Connections Magazine News and Information

FCC Mandates Paging Migration to Narrowbanding

Peter DeHaan — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:40:08 GMT

Call centers have long provided paging to healthcare providers and other clients to communicate quickly, but a large number of paging systems in place may soon will be out of compliance with the FCC’s narrowband mandate.

The FCC has mandated that by Jan. 1, 2013, all public safety and business industrial land mobile radio systems operating in the ranges of 150-174 and 421-512 MHz bands must cease operating using 25 kHz efficiency technology. They must begin operating using at least 12.5 kHz efficiency technology. Many hospitals are using these frequencies for in-house paging. Some exemptions apply for some paging-only frequencies.

After Jan. 1, 2013, licensees not operating at 12.5 KHz efficiency will be in violation of the Commission's rules and could be subject to FCC enforcement action, which may include admonishment, monetary fines, and loss of license. (See www.fcc.gov/narrowbanding.)

This FCC mandate can be an opportunity for call centers to introduce messaging alternatives for their clients, such as miSecureMessages. Secure and reliable, the on-premise and cloud-based miSecureMessages sends encrypted messages to iPhone, iPad, Android, and BlackBerry mobile devices.

For more information, contact Amtelco at 800-356-9148 or info@amtelco.com.

Copyright 2008-2012, Peter DeHaan and Peter DeHaan Publishing, Inc.

Customer-Centric Focus with STA’s Latest Webinar Series

Peter DeHaan — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:46:41 GMT

Southern Telemessaging Association (STA) is hosting a webinar series entitled "Eight Steps to Building a Customer Service Juggernaut," presented by Jamey Hopper. The webinar series focuses on building and implementing a best-practice module for customer service. The series will air as follows:

Introductory: The Most Important Lesson of Customer Service, 2/28
Establish the Goal: Commit to Customer Service Excellence, 3/27
Identify the Values, 4/17
Build the Culture, 5/22
Craft the Plan, 6/26
Design the Systems, 7/24
Train for Superiority, 8/21
Coaching for Success, 9/18
Evaluate and Start Over, 10/23

All webinars will start at 2:00 p.m. CST and will last one hour. STA members may purchase individual webinars for $20 or $149 for the series. For non-members, individual webinars are $69 each or $549 of the series. Non-members are encouraged to join STA and take advantage of the discounted rates. The introductory webinar “The Most Important Lesson of Customer Service” will be presented free of charge. Registration by February 20 will guarantee a discounted rate for the November STA conference; a single $50 credit will be awarded for registration of the series.

Contact Dan L’Heureux at dan@callconsult.net or 800-475-0857 for more information.

Copyright 2008-2012, Peter DeHaan and Peter DeHaan Publishing, Inc.

Professional Teledata Adds Call Center Analytic Reports

Peter DeHaan — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:12:10 GMT

Professional Teledata has added a set of reports to its PInnacle system collectively known as "PInnacle Analytics." These reports have been developed by their technical support department, as part of their close involvement with customers. These reports fill a variety of rolls including monitoring key call center metrics such as:

Agent hours for payroll validation
Agent adherence with operational standards
Abandonment percentage
Average speed of answer
Agent utilization
Agents over- or under-staffed

Pat Kalik, president of the company stated, "Staffing a call center properly is always a challenge, and a key aspect of business profitability. PInnacle Analytics is an important tool to develop an efficient Agent Schedule based on past performance."

All the reports are designed for easy on-screen viewing or export to PDF or Excel for further analysis. All PInnacle and PInnacle Freedom customers can download these reports on their on-line forum.

Professional Teledata (www.proteledata.com) provides systems and software products for the telemessaging and call center industries. Contact Karen Black 800-344-9944 for more information.

Copyright 2008-2012, Peter DeHaan and Peter DeHaan Publishing, Inc.

C3 Created 2,000 US Call Center Jobs in in 2011

Peter DeHaan — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:39:03 GMT

C3/CustomerContactChannels (C3), a global provider of customer management solutions added 2,000 new jobs to the U.S. economy last year. C3 opened new centers in Tucson, Arizona and Waco, Texas and expanded its Salt Lake City, Utah and Twin Falls, Idaho facilities. Since 2010, C3 has created 3,500 new jobs in the United States.

