There has been a huge increase in the ability of speech analytics tools over the years. Post-call speech analytics were slow, inaccurate, and difficult to manage. Now, they are so fast and accurate that you can utilize real-time speech analytics (RTSA), with the ease of third-party companies managing almost everything for you. In fact, with […]

Speech analytics is such a large topic that, in this article, we are going to go through some of the most common questions that we get asked, and by the end of the article, you should be able to explain what is speech analytics in a call center? There are some overlaps in the answers, […]

vCall centers are the epicenter of any large business with customer service call lines. Whether inbound or outbound calls, there will always be a huge volume of calls to deal with. Of course, the more calls you deal with daily, the more “likely” you are to get a sale, right? Well,  this article is looking […]

Call centers in the United States generate over $200 billion in revenue annually. If you own or manage a call center, you know how important it is to set and meet sales goals each financial quarter. Getting everyone on your team to buy-in and push hard to meet a common goal is a lot harder […]

If you manage or own a call center, you know you rely on your agents to offer superior customer service with every interaction. If your agents are not productive, you may lose clients, revenue, and reputation. To ensure ongoing success, your call center must boost performance – the question is – how? Some tips that […]

Management decisions in call centers are getting more difficult than ever due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the impact the lockdown and remote working policies have had are varied depending on the types of organization and even sectors within them. But, how do we deal with it as an industry? Between March 11th, when the […]

Speech analytics is at the top of many call centers’ agendas and for a good reason. However, to go with that agenda, there often comes a lot of questions. One of the primary worries is how to implement speech analytics, for which we have an article here. Furthermore, you will likely have more questions, such […]

Speech analytics is a topic that we like to cover here at Call Criteria. That is because it is a massive factor in how we help your call centers do their job effectively. However, while we talk about how they work and why there is one question that doesn’t get asked enough until it is […]

How do you optimize call center work? It’s a question that has kept many a busy manager up at night. When you’re conducting significant call center operations in any vertical or industry manner, quality matters; that’s the bottom line. Your results have to do with how effectively your workers communicate with the people on the […]

Voice analytics is one of the most massive revolutions in the call center industry – ever. You will hear it almost every time that you make a call to a contact center. It is often the first part of a call before you get connected to an agent, where you may have to tell a […]

Call center attrition is a widely recognized issue that, unfortunately, causes a lot of issues for the company. The fact is, however, that attrition is a problem for every company in every industry worldwide. People have better job offers; they move house to a different location; they want a change is career direction, etc. However, […]

In this article, we are going to go through the most common call center QA terminologies that are used. Some of them you will be familiar with, others maybe not so much. However, I will separate them all into headings so that you can skip to the section you would like to know a little […]

Call center callers have a lot on their plates. They not only talk to customers, sometimes very upset customers, but they have to record their interactions with customers, respond to emails, complete training, meet their goals set by leadership teams, and talk to more customers. Without effectively managing the workload, call center employees could struggle […]

During the last three-plus years, here at Call Criteria, we have been running a unique speech analytics software. One of the most common questions that we receive is how much the software can increase QA accuracy. In this article, we will run through our results and show you how much difference certain things like Syntax […]

Teamwork is essential to the success and personal growth of your business. Even if certain employee’s day-to-day workloads are solely a one-person process, it’s still important for everyone in the company to how to work as a team. When people work in a team atmosphere they trust, it improves problem-solving, productivity, and resources are used […]

Organizations in all industries, from private enterprises to government agencies, need to stay focused on their core competencies to remain competitive and profitable. It is no surprise that most of these successful entities outsource a variety of functions to specialized service providers who can ensure needs are met and exceeded.  Importance Of Communication Communications are […]

With the advancement of computer technology and voice recognition, there is often a question about what NLP (Natural Language Processing) is and how it works. In this article, we will look at what it is, how we use it, and how it helps us provide you with higher accuracy scoring. While your initial thoughts may […]

