42 Rules for Outsourcing Your Call Center : Best Practices for Outsourcing Call Center Planning, Operations and Management

42 Rules for Outsourcing your Call Center is a compilation of real-life problems, lessons learned, pitfalls found, and practical approaches for planning, implementing, and outsourcing call center operations. It provides a path for companies outsourcing their first call center with a logical sequence of steps for moving an existing operation to an outsourced organization. The book is a foundation for anyone considering outsourcing their call center. It starts by answering the question "Why Outsource," and then guides the reader with rules from defining the project to selecting a vendor to the first go-live call. Businesses continue to be challenged to find ways to minimize costs and maximize profits while retaining their customers with excellent service. They need to focus on customer retention and realize that running their own contact centers is not their core competence. These businesses need outsourcers that can deliver high customer satisfaction and execute cross-sell/up-sell revenue strategies. 42 Rules for Outsourcing your Call Center takes the reader through the entire process from gathering requirements and setting goals, to identifying an outsourcing strategy and understanding and operational capabilities of a outsource partner. The reader will learn: When outsourcing makes sense How to define an outsourcing approach What to look for in an outsourcing partner When to determine if agents can work at home How to craft an effective RFP 42 Rules for Outsourcing your Call Center is a must-have for all call center managers hoping to improve customer satisfaction, increase customer retention and turn their call center into a revenue generating machine. Copyright Page......Page 4 Praise For This Book!......Page 5 Dedication......Page 8 Contents......Page 9 Introduction......Page 13 Rule 1: Rules Are Meant to Be Broken......Page 16 Rule 2: Ask "Why Outsource?"......Page 18 Rule 3: Define an Outsourcing Approach......Page 20 Rule 4: Know Your Customer Expectations......Page 22 Rule 5: Communication Is the Key to Customer Relationship......Page 24 Rule 6: Determine Communication Modes......Page 26 Rule 7: Govern Work-at-Home Agents......Page 28 Rule 8: Integrate Social Networking......Page 30 Rule 9: Evaluate Self-Help Customer Service......Page 32 Rule 10: Plan a Strategy to Achieve Business Goals......Page 34 Rule 11: Understand Implementation Timelines......Page 36 Rule 12: Understand Technology Objectives......Page 38 Rule 13: Evaluate Voice Communication Options......Page 40 Rule 14: Understand Operational Objectives......Page 42 Rule 15: Manage the Potential Impact of Risks......Page 44 Rule 16: Get Executive Commitment......Page 46 Rule 17: Get Technology Management Commitment......Page 48 Rule 18: Use a Structured Methodology......Page 50 Rule 19: Validate Requirements......Page 52 Rule 20: Plan Outsourcer Technologies......Page 54 Rule 21: Identify Dependent Technology......Page 56 Rule 22: Define the Deployment Process......Page 58 Rule 23: Use Your IVR Wisely......Page 60 Rule 24: Route the Call with Intelligence......Page 62 Rule 25: Establish Security Guidelines......Page 64 Rule 26: Promote a Security Culture......Page 66 Rule 27: Define Desktop Security for the Agents......Page 68 Rule 28: Reports Should Be Actionable......Page 70 Rule 29: RFPs Are Only As Good As Your Requirements......Page 72 Rule 30: The Devil Is in the Details......Page 74 Rule 31: Go with Your Gut (and Some Analysis)......Page 76 Rule 32: Know If the Outsourcer Is Outsourcing......Page 78 Rule 33: Perform Due Diligence on Subcontractors......Page 80 Rule 34: Be Realistic about Implementation......Page 82 Rule 35: Review the Outsourcer Staffing Model......Page 84 Rule 36: Stay Involved in Real-Time......Page 86 Rule 37: Monitor Customer Satisfaction in All Media......Page 88 Rule 38: Monitor Call Quality......Page 90 Rule 39: Communicate When Technology Breaks......Page 92 Rule 40: Things Change......Page 94 Rule 41: Disasters Happen......Page 96 Rule 42: These Are My Rules. What Are Yours?......Page 98 Appendix A: Planning the Implementation Strategy......Page 100 Appendix B: Life Cycle Methodology for Call Center Outsourcing......Page 104 Appendix C: IVR Best Practices......Page 108 Appendix D: Assessing Security......Page 110 Appendix E: Questions Your BPO Will Ask......Page 116 Appendix F: Change Control Activities......Page 120 Appendix G: Three Letter Acronyms (TLA)......Page 124 Appendix H: End Notes......Page 128 About the Author......Page 132 Your Rules......Page 134 Other Happy About Books......Page 136 A Message From Super Star PressTM......Page 138 Back Cover......Page 139 Copyright Page 4 Praise For This Book! 5 Dedication 8 Contents 9 Introduction 13 Rule 1: Rules Are Meant to Be Broken 16 Rule 2: Ask "Why Outsource?" 