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10/3/05 - Benchmarking is Out - Part II
Last week, I shared one major trend I found at recent call center conferences. That is, operations are figuring out that benchmarking is not going to make them better. I suggested that benchmarking is operational in nature and often ignores the quality of the customer experience (not outcome based).
One of the fallacies of benchmarking is that you are comparing apples to apples. Competitors that really matter to your business work hard to protect their operational details. Even if you have access to their numbers, do you know with confidence that they measure things the same way you do? Do you understand the conditions under which those numbers were produced? The philosophy of benchmarking is good but the reality is elusive resulting in low to non-existent confidence in benchmark data.
The one benchmark you can confidently use to compare your operation is YOU. You can always do better and today's results should always be compared to how you did yesterday. If you make that comparison on a regular basis and continually improve, I guarantee you will become world class. Of course, that assumes you are measuring the right things. More on that tomorrow.
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
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TODAY'S NEWS (more)
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M-Tech Information Technology announced the latest release of M-Tech's user provisioning solution, ID-Synch 4.0. Version 4.0 is includes numerous additions and enhancements, including connectors for new target systems, a redesign of the user interface, workflow enhancements and tighter integration with other components of the M-Tech Identity Management Suite.
First Advantage announced that the company has acquired Recruiternet, provider of Projectix, a corporate applicant tracking and talent management software solution. This addition enhances First Advantage's product offering and provides opportunities for cross selling its suite of human resources-related services, which includes background screening, drug-free workplace programs and tax credits screening.
Best Practices Training Partners (BPT Partners) announced that it has received the endorsement from the National CRM Association and Rutgers University Center for CRM Research to deliver a certificate training program for CRM with a series of upcoming seminars held across the country and throughout the Asia-Pacific region. The two-day executive seminar series, "CRM at the Speed of Light," launches on October 5, 2005 in Atlanta.
VoiceLog released its most recent edition of the "Anti-Slamming Rules Report," a summary of anti-slamming rules in all 50 states. The report summarizes states rules in a common format, describing which methods of order verification are accepted, special exceptions from Federal FCC rules and common verification practice, fines for telecommunication slamming, and other details.
emailtopia and System Management Software (SMSI) are pleased to announce a partnership that will enable customers to consolidate their reporting requirements for both inbound emails and ACD metrics. emailtopia and SMSI have successfully collaborated to develop and deliver a joint solution to BI, a $400 million corporation based in Minneapolis that specializes in business improvement.
Vocal Laboratories announced Express Feedback, a service that represents a major leap forward in obtaining accurate and useful feedback from callers to a customer service operation. Express Feedback surveys callers within minutes of the end of the call, and matches caller opinions to a recordings of that specific calls.
BrokerHunter.com has announced an alliance with the Scherrer Web Ally eRM software platform for recruiting, transition, and advisor life-cycle management support.BrokerHunter.com users can now access a web-server hosted database of detailed recruit information from any location worldwide using the Web Ally eRM.
Blue North is using Dialogue from Exstream Software to create targeted marketing communications that offer clients the ability to cross-sell and up-sell product lines, use personalized messages to build stronger relationships and brand loyalty, and ultimately differentiate them in the marketplace.
CRM Magazine has recognized FrontRange Solutions as a market leader in two categories in its 2005 CRM Leader Awards. FrontRange GoldMine software is honored in the "Small Business Suite CRM" category for its range of CRM functions and customer following.
Telkomsel has gone live with the first phase of Siemens' convergent charging solution, charge@once, that features Infinys Rating software from Convergys. Telkomsel obtained the advanced solution to deliver a convergent pre- and post-paid rating and billing of individual customer segments regardless of payment options.
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 FEATURE WEBCAST (more) |
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"From Tactical to Strategic: The Workforce Optimization Maturity Model"
Bill Durr, Principal Solutions Consultant, Witness Systems
Asking about the maturity of a contact center is certainly a delicate matter. But it is a question that has to be asked. In this webcast, we explore a maturity model that gives you new insights into your own organization and explores how you can make your contact center a change agent for the entire business. What you will hear will help you move from a tactical to strategic way of thinking, especially in the area of workforce optimization. So if you are dealing with the unprecedented pressures brought on by the Internet, hyper-competition, and voice over IP along with the familiar demands of cost-cutting and employee retention, this webcast is for you. Register now to receive your complimentary copy of Witness' latest white papers: "Reinvention of Workforce Management" and "Reinvention of Quality Monitoring."
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| CRMAdvocate Stock Index |
| CRMSI | 42.38 |  | -0.85% |
| Dow Jones | 10,568.70 |  | 0.15% |
| Nasdaq | 2,151.69 | | 0.49% |
| S&P 500 | 1,228.81 | | 0.09% |
| Top Gainers |
| Verint | 40.94 | | 1.00 |
| NCR | 31.91 | | 0.89 |
| RightNow | 14.72 | | 0.75 |
| Top Losers |
| Unica | 10.98 | | -0.68 |
| Sento | 2.32 | | -0.26 |
| eOn | 13 | | -0.13 |
| Complete Stock Index |
| As of close 09/30/05 | |
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 White Papers (more)
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Quality and Value with Home-Based Call Center Services - Remember when "outsourcing" just meant sending your call center services to an off-site facility? Then, as costs began to rise and labor markets became saturated, off-shore outsourcing to countries like India and the Philippines became popular. While some calls will continue to be sent offshore for cost-cutting purposes, transactions that involve a premium customer, a sale or involved customer service issue are returning to U.S.-based call centers in droves.(Alpine Access)
| | | CRM Integration Across Marketing, Sales and Service - Many companies fail to appreciate the importance of developing specific, well-defined, and integrated business processes focused on the customer. This paper covers eleven key customer-focused processes and success factors associated with implementing process change.(Siebel)
| | | Hammering the Siebel Communications Server - To a Call Center agent, "Siebel" really means a desktop and everything that supports it (application servers, databases), a phone and everything that supports it (switches, routing, IVRs and telephony infrastructure), and the link between the two worlds - Computer-Telephony Interface, or CTI. CTI is not manufactured by Siebel but the perceived health of your "Siebel" application is intimately related to the health of the CTI integration.(Empirix)
| | | Application Management: Optimizing Your Contact Center Technology Investment - In the aftermath of heavy technology spending, contact center managers are no longer looking to expand their portfolio of technology investments but rather explore methods for exploiting those in which they have already invested.(DataMonitor)
| | | Montgomery Research White Paper - Defying the Limits: CRM: The Key to Superior Business Performance - In a daily ritual known to thousands of service professionals, in a wide range of industries, corporations lock themselves into a time warp by using traditional solutions - all in the hope of providing superior customer service - and while facing a tidal wave of requests. The lack of solutions that provide access and visibility into customer all interactions and integrate pre- and post-sales customer interactions - Web self-service, email, chat, telephony integration and knowledge management - for cross channel support services makes achieving superior customer service, loyalty, and retention virtually impossible.(Talisma)
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"OUR TAKE"