For call centers to operate successfully, they must cultivate personnel equipped for today's demanding environment. This requires appropriate investments in agent recruiting, training, motivation, culture, continuing education, information and tools. For many call centers, getting approval for, and sustaining, these initiatives demands a rethinking of call center planning and leadership.

To be sure, call centers are making progress, as measured in the billions of dollars invested in call center technologies and agent training; and in the increased respect from top-level executives.

Yet, many organizations are unable to keep up with customer demands because technologies and customer expectations are evolving unabated. For example, industry pundits predicted that self-service capabilities (e.g., Web and IVR services) would reduce reliance on agent-assisted services. The Internet, telecommunications and computer technologies have enabled organizations to automate transactions once requiring human contact. But they also create new services. And, by rendering customer interactions more complex, the new technologies require increasingly sophisticated agent assistance.

In addition, technology-savvy customers are increasingly unforgiving of organizations that do not provide the choices and services they demand. According to the surveys, far too many organizations don't. But the studies also reveal an industry in transition.

A recent ICMI study of the multichannel environment reports, for example, that most organizations (86%) offer on-line self-service or plan to do so soon. Sixty five percent have, or plan to implement, an e-mail response management system. And 53% indicated that lack of vision/leadership from top-level management was not a barrier to call center development.

However, close to half of the respondents report they are not meeting service-level objectives. Only about half are measuring customer satisfaction across every contact channel. More problematic, 93% of the respondents cited budget constraints as "somewhat of a challenge" or a "big challenge." But their top concern is finding, developing and keeping qualified staff.

Evolving Skills and Knowledge Requirements

Indeed, skills and knowledge requirements at all levels of the call center are escalating:

• Agents must serve well-informed and diverse customers; adjust to changes in products, services and technologies; operate in a time-sensitive, multimedia environment; communicate with customers quickly and accurately; and understand Web- and IVR-based applications.

• The responsibilities of supervisors are also increasing as they assume roles involving data analysis, process improvements and inter-departmental coordination.

• Call center managers and directors, too, now answer to higher management. And they increasingly shape corporate strategy.

• The demands on analysts, workforce managers, trainers and others are also increasing.

The Need for a New Approach

But as personnel requirements snowball, many call centers are having trouble getting the funding and support to attract, train and retain talent. This is likely due to the usual weak reasons managers give for increasing the operating budget:

1. The telephone-centric call center is becoming a "multichannel contact center;"

2. Workload is growing and transactions requiring agent assistance are becoming more complex; and

3. Customers demand access to call center services.

None of these points are inaccurate. But consider: e-mail, on-line services, wireless services and handheld computers have become pervasive at work.

Ditto for workload. Call centers have to handle workload as it arrives, lest queues spiral out of control. Nonetheless, too many call center managers are told: Deal with it.

The third argument - that customers demand that organizations provide accessible call center services - will generate interest in organizations that care about good service.

Which begs the question: Should the call center get funding and support to upgrade positions, handle workloads, and invest in improvements?

Yes. The multichannel call center is transforming services provisioning, the building of customer relationships and the acquisition of customer intelligence.

But for call center managers to get and keep qualified people, they must plan and demonstrate leadership, to wit:

1. Base investments on the call center's contribution to value;

2. Educate management on workload dynamics;

3. Identify competencies for each position;

4. Determine how many people are required; and

5. Build career and skill paths.

1. Base investments on the call center's contribution to value.

   Return on investment falls into the following areas:

   • Improved customer satisfaction and loyalty. Customers demand user-friendly, self-service systems. They need to reach well-informed and capable service and support representatives. They want choices.

   • Improved quality and innovation. By capturing and assessing customer experiences and input, the call center can pinpoint problems. That enables design and manufacturing operations to make improvements.

   • Focused marketing, products and services. By capturing and analyzing customers' buying trends, feedback and demographics, the call center can help marketing efforts better understand prospects' needs.

   • Efficient delivery of services. By pooling resources, call centers let customers efficiently reach information and services.

   • Increasing self-service use. By helping customers understand and use IVR and Web-based self-service, call centers support customers and capture information to create more intuitive services.

   • Additional revenue and sales. By enabling customers to reach agents, the call center can provide upsell and cross-sell opportunities.

2. Educate management on workload dynamics.

   Call center mangers are increasingly working with colleagues to develop strategy and integrated processes. But for call center managers to elicit executive support, executives must know how call centers operate.

   Understanding the balance between staffing and workload is important. Being understaffed creates low service levels, high agent occupancy (the percent of time agents handle versus wait for calls), and long customer queues (see Figure 1). Consequently, the call center must coordinate with other units to properly handle marketing campaigns, changes in products or services, and adjustments to terms and policies. Understanding the time-sensitivity of call centers will facilitate budgeting and cross-organizational collaboration.

3. Identify required competencies for each position.

   Managers should assess the job requirements for each call center position, including both general and specific skills and organizational knowledge. If job applicants don't have the desired competencies when hired, they must receive training.