"We're proud to be part of the economic recovery," said David Epstein, chairman and co-CEO of C3. "Our business is rapidly growing, we've seen an increase in new business, but also in existing clients looking to expand and extend contracts. Our clients recognize the value we bring to the business partnerships and to the community."

Financial incentives ranging from tax breaks and credits to enterprise and development programs did influence the choice to open and expand the centers. C3's jobs were warmly welcomed in Texas and Arizona, states with significant business incentives, where thousands of people lined up for job fairs and interviews.

"Our business is about people and relationship building. Today, there is a deeper understanding in the marketplace about the need for customer relationship building. The level of intrinsic understanding and knowledge of the customer cannot always be achieved at a global level," said Rick Ferry, president and COO of C3. "It's a matter of striking the right balance between cost savings and strengthening the customer brand relationship."

Copyright 2008-2012, Peter DeHaan and Peter DeHaan Publishing, Inc.

TeleServices Direct Opens Call Center in Madison County

Peter DeHaan — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:13:19 GMT

TeleServices Direct announced plans to locate a new call center in Anderson, Indiana, creating up to 180 new jobs by 2015. The Indianapolis-headquartered company is a global provider of outsourced inbound and outbound call center services. It will invest $1 million to lease and equip a 15,000 square-foot facility at 2903 Enterprise Dr. in Anderson's Flagship business park. The new call center will handle services for the company's U.S. customers relating to wireless communications and internet connectivity.

"It's encouraging to see a Hoosier home-grown company with an international presence like Teleservices Direct continue to invest in our state," said Governor Mitch Daniels. "Companies like this are a testament to the success Indiana has in providing the most attractive business environment in the country."

"We like to keep our U.S. call centers in Indiana, where possible, because of the proximity to our corporate offices," said Patricia Totton, CEO of TeleServices Direct. "Anderson was picked specifically because of its solid labor force and the existing infrastructure we found at the site to support the growth of our business."

Copyright 2008-2012, Peter DeHaan and Peter DeHaan Publishing, Inc.

Oaisys Promotes Gary Kevin Dumbrowsky and Greg Floyd

Peter DeHaan — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:43:00 GMT

Oaisys announced that Gary Kevin Dumbrowsky, formerly North American sales director, has been named to the newly-created position of national channels director. This new role will serve the company’s goal of expanding and enhancing its business relationships with national channel partners and hosted telephony solutions providers.

Additionally, Greg Floyd, most recently Northeastern regional sales manager, has been promoted to the position of North American sales director.

“This expansion of our executive management team ensures the continued delivery of dedicated, practical programs and resources for our value added reseller channels,” said Brian Spencer, president of Oaisys. “I personally thank Gary and Greg for each of their four years of service in their most recent roles.”

Copyright 2008-2012, Peter DeHaan and Peter DeHaan Publishing, Inc.

Intelliverse Introduces Cloud Solutions for Contact Centers

Peter DeHaan — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:42:02 GMT

Intelliverse announced its hosted solution for contact centers, integrating interactive voice response (IVR), automated call distribution (ACD), and IP telephony applications into one solution, eliminating the need for multiple vendors. A cloud-based platform allows contact center agents to operate in any office in any part of the world and reduces capital expenditures as well as IT and maintenance costs.

"Our solution enables companies to achieve greater results with their customer care strategy by reducing operational costs and maximizing profitability. By providing quick, accurate information and routing calls to live agents in the call center when needed, we are able to improve the call center’s productivity," said Kevin M. Moran, President and CEO of Intelliverse.

Benefits of using Intelliverse’s cloud-based solutions for contact centers include: a global, cloud-based queue, on-demand scalability, usage based pricing, disaster recovery, improved customer service, reporting, and call recording.

Copyright 2008-2012, Peter DeHaan and Peter DeHaan Publishing, Inc.

Brandon Davis Joins DialAmerica

Peter DeHaan — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:41:00 GMT

DialAmerica announced that Brandon Davis has joined the company as director of new business development. In his new position, Davis is responsible for DialAmerica’s new business initiatives and enhancing existing accounts. “Brandon brings to DialAmerica extensive experience in sales and marketing in the financial services sector,” said John Redinger, vice president, sales and marketing at DialAmerica.