Approximately 2 million Americans work in call centers. For the owners/managers of these call centers, finding high-quality team members is an ongoing struggle. Regardless of how much previous experience a new call center employee has, they will have to be trained. Adequately training new employees can help you keep productivity and morale levels high. Call […]

Machine learning, artificial intelligence, and deep learning are different things. Sometimes people naively use machine learning and artificial intelligence interchangeably. Here, you can learn more about these things. The differences are very powerful here. These three things give computers different capabilities with different applications. Let’s start with artificial intelligence. What Is Artificial Intelligence? Artificial intelligence […]

The way that we get data from voice analytics is changing, and it has been for some time. Everyone knows that we are in an era where AI is changing the world. However, the question remains; are humans still required for voice analytics? What about predictive models? Has the use of AI taken over in […]

We are all in unprecedented times, and that has caused the economy to resort to unusual measures. With everyone needing to work from home, there are pros and cons. Of course, the most significant advantage is that we have all reduced our outgoings on business expenditure. However, the most substantial downside is that we have […]

In this article, we will be looking at a “Use Case” for our entire platform. We will look at how the tool can help to improve various aspects of an internal QA department.  The dashboard does that by enabling enhanced evaluation of agents and their quality performance standards while increasing the efficiency of targeting areas […]

Call centers have had a terrible reputation for working in for a long time, and unfortunately, the statistics are there to prove it. With attrition rates rising for the last four years, it is evident to see that it can be a challenge to keep your staff, let alone make them great agents. In this […]

Speech or voice analytics have been growing in popularity and use for many years. Possibly the first encounter that you will have had with speech analytics was the Microsoft program, Encarta. Encarta was an encyclopedia program developed and put into production in 1993. However, the use of voice recognition in this program did not outlast […]

How do you feel about your current employee turnover rate? If you often find yourself dealing with it, then it might be time to start evaluating your current practices. Fortunately, there are a variety of ways that this issue can be resolved. The following information includes techniques that you can begin implementing today to lower […]

As you have seen throughout previous articles, and probably in your own experiences, coaching is the best way to improve the performance of an agent, or a group of agents. However, looking at a scorecard every day, or per call, can become pretty challenging to do for all of your agents, and especially challenging to […]

Outsourcing your calls to a third party can be a terrifying experience to go through. Not only are you incurring an extra expense, but you are also placing the reputation of your company at risk. These are all very real and understandable concerns that a business owner might have about doing business with a call […]

No matter how great your business’s product or service is, if you don’t have a skilled and productive set of employees, then you won’t achieve the level of success you’re truly capable of reaching. The vast majority of your company’s long-term success depends on the performance of your staff. The following list provides some valuable […]

When it comes to operating your call center efficiently, time spent away from the phones and the phone can be costly to your company. Whether your company’s business is sales or collections, it is important that the company’s time is being used wisely. Here are a few tips that may help you get to cut […]

Call Centers are truly one of the busiest places to work. So when that much work is being done, it tends to create a certain number of safety risks for everyone involved. The issue with the modern call center is that, unlike other jobs that fit the work to the employee, call centers attempt to […]

Call center vs contact center, what are the differences? When you think of contact centers, do you automatically assume that they are the same as a call center, just named differently? If your answer to this is yes, I am sorry to say that you are wrong. Yes, they both have similarities. I.e., they are […]

In this article, we will take you through one of our client’s results from using Call Criteria as their call center QA specialists. I won’t go into what company this is due to data protection; however, I will back-up the details with screenshots of our dashboard that they use. Before they partnered with us, they […]

There are a lot of compliance issues that you will need to address when working in or running a call center. However, which of those compliances largely depends on which sector you are working within your center. In this article, we are going to look at some of the most common call center TCPA compliance […]

If you have read our article, Important Call Center Skills For Agents, you may be wondering about the call center supervisor skills that are necessary. The majority of supervisors in a call center have probably gained promotion from a customer service agent. And if they have, then it is likely that they already have the […]

