Technology Performance Gap in Your Call Center
“We are good at buying the gear but we aren’t great at using it.” This is a statement that we have heard many times and have said many times ourselves. Buying call center technology is normally done through a reasonably extensive process. Often it includes an RFP (Request for Proposal), which may have been proceeded by a RFI (Request for Information). Technology in the call center is complex because it is a multi-platform – multi-vendor undertaking. You often feel like a premarital counselor making sure there is compatibility before the knot is tied!
We are good at buying the technology but we are not necessarily good at using it. Scenarios unfold that go something like this:
A specific technology was purchased because it met the defined business need. It was driven by a few who had a vision for its capabilities. That was then. Now is now. The “visionaries” behind it have since been a) promoted b) retired c) reassigned d) quit (take your pick). The next generation of leadership (that would be you) is left with a set of call center technologies that may not be widely understood. Oh, for the good ol’ days when it was clear why the initial investment was made.
What’s the solution? One of the best-cost-highest-returns approaches is to get marital counseling of the technology kind. Yes we will explain! The counseling you need to seek is with your original technology provider (trusting they were not a dotcom that is now a notcom). This seems like a logical step but it isn’t out of the norm to be at a loss to know what steps to take. After all, the vast majority of people in call centers came up through the business ranks not the information technology ranks.
Here is a comparable: Most people use Microsoft Word. Some smart people out there assessed what features people use most frequently. The results are that about 20% of the features are used regularly. The remainder of the features are rarely used. Some users of Word are not even aware of all the features Word provides to make their word-processing lives easier. The same principle applies to our bazillion dollar investment in call center technology. We don’t even know what the technology might be able to do for us.
Here’s a take-away piece that may assist you. Make a list of your top three to five call center business issues that you are currently working at resolving in your operation. Which of these are requiring a technology related solution? Next, invite your call center technology provider for lunch (they pay, of course!). Make sure that the sales person brings the techno-know-it-all. Spend lunch casually outlining your issue and probing for solutions that may be hidden in your technology. If it sounds like they have some solid ideas that might solve the problems, consider doing something formal to get their expertise working for you. If you walk away with nothing more than being well fed, consider posting a question on the CallCenterOps Forum to see if others can assist.
The Moral: Give lots of thought to getting more out of your call center technology investment before you consider making an investment in more gear and marital counseling. This becomes really critical during a time when we are experiencing some economic slowdowns.
Posted: January 21st, 2007 under Operations.
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