Reduce Call Center Operations Costs and Increase Operational Efficiency Sally Hurley VIPdesk 042209
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Transcript of Reduce Call Center Operations Costs and Increase Operational Efficiency Sally Hurley VIPdesk 042209
Confidential- Proprietary VIPdesk Information 1
Cover Slide
Reduce Call Center Operations Costs and Increase Operational Efficiency
with Virtual Customer Care
April 22, 2009
VIPdesk324 N. Fairfax StreetAlexandria, VA 22314
(703) 299.4422http://[email protected]
Sally HurleyPresident
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Today’s Presentation Will Cover
Operational benefits of virtual customer care:
● How the model attracts a higher-skilled workforce
● Unlimited recruiting pool allows for the best candidate to handle specific calls
● Ability to dial up or down staffing at a moment’s notice
● Decreased scheduling shrinkage/increased scheduling adherence
● Reduction in expenses related to infrastructure, attrition, training
● Ability to exceed performance metrics - greater ROI
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Sally HurleyPresident, VIPdesk
• Co-founder
• 20+ years experience delivering premium customer service
• Has a passion for the customer experience
• Committed to building a culture that supports work-life balance
• Proud to be a green company- supporting thousands of individuals that work from home across North America
• Current President of Entrepreneurs Organization in D.C.
• Contact info: [email protected] or 703-837-3518
About Today’s Presenter
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VIPdesk is an innovative pioneer of virtual contact center solutions for national brand leaders, providing premium customer experiences through our home-based Concierges and Brand Ambassadors™.
Changing Business. Changing Lives.
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Leading the Homeshoring Revolution
• Provider of premium outsourced customer care services for national brands
• Pioneer of home-based model – leveraging home-based model since 1999
• Support 40+ clients committed to brand reputation, customer retention and growth - financial services, retail, luxury automotive, travel, healthcare
• Known for servicing complex, intuitive customer contacts
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Inbound and outbound customer service &
sales
Customer loyalty & Concierge Services
• Premium customer care• Sales/cross-sell/up-sell• Customer Acquisition• Customer Activation• Welcome Calls• Transaction/order processing• Surveys• Peak volume management• Customer profile enrollment• Phone/Email/Chat services
• Dining reservations, entertainment tickets, trip planning, etc.
• Event management• Travel and tourism –
complete travel agency capabilities
• Experiential packages• Rewards and redemption
services• VIP Values-special offers and
discounts
VIPdesk’s Virtual Customer Care
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Brands Using Virtual Call Centers
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Virtual Customer Care Attracts Top Talent
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Advantages of Work-at-Home Positions
Work/Life Balance Incentives/Benefits
• Flexible scheduling
• Ability to work off-hours, split-shifts
• Part-time work - maintain professional experience
• Comfort of working from home
• Ability to live where desired vs. location of job
• Maintain lifestyle beyond profession
• Increased job satisfaction
• Supplement household income
• Pay for performance -rewarded for results
• Elimination of commute
• Reduced expenditures -wardrobe, meals, etc.
• Get paid for doing work on behalf of favorite brands
Compelling Advantages for Team Members
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Recruiting and Screening
Pass Basic Qualifications: 24%
Pass Client Specific Qualifications: 59%
Pass Hardware/Software Requirements: 73%
Pass Resume and Phone Screen: 83%
Pass Credit/Criminal Check: 79%
Complete Agreement and Tech Setup: 85%
Complete/PassCertification: 63%
Go Live: 95%
Ability to be Selective
Currently 1 out of 30 individuals go live
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Home-based Agent Profile
Experienced Specialized Screened
• 40 years old• 95% college educated• 5% graduate degrees• 63% management experience
• 72% hospitality / customer service experience
• 15 years of work experience
• Have relevant subject matter experience
• Deep knowledge of brands
• Can have specific certifications or expertise
• Can be located anywhere worldwide
• Can be bi-lingual
• Background checks• Personality profiling• References• Skill assessments
Checklist for Success
Background checksCriminal and creditAptitude tests
Home environmentTechnology requirementsSecurity audits
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The Virtual Model Snapshot
Virtual customer care model provides many solutions:
● Unlimited recruiting pool
● Profile of home-based CSR is educated, experienced, mature
● Savings per agents (ranges from 50%-150%)
● Attrition reduced from triple digits to single digits
● Opportunity to recruit for specific skills
● Less training is required
● Management/agent ratios greatly improved (1:25 vs. 1:12)
● Low attrition leads to highly productive, knowledgeable team
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Virtual Customer Care Delivers Flexibility
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Operational Benefits of Home-Based Model
Workforce Elasticity
● Unlimited recruiting pool allows for the best candidate to handle specific contacts
● Meet unanticipated spikes, new call patterns
● Fill additional hours needed vs. adding entire shifts
● 100% operational despite weather impacts