Call center agents are a little bit like superheroes. They have to solve problems, deal with difficult people, and still do their job correctly. There are some vital call center skills for agents that need to be learned to do that. We all know the importance of inbound call centers when it comes to customer […]

There have been a lot of questions asking about Process vs. Product in call centers. In this article, we are going to try and answer your questions related to the surrounding areas. First of all, I am going to try and explain what each of the two topics in question is, and then we will […]

Call Center Agent Coaching Call Center Agents can be under a lot of pressure to perform to all of the criteria you have. All of which are required to get the best service for your customers. However, some Agents can find it challenging to understand which skills they lack and excel at already. Coaching your […]

We have spoken a lot about Quality Assurance in quite a lot of articles on our site. That is because it is such a vast subject that if we put it all in one section, it would be challenging to take in all at once. However, what we would like to do in this article […]

You may be asking; What Are The Benefits Of Quality Assurance? Well, in this article, I am going to give you some brief overviews of what those benefits are. Straight away, I can tell you that the benefits are numerous, vast, and when implemented correctly, they are invaluable. Although we are going to be looking […]

When you are running a call center that revolves around sales, and most of them do, monitoring your call center agents is usually done based on call quality metrics. However, the fact is that the information that is provided by scorecards is not always what you want. Of course, you want to know if your […]

Over the past couple of months or so, we have looked at a few articles comparing human analytics and voice technology QA. In this article, we are going to take another look at how each of them competes when they are in more complex environments. Before we get into the article in-depth, I would like […]

For the past few articles that have posted on our site, we have been looking at scorecards, agent monitoring, performance monitoring, and reward schemes. In this article, we are showing you how we, here at Call Criteria, are making the coaching process even easier for you and your business. We are doing this by introducing […]

We have recently been looking at how we monitor your agents. This monitoring is an excellent way of increasing awareness of your staff’s performance and enabling targeted coaching depending on performance, and specific missed points. However, in this article, we are going to take a look at a more fun side in which you can […]

If you have read our last article, then I am sure that you have had an insight into how we can monitor your agents. If you have not read that article, then I would highly suggest that you do that before reading this. You can find the last article here. After you have read that, […]

The single best way to check how your call center agents are performing is to monitor them. That does not mean standing over them, watching them work. However, what it does mean is to check on their scoring based on various factors actively. As you have already found out, either from our previous articles, such […]

If you manage a call center, you will know that positive customer engagement is the key to success. You may take a look around the call center and have no apparent issues. Everyone is working hard and trying their best. But how do you know that they are working at optimum efficiency? Well, that’s why […]

Quality monitoring in your call center is the main reason for the existence of our company, Call Criteria. We make your call center run smoother, with simple and easy to use processes that are proven to work. In this article, we are going to discuss what quality monitoring is and how it will help your […]

When you are looking at the possibility of outsourced Quality Control, you may wonder if it is wise or not. Of course, the obvious answer that we are going to give you is yes. We could leave this article here. However, it is not going to help you. Therefore, we will tell you why it […]

Today, we are going to be looking at why human agents are better than voice technology. Some people may think that there is a clear cut answer to this question. However, I do not believe that the answer is quite straight forward, as you would hope. Firstly, there are different demographics of people who will […]

Usually, the question; what does the phrase Customer Service mean to you, gets reserved for interviews. However, I feel like this is more of an essential question for the people who work in and manage customer service departments. That’s why, in this article, we are going to take a look at what it means to […]

Firstly, I would like to presume that you have read about “what is QA/QC” in our article “Quality Assurance vs. Quality Control.” Quality Assurance can be quite a confusing subject. We often receive questions about our QA processes when we acquire new customers. Therefore, in this post, we are going to look through some of […]

Everyone has had contact with voice technology. Whether it is Siri, Alexa, any phone call that asks you to say “yes or no” after the tone, it is all voice technology. If we are honest, it is incredible. The technology that is available now is unlike anything that has ever been in call centers. In […]

