This morning, I decided to see what the latest Google results for “Contact Centers” were. The results were a little overwhelming…Software, IVR, SaaS, Cloud Computing, Predictive Dialing, CRM, Outsourcing, Business Process Automation…just to name a few. I’ve been in the Contact Center world for 15+ years now and have watched and participated in the evolution of the technology that powers them… going from offering simple ACD Processing to now being able to automate business processes, there has been a huge leap in the technology. I personally think that Contact Centers are no longer a “cost” center; but a must have “value” center for end customers. Contact Centers are driving innovation for end customers who are more educated then they have ever been…customers want to do business-how THEY want to do business….on the phone, via email, text, web chat, etc….it’s a trend that is driving the contact center industry.

So are what are some customer impacting trends that you may want to consider?

Implementing a multi media solution to allow your customers to contact in any way they see fit…
For example: I am a “computer” person, I do 90% of my shopping on line and prefer to not speak to anyone, I am always looking for a web option that will allow me to navigate at my leisure and chat with someone if I have questions….on the other hand, my mom prefers to do 90% of her shopping in person and wants to have a person available at her disposal if she needs assistance. Having both available to your audience can allow you to retain and gain customers because you are providing the options that they value…

Allowing Contact Center agents to work from home…
This is a trend that is really starting to pick up momentum. With technology today, you can manage, train, score and assist agents from a remote location. A lot of times companies can get a higher quality worker for lower cost because you are providing them quality of life benefits by working from home. It’s also a great incentive plan to entice employees to provide higher quality of service and be more available to your customers.

Contact Center Consolidation…
This probably doesn’t seem like a trend, but it truly is….with VoIP, software and CRM products available Contact Center Managers are strategic about opening a new center independent of others. Consolidation of agents based on geography, skills, language, time of day etc can all be overcome and save you a lot of money. Don’t be afraid of taking advantage of technology….

Automating Contact Center Processes…
Business Automation is a trend that is continuing to transform Contact Centers. This solution can take a simple manual process and automate them, making them more efficient and ultimately providing more value to your customers. For example: Time Sheets…you can now take a weekly time sheet, fill it out, and process it through payroll without anyone moving or emailing it to multiple people. It’s about building rules and responsibilities in an automated way so processes are not let behind and/or not completed because someone. Not only can this reduce costs but it can improve customer service as well.

Again, in the past, Contact Centers have been “cost” centers and companies didn’t feel they were driving business…Today, that has completely changed. Contact Centers are areas of business that are driving solutions, trends and change….its exciting to be in this world.

I recently traveled to the windy city on an overnight business trip. After I checked into my hotel room I was astonished to discover that the room had unique breath mints that were designed to match the trendy hand soap. As a marketer, I appreciate the time and detailed effort that goes into building brand equity and the thought behind delighting customers. I was amazed. They had gone above and beyond what I expected from my hotel room… or so I thought…

You see, I had been told that the internet was free to the Hotel’s patrons when I checked in. Well, when I logged on, the hotel’s WiFi sign-on screen told me that there would be a $10 fee charged to my room. Slightly perturbed, I picked up the phone to call the front desk to find out if I had to pay or not. It rang, and rang, and rang… for a very – very long time. Finally, someone picked up the phone with a disgusted sounding voice and asked me what I needed… I asked about the WiFi cost and was told that any fees would be refunded. So, then I proceeded to log on, which was successful. Then I went up to the floor that the conference was being held on and opened up my laptop only to find out that the table I was sitting at didn’t have and WiFi coverage…

The point is, even though they had marvelous breath mints, the hotel miserably failed to deliver on the two things that mattered most to me, prompt service from their staff and the WiFi that I needed to take care of business.

Are you investing in the things that truly delight your customers?

For a small business, knowing what’s happening in your storefront, warehouse, or parking lot at all times can make all the difference in your company’s physical and financial security. In the past, securing your company with video surveillance would have been a daunting, and expensive prospect. But with today’s technology, small businesses can easily and inexpensively implement physical security systems to protect their businesses and employees.