For call centers to operate successfully, they must cultivate personnel equipped for today's demanding environment. This requires appropriate investments in agent recruiting, training, motivation, culture, continuing education, information and tools. For many call centers, getting approval for, and sustaining, these initiatives demands a rethinking of call center planning and leadership.

To be sure, call centers are making progress, as measured in the billions of dollars invested in call center technologies and agent training; and in the increased respect from top-level executives.

Yet, many organizations are unable to keep up with customer demands because technologies and customer expectations are evolving unabated. For example, industry pundits predicted that self-service capabilities (e.g., Web and IVR services) would reduce reliance on agent-assisted services. The Internet, telecommunications and computer technologies have enabled organizations to automate transactions once requiring human contact. But they also create new services. And, by rendering customer interactions more complex, the new technologies require increasingly sophisticated agent assistance.

In addition, technology-savvy customers are increasingly unforgiving of organizations that do not provide the choices and services they demand. According to the surveys, far too many organizations don't. But the studies also reveal an industry in transition.

A recent ICMI study of the multichannel environment reports, for example, that most organizations (86%) offer on-line self-service or plan to do so soon. Sixty five percent have, or plan to implement, an e-mail response management system. And 53% indicated that lack of vision/leadership from top-level management was not a barrier to call center development.

However, close to half of the respondents report they are not meeting service-level objectives. Only about half are measuring customer satisfaction across every contact channel. More problematic, 93% of the respondents cited budget constraints as "somewhat of a challenge" or a "big challenge." But their top concern is finding, developing and keeping qualified staff.

Evolving Skills and Knowledge Requirements

Indeed, skills and knowledge requirements at all levels of the call center are escalating:

• Agents must serve well-informed and diverse customers; adjust to changes in products, services and technologies; operate in a time-sensitive, multimedia environment; communicate with customers quickly and accurately; and understand Web- and IVR-based applications.

• The responsibilities of supervisors are also increasing as they assume roles involving data analysis, process improvements and inter-departmental coordination.

• Call center managers and directors, too, now answer to higher management. And they increasingly shape corporate strategy.

• The demands on analysts, workforce managers, trainers and others are also increasing.

The Need for a New Approach

But as personnel requirements snowball, many call centers are having trouble getting the funding and support to attract, train and retain talent. This is likely due to the usual weak reasons managers give for increasing the operating budget:

1. The telephone-centric call center is becoming a "multichannel contact center;"

2. Workload is growing and transactions requiring agent assistance are becoming more complex; and

3. Customers demand access to call center services.

None of these points are inaccurate. But consider: e-mail, on-line services, wireless services and handheld computers have become pervasive at work.

Ditto for workload. Call centers have to handle workload as it arrives, lest queues spiral out of control. Nonetheless, too many call center managers are told: Deal with it.

The third argument - that customers demand that organizations provide accessible call center services - will generate interest in organizations that care about good service.

Which begs the question: Should the call center get funding and support to upgrade positions, handle workloads, and invest in improvements?

Yes. The multichannel call center is transforming services provisioning, the building of customer relationships and the acquisition of customer intelligence.

But for call center managers to get and keep qualified people, they must plan and demonstrate leadership, to wit:

1. Base investments on the call center's contribution to value;

2. Educate management on workload dynamics;

3. Identify competencies for each position;

4. Determine how many people are required; and

5. Build career and skill paths.

1. Base investments on the call center's contribution to value.

   Return on investment falls into the following areas:

   • Improved customer satisfaction and loyalty. Customers demand user-friendly, self-service systems. They need to reach well-informed and capable service and support representatives. They want choices.

   • Improved quality and innovation. By capturing and assessing customer experiences and input, the call center can pinpoint problems. That enables design and manufacturing operations to make improvements.

   • Focused marketing, products and services. By capturing and analyzing customers' buying trends, feedback and demographics, the call center can help marketing efforts better understand prospects' needs.

   • Efficient delivery of services. By pooling resources, call centers let customers efficiently reach information and services.

   • Increasing self-service use. By helping customers understand and use IVR and Web-based self-service, call centers support customers and capture information to create more intuitive services.

   • Additional revenue and sales. By enabling customers to reach agents, the call center can provide upsell and cross-sell opportunities.

2. Educate management on workload dynamics.

   Call center mangers are increasingly working with colleagues to develop strategy and integrated processes. But for call center managers to elicit executive support, executives must know how call centers operate.

   Understanding the balance between staffing and workload is important. Being understaffed creates low service levels, high agent occupancy (the percent of time agents handle versus wait for calls), and long customer queues (see Figure 1). Consequently, the call center must coordinate with other units to properly handle marketing campaigns, changes in products or services, and adjustments to terms and policies. Understanding the time-sensitivity of call centers will facilitate budgeting and cross-organizational collaboration.

3. Identify required competencies for each position.

   Managers should assess the job requirements for each call center position, including both general and specific skills and organizational knowledge. If job applicants don't have the desired competencies when hired, they must receive training.