Call center monitoring is one of, if not the best way of improving their customer services. Call monitoring is solely designed to allow for the opportunity for management. In turn, the QA/QC teams analyze their agents while they are in direct contact with the customers. The first thing that you have to realize is that call […]

Assurance and control are the two main factors in quality management. These are both aspects that should be of utmost importance to any company. Adhesion to these two aspects is even more critical in companies dealing with the public. Quality is king. Always has been, and always will be. However, when you are looking at […]

No matter what you are buying, or service that you are using, there are certain things that you expect. One of, if not THE primary aspect that you would expect is satisfaction from the service. That is why customer service is so important. Your customers are an essential part of your business. Without them, you […]

Imagine having the power to quickly locate ten calls where your agents did not comply with TCPA regulations. Such a discovery could potentially save you from costly penalties. Better yet, imagine if you are having an agent struggling with a particular process; all you have to do is pull up similar calls for coaching. On […]

Two customers call a customer rep at the same time with the same complaint. One customer stays on hold while the other waits only for a few seconds before an agent gets online. Why the difference?   The contact center is fast becoming one of the most important collectors and sources of valuable business data. […]

When properly implemented, a quality management program can transform both customer and agent performance. However, the sad reality is that most contact center managers and supervisors are often too busy, ultimately resorting to big brother tactics. What about you? How are you maintaining quality in your contact center? Are you tracking bathroom breaks? With years […]

 While most contact managers and supervisors agree that scoring calls are essential for the contact center’s success, there seems to be a debate on whether or not managers should show agents their performance scores. When ICMI surveyed 14 contact center managers, 50% believed that the agents should not see their scores. But why? There are […]

Every day,  contact centers around the world record billions of agent calls.  As part of a typical call center operation, a percentage of these recordings is usually evaluated by a quality assurance company to monitor agent-customer interactions, e.g., Was the customer’s problem solved? However, the process of manually evaluating calls suffers from some problems. 1. […]

Imagine this. It’s the end of a busy week, and you’ve finally carved out an hour to do a quality check on the emails your agents send to customers. You click on the “Sent” pile, and randomly grab an email response written by “Maureen” and pull up your QA scorecard to see how well she […]

Do you have Multilingual Customer Support? According to a study by The International Customer Management Institute (ICMI) and Lionbridge, 74% of consumers are likely to make a repeat purchase if the after-sales service is offered in their language. 58% of Consumers also said customer support in their native language improved their loyalty to a brand. […]

Regardless of how strong your excel game is, as a call center manager, you need a reliable system to analyze your agent’s performance to increase forecast accuracy and improve operational effectiveness and schedule efficiency. Sadly, most small to medium-sized businesses think they are saving money by using spreadsheets to manage and forecast the call center […]

How many checkboxes does your scorecard have? Most contact centers have gone crazy coming up with boxes to include in their scorecards. There’s a checkbox for the agent using the customer’s name, another checkbox for the agent telling the customer the benefits of a product and so on. Also, while you may start with a […]

Imagine a call center with 3,000 agents, each making an average of 50 calls a day. Such a center has the opportunity to makeover one million personal connections with consumers in a week. Even with these approximations, it’s easy to make the case that large contact centers have customer influence similar to, if not greater […]

Did you know that 79% of contact centres receive calls from customers who are not English speakers? Not-surprisingly, 60% of customers expect to receive customer service in their native language according to a 2016 study by the International Customer Management Institute and Lionbridge. So can you afford to lose 60% of your customers just because […]

Did you know the US consulting industry is the globe’s largest and most mature market of its kind? In fact, according to new figures from Source Global Research, the US advisory industry had a $58.72 B valuation in 2016. Here, we tell you why consultancies choose Call Criteria for call center quality monitoring. However, despite […]

As much as you and your agents understand what behaviors are expected to make a successful call center, you should also understand that measuring and monitoring performance go hand in hand. This means that after you have a customer scorecard for your agents, you should gather the performance data and make the necessary analysis to […]

