Advice from a Call Center Geek!

By Thomas Laird

Advice from a Call Center Geek is a weekly podcast with a focus on all things call center and contact center. Tom Laird, CEO of 600+ seat award-winning BPO, Expivia Interaction Marketing and Ai aut

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FAQs about Advice from a Call Center Geek!:

How many episodes does Advice from a Call Center Geek! have?

The podcast currently has 250 episodes available.

Advice from a Call Center Geek! episodes:

March 25, 2020 A Day in the Life- Two Weeks of Operating a Call Center in the Days of Covid-19
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In this episode of Advice from a Call Center Geek!, we tell the true story of the rollercoaster of operating a call center in the days of coronavirus.

We give an interesting retrospective of each day from March 11 through March 25. How we went through the phases of ignoring and denying to action.

We have a 5-minute segment on some of the best practices that we are using on how to manage call center associates from home. When you video chat, when to IM, how many times a day should you touch base. We have you covered.

Blog Post Link:
https://expiviausa.com/a-day-in-the-life-embracing-a-new-norm/
The "Advice from a Call Center Geek!" podcast is sponsored by Expivia Interaction Marketing, a leader in USA call center/customer service outsourcing. Check Expivia out at www.expiviausa.com

Text me: 814.247.0366
Follow me: @tlaird_expivia
Join our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeek
Connect on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/
Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel
Through Expivia Digital, Tom works with contact center leaders on CCaaS platform selection, AI implementations, and NICE Studio and integration services.
Same honest, vendor-neutral advice you hear on the Call Center Geek podcast, applied directly to your specific operational challenges.
Schedule a consultation at ExpiviaDigital.com to discuss your contact center technology strategy.
Click here:
expiviadigital.com

Follow Tom: @tlaird_expivia
Join our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeek
Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/
Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@callcenter_geek
Linkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9041993/
Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel
...more
23min
March 20, 2020 Unique Times- A Conversation with Paul Herdman- Head of Global Customer Experience- NICE inContact
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In this very special episode, during these very unique times, we have the privilege to be able to spend some time with Paul Herdman, Head of Global Customer Experience for NICE inContact.

In this conversion, we talk not just about COVID-19 in the call center space, but a behind the scenes look at what NICE inContact has done not just to provide customers with continuity, but the actions they have taken internally with their global support centers.

We discuss topics such as if he believes there will be in industry shift in the types of products and services we will see in the market, how things will change because of COVID-19, and what you need to be aware of for the upcoming contact center AI revolution.

Very cool conversation with a very smart contact center operations and service professional. And yes I actually mean that!

Blog Post Link:
https://expiviausa.com/unique-times-a-conversation-with-paul-herdman-head-of-global-customer-experience/
Text me: 814.247.0366
Follow me: @tlaird_expivia
Join our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeek
Connect on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/
Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel

Through Expivia Digital, Tom works with contact center leaders on CCaaS platform selection, AI implementations, and NICE Studio and integration services.
Same honest, vendor-neutral advice you hear on the Call Center Geek podcast, applied directly to your specific operational challenges.
Schedule a consultation at ExpiviaDigital.com to discuss your contact center technology strategy.
Click here:
expiviadigital.com

Follow Tom: @tlaird_expivia
Join our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeek
Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/
Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@callcenter_geek
Linkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9041993/
Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel
...more
37min
March 13, 2020 SPECIAL EPISODE- COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and Your Call Center- Steps to Take
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We at the Geek! want to try to do anything we can to help you through these crazy and stressful times. Operating and running a call center in the time and the uncertainty of the Coronavirus is a very difficult situation.

In this very important episode, we try to give you some of the things we are doing in our call center from the new policies we have on cleanliness and hand washing to how we are preparing our brick and mortar facility for an emergency at home agent environment.

We certainly do not have all the answers but hopefully, we can help you a little steer through these times.

We will get through!