18 Rule 3: Define an Outsourcing Approach 20 Rule 4: Know Your Customer Expectations 22 Rule 5: Communication Is the Key to Customer Relationship 24 Rule 6: Determine Communication Modes 26 Rule 7: Govern Work-at-Home Agents 28 Rule 8: Integrate Social Networking 30 Rule 9: Evaluate Self-Help Customer Service 32 Rule 10: Plan a Strategy to Achieve Business Goals 34 Rule 11: Understand Implementation Timelines 36 Rule 12: Understand Technology Objectives 38 Rule 13: Evaluate Voice Communication Options 40 Rule 14: Understand Operational Objectives 42 Rule 15: Manage the Potential Impact of Risks 44 Rule 16: Get Executive Commitment 46 Rule 17: Get Technology Management Commitment 48 Rule 18: Use a Structured Methodology 50 Rule 19: Validate Requirements 52 Rule 20: Plan Outsourcer Technologies 54 Rule 21: Identify Dependent Technology 56 Rule 22: Define the Deployment Process 58 Rule 23: Use Your IVR Wisely 60 Rule 24: Route the Call with Intelligence 62 Rule 25: Establish Security Guidelines 64 Rule 26: Promote a Security Culture 66 Rule 27: Define Desktop Security for the Agents 68 Rule 28: Reports Should Be Actionable 70 Rule 29: RFPs Are Only As Good As Your Requirements 72 Rule 30: The Devil Is in the Details 74 Rule 31: Go with Your Gut (and Some Analysis) 76 Rule 32: Know If the Outsourcer Is Outsourcing 78 Rule 33: Perform Due Diligence on Subcontractors 80 Rule 34: Be Realistic about Implementation 82 Rule 35: Review the Outsourcer Staffing Model 84 Rule 36: Stay Involved in Real-Time 86 Rule 37: Monitor Customer Satisfaction in All Media 88 Rule 38: Monitor Call Quality 90 Rule 39: Communicate When Technology Breaks 92 Rule 40: Things Change 94 Rule 41: Disasters Happen 96 Rule 42: These Are My Rules. What Are Yours? 98 Appendices 100 Appendix A: Planning the Implementation Strategy 100 Appendix B: Life Cycle Methodology for Call Center Outsourcing 104 Appendix C: IVR Best Practices 108 Appendix D: Assessing Security 110 Appendix E: Questions Your BPO Will Ask 116 Appendix F: Change Control Activities 120 Appendix G: Three Letter Acronyms (TLA) 124 Appendix H: End Notes 128 About the Author 132 Your Rules 134 Other Happy About Books 136 A Message From Super Star PressTM 138 Back Cover 139 '42 Rules for Outsourcing Your Call Center (2nd Edition)'is a compilation of real-life problems, lessons learned, pitfalls found, and practical approaches for planning, implementing, and outsourcing call center operations. It provides a path for companies outsourcing their first call center with a logical sequence of steps for moving an existing operation to an outsourced organization. The book is a foundation for anyone considering outsourcing their call center. It starts by answering the question'Why Outsource,'and then guides the reader with rules from defining the project to selecting a vendor to the first go-live call. Businesses continue to be challenged to find ways to minimize costs and maximize profits while retaining their customers with excellent service. They need to focus on customer retention and realize that running their own contact centers is not their core competence. These businesses need outsourcers that can deliver high customer satisfaction and execute cross-sell/up-sell revenue strategies. This book takes the reader through the entire process from gathering requirements and setting goals, to identifying an outsourcing strategy and understanding and operational capabilities of a outsource partner. The reader will learn: When outsourcing makes sense How to define an outsourcing approach What to look for in an outsourcing partner When to determine if agents can work at home How to craft an effective RFP'42 Rules for Outsourcing Your Call Center (2nd Edition)'is a must-have for all call center managers hoping to improve customer satisfaction, increase customer retention and turn their call center into a revenue generating machine. 42 Rules for Outsourcing your Call Center (2nd Edition) is a compilation of real-life problems, lessons learned, pitfalls found, and practical approaches for planning, implementing, and deploying a call center with an outsourcer. It provides a path for companies outsourcing their first call center with a logical sequence of steps for moving an existing operation to an outsourced organization. The book is a foundation for anyone considering outsourcing their call center. It starts by answering the question "Why Outsource," and then guides the reader with rules from defining the project to selecting a vendor to the first go-live call. Annotation A foundation for anyone considering outsourcing their call center, this volume provides a path for companies outsourcing their first call center with a logical sequence of steps for moving an existing operation to an outsourced organization