Nearshore Call Center Outsourcing - Centris Information Services

“Coaching” the critical Leadership Component to Operational Success

Operational excellence is only achieved with an honest focus on improving individual performance

As spring begins it is time to take an honest look in the mirror. The second half of the year is rapidly approaching, and it is the perfect time to pause and reflect on the beginning of 2013, and lay the groundwork for a successful second half of the year. Our people are looking for Leadership and its’ implementation with coaching from supervisors. Coaching as a remedial intervention has given way to coaching designed to promote superior performance. It is critical that you are candid – or your plan may lead you off course. Here is a list of questions to answer…completely and honestly: Read more…

Can the Tablet Please Take Your Order Now?

As Wages Rise, Employers Consider Replacing Workers With Technology; Burger-Flipping Robot May Be on Horizon

Carla Hesseltine is considering buying a few tablet devices for her bakery so customers can place orders for her signature M&M cupcakes on their own, straight from the counter.

The reason: She fears the $7.25 an hour that she currently pays her 10 customer-service employees, mostly college students, could rise, perhaps to $9 an hour under a pledge by President Barack Obama earlier this month. Read more…

Twenty Years Later: Accounting for NAFTA’s Wins and Losses

The North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between Mexico, the United States and Canada, just entered its 20th year. In that time investments in information and computing technology (ICT) have certainly increased in Mexico – as they have everywhere in the world. Tracking specific investments to NAFTA is more art than science, though it is true that the shift from being a distribution economy, in which global ICT firms simply set up franchise shops, to one where real investment and development takes place, can likely be attributed to the trade deal.

For example, according to research firm MarketLine, Mexico enjoyed the fastest growing rate of software investment among the three NAFTA countries, with a CAGR of 3 percent over the 2007-11 time period. Mexican software revenues were not insignificant, at $2.7 billion, in 2011. And on the mobile phone front, Mexico was also the fastest growing in the NAFTA bloc, with a cumulative growth rate of 11.5 percent over the 2007-11 period. Read more…

Twelve Best Practices to Create a World-Class Outsourcing Case

You’ve been in this meeting, haven’t you? Outsourcing options are on the table and everyone’s got concerns. The chief information officer already has too much to do and not enough people. Finance doesn’t see enough savings. Sales wants differentiators. Risk and compliance people chime in about service levels, reporting and penalties.

It doesn’t help when, as Chris Niccolls of Bear Sterns reported in the Project Management Association’s Journal in 2011, as many as half of all outsourcing agreements fail because of inadequate planning and analysis. This happens because sometimes companies incorrectly identify a process as a non-core competency. Or, an organization may fail to understand the change in resources and talents needed internally. Executives may have set incorrect goals or misinterpreted performance measures. Without question, failures have also occurred due to selecting the wrong provider. Read more…

Hispanics More Receptive to Customer Service via Social Media

U.S. Hispanics who use social media are more likely than the general social media population to want customer service delivered via social media, according to NM Incite.

Overall 57% of Hispanics who use social media have engaged with customer service via social media, including asking questions or voicing complaints, according to NM Incite; that compares to 47% of the general social media population. 35% of Hispanics on social media said they prefer customer service via social media versus the phone, compared to 28% of the general population expressing the same preference. Hispanics were also more likely to be influenced positively by customer service via social media, with 47% recommending brands or companies after the experience, compared to 39% of the general population. Read more…

So What did we learn from the “BIG GAME” that applies to Contact Center businesses?

Good Coaching brings out the best in the team.

Both coaches John Harbaugh and Jim Harbaugh exhibited great leadership as head of their teams. Throughout a long season they each demonstrated their ability to adapt, accept change, develop new initiatives, new action plans, skills and reactions to threats/problems in a changing and highly competitive environment. During a recent interview Coach Harbaugh mentioned that he will “lead” his team and welcome change because: “You can’t do today what you were doing last year—or last month—it probably won’t work the same way anymore.”

In the Contact Center business, change is the constant. As Managers, we have to adapt, develop new plans and continually re-force skills and train our teams. Read more…

5 Outsourcing Predictions for 2013

The world environment is constantly changing and those changes may affect your company’s decisions for the next 12 months. Let’s take a look ahead at some of the expected trends in outsourcing industry for 2013.

1. Social media connections keep rising.

The business of relating and connecting to customers through social media keeps expanding rapidly. Customer feedbacks and complaints are not only limited to phone calls and emails. Social media comments and requests are becoming more and more relevant to companies while marketing strategies shift toward building social communities of customers rather than just making standard sales. Read more…

The End of 2012 approaches-You know what that means! It’s time to plan for 2013!

It’s the annual review of your business and your Contact Center plans for the upcoming year.

First, recognize that the process can be positive! It allows people to discuss what was successful and maybe what needs to be improved. Perhaps it even gives managers and staff an opportunity to even cut through any bureaucracy and have a dialogue to openly recognize positive contributions as well as critical challenges that must be addressed in 2013! It’s also a time to look at strategy vs. operational execution. It’s the “what did we want to achieve…and why or why not did it happen?”

Here’s 5 quick tips to consider: Read more…

Effects of a Busy Economy

There have been quite a few major events that have impacted direct response advertising in 2012. Domestic and overseas markets struggling with natural and economic disasters have certainly caused a reduction in discretionary consumer spending. Big sporting events such as the Euro Cup and the Olympics allowed for record ad sales. According to Nielsen, 219.4 million Americans watched the London Olympics on the networks of NBCUniversal, setting the record as the most watched even in US television history.

We are also in the midst of one of the largest quadrennial events to shake any preconceived advertising norms (if there are such things) – the United States presidential election. National political ad spending is at an all-time high, coming in around double what it was from the previous presidential election. Across the board we have seen an increased competition for inventory leading to a rise in rates, especially in many of the swing states such as Iowa, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio and Colorado. Many direct response advertisers are ready to put all these things behind them and move onto a better end of the year, and a great first quarter. Read more…

World Leaders Meet in a Mexico Now Giving Brazil a Run for Its Money

Olympics
MEXICO CITY — Mexicans looked on with envy in recent years as Brazilians won a reputation as Latin America’s chosen people. With a surging economy and a prominent place on the world stage, Brazil was the country poised for greatness while Mexico remained mired in bloodshed and destitution.

But just as momentum can change suddenly in a match at the World Cup or an event at the Olympics — both competitions that Brazil will host in the next four years — so can the dynamics between nations. Read more…

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