Call centers have come a long way in recent years. As call centers handle a growing variety of transactions with customers, corporate executives are less likely to view them simply as backroom support operations and are more likely to perceive call centers as integral to the success of their companies.

But despite these positive developments, far too many call center directors and managers still mistakenly focus on limited operational metrics, such as average speed of answer (ASA), average handle time (AHT) and the number of customers agents serve. By doing so, they fail to gain the full respect and responsibility they should rightfully have in their organizations.

During the last two years, e-Satisfy, a research and consulting firm based in Arlington, VA that specializes in measuring and improving customer satisfaction and loyalty, has reviewed the operations of more than 500 call centers. e-Satisfy conducted surveys on-site, by phone and by distributing detailed questionnaires. Incoming Calls Management Institute (ICMI), an independent think tank based in Annapolis, MD that provides management education and information to call centers worldwide, studied hundreds of additional organizations through on-site seminars, reviews and a series of call center management surveys.

Based on their research, e-Satisfy and ICMI have observed that call centers that follow a certain set of practices earn recognition within their companies for their detailed knowledge of customers and for their role in generating revenue from customers. By employing these practices, managers of call centers can justify the addition of more resources for their operations and can advance their own careers.

Objectives of Successful Call Centers

Before we discuss best practices, let's first describe the objectives with which successful call centers align their efforts.

There are four overarching goals that call centers strive to attain:

• Respond to customers the first time they get in touch with the center, whether the communications occurs by phone or on-line;
  
• Sell, cross-sell, identify leads and generate additional revenue when appropriate;
  
• Capture and analyze data from customers to enhance the quality of products and services, as well as to better target customers; and
  
• Satisfy, retain and provide a career path for agents.
  

Establishing the Right Environment

To meet the objectives described above, call centers have to create the right environment, which includes the following:

A strategic plan for customer care

An effective strategy begins with agreement on the organization's vision, purpose and business model. The plan should define the customers and prospective customers the organization plans to serve. The plan should then establish how the organization intends to communicate with customers, how customers will contact the organization and how the organization will route customers to staff who can help them. As an organization-wide effort, the plan should determine the call center's role with regard to communications, marketing and sales.

Culture of cooperation

The organization must also develop a culture of collaboration and cooperation. Aligned goals and evaluation systems among different areas within a company contribute to a culture of cooperation, as does feedback from employees. You can also foster this culture by consulting with employees on matters such as scheduling and advancement, and you can arrange for internal service agreements that encourage your staff to rely on support from other departments.

Educating other areas of the organization about the role of the call center

A prerequisite to getting good support from managers throughout the organization, especially in the closely-aligned areas of marketing, finance, information systems and human resources, is to ensure that managers in these departments have a solid understanding of the unique environment in which call centers operate.

Long-term investment

An organization should be prepared to make a long-term investment in recruiting, training, developing and managing staff for a call center. To make this investment viable, the finance and marketing departments have to recognize the call center's contribution to the bottom line and its role in building and sustaining relationships with customers. Businesses typically determine this contribution based on revenue and customer retention.

Goals and metrics

Appropriate metrics should not focus only on efficiency, such as the number of customers agents serve, the average hold time and the average speed of answer. Metrics should also focus on the center's ability to serve customers effectively and refer customers to agents who can best help them.

Best Practices

After you determine the objectives for your center and create the right environment in which your center can meet them, you have to define specific functions of your operation. The primary functions of a call center fall into the following broad categories:

• Solicitation and intake of contacts - Offer a wide range of ways customers can reach your company and generate useful records of your customers' interactions with your company.
  
• Response - Fulfill customers' requests the first time they get in touch with your center; provide customers with an understandable and acceptable rationale for the company's policy and actions; and, when appropriate, offer to help customers with purchasing the products and services you offer.
  
• Analysis of workload content - Identify circumstances when your company can assist customers more efficiently, such as by using automated systems; provide training or systems that enable agents to satisfy customers' requests the first time they reach the center; and use feedback from customers as an opportunity to learn more about your overall market and improve your products or services.
  
• Evaluation of operational effectiveness - Maintain a balance between operating efficiently and providing optimum service to customers.
  
• Staff selection, development and management - Ensure agents have the necessary skills, training and incentives so that they enjoy their work, remain with your company, perform effectively and can grow into other positions.
  

We now discuss best practices as they relate to the functions we described above.

Solicitation and Intake of Contacts

Solicitation and intake of contacts involves reaching out to customers, routing them to agents who can assist them and keeping track of customers' communication with your company. Here are practices that enable your center to perform this function as best as possible:

Call centers have come a long way in recent years. As call centers handle a growing variety of transactions with customers, corporate executives are less likely to view them simply as backroom support operations and are more likely to perceive call centers as integral to the success of their companies.