● Meet SLAs without overstaffing
● Capture “lost revenue” opportunities from abandoned calls
● Time zones allow for 24/7 coverage with ease
● Expand foreign language capabilities
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Performance-based Staffing
Preferences● Agents provide preferred availability to work by
day and time period
Flexibility● More flexible scheduling methodology for Agents
with inconsistent schedule needs
Performance ● Can use individual performance to provide the
best performers with schedules of their choice
● Overall performance scores can be weighted to reward desired results
● Rankings can also be leveraged for routing
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Operational Flexibility
• Unlimited flexibility in call center capacity without fixed overhead● Can easily add additional capacity for “busy
seasons” ● No need for physical expansion● No reliance on physical scheduling limitations
• Decreased scheduling shrinkage/increased scheduling adherence● Attendance is much greater with home-based
team
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Virtual Customer Care = Decreased Costs
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Traditional Customer Care Fixed Costs
Infrastructure costs (7-10K per yr/per agent)● Building/leasing costs● Utilities and maintenance ● Facilities management● Furniture/fixtures● Technology costs● Telecommunications costs
Personnel costs● Recruiting and hiring● Turnover● Management● Training● Cost of unproductive time
Now you can impact these costs
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The Virtual Solution
Infrastructure Cost Reductions: ● Eliminate/reduce costly capital expenditures● Eliminate/reduce costly ongoing expenses
including facilities, management, support ● Eliminate/reduce costs of idle infrastructure
Personnel Cost Reductions:● Reduced recruiting/hiring costs● Reduced training costs● Reduce cost of turnover associated with
productivity loss● Reduce costs of overstaffing required to meet
SLAs● Reduce management costs
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Potential Annual Savings
Real Estate● Real estate costs * number of agents=_____________
Increased Productivity● Fewer agent hours * hourly rate=_____________
Attrition Recruiting Replacement Cost● (Recruiting time * salary) + job posting costs=______
Attrition Training Costs● (Trainers’ time * salary) + materials + licenses=_____
Fewer Managers● Number of managers * salary=___________________
Lower Salary Agents (based on locations)● Number of agents * salary difference=_____________
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Virtual Customer Care Agents = Better Results
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Quality Customer Service = Results
Quality people ● Greater knowledge and confidence● Deliver amazing service● Convey enthusiasm and passion for the brand
Positive customer service interactions have tangible results and KPIs:
● Increased spend with current customers● Increased conversion metrics● Increased customer satisfaction scores● Increased customer retention
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Case Study: Customer Satisfaction
• VIPdesk Client Bluefly Awarded 2008 International Service Excellence Award ● Bluefly was awarded the International Service Excellence Award
in November 2008● Category of Business-to-Consumer Contact Center● Awards are given to organizations in all industries worldwide in
recognition of their commitment to customer service excellence
• VIPdesk has provided Bluefly’s e-mail, phone, and online chat customer support since July 2007. Results include:● Increased total service sales by 23% year-over-year● Increased sales conversion● Reduced cost per contact 18% year-over-year● Virtually no attrition● Within 3 months:
● 87% customer satisfaction phone and e-mail● 94% customer satisfaction in chat
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Recap of Benefits of Virtual Customer Care
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Advantages of Virtual Customer CareVirtual
Call CenterTraditional Call Center
Company Benefits
Superior Cost Model• Decreased Overhead/Facilities Costs/Expansion
√
Operational Efficiency• Seasonality adjustments• Peak/overflow management
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Business Continuity / Disaster Recovery √
Higher Quality Agents• Higher quality of interaction• Targeted recruiting• Can hire based on skills/knowledge vs location• Cultural understanding
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High Retention• Reduced training/recruiting costs
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Increased Customer Satisfaction Levels √
Carbon Reduction √
Agent Benefits
Enhanced work/life balance• Flexible scheduling• Elimination of commute/expenditures• Comfort of working from home
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More Information
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More Information on Virtual Customer Care
• VIPdesk and IDC co-authored a whitepaper on the virtual customer care market
• This whitepaper can be downloaded at www.vipdesk.com/whitepaper
• Subscribe to the Virtual Voice – a monthly newsletter clipping of relevant articles covering the virtual call center space
• Industry-wide information, not just VIPdesk specific
• Subscribe via email at:[email protected]
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Questions?
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Questions?
• Submit your questions now
• You can also email questions to [email protected] or call 703-837-3507 for follow-up after today’s Webinar
• Sally Hurley [email protected]
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