Davis comes to DialAmerica after 13 years at Central States Indemnity Company of Omaha where he most recently held the title of vice president, client services. He was also responsible for the sales, marketing and account management for all major company product lines. Davis will be based out of DialAmerica’s Omaha, NE office.

Copyright 2008-2012, Peter DeHaan and Peter DeHaan Publishing, Inc.

Call Center Week: June 04-08, 2012 (save 10%)

Peter DeHaan — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 21:32:16 GMT

June 04 - 08, 2012
Call Center Week
13th Annual Call Center Week: Continue the Multi-Channel Excellence Journey
Caesars Palace, Las Vegas , NV

Call Center Week announced the new dates for their 2012 show, scheduled for June 4th-8th in Las Vegas. As contact centers continue to evolve and add channels of communication – live chat, social media, etc - the approach to workload distribution, staffing, metrics, and analytics of a solely phone and email call center have become antiquated. Join them in June 2012 for a series of brand new innovative case studies, integrated training, innovative discussions, leading speakers, and exciting site-tours.

As a media partner for the Call Center Week event, Connections Magazine has arranged a 10% discount upon registration. Please mention Connections Magazine upon registration.

Visit www.callcenterweek.com, email courtney.green@iqpc.com or call 800-882-8684 to register.

Copyright 2008-2012, Peter DeHaan and Peter DeHaan Publishing, Inc.

SatCom Marketing Named Time Warner Cable 2011 Vendor Of The Year

Peter DeHaan — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:39:58 GMT

SatCom Marketing, LLC, a teleservices company located in Minneapolis, MN received the Time Warner Cable Vendor of The Year Award for 2011. This is the first year that Time Warner Cable has bestowed this award on one of its teleservices vendors, which is given in recognition of call quality, sales performance and compliance to national telemarketing standards of conduct.

SatCom Marketing, LLC is one of ten Time Warner Cable preferred vendors eligible for the award, which is based on over 6000 randomly sampled customer telephone calls over a 52-week period. The calls were scored by independent call qualifying firm, 360 CRM, and are based on 18 different quality criteria including sales technique, product knowledge and regulatory compliance. Leading up to vendor of the year, SatCom Marketing was named Vendor of the Quarter all four quarters of 2011, a virtual clean sweep.

In other news, SatCom also received accreditation from the American Teleservices Association (ATA) Self-Regulatory Organization (SRO) on November 1, 2011. SatCom joins an elite group of companies nationwide who have achieved this prestigious accreditation for upholding the highest standards of quality and compliance in the teleservices industry.

Copyright 2008-2012, Peter DeHaan and Peter DeHaan Publishing, Inc.

ATA Names New EVP of Membership Development

Peter DeHaan — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:15:29 GMT

ATA enhances focus on member and sponsor experience with addition of Lori Fentem

The American Teleservices Association, in cooperation with Platinum member Synergy Solutions, announced that Lori Fentem will serve the ATA as EVP of Membership Development.

Lori has a long history with the ATA, having served seven years on the National Board of Directors as well as her active involvement with ATA Chapters including the Arizona Chapter, which she founded in 2003. Lori has a passion for the dynamic changes in customer engagement strategies and the role that the ATA can play in offering business leaders an opportunity to be on the cutting edge of this transformation.

Synergy Solutions, the outsourced BPO company that Lori co-founded is a Platinum SRO accredited member and has always been a strong advocate of the ATA and its mission. Lori will remain in her role as President of Synergy Solutions while serving the ATA in this special appointment. “I am very fortunate to be able to blend my passions and serve two organizations that are so important to me” said Lori.

Lori has over 25 years experience in customer interaction management having served long term key leadership positions for Synergy Solutions and ProMark One/IDRC. This experience affords Lori a unique perspective on the evolution of the ATA’s value proposition as it relates to members as well as the opportunities for enhancing the ATA event experience at the National and Chapter level. “In my 20 years of leadership for outsourced providers, I have been the decision maker for membership and sponsorship initiatives and I believe this breadth of experience will allow me to provide a new perspective on the ATA’s value delivery”, Lori stated.

“I am very excited about the addition of Lori to our team”, commented Phil Grudzinski, CEO of the ATA. “Lori’s vast experience with our industry and industry partners allows us to grow deeper in our existing business vertical segments and broader into segments where we have not effectively communicated the ATA’s value proposition.”