According to recent reports, 89% of companies now claim to be differentiating and competing based on their customer service. However, a different study reveals that only 1% of customers are satisfied with the support that they receive. What’s more, consumers are not the only ones being affected by poor customer service. 70% of call centre […]

Are your agents happy? Great leaders recognize that every employee is a representative of the company and that how the employees are treated is how they treat the customers. What’s more, Economists’ latest study from the University of Warwick proves that happy employees are more productive by 12% and that unhappy employees are 10% less […]

According to the late Steve Jobs, excellent care for customers is about getting to know your clients so well that you can forecast their needs and exceed their expectations. After all, the only reason your business exists is to serve the needs of your clients. “Get closer than ever to your customers. So close that […]

Gone are the days when feedback was made with a letter, in person, or over the phone. Consumers are turning to social media platforms for customer services. Every complaint, compliment, or question is now being publicized. Unfortunately, organizations aren`t able to keep up, and 81.5% of customer questions go unanswered. So, how do you respond […]

Are you getting bad reviews and complaints from your clients? Are your agents lagging behind when it comes to upholding your quality and compliance standards? Have you noticed previously productive agents starting to show signs of low performance and decreasing productivity? If you answered yes to any of the above queries, you need to come […]

Back in the 1960s, Daniel Kahneman, a Nobel award-winning psychologist, gave a lecture on the value of positive vs. negative reinforcement to a team of Israeli Air Force flight instructors. He proposed that positive reinforcement always produced better results, a proposal to which the instructors naturally scoffed. After all, in their years of experience, the opposite […]

With the new year in full swing, we at Call Criteria know how important coaching can be to your overall success. When agents perform well, your business usually does well (though the inverse can also be true). Agents need to know what you expect and receive regular feedback on how they measure up to your performance […]

One of the most challenging jobs for a call centre manager is dealing with poor agent performance. After all, wherever poor performance is not adequately diagnosed and confronted, the costs are enormous regarding rising customer complaints, lost productivity and lost profits. Therefore, an essential step in the performance management system is to diagnose why the performance problem occurs -- the "root cause". If we don't correctly identify the causes, how can we possibly figure out the solution?

Imagine a contact center where the manager has put in place defined procedures and practices to ensure flexibility, organization, knowledge retention, and effective communication. The contact manager calls all the agents and tells them, “If you want to be a successful agent and provide quality customer support, this is how to do it.” Now imagine […]

Over the past decade, we have seen a text revolution. Email, social media, and instant messaging technologies have ushered in a new communication method. As with most declining technologies, the exodus from voice communication has been led by millennials and younger generations looking for instant attention and gratification. Text-based interactions are fast, responsive, and can be […]

With the overwhelming number of applicants, the hiring process can be challenging. What`s more? As the employer, all you got to go with is a resume, a rehearsed sale pitch (for serious applicants), and an interview. Mind you; a completely blown interview doesn’t necessarily mean that the individual is good at best; they can be […]

Effective communication in your contact center is at the core of every successful business. Not long ago, the ability to communicate effectively was viewed as a ‘soft’ skill that was nice to have but not necessary. However, at Call Criteria, we have seen firsthand how previously neglected soft skills and an individual’s ability to communicate effectively […]

As a contact center manager, retaining quality agents can be a real threat to your quality objectives. High churn rates not only affect morale, but your business’ bottom line will likely take a hit as a result. So how do we at Call Criteria recommend you motivate and reward existing agents in order to keep […]

As a trusted quality assurance company that helps dozens of call centers monitor and improve their performance every year, we at Call Criteria have heard the full gamut of reasons why agents are let go. While overall lack of commitment and an inability to convert leads are some of the more common triggers leading to […]

Companies today rely more and more on text and web-based interactions with their customers as we become more dependent than ever on the internet and web-based communication. However, there is something intangibly irreplaceable about the human touch of meeting your customers in person. At Call Criteria, we realize the value inherent in developing and building […]

