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10/5/05 - Why We Benchmark
For those of you who have heard me speak, you may remember that I suggest there are only two reasons why organizations benchmark. Both reasons have to do with reporting to management but are quite opposite. And both reasons are not reason enough to benchmark.
First, people benchmark to report to management how well they are doing. They compare their operational metrics to show how much more efficient they are. It's like bringing home all As on your report card. While the comparisons make everyone feel good, the benchmarks are most often meaningless because the way you measure operational efficiency may be completely different than the way others create metrics. And if the organizations you compare yourself to are mediocre, all you have done is show that you are better than mediocre. Often better than mediocre is still mediocre.
The real danger of comparing metrics is the illusion that everything is great. This feeling that "everything is just fine" creates a sense of complacency and little gets better. Feeling good about mediocrity is the first step to failure. I'll share reason number two with you tomorrow.
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
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TODAY'S NEWS (more)
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RightNow announced RightNow Telephony Application Programming Interface (RTAPI), a set of integration tools that help RightNow telephony partners and customers build best-of-breed voice-enabled CRM environments based on RightNow's on demand CRM applications -- including RightNow CRM and RightNow Voice.
eOn Communications announced new enhancements that enable its feature rich proven business communications solution - the Millennium PBX, with integrated VoIP networking capabilities and advanced desktop telephony functions.
KANA Software announced that it will feature KANA's Call Center, Web Self-Service, Email and E-Service solutions and customer case studies at the SSPA Conference being held in Las Vegas, October 9-12, 2005.
Intervoice announced a speech-enabled banking application for BISYS clients. The Omvia Speech Banking solution from Intervoice allows community and regional banks to differentiate their services from other banks by providing a superior self-service experience for their customers.
Pegasystems announced that HSBC has selected Pegasystems as its standard for rules-driven workflow automation. Initial projects include the Securities, Asia Pacific Retail Lending and the Global Payments & Cash Management businesses. HSBC will be building a Center of Excellence for BPM in both Chicago and India.
Wellogix announced that Wellogix, SAP and ChanneLinx have successfully completed implementing Marathon Oil Company's ("Marathon") QuickTix purchase-to-pay process for both supplies and complex oil field services. The solution allows complex oilfield service transactions to be directed through Marathon's global procurement process, thereby improving process efficiency and streamlining overall operations.
Genesys announced that Vivento Customer Services GmbH (VCS) has opted to expand its customer service portfolio for enterprises, deploying Genesys Outbound Voice as a new managed customer interaction service.
Aspect Software formed by the recent merger of Concerto Software and Aspect Communications, announced the inclusion of Concerto on the Software 500 list of the world's largest software and services providers. For 2005, Concerto was ranked fourth within the Customer Relationship Management section, up from fifth in 2004, and 144th on the list overall, up from 169th in 2004.
Siebel Systems announced that Acuity Brands Lighting has successfully implemented the first phase of its Siebel CRM OnDemand initiative to centralize customer information and make it available across all sales, marketing, and service groups.
Avaya announced a five-year global contract with ABN AMRO to support the international bank's migration to Internet Protocol (IP) telephony across 14 countries.
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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 | 42.33 |  | -0.48% |
| Dow Jones | 10,441.11 | | -0.90% |
| Nasdaq | 2,139.36 | | -0.75% |
| S&P 500 | 1,214.47 | | -1.01% |
| Top Gainers |
| West Tel | 37.61 |  | 0.26 |
| Vignette | 16.31 | | 0.23 |
| Interv Brite | 9.29 | | 0.20 |
| Top Losers |
| Verint | 39.01 | | -1.58 |
| NCR | 31.7 | | -0.68 |
| Astea | 7.5 | | -0.65 |
| Complete Stock Index |
| As of close 10/04/05 | |
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Oct 9-12, 2005: SSPA Conference - The conference remains on the very same dates with the same amazing program in the city where anything is possible, Las Vegas. The conference hotel is the Mandalay Bay. Please register for the conference as soon as you possibly can. By registering early, you can assist us in finalizing the numerous logistics required due to the quick transition to Las Vegas and the Mandalay Bay. **There is no need to register if you already registered for the conference when the location was in New Orleans.
|  | | Nov 7-9, 2005: The Customer Contact Conference - Join the Customer Care & Services Forum (CCSF) and DCI at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort in Scottsdale, AZ, November 7-9, 2005, for the premiere of the Customer Contact Conference: Turning Strategy into Action.
| | February 27 - March 01, 2006: Linking Customer Feedback to Business Results - Looking for new ways to get more actionability out of your customer data? Interested in innovative ideas for responding to your customers to drive business improvement and profitability? Welcome to IIR's 10th annual Linking Customer Feedback to Business Results.
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"OUR TAKE"
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