Lori’s assignment to the ATA is effective as of the beginning of January.

Copyright 2008-2012, Peter DeHaan and Peter DeHaan Publishing, Inc.

Read the Jan/Feb 2012 issue of Connections Magazine

Peter DeHaan — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:27:46 GMT

Read the January/February 2012 issue of Connections Magazine with our digital magazine viewer. With this viewer you can:

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The paperless distribution of Connections Magazine is made possible by CAM-X.

Copyright 2008-2012, Peter DeHaan and Peter DeHaan Publishing, Inc.

Etech Handled 10 Million Chat Sessions In 2011

Peter DeHaan — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:45:36 GMT

Etech Global Services announced that they surpassed 10 million live chat sessions in 2011. Founded in 1997, Etech Global Services provides contact center and BPO services to Fortune 500 companies worldwide. In 2000, Etech was one of the first business process outsourcers to offer live chat services, in addition to voice and email support.

“We have learned a lot over the years,” said Matt Rocco, President and COO of Etech Global Services. “With over 10 million chat sessions under our belt in 2011 alone, we are well-versed in what it takes to provide a quality experience that leads to improved revenue and lower costs.”

Although an Internet presence has the power to revolutionize an industry, many companies find that customers leave their websites without purchasing. Studies show that the customer experience is significantly improved by providing online chat service reps to answer questions, provide additional information, and resolve customer issues. Additionally, companies investing in chat programs not only received an increase in conversion rates, but were able to reduce their inbound call volumes by more than twenty percent.

For more information, visit www.etechgs.com.

Copyright 2008-2012, Peter DeHaan and Peter DeHaan Publishing, Inc.

ATA Names Christine Haerich as VP of Membership Services

Peter DeHaan — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 22:10:21 GMT

The American Teleservices Association (ATA), a non-profit organization dedicated to serving the customer contact industry, has named Christine Haerich as VP of Membership Services. Chris brings nearly 20 years of executive level experience in the contact industry with leadership roles in companies including Protocol, Aegis, and DialAmerica.

Throughout her career, Chris has been a strong proponent for the ATA and its membership and has a history of volunteerism for the association. She currently serves as the ATA's Midwest Chapter president and has been the chair of the chapter president’s committee for three years. "I am thrilled at the prospect of continuing to help grow our community of contact industry professionals," said Chris, "My new role will allow me to spend more time helping ATA Members achieve their membership goals."

In her previous role at Protocol, Chris was the VP of compliance, training and quality assurance. "Chris's expertise in critical areas such as contact center compliance and quality, along with years of leadership at the Chapter level makes her perfectly suited for this role," said ATA's CEO, Phil Grudzinski. "We are truly excited to have her join the national team."

In addition to other industry awards, Chris has received three ATA specific awards over the last three years; the ATA Chapter Award for New Member Recruitment (Q3 2009, Q3 2010), the ATA Spirit of Philanthropy Award Winner (2010) and ATA’s highest honor, the Fulcrum Award (2010). Chris will join the ATA team on January 9, 2012.

Copyright 2008-2012, Peter DeHaan and Peter DeHaan Publishing, Inc.

CAM-X 48th Annual Convention & Trade Show: October 16-19, 2012

Peter DeHaan — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 18:25:29 GMT

CAM-X 48th Annual Convention & Trade Show
October 16-19, 2012
Delta Ocean Pointe Resort & Spa, Victoria, BC
For more info: 800-896-1054, www.camx.ca, or linda@camx.ca

Copyright 2008-2012, Peter DeHaan and Peter DeHaan Publishing, Inc.

Read the December 2011 issue of Connections Magazine

Peter DeHaan — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 15:05:14 GMT

Read the December issue of Connections Magazine with our digital magazine viewer. With this viewer you can:

easily flip through the issue
print out select pages or the entire thing
forward it to a friend
search for specific text
add notes for later reference
view the table of contents
view a list of advertisers
plus, all the article and ad links are active!

ATA Annual Convention & Expo: April 29 – May 2, 2012

Peter DeHaan — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 15:05:19 GMT

April 29 – May 2, 2012
ATA Annual Convention & Expo
Westin Diplomat, Hollywood, FL
www.ataconnect.org/public/events/convention.php

Copyright 2008-2012, Peter DeHaan and Peter DeHaan Publishing, Inc.

