Call Center Excellence: Critical Steps for Delivering First-rate Customer Service

This press release details the findings of an exclusive benchmarking study that reveals the best practices in world-class customer service call centers.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C., April 8, 2002 -- As the worlds leading companies continue to move toward a more customer-centric approach, excellence in contact centers becomes increasingly critical for driving client retention and boosting market share, according to research firm Best Practices, LLC. A study by the firm reveals critical steps top executives undertake to ensure call centers achieve high-performance standards and deliver first-rate customer service.

Managing World-Class Call Centers: Site Visit Findings," available at http://www.benchmarkingreports.com/r/r153.htm , details specific practices top companies use to increase call center performance. For example, one financial services company developed a system to ensure it had the capability to handle fluctuating call volumes. When call levels rise 10 percent above the forecast systems estimate, managers alert more than 500 trained corporate reserves. During market stress periods, the company places messages on its Voice Response Units to explain the situation and outline the company view of the market change.

Managing World-Class Call Centers: Site Visit Findings" compiles lessons learned and best practices from site visits at 11 world-class call centers, including two Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award winners. The study also includes the following:
·   Performance statistics, such as abandoned call rates, answer rates, handling time and hold time
·   Call center organizational structures, including staffing levels for management and customer service representatives
·   Employee reward and recognition systems, including salary ranges and incentive programs
·   Call center rep evaluation and management practices, including performance scorecards and coaching techniques

Customer service is more important than ever," said Keith Symmers, vice president of Best Practices, LLC. Recent research has shown that 70 percent of customers will buy products from companies with excellent customer service reputations. Companies need to bolster call center proficiencies to capture and retain these empowered customers."

To download a summary of Managing World-Class Call Centers: Site Visit Findings," visit http://www.benchmarkingreports.com/r/r153.htm. For more information on this report or other customer service benchmarking studies, contact Jan Blanchette at 919-403-0251, ext. 229, or at jblanchette@best-in-class.com.

ABOUT BEST PRACTICES, LLC
Best Practices, LLC is a research and consulting firm that conducts work based on the principle that organizations can chart a course to superior economic performance by studying the best business practices, operating tactics and winning strategies of world-class companies. For more information, call 919-403-0251 or visit http://www.best-in-class.com/.