CallTalk™ Radio

Highlights from Call Center Campus - Everything You Need To Know

Nowadays you hear a lot of companies who are doing ‘something’ with Automation (RPA) or Artificial Intelligence (AI), however what is the real story behind it, is it truly as easy as the vendors pitch it or does it require effort?

Information feedback is the lifeblood of continuous improvement for contact centers. However, most centers don't employ a structured approach to originating, processing and acting on feedback.  In this session, guest Pam Wilson explains the 4 stages required for a feedback loop to have full efficacy. We will discuss the four stages and Pam will share how she has seen them best implemented in call center settings.

Join Bruce Belfiore and Mike Dershowitz, CEO and Managing Director of Rethink Staffing, as they discuss a novel approach to managing call centers for outperforming results and creating social and economic impact at the same time. Mike shares his philosophy behind fair trade outsourcing, and some real-world examples that illustrate its sustainability, ethicality, and profitability.

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How contact centers can leverage agent knowledge to improve the products they support. Design for improved Customer Experience while sharing valuable input with other departments: marketing, product development and sales.

Information gathering, analysis and distribution are keys to a quality customer service organization. Feedback shows you the weak spots, while analysis and communication with other parts of your enterprise bring value to the enterprise as a whole. Dr. Van Bennekom will draw the lines between inputs and great outcomes for contact center operations. 

Guest Host Bio: Dr. Fred Van Bennekom helps organizations collect and apply customer and employee feedback in a statistically valid manner. The author of “Customer Surveying: A Guidebook for Service Managers,” Fred teaches operations management in Northeastern University’s Executive MBA program. Before earning his doctorate, he served as an information systems consultant for Digital Equipment’s field service organization. Through his company, Great Brook, Dr. Van Bennekom conducts workshops and advises clients on their survey practices.

Join CallTalk host Bruce Belfiore as he talks with author and speaker Mitchell Levy about ways to bring thought leadership into your life and your organization. Hear the tips he shared with his Ted Talk audience about listening, hearing, connecting and leading. Mitchell will provide you with insights you can use immediately in your center, and will explain his H.E.L.P. paradigm that will get you thinking and acting to improve yourself and your work place.

Let's face it, finding the right work-life balance in a contact center isn't easy. It takes guts to make changes in your center that allow agents to balance their personal life with the company's needs. Unfortunately for contact centers, ignoring an agent's need for work-life balance has high costs. One study from Indeed found that "More than one in four employees (27%) in organizations that are not perceived to support work-life balance plan to leave their companies within the next two years." High turnover is extremely expensive, and employees who feel like they don't have time for family and personal time are more likely to abuse sick leave, experience burn-out, and avoid tasks. If you want to hear ideas about what you can do to improve work-life balance at your center, attend this CallTalk episode.

Guest Bio: Sean Vierling

During his career, Sean has worked with many Fortune 500 companies that want to optimize call center operations. He has been involved with benchmarking call centers, with contact center training and with workforce management solutions that enable call centers to be more efficient and cost-effective. 

Previous to his position with LoxySoft, Sean worked with Teleopti.  He served as President of BenchmarkPortal, where he helped launch numerous initiatives including CallTalk in 2009.

Sean graduated from Northern Arizona University with a degree in international marketing. He then obtained a degree in international business from the Haarlem School Business in The Netherlands. 

Sean was a member of the U.S. National Whitewater Rafting Team, and took part in the world championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia.

Join Bruce Belfiore for a timely interview with Bob Kobek, President of Mobius Partners and CustomerCount. Bob will address items of interest to both outbound centers and inbound centers, focusing on ways to get to the prize of customer loyalty. He will discuss both the concepts and the practical tools needed to get the results every manager seeks. He will include his thoughts on call center technology and online feedback, such as CSAT, NPS and CES. Bob will also share his ideas on the importance of HR in attaining success. (paragraph break) As a veteran board member of industry association PACE, Bob is tuned in to what our peers are saying, and will bring his industry insights and tips to the table for this info-packed episode of CallTalk.

Guest Host Bob Kobek Bio: 

Prior to forming Mobius Vendor Partners in October of 1999, Mr. Kobek spent more than 30 years in the direct marketing industry and government. Specializing in the design, implementation and marketing of products and services, Bob has designed more than 150 outbound telemarketing, inbound customer service and order processing operations and interactive information systems. In 2007 Bob and Mobius launched CustomerCount?, a cloud-based survey solution providing intuitive real-time reporting, designed for the travel industry. Mr. Kobek is a member of the American Resort Development Association and sits on numerous committees. He is a board member of PACE and serves as the chair of the Government Affairs committee. He attended Holy Cross College at Notre Dame, Indiana and Indiana University.

Maureen Lewandowski of Delta Dental of Wisconsin shares tips on how to get buy-in from your people for major initiatives. She illustrates the roles of well structured processes and carefully chosen technologies to empower and incentivize employees to improve performance as a team – and attain certified excellence. These are great, practical insights that most mangers can quickly implement in their centers.

 

Guest Bio: Maureen Lewandowski is the Director, Operations at Delta Dental of Wisconsin. In her current role Maureen oversees claims processing, customer service, data entry, and benefit administrative services. In her 12 years in the call center industry, Maureen has become well-versed in the science of call center staffing, staff management, LEAN methodology, and project management. Currently Maureen is pursuing her MBA through UW-Madison, School of Business, Executive MBA program.