Contact Center Assessments
Technology Assessments
Which call center technologies are the right ones to invest in?
Our Call Center Technology Assessment is designed for managers who want to get a holistic view of the current state of their contact center operations so they can understand how effectively their technology platform supports them. The output of our Call Center Technology Assessment is a road map to a more efficient and effective center.
The Call Center Assessment includes pre-visit gathering of performance data and baseline technology information, followed by in-depth, on-site discovery conducted by two BMP industry experts. It provides a structured, integrated evaluation of your center plus targeted short-, mid- and long-term recommendations.
In the Pre-Visit Process We Will Complete:
Technology Inventory Survey
We want to understand current technology platform and environment. This survey will be completed by your technology support team prior to on-site interviews. We are available to assist in completing this if needed.
Performance Benchmark Survey
This reveals performance gaps in metrics that can be traced to technology needs. This is to be completed by management prior to on-site interviews. Again, our experts are available to assist in completing this survey, if needed.
Operational Processes Questionnaire
This questionnaire asks for brief descriptions of key areas of Call Center Operations .
Agent Feedback Survey
This hosted survey will be sent to management via link, for completion by at least 70% of the call center agent population.(including questions on desktop and other agent support technology)
Caller Feedback Survey
This short survey is generally done via email, and will include call center technology items perceptible to customers, e.g. ease of IVR use, Holds and Transfers encountered etc..
We then schedule a time to come onsite to dive deeper into your call center’ people, work processes and the technology that supports them. The on-site discovery will be led by a team of three BenchmarkPortal experts:
A contact center Technology Expert who will spend 4 days on-site
A contact center Operations Expert who will spend 4 days on-site.
A Senior Research Analyst who will provide remote analytical support throughout the engagement.
The call center on-site activities will include interviews with:
- Call Center Managers: to obtain both high-level and specific inputs
- IT: to discuss the technology platform and challenges
- HR: regarding employment screening technology, if any, as well as regarding insights into technology issues garnered from exit interviews
- Call Center Training: regarding on-demand training technology, if any
- Call Center Quality Management team: regarding monitoring software, speech analytics, dashboards, etc.
- Call Center Work Force Managers: to evaluate efficiency and effectiveness of current systems
- Multi-channel support managers: regarding email, chat, social media, etc, as appropriate
Our analysis will also include
- IVR scripting and branching tests with a call routing/mapping review
- Review of CTI, CRM and Caller Satisfaction technologies
- Side-by-side observations with agents to view user interaction with desktop technology
- Other meetings with managers and technology experts as appropriate
- Focus groups with supervisors and agents regarding process and technology synergy.
At the end of our onsite we will conduct a four-hour de-brief review session with site management and BenchmarkPortal’s team of experts to discuss preliminary findings and bring forth additional information for analysis. This will allow your local management team to give feedback on our preliminary findings and recommendations.
These efforts will then culminate in the Executive Presentation, usually delivered within 2 weeks of the site visit by our team. Our Executive Presentation includes:
- PowerPoint with “findings and recommendations”, including both “ready now” short-term improvements, mid- and longer-term recommendations.
- Gantt-style Roadmap of integrated people process and technology improvement initiatives
- High-level financial opportunity analyses will be provided where applicable.
- Personalized benchmark report with gap analysis and financial opportunity estimates
- Technology Maturity Scorecard with supporting findings
The call center technology scorecard will determine the client’s current status against the attributes of a multi-channel world-class contact center. The report will provide a score tied to each attribute as well as an aggregate score. The scores range from Developing to Optimized, as described below.
| Call Center Technology Assessment Card Definition of Scores (Representative extract only) |
| Optimized (5)—Performance consistently exceeds customer/internal expectations and is comparable to performance of leading customer service/contact centers across all industries. |
| Integrated (4)—Performance consistently exceeds customer/internal expectations but is not comparable to performance of leading customer service contact centers across all industries. |
| Managed (3)—Performance generally meets customer/internal expectations. |
| Developing (2)—Performance consistently does not meet customer/internal expectations and is a source of significant customer/internal dissatisfaction. |
| Not Observed (1)—No evidence that this attribute is enabled at this time. |
| ATTRIBUTE | WORLD CLASS DEFINITION | FINDINGS | CLIENT SCORE |
| Agent Re-skilling Capabilities | Has the ability to easily re-skill agents across multiple channels across the customer service center. | ||
| Access Methods | A broad range of methods and paths are offered to access support information and services. | ||
| Client Services Platform | Employ feature and function-rich auto attendant/voice response systems offering multiple access methods to information through the use of comprehensive prompts and flexible navigation. | ||
| etc. |
All relevant call center technology attributes and the processes they support are evaluated using this maturity scoring process and aggregated into a performance model across the contact life-cycle as shown in the model below:
Steps To Begin Your Call Center Assessment/Journey to Excellence:
Contact us today in one of the following ways to begin your Call Center Technology Assessment.
Online: Email Us Today
Call: 1-800-214-8929 Ext. 1
Additional Assistance
Many clients want to know that the consultants who help design their roadmap will also be available to assist with implementation and change management. BenchmarkPortal is committed to providing the level of support that each client desires and needs. If requested, the Assessment may be followed by separate, a-la-carte interventions, which focus on specific areas. These may include:
- ACD evaluation. Optimization of contact routing and reporting capabilities, life cycle status and scalability. Premise versus cloud-based solutions compared.
- IVR. Evaluation of menu design, data integration, reporting, containment rates.
- CTI. Effectiveness of existing CTI (if any). Expansion opportunities.
- CRM. Integration with skilling and routing options.
- QA Technology and processes. Recording/Playback options, security, etc.
- Speech Analytics. Evaluation and suitability analysis. Opportunities for expansion and integration with CRM.
- WFM. Forecasting tool deep dive analysis. Staffing and scheduling tools in a multi-channel environment. Relationship with benchmarked key performance metrics. Cost savings analysis.
- Dashboards/ Analytics. Align with management needs, employee motivation.
- Caller satisfaction measurement technology. Optimization of tools and processes connected to this function.
- Incoming call avoidance and deflection intervention.
Also, BenchmarkPortal is available to discuss major technology interventions and implementations, including:
- Future state design requirements / Business Case cost justification.
- Implementation assistance.
- Benefits analysis, including ROI and EPS.