For some companies out there, current annual growth rates are sufficient, and growing organically without the active pursuit of scaling is enough to grow their business. However, we at Call Criteria feel that neglecting to make active attempts to scale is nearly a surefire way to be left in the dust of your competition. Scaling is […]

In this day and age, where customers readily switch companies unless they get the experience they want, forward-thinking companies know they need to find a way to make themselves stand apart from the competition. Your contact center plays an especially important role in shaping your customer’s experience. By analyzing your customer-agent interactions (or having us […]

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” –Warren Buffett Your company’s reputation represents the confidence that your customers have in your ability as a business to consistently and competitively provide a product or service. The reputation of your business is […]

What is gamification? From receiving a badge on Foursquare for being the first of your friends to check in at a particular restaurant to completing your Subway punch card to win a free sandwich, gamification has been explored and utilized in practically every vertical imaginable. At Call Criteria, we use gamification as a simple morale-booster, though […]

“This call may be monitored and recorded for quality assurance.” No matter how many times you may have heard this opening script, it never ceases to amaze how often it’s improperly stated, incomplete or missing altogether. However, this hints toward a much larger elephant in the room. Let’s begin by asking the following three questions; […]

With the year coming to a close and 2017 just over the horizon, it makes sense to look to the future in anticipation of things to come in contact centers around the globe. Throughout the 20th century, contact centers primarily supported customers via the telephone. However, as customers have come to expect 24-hour, 7-day-a-week resolution services […]

There are several well-documented economic benefits of developing trust within an organization. In fact, employees who trust the organization they work for intend to demonstrate behaviors such as information-sharing and working well as part of a team. Such employees also record higher levels of job satisfaction, are more likely to recommend their employer to others, […]

Your business has a diverse audience, so why shouldn’t your team of agents reflect this diversity? Call centers of the 21st century are as diverse as ever, which is why we at Call Criteria believe that teams that maximize the power of differing perspectives, opinions, and backgrounds will succeed in today’s super-competitive global marketplace. For […]

“You know, to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of [Insert candidate’s name here] supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right?” “She went to my wedding. She had lots of cake, and I’ll tell you what, she is a terrible human being.” “People say, ‘You don’t like China.’ No, I love […]

With the right information in hand, excellent things can happen in your call center(s). Things like better decision-making, improved efficiency, new marketing opportunities, and ultimately, higher revenue. But what happens when data goes bad? – Frightening Quality Assurance Nightmares, that’s what. According to research firm SiriusDecisions, the average company is hopelessly holding on to 25% of […]

UDAAP. Seriously, is there a more confusing acronym in financial regulatory lingo? It’s been over a decade since the “Unfair, deceptive or abusive acts and practices” (UDAAP) was first hatched, and finding your organization in violation of any such acts or practices can be staggeringly expensive. Recent UDAAP penalties, including a $200,000 fine for deceptive […]

An auto mechanic who is in tune with data (pun intended) can tell you that your fan belt is due for a change in 2,000 miles and would advise changing it today to avoid future labor costs. An airline company that knows more than your frequent flier number could propose a seat based on your past […]

I don’t have the money. I’m not interested. I’m too busy. And the list goes on. Overcoming Objections in 5 Easy Steps Telemarketers across all industries are talking to increasingly nervous buyers who are delaying their purchasing decision with all kinds of objections. The problem almost always revolves around finances, but customers will offer lots […]

Consider this scenario: a company invests significant amounts of money in implementing what appears to be an excellent CRM strategy, but it fails miserably. Sound familiar? Well, it should, because according to reports, almost half of all CRM projects fail. But why?  Here’s a clue, the technology isn’t the problem. When luxury vehicle manufacturer Audi […]

Regardless of company size, most businesses can agree that call center attrition is costly. Although the impact of this vicious cycle cannot always be felt immediately, its influence is sure to cause a ripple effect throughout businesses large and small. According to data from Contact Babel’s 2014 U.S Call Center Decision-Maker’s Guide, almost one in three call center […]

