Contact center managers know how useful benchmarking can be as part of an overall best practices improvement program. Managers identify competitive weak spots through the metrics and then take targeted actions to improve their performance.
The major issue that has prevented benchmarking from being an ongoing management tool is the major effort it takes to assemble and input the metrics, most of which come from the ACD, IVR or WFM systems. As a result, most centers benchmark only once per year and do not have continuous tracking of improvement initiatives, which reduces the benefit they could be getting.
After studying this issue, the experts at BenchmarkPortal, under the leadership of Bruce Belfiore, invented iBenchmark. This automated benchmarking product puts technology and advanced process es to work for people who manage contact centers without the hassle of finding and inputting the metrics manually.
iBenchmark Works As Follows:
- Monthly Technology Communication: We provide you with technology that allows your ACD (and eventually your IVR and Workforce Management Systems) to send metrics to us automatically on a monthly basis. To do this, we have partnered with Symmetrics, creator of proven software that is simple to install and which makes the monthly transfer of data easy and secure. The first betas we are recruiting must use Nortel or Avaya ACDs, and will begin testing during July 2011. Users of other ACDs will follow as betas in quick succession during the second half of 2011.
- Kickoff Call: We will hold a kickoff call with each user to include IT people from both sides to talk through the simple items needed to get iBenchmark up and running. We will also introduce your iBenchmark expert and your BenchmarkPortal relationship manager at that time (If you already have an expert and a relationship manager assigned, you will continue with them for purposes of iBenchmark).
- Setup: The IT people for both sides will then set up the iBenchmark data feed, which normally takes a day or two.
- Meetings: Once data is received, your BenchmarkPortal relationship manager will contact you to set up a GoToMeeting to review your results.
- Personal Access To Reports: Once iBenchmark is fully functioning, you will be able to access a series of useful, benchmark-related reports via your own, password-protected area of BenchmarkPortal's website. These will be available 24/7.
- Reviewing Results With A Certified Expert: Your certified expert will dig into your metrics, help you interpret your benchmarking results and guide you through a process of discernment, decision-making and execution of improvement initiatives. This includes reviewing your results with you by WebEx each month, and tracking your metrics and calculating your improvements in terms of costs and in terms of quality and customer satisfaction. In this way, we believe that iBenchmark will become a valued part of your management approach. iBenchmark reports can become key components of your presentations to senior management and will show the progress you are making and the value you are adding.
- COE Maintenance: For centers which have made it their objective to reach and maintain status as a certified Contact Center of Excellence, iBenchmark offers the perfect way to monitor status on a monthly basis, rather than wait and be surprised or blindsided at the end of each certification year.
How Much Does iBenchmark Cost?
BenchmarkPortal has made this advanced tool available to contact center managers at an affordable price. The cost for customers is substantially less than the cost of just one FTE agent! In addition, BenchmarkPortal guarantees that you will receive more benefit from this program than its cost. This money-back ROI guarantee reflects our confidence that iBenchmark will add extraordinary value to your center.
Steps To Begin iBenchmark:
- Recruiting New iBenchmark Customers: We are now recruiting new customers for iBenchmark. Those who are accepted into the program will be given special pricing terms for iBenchmark through 2014. Users will sign a special customer agreement with preferred pricing. Please let your BenchmarkPortal Relationship Manager know of your interest in becoming a iBenchmark user today. Please be sure to indicate what type of ACD you have.
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Contact us today in one of the following ways to get started with iBenchmark.
- Online: Contact Form
- Call: 1-800-214-8929 Ext. 1
- Email: sales@benchmarkportal.com
