CallTalk™ Radio

***Here is the lin to access the slide pack that we talk about in our show: CallTalk MUG

Our guest, Alex Demczak, wrote a book on “Optimizing Outbound Calling” and has been astounded by the changes to this process over the years, and in this episode, Alex will talk about recent changes to federal and state regulations within the past year.

In 2015 Alex saw massive changes in outbound calling regulations both on the federal and state level. Find out how some of these changes will change your business now and in the future.

Some of the questions he will answer will be:

Are these changes already in affect?

Can I still call cell phones on delinquent accounts?

Can I use preview dialing on cell phones if I dial the number manually?

Alex Demczak, a lifelong resident of the Pittsburgh, PA area has been involved with call centers since 1978. Having completed the three year electronics degree at Allegany Tech, he merged his passion for electronics to the call center industry serving as a beta site for what are now standard products. Seeing the lack of ability for some predictive dialer manufactures to convey benefits and ROI of their equipment brought about the publishing of "How to Sell Dialers to Call Center Managers" .

Later he teamed with Dr. Jon Anton of Purdue University, then mainly involved with inbound call centers, to create his second work "Optimizing Outbound Calling”.

After a long successful career in banking he is now a full time consultant and the General Manger of MUG Enterprise, where he continues to develop products for the industry and provide guidance, training and reviews for call centers worldwide with such notable clients as: Microsoft, Capital One, US Bank and many others.

Lately, Bill has begun to detect some striking changes emerging in the contact center industry.  He sees that contact centers really don’t want to buy software, they want to buy results.  There’s a new breed of contact center vendors that is able and willing to provide results.

Bill is an industry veteran and has held a variety of sales, marketing and management roles for major contact center vendors and worked as a consultant for centers challenged with meeting their performance objectives.  With more than 30 years in the market, he has practical experience with most contact center technologies and the technology segments that comprise workforce optimization, including workforce management. An author of numerous articles and whitepapers on contact center technology and management, he also has published four books: Building a World-Class Inbound Call Center, focused on a management process for call centers that drives productivity and quality;

Navigating the Customer Contact Center in the 21st Century,  clarified technologies used in multimedia centers and updated management processes that include email and Web support metrics; Customer Centricity Through Workforce Optimization, focused on how to transform the workforce, maximize a contact center’s most value resources – its people – and propel center performance to the next level; and Analytical Workforce Optimization Demystified, focused upon how WFM and Quality Management are changing because of Analytics which provide powerful lenses through which management can improve the performance of the workforce and understand what customers want from organizations.

Learn how Big Data is transforming insurance and call center operations, and why your company should be planning Big Data analytics to improve customer loyalty and enhance operating efficiency.

Geoff Colgan from Attadale Partners, brings 25 years of experience leading change management for some of the most accomplished and successful public and private companies in the world. Geoff is a frequent presenter at conferences on topics such as operational performance, change management, and customer experience. Geoff’s work supporting strategy implementation has been referenced in a Harvard Business School case study. Before founding Attadale, Geoff spent almost 20 years serving global clients of Charter Consulting and Gemini Consulting, and in operations at Sun Alliance Life Assurance. As an Australian national, Geoff co-founded and is a past-president of the Australian New Zealand American Chamber of Commerce - Midwest, and remains active in the Australian and Chicago communities. Geoff earned an MBA with high honors from the University of Notre Dame and his bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Western Australia. Geoff lives in Chicago with his wife and four daughters.

Sales Expert, Mark Coudray, joins CallTalk to discuss the changes that have occurred with the advennt of the digital world and how that has impacted the sales channels.  We will look into the changes in communication, campaigns, and closure rates, and it's all good news!

His professional activities involve the strategic planning, direction, and transition for companies moving from an analog marketing delivery model to a digital model. This includes the evolving changes to how goods and services are marketed, sold and delivered, as well as the analytics and metrics for how performance is measured. Mark is actively involved in the R&D of sales, marketing, and analytically driven social media technologies as well as the implementation into commercial environments.

Prior to his current activities, Mark focused on developing and implementing digital technologies for the specialty printing industry. He is well known as a leader and strategist for industries disrupted by digital technologies.

His work has been published globally in more than 400 articles, papers, and columns. Mark’s columns have appeared continuously in multiple industry publications for more than 25 years. He has worked with client companies in 41 countries. His implementations, products, and services are offered in the areas of digital workflow design, consulting services, software development, technical seminars, workshops, technical assessment, and expert witness testimony.

Mark received a BS degree in Graphic Communications in 1977 from California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, California.   He graduated Summa Cum Laude

Leaders play a vital role in the call center, they are an important reason why people stay or leave, engage or not engage. Research show the relationship agents have with their lead, supervisor or direct boss are key.

This episode we speak iwth Chris Abel, Senior Director, Contact Center Operations and Customer Experience, Bright Horizons Family Solutions.

Chris is responsible for all operations supporting five lines of business and managing third-party vendor relationships. Prior to joining Bright Horizons, Chris spent 15 years in the financial services industry. Starting as a financial adviser, Chris managed teams working with high-net-worth clients and focused on building relationships and delivering superior customer experiences.