What do Donald Trump, Coca-Cola, and Taco Bell have in common? They’ve all been slapped with a lawsuit as a result of breaching the Telephone Consumer Protection Act at some point in their existence. So what is the Telephone Consumer Protection Act all about? The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA),  enacted by the Federal Communications Commission in […]

Contrary to popular belief, Quality Assurance isn’t just about spotting problems and solving them. Rather, it also involves identifying and amplifying positive performance and trends within the call center. QA provides a clear direction and shared understanding so you can set achievable goals. Call center QA provides invaluable insight into how you are performing and […]

Call center quality assurance is, for most call centers, an objective that is easier said than done. However, it is undeniably a vital aspect of everyday operations, which leads to significant dividends in improving, exposing, and correcting weaknesses and further enhancing customer service, so the result is improved contact center performance. Still, when selecting a […]

Customer experience is often viewed as a cost center – a necessary evil. In fact, the majority of companies outsource it to the lowest bidder with clear directives to keep the costs as low as possible. After all, it’s not like customer experience generates profits, right? Wrong! These so-called cost centers are vital team players […]

In his bestselling book, “Hope is Not a Strategy,” Rick Page, CEO of the Complex Sale and one of the most sought after sales consultants, highlights simple yet strategic steps towards winning sales. He guarantees that successful sales focus on pinpointing specific challenges and problems in order to create a solution. This, if you observe […]

Imagine this: A man has been ignoring his health for years. Instead of going to a physician for regular check-ups, eating healthy, and exercising, the man opted for the cheapest self-medication he could find on store shelves. After ignoring all the symptoms of his deteriorating health for far too long, he was finally hospitalized and […]

Although social platforms and cloud computing currently dominate the call center landscape, there are hosts of other technologies that are adept at helping businesses drive value for their call centers. And even with DMG reports predicting cloud-based infrastructures to double in the next 2 years and social media is literally snatched from the marketing department’s […]

Although customer service plays a crucial role for customers when choosing a product, most people would agree that price also greatly influences the choices customers make. However, according to a survey carried out by CreditDonkey on customer service statistics, customer service may actually have a much greater influence on customers’ choice of product than wisdom […]

Given its pervasive use in journalism, marketing, and professional papers focusing on the call center industry, one is put under the impression that there is a clear and mutually agreed-upon definition for the term QA. However, upon scouring several websites and a few search engine inquiries, it becomes rather clear that this isn’t entirely the […]

As the demand for quality customer service increases, call center managers are constantly bombarded by Quality Assurance companies. Those companies propose to smooth out the so-called “bumps in the road” often experienced when managing QA. This article is going to look at the quality analyst job description, and requirements. Despite the flashy websites, impressive resumes, […]

Organizational chemistry and teamwork are vital components of any successful business. What happens, though, when professionalism is tossed out the window in place of friendship? This happens far too often in the workplace, specifically in a call center environment where quality customer experience is of utmost priority; this can have devastating effects. Imagine this situation […]

In the light of cost savings, budget cuts and possible redundancies, it may seem almost suicidal to splurge on your employees- and it is. However, you will be delighted to know that you don’t need to shave even a millimeter off your bottom line to compensate your employees for exemplary performance. Veritably, a survey carried […]

I read as much as I can, and I think that if you want to be better at anything, finding the best book on your topic of interest is the most appropriate way to start. It is in this with mind, that the following article provides a compilation of 3 Must-Reads for Better Customer Experience […]

Quality is by far the single most under-leveraged resource in contact centers today. In fact, not only should quality be a direct predictor and contributor to performance improvement, it should be a strategic lever to drive performance improvement. Unfortunately, more often than not, this is not the case with most sales and service call centers. […]

Every contact center has the potential to deliver a great customer experience. However, for your business to provide an experience that sets you apart from the rest, impeccable customer service must be of utmost importance. And what better way to get the inside scoop than by understanding your industry at large? Combing through recent research […]