The most common applications for video surveillance systems include:

• Deterring theft and vandalism in your building or parking lot
• View arriving or departing guests at office entrances
• Collecting evidence in the event of theft or vandalism
  • Reduce risk of liability by providing a record of everything that occurs in the workplace
  • Simplify incident investigation by making it easy to jump to any date and time
  • Enhance operational effectiveness by allowing business owners to directly supervise multiple locations from anywhere
  • Add to peace of mind by allowing business owners to receive alerts of any problems and view real-time surveillance video from anywhere
  • Reduce operational costs of supporting separate surveillance and business application networks
  • Improve profitability by providing a tool to understand customer behavior and traffic patterns

An IP video surveillance system operates over the IP network that is already in place and delivers features far beyond what conventional closed-circuit television systems can provide. This also provides tremendous flexibility, ease of installation, and reduces cost.

Cameras: There are a wide variety of high quality, relatively inexpensive cameras today, which provide a lot of flexibility in placement and the areas covered. Business owners can choose camera models with pan, tilt and zoom capabilities. This allows remote monitoring from virtually any angle, providing a cost-effective alternative to deploying multiple fixed cameras. Additionally, some camera models have sensors that can provide excellent image quality even in low light conditions. For ease of installation, there are wireless cameras, or Power over Ethernet (PoE) wired cameras.

Remote accessibility: With an IP video surveillance solution, users can access real-time video from any Internet-connected PC or mobile phone at any time, allowing them to monitor and respond to alarms in real time. They can also receive automatic alerts (including video clips or still images) whenever motion is detected on the premises after hours. Owners can virtually manage the business’s security and  operational efficiency from anywhere, at any time.

Advanced application support: IP based video surveillance solutions include cameras with integrated speaker output and microphone for two-way audio, and input/output ports to support a variety of applications. Customers can link the video surveillance system with door sensors, motion sensors, alarms, lighting systems, phone systems, or virtually any other business system.

Installing an IP video surveillance system can make the difference between saving your assets and risking burglary, vandalism, or employee theft.

A modern-day case study of disruptive change is happening in the legal field and it’s happening right now. And, the rest of the business world should be watching to see how the strong firms survive.

A few major changes have had a major impact on their profitability:

Competition and the Economy: When the economy started slowing and law firm clients began tightening their purse strings, then the laws of supply and demand started kicking in. We haven’t even mentioned the increase in competition. The combination of less clients and more competition has had a dramatic affect on the industry leading to some interesting pricing tactics and a growing importance on efficiency.

The Billable Hour: A quick Google search on the term will bring up phrases such as “Billable Hour Under attack,” “Kill the Billable Hour,” well, you get the idea. The key point is that law firms utilize highly educated resources and used to completely bill them out at an hourly rate. The billable hour type of system didn’t promote collaboration or efficiency because the clients where happy to flip the bill for that inefficiency.  Not any more… the world is changing.

My prediction on what is likely to happen is that commodity type legal services that are easy to standardize and turn into repeatable processes are going to become more of, well, a commodity (reminds me of the fate of travel agents). However, firms that offer highly specialized services and are known for their execution of those services will be able to stave off the competitive forces for a while longer (there are still highly profitable, specialized travel agents in business). Going forward, it will be important to understand the financial impact that even a small percentage of flat rate services will have on law firm profitability.

Efficiency: If your firm offers more of the commodity type legal services, applying lean manufacturing principles and utilizing technology to facilitate collaboration and automate processes is a no brainer. But, if you are in a highly specialized field, you may be asking yourself if you need to go down the efficiency road… This is why I believe so. After the commodity type firms figure out how to squeeze their costs out of their legal services, they will be looking for growth opportunities, (which could be in your field) especially if you bill at a high rate.

We are working on some exciting projects with a few firms helping them squeeze more efficiency and insights out of there communications systems. An example of a few of these projects would be automatically logging time spent on customer calls by integrating phone communication information with all of the back office billing, accounting, and CRM systems. Not only does this help keep track of all of the billable hours spent with clients, but it also gives greater insights into the cost behavior of delivering those services. With those insights, it can help firms determine how to start delivering flat rate services… profitably.

Admittedly, I get up at a ridiculously early hour of the morning…so early, that it’s always dark when I get up.  This morning, as I got out of bed, I noticed blinking lights.  It took me a minute, but I realized that my husband’s smartphone had a green light blinking on his nightstand, and mine had a red light blinking on my nightstand.  I almost laughed out loud as I looked at the two of us with cell phones next to our bed – blinking – demanding our attention (at 4:30 in the morning!).

Today’s technology is powerful in its ability to help us stay in touch with our colleagues and our customers.  I spend my days helping our customers implement this technology to make improvements in their businesses.  I love what I do and I love what our technology can do for them.

However, there are times when you need to hit the pause button- for you and your customer’s sake…the blinking light letting you know that there’s another message for you to deal with…the blinking light asking for your attention…the blinking light demanding your response.  Where is the escape from the blinking light?  I’m not sure I have an answer in this hectic, 24/7 world we live in today. However, at some point today, I’m going to set my status to busy and take a few moments to prepare for the next blinking light.

How about you?  Does the blinking light on your cell phone or desk phone drive you?  Perhaps, some food for thought….

Why vision isn’t a four-letter word BUT your most valuable tool for achieving IT success.

I was reading the book The Leadership Challenge by Kouzes & Posner the other evening and happened on a particular chapter that resonated with me, it was on vision.  Yes, vision.

It is a word that causes many to quiver. If you don’t believe me, take out a piece of paper and write down what you believe your organization’s vision is in 35 words or less. Then, if you are really brave (or naïve), go ask your manager to do the same and then compare notes. If your manager can articulate a vision (nine times out of ten they won’t – that statistic was determined through the completely unscientific method of asking 20 of my peers if they could articulate a vision for their organization) then I’ll bet my lucky penny that your vision doesn’t match your managers.

Here is the opportunity for IT.

Vision is critically important if you are in IT. Technology is being revolutionized at a logarithmic rate (yes, even marketers like me can get a little geeky)… in fact, it’s evolving at a faster pace then just about everything else (if you exclude legislation). If you don’t have a vision for your IT department, you won’t be able to execute in the long run. And, since technology can be one of the greatest points of differentiation over your competitors, your organization depends on YOU getting it right.

If you are in IT and don’t have a vision for your department, it’s time to get started and set an example for the rest of the organization.

If you don’t know where to begin in creating your IT vision, Kouzes & Posner have a few suggestions and questions that will help you start uncovering it.

Imagine the Possibilities: “The greatest achievement of the human brain is its ability to imagine objects and episodes that do not exist… The human brain is an ‘anticipation machine,’ and ‘making future’ is the most important thing it does. –Daniel Gilbert. Start imagining!

Reflect on the Past: Research reveals that if we look to our past before we look to the future, we will actually be able to visualize farther into the future (the Janus Effect).

Attend to the Present: You have to think strategically first before you think tactically. Outline the over encompassing plan before digging into the details.

Prospect the future: “Leaders need to spend a considerable time reading about, thinking about, and talking about the long term view. Not only for their specific organization, but also for the environment in which they operate.” (Kouzes & Posner)

Feel Your Passion: It ain’t enough to know it, you have got to believe it with every part of your soul…

Find a Common Purpose: It’s not enough for you to believe it with every part of your soul… so does everyone else. If they don’t, it won’t happen, period.

Listen Deeply to Others: One of the most important steps in uncovering what the common purpose really is.

Determine what’s meaningful to Others: Kouzes & Posner mention four things that make employee work meaningful:

1)    A chance to be tested, to make it on one’s own

2)    A chance to take part in a social experiment

3)    A chance to do something good

4)    A chance to change the way things are done

Make it a cause for commitment: This pretty much sums it up. “People commit to causes, not to plans” (Kouzes & Posner)

Be forward looking in Times of Rapid Change: IT is changing at an unprecedented pace; don’t forget to look beyond your present situation. That is really the essence of a vision.

If you take the time to develop an IT vision for your organization, then you will set your organization up to go places that it didn’t think was possible.

We’re well under way with one of our largest Avaya-Nortel IP telephony deployments.  200 pallets of equipment later, containing over 7,500 IP telephones; 200 Ethernet switches and enough racks and power backup units to fill over 45 telecom closets.

We’re racking and stacking and beginning the equipment build-out in preparation to start the programming of the IP telecommunication system and redundant core data infrastructure.

We have the green lights in most of the grey cabinets which means all systems go for the next phase of the project.