Blog Post Link:
https://expiviausa.com/covid19-and-your-call-center/
The "Advice from a Call Center Geek!" podcast is sponsored by Expivia Interaction Marketing, a leader in USA call center/customer service outsourcing. Check Expivia out at www.expiviausa.com

Text me: 814.247.0366
Follow me: @tlaird_expivia
Join our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeek
Connect on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/
Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel
Through Expivia Digital, Tom works with contact center leaders on CCaaS platform selection, AI implementations, and NICE Studio and integration services.
Same honest, vendor-neutral advice you hear on the Call Center Geek podcast, applied directly to your specific operational challenges.
Schedule a consultation at ExpiviaDigital.com to discuss your contact center technology strategy.
Click here:
expiviadigital.com

Follow Tom: @tlaird_expivia
Join our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeek
Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/
Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@callcenter_geek
Linkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9041993/
Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel
...more
15min
March 09, 2020A Conversation with Contact Center Consultant-Advisor Fred Shadding
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In this episode of "Advice from a Call Center Geek!" we have our first guest interview! We took some time with call center adviser, consultant (broker..shhh not too loud) Fred Shadding. Fred has over 30 years of experience in the call center operations and consulting business.

Topics of discussion include:
What is the difference between a call center consultant and broker.
Pricing and quality of centers around the globe.
When should you outsource, when should you stay in house.
What functions are being outsourced more rapidly.
How do you determine what centers are best for specific clients.

Interesting discussion on the call center industry as a whole.

Contact information for Fred Shadding:
Founder & Chief Adviser
TSG Solutions, LLC / The Call Center Source
Office: 240-696-4111 Mobile: 301-537-1528
[email protected]
www.thecallcentersource.com

The "Advice from a Call Center Geek!" podcast is sponsored by Expivia Interaction Marketing, a leader in USA call center/customer service outsourcing. Check Expivia out at www.expiviausa.com

Text me: 814.247.0366
Follow me: @tlaird_expivia
Join our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeek
Connect on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/
Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel
Through Expivia Digital, Tom works with contact center leaders on CCaaS platform selection, AI implementations, and NICE Studio and integration services.
Same honest, vendor-neutral advice you hear on the Call Center Geek podcast, applied directly to your specific operational challenges.
Schedule a consultation at ExpiviaDigital.com to discuss your contact center technology strategy.
Click here:
expiviadigital.com

Follow Tom: @tlaird_expivia
Join our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeek
Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/
Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@callcenter_geek
Linkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9041993/
Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel
...more
37min
February 27, 2020 10 Policies Every Call Center Operation Must Have
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Policies and procedures may not be a really fun topic, but they are very necessary for assuring your call center is running smoothly. Policies are basically the call center's "constitution" or the rules that match the culture of the organization you are managing.

In this episode of the Geek! we discuss 10 key call center policies that all call centers should have. Some of these you can do yourself and some you will need some attorney help. If you head over to https://www.facebook.com/callcentergeekcommunity/ or on my LinkedIn account tlaird_expivia, I will post most of our current policies at Expivia for you to look at and use if you think they will help you.

4:38 NDA Agreement
5:30 Social Media Policy
6:50 Background Check Policy
7:22 Recording Policy
9:00 Attendance Policy
10:14 Dress Code Policy
11:36 Drug and Alcohol Policy
14:00 ID Badge Policy
15:26 Cell Phone and Wearable Technology Policy

Blog Post Link:
https://expiviausa.com/10-policies-every-call-center-operation-must-have/

The "Advice from a Call Center Geek!" podcast is sponsored by Expivia Interaction Marketing, a leader in USA call center/customer service outsourcing. Check Expivia out at www.expiviausa.com

Text me: 814.247.0366
Follow me: @tlaird_expivia
Join our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeek
Connect on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/
Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel

