ICMI - The End Of One Era, Beginning Of Another

After nearly two decades of reporting on the call center industry, we're publishing our final issue of Call Center Magazine. In 1988, the year of the launch of the publication, then called Inbound/Outbound Magazine, there was a clear demand for information focused on the critical day-to-day issues of running a call center.

Much has happened in the call center world in the years that followed. Call centers evolved from being considered back office, order-taking departments to a critical customer touchpoint, responsible for managing the customer experience, maintaining customer loyalty and boosting the organization's competitiveness and bottom line.

We're very proud of the magazine's success and the contribution it has made to the industry over the past 20 years. And while this may be the last issue of Call Center Magazine, it's certainly not the end. Beginning in August, we launch our new digital magazine, ICMI's Customer Management Insight. As ICMI continues to expand its reach in the global market, and create new resources to help customer contact professionals worldwide improve performance and increase the value of their operations, we will continue to transform our publications to meet your information needs.

Just as call centers have evolved, there have been significant innovations in the media landscape in the past few years that have bridged the gap between magazines and the Web. Magazine Web sites, which used to offer little more than a static preview of pages from the traditional print publication, now have the capabilities to offer more interactive, entertaining and valuable content.

Our new digital format will provide us with the opportunity to evolve our content with the technology. Our plans include an expanded online presence that will provide rich media content with multiple layers and a depth of history that stretches back 20 years, as well as improved search capabilities, audio and video clips, and interactive forums, polls and contests. Our aim is to continue ICMI's tradition of leadership and innovation in providing exemplary editorial content, practical resources for contact center professionals, and meaningful forums for nurturing the contact center community. We also want to provide you with the ability to choose the medium through which you receive information -- whether that's by reading, listening, viewing or participating.

Are these changes too radical for a trade journal? Not at all. Contact center professionals have always been natural early adopters of interactive technology and networking. Next month, you can expect to see a new publication dedicated to providing in-depth, unbiased content on customer contact strategies, operations, technology and people management issues. And in the coming months, we will be rolling out our new online features. We've committed the talent and resources to make it happen. We feel certain that our new digital format and interactive Web site will enable you to optimize your time and leverage the content that we provide in a way that's useful for you. We also hope to make it easier for contact center professionals to interact with the editorial team, industry experts and each other.

On that note, it's important for you to communicate with us so that we can make certain that you'll receive a copy of ICMI's Customer Management Insight. Please contact our customer service line at 888-824-9793 or 847-588-0682 to ensure that we have your email address so that you will receive the digital issue in August. We look forward to hearing from you!

--You can reach Susan Hash at: susanh@icmi.com.

The End Of One Era, Beginning Of Another

Beginning in August, we launch our new digital magazine, ICMI's Customer Management Insight.

Long Overdue Training

Workforce management in call centers requires specialized skills and knowledge. Forecasting, queuing theory, statistical analysis -- these aren't the things you pick up in your basic business college classes. For many (dare I say most) workforce managers, formal training on these concepts is long overdue.

Spring Cleaning: It's Time to Clear the Cobwebs from Your Center

Spring is here! It's time to shake off the winter blues and put your house in order. If you're thinking about doing some spring-cleaning for your call center, the following new releases from ICMI Publications can help you to take stock of your current practices and decide which ones could use a little freshening.