ATA Announces 2012 Board of Directors

Peter DeHaan — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 22:31:22 GMT

The American Teleservices Association (ATA) has announced its National Board of Directors for 2012 following their meetings at the Washington Summit. The ATA is excited to announce that Mike Rauscher, CMO of HomeServe USA, has been elected as the new chairman of the board. Mike brings six years of experience as an ATA Board Member and, with over 20 years of consumer marketing and contact center experience, is uniquely qualified to set the pace for ATA’s leadership team.
The ATA 2012 Board of Directors includes:

Executive Committee:

Michael Rauscher, Chief Marketing Officer of HomeServe USA, Chair
Mark Boehmer, Senior Vice President of 360CRM, Vice-Chair
Dean Garfinkel, President of Quality Voice and Data – a QSC Company, Treasurer
John Nelson, Senior Vice President of Bank of America, Secretary
Lisa DeFalco, Chief Executive Officer of TPG TeleManagement Inc., Chair Emeritus

Board Directors:

Jane Bulman, Vice President,Telesales of COMCAST
James Danz, Managing Partner of Trident Business Management
Michael Eubanks, Senior Vice President and Counsel of Stonebridge Life Insurance Company
Lori Fentem, President of Synergy Solutions, Inc
James Maratea, Former Senior Vice President of the Allant Group, Inc
Derek Martin, Director, Relationship Care of American Express
Barb Merwin, Global Head of Protection Insurance of HSBC
Tim Searcy, Chief Executive Officer of Accent Marketing Services
Robert Simmonds, Vice President, Travel Operations of Disney Destinations

The members of ATA’s Board of Directors are dedicated to the success of the association members and about the direction the association is headed for 2012 and beyond, further establishing ATA as the leading organization promoting the effective use of contact centers as the primary means businesses communicates with their customers.

Copyright 2008-2012, Peter DeHaan and Peter DeHaan Publishing, Inc.

OnviSource Introduces Automated QA

Peter DeHaan — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 21:13:26 GMT

OnviSource announced Excella Plus, automated Quality Assurance (QA) and call analytics. Excella Plus integrates with OnviSource’s Explora speech analytics to deliver automated mass monitoring and analysis of recorded interactions. This allows automated monitoring and analysis of every call without having to add QA personnel. Analytics-based QA uses the automation of speech analytics to analyze 100% of recordings to identify those recordings that require a more in depth analysis for compliance, discovery, and quality management.

Excella Plus uses call recording intelligence to capitalize on hidden opportunities and insights, identify liabilities, and target training efforts. It can provide a comprehensive QA program and share business intelligence, making it economical to provide this as value-added service. Excella Plus products are integrated with the OnviCenter suite of workforce optimization and automation software products.

OnviSource offers a special service program to assist customers with implementation, deployment, and ROI recognition, including ROI analysis, application analysis, project planning, customization, pilot programs, and hands-on training, as well as, business continuity and assurance measures.

Copyright 2008-2012, Peter DeHaan and Peter DeHaan Publishing, Inc.

Startel Now Employee-Owned

Peter DeHaan — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 12:24:44 GMT

William Lane, CEO and president of Startel Corporation, announced that Bill Robertshaw has sold the company, which will be an employee-owned entity backed by private investor, Brian W. Stewart. Bill Lane and the Startel team will remain in place and the day-to-day operations of the company will not be effected.

“It was in the best interest of Startel Corporation, its employees and especially its customers to sell the company at this time. Bill Lane has done a superb job of leading Startel out of its post Comverse years and I am confident that Startel, with the support of Mr. Stewart, will be able to progress to the next phase in its corporate evolution,” said Robertshaw.

“Mr. Robertshaw, a financial genius, was the perfect advisor for the season of Startel where he helped guide us in focusing on becoming an ever more profitable company. He has always had the best interest of Startel and its customers at heart and selling the company is no exception,” said Lane.

Brian Stewart is a serial entrepreneur and has founded and built over 18 start-up businesses during his career.

Copyright 2008-2012, Peter DeHaan and Peter DeHaan Publishing, Inc.