Through Expivia Digital, Tom works with contact center leaders on CCaaS platform selection, AI implementations, and NICE Studio and integration services.
Same honest, vendor-neutral advice you hear on the Call Center Geek podcast, applied directly to your specific operational challenges.
Schedule a consultation at ExpiviaDigital.com to discuss your contact center technology strategy.
Click here:
expiviadigital.com

Follow Tom: @tlaird_expivia
Join our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeek
Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/
Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@callcenter_geek
Linkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9041993/
Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel
...more
22min
February 20, 2020 Highlights from My Appearance on the Call Center Helper Podcast
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A little bit of a unique and cool episode. The Geek is a huge fan of the "Call Center Helper" website and podcast. When we were asked to be a guest on their podcast we jumped at the invitation. While I am not going to spoil the entire episode, I do want to give you some highlights from a couple of the questions that were asked. Really good questions and I hope you find my answers as insightful. Lots here to take back to your center.

The "Advice from a Call Center Geek!" podcast is sponsored by Expivia Interaction Marketing, a leader in USA call center/customer service outsourcing. Check Expivia out at www.expiviausa.com

Text me: 814.247.0366
Follow me: @tlaird_expivia
Join our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeek
Connect on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/
Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel

Through Expivia Digital, Tom works with contact center leaders on CCaaS platform selection, AI implementations, and NICE Studio and integration services.
Same honest, vendor-neutral advice you hear on the Call Center Geek podcast, applied directly to your specific operational challenges.
Schedule a consultation at ExpiviaDigital.com to discuss your contact center technology strategy.
Click here:
expiviadigital.com

Follow Tom: @tlaird_expivia
Join our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeek
Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/
Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@callcenter_geek
Linkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9041993/
Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel
...more
20min
February 13, 2020 2020 CALL CENTER SECURITY CRISIS- Stop Allowing Cell Phones on Your Call Center Floor!
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I LOVE social media (As you all know ..lol) but I love security in my call center even more. Go on TIKTOK and search for #callcenter and tell me if you still think it's ok for your call center associates to have cell phones on the call center floor.

There is ZERO chance you are PCI compliant if you are allowing cell phones or wearable technology on the call center floor. I think there should be a law against it, that's how strongly I feel about this subject.

The amount of bad things that can happen now is through the roof.

If you are looking for a cellphone/wearable technology policy to use in your call center here you go:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/expivia-cell-phone-wearable-technology-agreement-thomas-laird/

The "Advice from a Call Center Geek!" podcast is sponsored by Expivia Interaction Marketing, a leader in USA call center/customer service outsourcing. Check Expivia out at www.expiviausa.com

Text me: 814.247.0366
Follow me: @tlaird_expivia
Join our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeek
Connect on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/
Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel
Through Expivia Digital, Tom works with contact center leaders on CCaaS platform selection, AI implementations, and NICE Studio and integration services.
Same honest, vendor-neutral advice you hear on the Call Center Geek podcast, applied directly to your specific operational challenges.
Schedule a consultation at ExpiviaDigital.com to discuss your contact center technology strategy.
Click here:
expiviadigital.com

Follow Tom: @tlaird_expivia
Join our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeek
Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/
Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@callcenter_geek
Linkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9041993/
Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel
...more
16min
February 10, 2020 Deep Dive into Your Call Center- 22 Questions We Ask When Consulting
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One of the key tasks that we talk to call centers when consulting is to whiteboard the "Call Center 22's" which are 22 questions that we ask the call center to define.

This is an exercise that we undertake internally every year as well to redefine where we stand on a bunch of call center culture questions. If you sit down with your team and define and shape these questions and how they affect you, this will take you a long way in defining call center culture and save you money by not needing a consult to help you!

Questions we ask:
What is tolerated or not tolerated?
Do your supervisors care more
about their reps then themselves?
Have you talked to HR about the type of rep you want in your center?
How do people speak to each other?
How does management treat peers?
Do you engage floor leaders?
Do you let things slide?
How strict is your center?
Do you tolerate poor attitudes?
Do you tolerate lack of effort
What do you do when a reps rocks a QA score?
What really happens when a rep is late?
Do your supervisors all manage differently?
Do you play games on your floor daily?
Is there music on your floor at any time?
Do you take pride in the equipment(chairs, headsets...)
Do you correct reps on the floor or off?
Are you investing in new tech?
Are you investing in rep education or is your center “too busy”?