Owing to the dynamic nature of customer relationship management and technological advancements, call centers are consistently evolving, not only pushing businesses to change their models but, most importantly, to change how they handle their customer service. Read on to find out what changes to implement in your call center for optimized operations. 3 Vital Changes […]

I visited a website, found the product I was looking for, purchased it, and received it. We could say I had a good customer experience, right? But how does my service provider get wind of my experience? I mean, taken at face value, CX (customer experience) seems more of an intangible item…something that could only […]

When Doug McMillon, Wal-Mart’s CEO, announced an increase in employees’ minimum wages, chances are you thought it was all a stunt to ward off the negative publicity that had resulted from the class-action suit filed on behalf of 1.6 million women for discrimination around pay and promotion. However, a closer look suggests otherwise. Mr. McMillon […]

Since the 1800s, the world has stood witness to 2 great middle-class expansions; we are living through the third. And according to a Reuters report by David Rohde, the middle class will have doubled in size by 2030, from the current 2 billion to 4.9 billion. What’s more, as this class continues to grow, it […]

Quick question, when was the last time you took a long hard look at what makes your customer base tick? If it’s either been a while or you’ve never come around to it, then you need to keep reading this. Once a strategy reserved for the ‘Apples’ of the business world, small and big businesses […]

Your call center’s main purpose is to provide impeccable customer service to protect and retain your organization’s greatest asset; the customers. However, it is nearly impossible to create customer loyalty with a customer who calls your business once or twice a year, has a 4-6 minute call, and has his/her complaint resolved. Why? Within a […]

Did you know that 92% of customers judge an organization based on their interactions with the company’s call center? This would explain the current hype surrounding customer experience and the need to create engaging interactions. Still, a recent Forrester report claimed that even though 90% of executives rated customer experience as critical, only 11% of […]

Did you know that only 1% of customers feel that suppliers consistently meet their needs? It gets more interesting, according to the book “Leading on the Edge of Chaos,” if you reduced your customer defection rate by a mere 5% you would have improved your profitability by a whooping 25-125%, a clear indication that the […]

Working in a call center is hectic. If you stop for a moment that you probably don’t have, you will probably think it is just chaos. However, when you understand how contact centers work, you will realize that it is organized chaos, and the people behind it are very talented. That is not to say […]

Every business knows that leads are what keep profits coming in. Many companies may not realize that third-party lead generation companies can also destroy a company’s reputation. These lead generating, sales, and processing affiliates are often the primary contact that a business has with its customers. It is important to protect the reputation and ensure […]

LeadsCon Las Vegas 2015 Call Criteria, a cutting edge call center quality assurance service company, was thrilled to attend and co-sponsor LeadsCon Las Vegas 2015. LeadsCon Las Vegas has emerged as the premier lead generation conference and provides an important forum for anyone in the lead generation or call center space to share knowledge, discuss […]

Managing people is not an easy feat to accomplish. New managers will have to face daily deliverables from their bosses and clients. They tend to forget one of the most important aspect of their job which is performance management. As a call center supervisor, one of the most challenging task they need to deal with […]

Cost savings is the primary reason why companies outsource to inshore, nearshore or offshore destinations. Other than the cost factor, outsourcing can also help reduce headaches in technology and people management. This allows the company to redirect these precious resources to more important things that help achieve their objectives. Outsourcing companies strive hard to deliver […]

Lead: I’m a jedi ninja warrior. Rep: Oh great, so does that mean you want to start your own business? You don’t know jack, Jack! So you’re saying you never want to excel at anything in life and just live at home in your parents basement? It’s probably time to get a job and the […]

Before you start to measure and monitor your call centre performance, it is essential to ensure that you have an effective performance management model in place. Why? Because the performance management system will provide a precise definition of expected behaviours at the call centre as well as the end goal for these stipulated expectations.

Quick question; what do you think of the team you manage? Are they the crème de la crème or would you rather pass this question? The interesting bit is that as harsh as this inquiry might sound, the answer may well have a lot to do with you than with them.