Employee engagement and retention are core talent management building blocks and staying abreast of key trends and new approaches is important for HR professionals across disciplines.

In this episode, we talk with Industry Expert, Chris Mulligan, from Talent Keepers, as he explains what the latest data is telling us about hot trends and those practices that are getting results, including what the “Best-in-Class” are doing to achieve strong results from their investment in employee engagement and retention.

Chris has over 25 years of experience in the human resources industry, the majority of which has been in the employee engagement, selection, assessment and retention arena. Chris co-founded TalentKeepers in 2000, an organization dedicated to the issue of employee engagement and retention. TalentKeepers products have twice been recognized as “Top Training Products of the Year” by Human Resource Executive Magazine. TalentKeepers’ annual Employee Engagement and Retention Trends Survey is the largest and longest continually running research study of engagement and employee retention - and more than 800 US-based organizations participant in the study, representing every major industry and all regions of the country.

Chris has worked with organizations including: Accenture, AT&T, BMW, Coke, EDS, GE & UPS. Prior to co-founding TalentKeepers, Chris was the VP of Business Development for AlignMark, a division of Thomson Rueters, a multi-billion dollar and leading global e-information and solutions company serving the business and professional marketplace. Chris is a member of the American Psychological Society and an Associate Member of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from the Florida State University, and a Master of Science degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of Central Florida

Surveys are an important tool for measuring your customers’ and agents’satisfaction along with identifying areas needing improvement.  Listen in to 15 tips to optimize your surveys.

Guest Dr. Fred Van Bennekom, The author of "Customer Surveying: A Guidebook for Service Managers," teaches operations management in Northeastern University’s Executive MBA program and has 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.

Survey Tips & Tricks – the Fast Fifteen or a Bakers Dozen plus two

Project Management

Think about what you’re trying to learn – Statement of research objectivesLine up your ducks – get the resources and sponsorship lined upMotivate, motivate, motivate

Questionnaire Design

Talk to the people – do some field research for “attribute identification”Keep it shortOrganize into topical sectionsIt’s how you write it – look for multiple interpretationsData aren’t all created equal -- Know your data types

Survey Administration

Target the right peopleTarget the right people the right way – Avoid sample biasKnow the math of statistical accuracy

Analysis & Reporting

Fight the fires immediatelySlice and dice – look for the interesting findings among subgroupsExplain the impactClose the loop – tell them what you learned = motivate

Leveraging Industry Benchmarks to Build a Business Case for a Technology Investment.

Technology is a crucial component in many areas within the contact center.  With Drew's experience he is a wonderful person to enlighten us more on this topic.  As a problem solver with Technology Finance Partners he will shed some light on how industry benchmarks are used in selling and what that translates to on the buyer’s side

Drew Wright co-founded Technology Finance Partners in 2000 and has driven hundreds of millions of dollars of enterprise technology investment through strategic consultation on deal structuring and collaborative business case analysis support. This ongoing effort gives Drew a unique understanding of the real value of technology, from IT infrastructure to business application as well as a practical perspective regarding pricing and delivery models. Drew has spoken at a number of software conferences on the subjects of ROI, green IT, SaaS pricing strategies and customer analytics.

Prior to TFP, Drew was a vice president of ADAC Capital, ADAC Laboratories’ customer finance program. His professional career started in the medical device industry where he traveled to 48 of 50 states to see orthopedic surgeons implant the custom knee and other joint implants that he designed. Drew earned a BS in mechanical engineering with an English minor from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo and an MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School.

A Success Formula – How to Coach and Develop Discretionary

Effort

From the coaching perspective, learn how each employee is unique and valuable through their behaviors. As a coach use this knowledge to guide them through important transformations toward top performance.

Dave Gregory is the Director of Management Training and Leadership Development for Alorica. He and his team support more than 4,800 leaders who in turn support more than 48,000 contact center associates over 73 sites around the world. He focuses on creating positive change that aligns behaviors with the strategic vision and creates positive results. Dave’s team in 2014 delivered measureable results for programs in financial services, healthcare, telecommunications, entertainment and hospitality, and other industries which exceeded $66.8M in attrition savings and another $90M incremental revenue generation. The return on investment of Dave’s team exceeded $315 for every $1 invested in 2014.

With more than 25 years of experience in the call center industry, Dave has held positions in nearly every aspect of the contact center supporting Work Force Management, Operations, Training, and Human Resources and is dedicated to delivering measurable results through a focus on Attitude, Skills, Knowledge, and Goal Setting.

Customers are demanding more efficient and effective service from Contact Centers throughout all industries.

Walt will chat with the Assistance Vice President at Provident Credit Union, Walt Sweeny, about a Lean Six Sigma approach to Contact Center process improvement that Contact Center leaders could use to make their Contact Center be the best it can be, effectively and efficiently.

Walt Sweeny has been in the Contact Center business for over 16 years. He is currently an Assistant Vice President with Provident Credit Union in Redwood Shores California.

Previously, Walt had Contact Center assignments with Greater Bay Bank (a subsidiary of Wells Fargo Bank) and AT&T Broadband. He received his Master of Business Administration from San Francisco State University School of Business. Walt is also Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certified. He serves on the Northern California Contact Center Association steering committee and resides in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is married with three daughters.