing with the rest of the players, you’ll need to keep up on the latest in technology, which is where the articles in Special Report, Human Capital and Technology will come to your rescue. Enjoy your knowledge acquisition.
Click here for digital version

Change. Some resist it, while others embrace it. If you’re reading this, you’re likely doing so because you’re interested in making some kind of change. You’ll find many nuggets of wisdom in this issue that may serve as catalysts of change for you. Do you need a solution to contact center staff attrition? The Human Capital column will point you in the right direction. Are you curious how VoIP could affect your contact center? It’s covered in Trend Watch. Special Report offers three different perspectives on how hosted solutions could benefit your call center. We have two Expert Advice articles that will surely help you out, and Feature Focus offers three unique ways to consider the ever-hot topic of business process outsourcing.

In this issue, Feature Focus looks at managing business data and analytics in a way that adds value to the enterprise. We also try to look outside of the box in Special Report by delving into the at-home agent phenomenon. In Sites & Facilities and Profile we turn attention to business continuity planning and how one organization handled the tragic recent hurricanes with a stellar contact center organization. In Trend Watch we examine the ever-elusive sales culture, and in Human Capital we turn planning around and look at it from a backward-thinking perspective.

This issue focuses on the agents and their supervisors. Feature Focus looks at two important components of staff success: best practices that help shape best agents and handling the increasingly important 50+ market. Special Report examines process improvement using simulation or erlang C workforce management formulas. Human Capital helps determine if virtual learning is right for your team. Trend Watch uses a panel of experts to determine if supervisors are “overlooked.” Technology attempts to uncover if performance application monitoring can add value to the enterprise. And Book Review gives insight on how managers can get staff on their side.