The percentage of consumers routed to offshore call centers declined for the second straight year, according to CFI Group's Call Center Satisfaction Index report.  The study finds that call center satisfaction is 79 out of 100 when the call is handled by U.S.-based agents, but only 58 for offshore agents; in comparison IRS satisfaction is 55. 

For many large corporations, the call center agent serves as their customers' only personal touch point to the company.  "If a customer hangs up mad, it isn't the agent they are going to blame, it's the company that put them in that position in order to save a buck by sending their call overseas," warns Sheri Teodoru, CFI Group's CEO.

The biggest frustration is the inability to understand the foreign agent on the other end of the call.  This may help account for the fact that U.S. agents are 34% more likely to resolve the problem on the first call than those handled offshore.  In terms of "soft side" skills such as courtesy and showing a genuine interest to resolve the problem, foreign agents perform relatively closely to their U.S. counterparts.

The report is available for download at www.cfigroup.com.

Synergy Solutions, Inc., a provider of outsourced customer contact solutions, announced it was named one of the 5000 fastest-growing private companies in America by Inc. Magazine for the second consecutive year.  The Inc. 5000 list measures revenue growth for U.S.-based, privately held, independent companies.

With vast experience in all aspects of contact center management, Synergy Solutions provides multi-dimensional solutions to a prestigious client base.  Synergy Solution's goal is to delight customers by taking personal accountability for elevating the service experience at every opportunity.  Synergy Solutions prides itself on its high customer retention, which is earned through commitment to service.

"We are proud to be ranked among the Inc. 5000," said Lori Fentem, Synergy Solutions President.  "Our commitment to quality and the customer experience has allowed us to expand our offerings and deepen the level of service we provide our valued clients." 

"This important recognition is a tribute to the hard work of our employees and a real proof point of the outstanding value that Synergy continues to deliver to its clients," added Synergy Solutions CEO, Mark McGrath.

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The major global telecommunications companies will become strong players in the cloud computing market as interest from previously cautious end users increases rapidly over the next two to three years, Ovum has predicted.  The report, by the independent telecoms analyst states, that AT&T, BT, Orange Business Services, and Verizon Business have made considerable progress in the arena in just over a year, and in terms of services, can now compete with established players from the IT industry.

According to the report, these companies have led a 'competitive march' from telecoms into cloud computing and now have widely acknowledged credibility in the field.  Peter Hall, report author and Ovum principal analyst, said "The major telcos have a long heritage in providing managed data center services and hosting and have combined this with their networking and security expertise to meet the needs of customers for cloud computing services.

“Orange has coined the term 'IT operator' to reflect its new role in IT services by analogy with its traditional role as a network operator.  We believe that the global and major regional telcos will become strong players across the full spectrum of cloud computing services including Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS).

"We expect to see interest pick up quite rapidly over the next two to three years, so the time is right for many telcos to be developing a strategy and roadmap for their entry to the market."

Convergys Corporation is hiring for more than 300 full- and part-time positions at its Tucson contact center.  New employees will provide technical support for a Convergys client in the entertainment industry.  

"Expanding business at the Convergys site in Tucson has enabled us to provide a new employment opportunity for area job seekers," said Dan McKelvy, site leader for the Convergys contact center in Tucson.  "Employees also will gain experience in the customer service industry which, thanks to a renewed focus on providing quality customer support, is expected to be one of the most important industries in the next decade."

Convergys offers employees comprehensive training, competitive wages, and benefits including medical and dental insurance, tuition reimbursement, 401(k), and paid and unpaid time off, plus three weeks of paid training.

Amtelco's miOnCall app is available for the Apple iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch and can be downloaded at the Apple iTunes store.  The miOnCall App is an essential mobile tool enabling clients to view and manage their Infinity IS Web-based On-Call Schedules.  

Other apps that are available for download at the iTunes store include an iPhone version of miOnCall and a miDash app for iPhone, which enables supervisors to view Infinity IS dashboard gauges and charts to monitor system traffic from virtually anywhere.  These apps also are compatible with the iPod Touch.

Amtelco president Tom Curtin said, "These iPhone and iPad apps provide not only our customers, but also their clients, with the convenience of accessing vital information from wherever they need it."

In other news, Amtelco Infinity software v5.6 meets HIPAA requirements for application access security with expanded logins.  Infinity 5.6, operator login names can be up to 32 upper case letters in length.  Access codes have been replaced with passwords that can be up to 32 characters in length, and can contain upper and lower case letters.

Szeto Technologies released "auto encryption" service, a security feature for deliveries of email messages in its Linux based Call Linx TAS system.  This feature is also in compliance with HIPAA requirements.  The ability of encrypting messages in the email delivery process ensures privacy and confidentiality.  This increases the level of security in online communications, and is especially essential for call center operations that are involved with medical professions.

Auto encryption in Szeto's Call Linx TAS software is programmable on a per account basis.  All subscribers who have auto encryption enabled will have their email messages delivered in a secure fashion.  This same security also applies to email messages sent to voice/data mobile devices.

Encryption is completely automatic and transparent within "Call Linx."  When sending email to subscribers who have the auto encryption service enabled, Call Linx will process the messages just as it normally does, but will automatically encrypt the messages before deliveries.  This is without any agent intervention.

Encryption and the certificate authority are based on industry standard specifications widely supported by popular email programs like Thunderbird and Outlook; service setup is via a user-friendly dialog box.  

The International Contact Center Expo and Conference being held October 25-27, 2010 at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Miami, provides an opportunity for industry operations, technology, and customer care executives from companies around the world to meet, exchange ideas, and network.

Joseph Morrisroe, Deputy Commissioner and Executive Director of the Office of the Mayor for the City of New York is scheduled to deliver the keynote address on the morning of Tuesday, October 26.  The 311 Customer Service Center, which launched in 2003, now serves more than 8 million residents of New York.  Morrisroe plans to shed some critical insight around the continuously evolving call center, which receives more than 53,000 calls every day.  "This is an incredible story of how revolutionizing the contact center improved the overall citizen experience of living in New York," said Ian McRae, Director of Conference Production at IQPC.

The conference spans three days and includes over 65 sessions, keynotes, panels, case studies and workshops covering: Customer satisfaction, speech analytics, IVR performance, home agents, outsourcing customer care, efficiency measurement, technology trends, social media, and regulatory updates.

Conference information is available at www.internationalcontactcenter.com. 

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TRG Customer Solutions, a business process outsourcing (BPO) provider of customer management solutions and technologies, announced that it secured a contract for the provision of inbound customer services for a leading telecommunications company.  As part of the agreement, TRG will be opening a new, state-of-the-art facility in Elkins, WV.  TRG Customer Solutions is already one of the largest private employers in West Virginia. 

In order to fulfill the workforce requirements for its new operations center, TRG Customer Solutions will be conducting a large-scale recruitment campaign in Elkins and anticipates hiring up to 70 associates immediately and another 200 in the subsequent few months.  The company is offering attractive compensation packages and employee benefit plans that include hourly or fixed monthly salaries, performance-based incentives, full health benefits for all employees, retirement benefits, and other benefits.