The Real-Time Contact Center

The Real-Time Contact Center

by Donna FLUSS
Released August 2005
Publisher(s): AMACOM
ISBN: 9780814429082

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Book description


"To get a competitive edge in a world of commoditized service, companies have to convert their reactive, cost-oriented contact centers into predictive, engaged, revenue-generating, real-time profit centers. A real-time contact center provides an outstanding customer experience, enhances loyalty, increases sales, reduces expenses, and streamlines information flow between the center and the company at large -- all of which adds up to substantial bottom-line improvement. The Real-Time Contact Center is a practical guide to building a service infrastructure that will simultaneously exceed your customers’ expectations, and build revenues. This timely book will help you: Establish the business case for transforming your contact center into a real-time profit center. * Sort through the technologies and systems that enable real-time contact centers, and learn the best ways to use them. * Build profitable relationships with sales and marketing. * Strengthen your self-service applications to improve their efficiency and to reduce dependence on service representatives, enabling significant cost reductions. * Hire, train, and motivate staff to keep your contact center at the top of its game. * Make smart, ethical decisions regarding offshore outsourcing. The book is packed with step-by-step implementation plans for migrating from your current model to the real-time contact center, and offers a complete package of winning strategies, practical guidelines, and best practices. Each chapter includes self-assessment checklists for use by all the crucial players in your contact environment. The Real-Time Contact Center analyzes the business trends that are driving change in the contact center market, and provides vendor names and a market overview of key call center technology, systems, and applications. The book also discusses how to optimize management and processes to ensure your people are well positioned to deliver extraordinary service with every interaction. Most importantly, The Real-Time Contact Center will show you how to make this crucial transformation without disrupting your current service initiatives. With the powerful tools and practical recommendations in this book, you will transfer quickly and seamlessly to a world-class contact center that’s designed to generate substantial revenue, delight your customers, reduce expenses, and make your organization the envy of its industry."

Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Contents
  5. Preface
  6. Acknowledgments
  7. 1 Transforming Contact Centers into Real-Time Enterprises
    1. Redefining the Contact Center’s Mission
    2. Reactive to Proactive: The Challenge of Transition
    3. Twelve Top Trends in Contact Centers
    4. Seizing Opportunities for Growth
    5. Contact Center Maturity Checklist
  8. 2 The Development of the Real-Time Contact Center
    1. What Is a Real-Time Contact Center?
    2. How the Real-Time Contact Center Impacts the Corporation
    3. From Call Router to Service Provider: The Expanding Role of the Real-Time Contact Center
    4. Achieving Outstanding Service: Optimizing People, Process, and Technology
    5. Contact Center Cost Structure
    6. Contact Center Performance Management
    7. Optimizing the Performance of Contact Center Agents
    8. Added Value of the Real-Time Contact Center to Sales and Marketing
    9. Real-Time Contact Center Evaluation Checklist
  9. 3 Contact Center Infrastructure
    1. The Changing Business Landscape Alters the Contact Center’s Mission
    2. Essential Components of Contact Center Infrastructure
    3. Operational Enhancements: Complementary Systems
    4. Service Flexibility: Multichannel Support
    5. Role of Internet Protocol in Real-Time Contact Centers
    6. Acquiring Appropriate Contact Center Infrastructure
    7. Contact Center Integration Requirements
    8. Security and Backup
    9. System and Application Requirements
    10. Four Key Technology Factors to Consider Before Purchase
    11. Contact Center Infrastructure Best Practices Checklist
  10. 4 The Power of Speech Recognition for Self-Service
    1. Self-Service: From Cost-Saving Necessity to Customer Requirement
    2. Adapting Service to Changing Customer Behavior
    3. Speech Recognition Is Ready for Prime Time
    4. Benefits of Speech Recognition
    5. Speech Recognition Return on Investment
    6. Speech Recognition Costs
    7. Cost Savings of Speech Recognition
    8. Expanding Self-Service with Speech Recognition
    9. Speech Recognition Application Development Standards: Paving the Way for Future Growth
    10. The Speech Recognition Market
    11. Getting Started with Speech Recognition
    12. Speech Recognition Implementation Checklist
  11. 5 Designing, Building, and Maintaining a Vibrant E-Service Strategy
    1. Designing a Compelling Web-Based Self-Service Environment
    2. Standard E-Service Modules
    3. Selecting an E-Service Vendor
    4. E-Service Application Selection Guidelines
    5. E-Mail Customer Service
    6. Internet Security
    7. E-Service Return on Investment
    8. E-Service Best Practices Implementation Checklist
  12. 6 The Strategic Role of Quality Management and Liability Recording
    1. The Financial Benefits of Quality Management
    2. Overview of Quality Management/Liability Recording Market
    3. Quality Management Product Capabilities
    4. Quality Management/Liability Recording Market
    5. Quality Management/Liability Recording Trends
    6. Quality Management Best Practices
    7. Keeping Quality Management Procedures Relevant and Up to Date
    8. Quality Management Checklist
  13. 7 The Role of Performance Management in Real-Time Contact Centers
    1. What Is Contact Center Performance Management?
    2. Fundamental Functions of Performance Management
    3. The Benefits of Performance Management
    4. Building a Successful Performance Management Program
    5. Winning Organizational Support for Performance Management
    6. Cross-Organizational Benefits
    7. Performance Management Market
    8. Performance Management Readiness Checklist
  14. 8 Productivity and Quality Enhancement Systems in Real-Time Contact Centers
    1. Optimize Staffing: Workforce Management Applications
    2. Surveying Software
    3. E-Learning: Computer-Based Training
    4. Implementing a Knowledge Management Program
    5. Cost-Justifying Contact Center Technology Investments
    6. Productivity and Quality Enhancement Systems Checklist
  15. 9 Real-Time Analytics: Conquering the Unstructured Data Challenge
    1. Real-Time Analytics Defined
    2. Integrating Contact Centers into Corporate Strategy with Real-Time Analytics Applications
    3. Benefits of Real-Time Analytics
    4. How Real-Time Analytics Works
    5. Early Adopters Enjoy Great Results
    6. The Real-Time Analytics Market
    7. Real-Time Analytics Best Practices
    8. Real-Time Analytics Readiness Checklist
  16. 10 Contact Center Staffing and Management
    1. Organizing and Staffing a Real-Time Contact Center
    2. Common Contact Center Job Descriptions
    3. Combating Agent Attrition: The Contact Center’s Role in Career Development
    4. Hiring Best Practices
    5. Training: Key Component of a Successful Contact Center
    6. Evaluating the Performance of Contact Center Agents
    7. Managing Agent Attrition
    8. Universal Agents
    9. Determining Optimum Staff Size and Site Location
    10. Managing the Culture of Constant Improvement
    11. Contact Center Management Success Checklist
  17. 11 Building and Managing Contact Centers
    1. The Pros and Cons of Different Acquisition Models
    2. Building an In-House Contact Center
    3. Determining if Outsourcing Is the Right Choice for You
    4. Hosted Solution: On-Demand Application Service Providers
    5. When to Use Consultants
    6. Building In-House Versus Outsourcing Checklist
  18. 12 Navigating the Offshore Landscape
    1. The Offshore Outsourcing Economics Argument
    2. Nonfinancial Site Selection Criteria
    3. Offshore Contact Center Models
    4. Contact Center Selection Process
    5. Service Level Agreements
    6. Contract Terms and Conditions
    7. Managing the Relationship
    8. Offshore Outsourcing Best Practices
    9. Offshore Outsourcing Market
    10. Offshore Outsourcing Checklist
  19. 13 Creating a World-Class Real-Time Engaged Contact Center
    1. What Is World-Class Service?
    2. Role of Senior Management in Providing World-Class Service
    3. Best Practices for Building and Maintaining a World-Class Contact Center
    4. Building a Culture of Constant Change
    5. Road Map for Transforming Your Contact Center into a Strategic Player
    6. Migrating from a Call Center to a Cost-Oriented Contact Center
    7. Migrating from a Cost-Oriented to a Profit-Oriented Contact Center
    8. Migrating from a Profit-Oriented Contact Center to a Real-Time Engaged Contact Center
    9. World-Class Contact Center Checklist
  20. 14 Maximizing the Benefits of the Real-Time Contact Center
    1. Real-Time Contact Centers: Revenue Generators and Competitive Necessity
    2. Technology: An Essential Enabler of Real-Time Contact Centers
    3. Contact Center Investments: The Return on Investment and Total Cost of Ownership
    4. Do It Yourself, Hire Consultants, or Outsource?
    5. Building a Real-Time Contact Center
    6. A Final Word
  21. Glossary of Abbreviations and Acronyms
  22. Index

Product information

  • Title: The Real-Time Contact Center
  • Author(s): Donna FLUSS
  • Release date: August 2005
  • Publisher(s): AMACOM
  • ISBN: 9780814429082