Do you love your job?

Blog Post Link:
https://expiviausa.com/deep-dive-into-your-call-center-21-questions-we-ask-when-consulting/
The "Advice from a Call Center Geek!" podcast is sponsored by Expivia Interaction Marketing, a leader in USA call center/customer service outsourcing and consulting. Check Expivia out at www.expiviausa.com

Text me: 814.247.0366
Follow me: @tlaird_expivia
Join our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeek
Connect on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/
Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel
Through Expivia Digital, Tom works with contact center leaders on CCaaS platform selection, AI implementations, and NICE Studio and integration services.
Same honest, vendor-neutral advice you hear on the Call Center Geek podcast, applied directly to your specific operational challenges.
Schedule a consultation at ExpiviaDigital.com to discuss your contact center technology strategy.
Click here:
expiviadigital.com

Follow Tom: @tlaird_expivia
Join our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeek
Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/
Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@callcenter_geek
Linkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9041993/
Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel
...more
21min
February 01, 2020 Benchmarking Call Center KPI's for Efficiency
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We take a deeper dive into the call center metrics that you need to be looking at daily and intraday to have the most efficient call center possible!

We break down:
Service Level
Average Handle Time
Average Speed of Answer
Occupancy
Abandonment Rate
ACW/Wrap Time
Average Time in Queue

We show why these metrics are so important in benchmarking efficiency in your call center

Blog Post Link:
https://expiviausa.com/call-center-metrics-101/
The "Advice from a Call Center Geek!" podcast is sponsored by Expivia Interaction Marketing, a leader in USA call center/customer service outsourcing. Check Expivia out at www.expiviausa.com

Text me: 814.247.0366
Follow me: @tlaird_expivia
Join our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeek
Connect on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/
Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel
Through Expivia Digital, Tom works with contact center leaders on CCaaS platform selection, AI implementations, and NICE Studio and integration services.
Same honest, vendor-neutral advice you hear on the Call Center Geek podcast, applied directly to your specific operational challenges.
Schedule a consultation at ExpiviaDigital.com to discuss your contact center technology strategy.
Click here:
expiviadigital.com

Follow Tom: @tlaird_expivia
Join our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeek
Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/
Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@callcenter_geek
Linkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9041993/
Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel
...more
19min
January 24, 2020 Digital Customer Service- Best Practices
Send us a text
Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp.....

Do you have a digital plan for these "newer" channels?

In this episode of the "Geek" we talk about the importance of servicing customers on these channels, how to be proactive instead of reactive then it comes to social listening and best practices for digital customer service programs!

Your customers are using these channels and they are talking about you. Its time for a plan to engage and delight in the digital world!

The "Advice from a Call Center Geek!" podcast is sponsored by Expivia Interaction Marketing, a leader in USA call center/customer service outsourcing. Check Expivia out at www.expiviausa.com

Text me: 814.247.0366
Follow me: @tlaird_expivia
Join our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeek
Connect on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/
Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel
Through Expivia Digital, Tom works with contact center leaders on CCaaS platform selection, AI implementations, and NICE Studio and integration services.
Same honest, vendor-neutral advice you hear on the Call Center Geek podcast, applied directly to your specific operational challenges.
Schedule a consultation at ExpiviaDigital.com to discuss your contact center technology strategy.
Click here:
expiviadigital.com

Follow Tom: @tlaird_expivia
Join our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeek
Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/
Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@callcenter_geek
Linkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9041993/
Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel
...more
21min

FAQs about Advice from a Call Center Geek!:

How many episodes does Advice from a Call Center Geek! have?

The podcast currently has 250 episodes available.

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