But despite these positive developments, far too many call center directors and managers still mistakenly focus on limited operational metrics, such as average speed of answer (ASA), average handle time (AHT) and the number of customers agents serve. By doing so, they fail to gain the full respect and responsibility they should rightfully have in their organizations.

During the last two years, e-Satisfy, a research and consulting firm based in Arlington, VA that specializes in measuring and improving customer satisfaction and loyalty, has reviewed the operations of more than 500 call centers. e-Satisfy conducted surveys on-site, by phone and by distributing detailed questionnaires. Incoming Calls Management Institute (ICMI), an independent think tank based in Annapolis, MD that provides management education and information to call centers worldwide, studied hundreds of additional organizations through on-site seminars, reviews and a series of call center management surveys.

Based on their research, e-Satisfy and ICMI have observed that call centers that follow a certain set of practices earn recognition within their companies for their detailed knowledge of customers and for their role in generating revenue from customers. By employing these practices, managers of call centers can justify the addition of more resources for their operations and can advance their own careers.

Objectives of Successful Call Centers

Before we discuss best practices, let's first describe the objectives with which successful call centers align their efforts.

There are four overarching goals that call centers strive to attain:

• Respond to customers the first time they get in touch with the center, whether the communications occurs by phone or on-line;
  
• Sell, cross-sell, identify leads and generate additional revenue when appropriate;
  
• Capture and analyze data from customers to enhance the quality of products and services, as well as to better target customers; and
  
• Satisfy, retain and provide a career path for agents.
  

Establishing the Right Environment

To meet the objectives described above, call centers have to create the right environment, which includes the following:

A strategic plan for customer care

An effective strategy begins with agreement on the organization's vision, purpose and business model. The plan should define the customers and prospective customers the organization plans to serve. The plan should then establish how the organization intends to communicate with customers, how customers will contact the organization and how the organization will route customers to staff who can help them. As an organization-wide effort, the plan should determine the call center's role with regard to communications, marketing and sales.

Culture of cooperation

The organization must also develop a culture of collaboration and cooperation. Aligned goals and evaluation systems among different areas within a company contribute to a culture of cooperation, as does feedback from employees. You can also foster this culture by consulting with employees on matters such as scheduling and advancement, and you can arrange for internal service agreements that encourage your staff to rely on support from other departments.

Educating other areas of the organization about the role of the call center

A prerequisite to getting good support from managers throughout the organization, especially in the closely-aligned areas of marketing, finance, information systems and human resources, is to ensure that managers in these departments have a solid understanding of the unique environment in which call centers operate.

Long-term investment

An organization should be prepared to make a long-term investment in recruiting, training, developing and managing staff for a call center. To make this investment viable, the finance and marketing departments have to recognize the call center's contribution to the bottom line and its role in building and sustaining relationships with customers. Businesses typically determine this contribution based on revenue and customer retention.

Goals and metrics

Appropriate metrics should not focus only on efficiency, such as the number of customers agents serve, the average hold time and the average speed of answer. Metrics should also focus on the center's ability to serve customers effectively and refer customers to agents who can best help them.

Best Practices

After you determine the objectives for your center and create the right environment in which your center can meet them, you have to define specific functions of your operation. The primary functions of a call center fall into the following broad categories:

• Solicitation and intake of contacts - Offer a wide range of ways customers can reach your company and generate useful records of your customers' interactions with your company.
  
• Response - Fulfill customers' requests the first time they get in touch with your center; provide customers with an understandable and acceptable rationale for the company's policy and actions; and, when appropriate, offer to help customers with purchasing the products and services you offer.
  
• Analysis of workload content - Identify circumstances when your company can assist customers more efficiently, such as by using automated systems; provide training or systems that enable agents to satisfy customers' requests the first time they reach the center; and use feedback from customers as an opportunity to learn more about your overall market and improve your products or services.
  
• Evaluation of operational effectiveness - Maintain a balance between operating efficiently and providing optimum service to customers.
  
• Staff selection, development and management - Ensure agents have the necessary skills, training and incentives so that they enjoy their work, remain with your company, perform effectively and can grow into other positions.
  

We now discuss best practices as they relate to the functions we described above.

Solicitation and Intake of Contacts

Solicitation and intake of contacts involves reaching out to customers, routing them to agents who can assist them and keeping track of customers' communication with your company. Here are practices that enable your center to perform this function as best as possible: