Introduction to Call Center Certification

As the customer service call center has become the most vital interface between a company and its customers, it has become critical that the call handling process be conducted both effectively and efficiently. Many companies now want a "third party" opinion regarding how well their call center is functioning in its strategic role of getting, keeping, and growing customers. This business need to rate the performance of a company's mission critical call center has lead to BenchmarkPortal's Certified Center of Excellence.

Call center managers who wish to implement best practices and attain world-class performance in their industry can call upon us to certify their call centers. Our rigorous certification process has the advantage of referencing all performance goals to our best practice database of thousands of call centers. Thus, you will be held to performance levels that will improve your competitive position, not just force you to adhere to an arbitrary standard.

The certification process is management's best path to a World Class Quality Call Center. Our certification program is unique in the world as it sets performance standards according to Peer Group Best Practices. The statistics are determined through continuous processing of thousands of performance metrics stored in our data warehouse of 46,000 call centers, which is the largest in the world. An independent consultant who has completed a special training class at Purdue University and passed the Call Center Certification Examination performs this service.

The Steps in the Certification Process

The Call Center Certification process is an ongoing process. The first year a call center tries to reach certification we come on site for two days to conduct our assessment. The Purdue Certified Call Center Auditor will receive an overview of the call centers operation from subject matter experts (SME), which allows us to get to know your center better. They will schedule ahead of the visit discovery sessions with key functional areas like: hiring, screening, training, call monitoring, human resources, workforce optimization, etc. This will be documented in our Certification Handbook and then be applied to the certification process as outlined below to determine if the center qualifies as a Certified Center of Excellence. After your first year of certification, our auditors can recertify your call center virtually

There are three phases to Certification:

Phase One - An In-Depth RealityCheck survey is filled out by your call center. In this process, we compare your performance with a statistically valid sample of call centers in your industry segment. We conduct a "deep dive" into the major gaps that were highlighted in this report. The call center's ACD report is mailed to BenchmarkPortal so that an independent auditor can confirm the submitted data is accurate. This discovery process focuses on 22 key performance indicators

Phase Two - We conduct an independent caller satisfaction survey to ensure that you have reached the desired service levels needed for full certification. The call center seeking certification will supply us with 500 names and numbers of recent customers. We then conduct an independent phone survey to this list.Click here for an example

Phase Three - We conduct an independent agent satisfaction survey to ensure that you have reached the desired levels needed for full certification. This is conducted via a survey over the web sent to the agents in the call center looking to reach certification Click here for an example

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For more information about Certification:

• Sample of Certified Companies
• Certification Certificate
• Certification Testimonials
• Certification Case Study

The Need for Call Center Certification

Since companies spend vast amounts of money implementing and operating call centers to ensure a competitive edge in customer service, it has become mandatory that the call handling process be conducted at best practice standards. This need to function at best practice levels has created the need for third-party certification that call centers are operating at this high level of call handling performance

Latest Testimonial:
"The Center of Excellence Program is more than just winning an award. It is a process designed to highlight gaps and opportunities within the Service and Support area of the company, much like a blueprint for success. Adding value to our support partnerships and raising the level of customer satisfaction, that is ultimately what the program is about."

Brian Wrage,
Director, Technical Support & Technology Systems,
Canon USA, Inc.

BenchmarkPortal´s Call Center Certification database

BenchmarkPortal manages the call center database originated at the Center for Customer-Driven Quality at Purdue University which is a warehouse of call center best practice statistics on thousands of call centers in 42 industry segments. This performance data is kept current and accurate, and is used by call center professionals worldwide to establish goals for best practice call center performance.

Our Call Center Certification process is unique in the following ways:

• The process is based strictly on a quantitative approach, as compared to a qualitative approach where most performance issues depend upon the judgment of a trained auditor.
• It begins with a thorough statistical comparison between the call center striving to be certified and a "peer group" of similar call centers in the same industry sector.
• We use a "balanced score-card" approach of performance comparison in which weighted KPI's from your center are compared to the industry selected for certification.
• Our analysis relies completely on statistical methods of performance benchmarking that pinpoint areas of high performance, and quantify gaps in areas of low performance.
• The only certification, which is academically based, and uses only established scientific methods to measure the achievement of certifiable best practices standards

Celebrating Call Center of Excellence Certification

• Decorate the entire company especially the customer service department with posters, certification banners, and balloons.
• Reward your agents for their part in achieving certification. Ask supervisors to write brief, but personal, notes of thanks to each of their agents for their individual contribution. With each note, leave a small gift such as a gift certificate to your company´s cafeteria, an ice cream treat, etc. Hand out buttons with the Certification seal on it and a phrase like Excellence - - every day!
• If budgets allow, host a dinner-dance for everyone who played a role in helping to achieve certification. Use this time to celebrate your organization´s great performance. Have senior management explain the essential role customer service plays in the ultimate success of your company. Florida Power & Light flew BenchmarkPortal´s chairman to a Saturday night dinner-dance to make an in-person award of the certificate plaque and banner, along with a multimedia presentation of "What it means to be a Center of Excellence" . Some 900 people, mainly agents, supervisors and their spouses/dates, enjoyed this exciting event. By showing appreciation and respect in dramatic ways, your people will be energized and your organization will profit by increased loyalty and productivity.
• Send a note of thanks to each of your customers for their business and announce your center´s achievement of certification and how that will benefit them.
• Acknowledge those departments outside of customer service who enable you to meet customer needs. Arrange pizza parties for these groups, send bouquets of balloons, and/or write notes of thanks for their support.
• Suggest to your corporate communications department that the award be mentioned:
  • In your internal employee newsletter
  • In your marketing materials for customers and suppliers
  • In your investor relations materials, including especially your annual report. You want your investors and equity analysts to know that your customer contact function is a corporate asset of which adds to shareholder value!
• Certification currently carries the right to utilize the seal in several approved ways. There are some rules that go along with this use, which must be respected and which are subject to change from time to time (with reasonable advance notice):
  • You may use the seal on your website and on your stationary as long as you remain a certified Center of Excellence.
  • You must send us examples of such usage for control and archive purposes. Please send to Jimmy Cortes at , with copy to
  • In your marketing, public relations and investor relations materials you may refer to your center as a "Certified Center of Excellence", awarded by BenchmarkPortal and the Center for Customer-Driven Quality at Purdue University
  • You must send us examples of such usage as well, for control and archive purposes. Please send to the same individuals mentioned above.
  • It is inappropriate to say that your center, or your company, is endorsed by, or recommended by, Purdue University. Understandably, it is against University policy to make such commercial endorsements. When in doubt, please contact us.