For over 35+ years I have had my hands in every conceivable aspect of a call center operation. Through the years I have seen many centers come and go and changes in law and technology. As a consultant and trainer, I’ve witnessed many mistakes that can be avoided or quickly corrected. From experience, I’ve noticed many internal programs suffer the same types of problems that are repeated from one campaign to the next.
This is a four-part series that will help to improve awareness and ensure a more positive outcome for all parties; the clients, the centers and customers. Equipping the right people with the right tools is not only essential and must be enforced.
The Failures Seem to Fall into Three Groups:
- Before the calling begins.
- During the calling.
- After the call is completed.
Before The Calling Period Begins
Pre Plan the Campaign: The calling begins without a written plan and agreed to by all parties. There are about 20 points to cover in a plan, and it will change as the program moves along, but it’s imperative that a logical path is followed. If you do not have a written plan, then where does the blame go? Usually blame is pointed in the wrong direction, and when this happens it’s difficult to find a solution to rectify the failure.
Instead there is finger-pointing and disgruntle parties. My company maintains a Project Management Guide (PMG) for every campaign we service. All parties are required to study the PMG and discuss the issues and rework them prior to start of the campaign. Whether inbound or outbound, we work from a slower pace to see what is effective and the areas that need improvement. This is called the testing phase or ramping up phase of the campaign.
Program Objective
All concerned parties must have the same understanding of the campaign objectives. This includes the client, service provider, assigned agents, and assigned project managers (APM). The client communicates to the APM what they want accomplished, their expectations and specifications of the campaign. A comprehensive questionnaire forms the, “Account Overview” accomplishes this. Once the client completes the form, we transfer the information to the PMG and the assigned center’s staff is properly orientated and trained. A program can have several levels of objectives (i.e., set appointments, send literature, lead generation, taking orders, trouble shooting, surveying, etc.) All objectives and levels are pre-defined and identified in the client PMG. The PMG is the roadmap to the overall success of the client’s outsourcing campaign.
Keep checking my blogs for more details on this 4-part series where I will share the expectations and other vital aspects for setting up and managing and achieving a successful campaign.