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Mike Dershowitz Talks Fair Trade

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Mike Dershowitz Talks Fair Trade

As consumers become more aware of the impact of their choices on the world, the importance of fair trade and ethical sourcing has gained significant traction changing mindsets and behaviours. For businesses, ensuring a sustainable future means going beyond profits and considering the impact of their operations on local communities and the environment. Fair Trade Outsourcing, led by visionary entrepreneur Mike Dershowitz, is one such company that is making a difference.

By providing ethical outsourcing solutions that empower local workers and combat poverty in developing countries, Fair Trade Outsourcing is a shining example of how businesses can be a force for good.

In this Q&A, we sit down with Mike Dershowitz to learn more about his journey, his vision and the impact of Fair Trade Outsourcing on local communities.

“In order to fight poverty, we must use the power of the free market for good and promote moral leadership in the BPO industry.”

Mike Dershowitz, The founder and CEO of Fair Trade Outsourcing

Q & A

When you started Fair Trade Outsourcing, what was your vision for the company?

I’ve been public about the fact that starting FTO was about how good of a business BPO can be for its employees and owners if done right. But I meant financially, having not realised at the time how good socially the BPO business can be.

Ultimately, I got into the BPO business because of the fundamentals of international trade. Companies that struggle to find sufficient labour, or labour at a cost that works for their business, can make their work portable and send it to people who can do the work at the right quality and cost and scale.

Initially, it was the inherent strength of this cross-border international trade – between client, company, and agent that I found impressive and made me want to be in this business.

What is the purpose of FTO?

FTO is a dual-purpose company – we simultaneously pursue both financial and social profit. We are like every other company, except that we are required to produce social profit, which we do in the form of lifting households out of poverty.

How did your clients respond to the mission of FTO?

Our performance is industry leading in a way that can make the numbers, upon first glance, look too good to be true. This is where the purpose really comes into play because it explains, beyond doubt, how we are achieving industry leading results.

So in this way, they respond quite well – it explains why we’re able to do what we do, and also makes them feel good about outsourcing ethically and morally.

That being said, and understandably so, clients really just want quality, performance, and good pricing structures. So generally, once they feel they understand the how of what we do, to them we’re really just like any other BPO, and it’s about the operations.

 

How do employees respond to the philosophies behind FTO?

There are two responses to this: anecdotal and by the numbers.

Anecdotally, and in surveys, employees respond quite well to FTO. Many come and stay for a quality, sustainable job where they are guaranteed a fair and safe workplace (guaranteed by our “ABOR” – Agent Bill of Rights).

What we do to help their households exit poverty is really icing on the cake. This can be sometimes not well understood by them (and it’s something we’re putting a lot of resources into right now to change).

This is where the numbers start to get really interesting. Over the last 6 years we’ve averaged 1.2 percent monthly voluntary attrition (total attrition is < 4%). For an operation of more than 1,600 people, it’s
not significant in an industry where the largest companies employ hundreds of thousands of people, but it’s big enough where you have to start asking if this is better way to run a BPO company. Time will tell as we keep growing.

Besides the attrition numbers, employees tell us that they like working here because they refer their friends. 70 percent of all new employees come from existing employees. We have a company-wide Employee Net Promotor Score (eNPS) of +68, which reflects how likely our employees are to recommend our company as a workplace. All our employees across our four country locations participate in the eNPS measurement and our score is close to the highest in the industry.

How do you measure performance of your employees?

We have two sets of measurements. First is what we call “client measurements”.- That’s whatever production and quality metrics are needed by our clients (since we do mostly custom teams). It’s the things you’re used to seeing; error rate, AHT, FCR, work units per hour etc.

However, because we’re dual-purpose, we have a second set of measurements, and that’s our economic mobility measurements. We measure things like change in agent household income, agent indebtedness and agent mobility-(how many have been promoted or moved into a higher paying positions). This gives us a really good picture as to what stressors the agent may be carrying in the door when they come to work.

How we deal with what we read in the data is the business strategy. For example, we make zero interest payroll loans available to our employees. We’d rather have them indebted to us than an informal lender who may take advantage of them. Second, we will give grants to help alleviate stress for some negative economic events like natural disasters, sickness, or a death in the family. Finally, and possibly most importantly, we guarantee them that if we lose business from one client, we’ll transfer them to another, with layoffs as a last resort. This promise of job security is critical to helping them plan for life and know that if they perform, a paycheck will always be there.

What tech stack do you use in your contact centre?

As a middle-market provider, we have to be flexible so we’ve never standardised on the use of one platform. We leverage MSFT 365 products along with SAP ERP and support everything from Genesys and NICE through to Zen Desk and other platforms on behalf of our customers. FTO also has several customers where we work inside their proprietary products.

What are some of the outcomes from the way that FTO operates in local communities?

Firstly, as I mentioned earlier, a steady job has a lot of power for the people that work with us especially in lower-income communities. When someone has a steady job in the formal economy, they become the anchor for that household, and can be an economic anchor to their extended families. That person’s relative wealth spreads out beyond their doorstep, with poverty reduction extending past just the Agents’ households.

Secondly, we are active in working with universities with all types of practical training programs made available for students. Everywhere we have a centre, we set up this core function of supporting students with practical skills. Over the years we’ve learned that a call centre job can be the start of a business career, so we work hard to form partnerships with corporates and educational institutions where we can create opportunities for young people.

One of the principles of the “Fair Trade Movement” is that by building up a person’s “capacity” and not just training them for “this or that” unit of work, we are exploring their potential. For example, we invested early in a Chief Learning Officer so that we can provide better training and development for our teams. Next year, we will be opening training programs up to the communities in which we operate, providing free learning – not just for our agents.

What’s your background and how did you get to this point where you are growing a business with purpose?

I’m not sure how or why it happened, but I grew up wanting to change the world. As a child, I was always surrounded by small business owners like my father, my uncle, my grandfathers and cousins. That is what I knew and was the impetus for wanting to change the world and be in business.

I think the two biggest threats future humanity faces are climate change and social unrest due to economic disparity. In my previous business which was in the solar industry, it was important to build software that helped broaden solar adoption. That business was really my bridge into purpose-driven companies. By making the solar design, quoting and contracting process easier through technology, more solar was able to be installed, and less electricity would be generated by fossil fuels. It made sense.

For FTO, it’s been incredible to watch how the social purpose in a people-orientated company can galvanise not just employees, but the whole organisation. It made us stronger from the bottom up and vice versa. From that perspective, running FTO has really completed my journey from aspiring do-gooder to having a real solution for making money while solving real human problems.

How do you think other companies could contribute to eradicating poverty?

Simply by putting social change on the agenda, companies can make a difference. With us, when we give an Agent a contract that supports steady employment, it can solve household problems and help them find a way out of poverty. Fair wages is critical to helping change the narrative.

Agents are proven to work harder for companies that pay them fairly and give them working conditions that are healthy and considerate. By companies supporting initiatives like this, their business will become more resilient, and better able to compete in the market. If you treat your employees well, they will treat your customers well, and the rest takes care of itself.

What’s next for FTO?

FTO has had burgeoning growth over the past few years. This is set to continue with headcount growth, infrastructure build-out and the opening of new offices. We recently opened our first operation in the US and plan to expand to Africa in 2023, with India also on the agenda.

We have invested heavily in understanding the impact of our operations on the families and communities in which we operate. Using this data, the true impact is realised and can be leveraged to do more for Agent’s lives.

Having worked extensively with small and mid-market businesses, the shift to enterprise is imminent. Corporations are realising the full potential of working with companies that have “fairer” practices and capitalising on the flow on effect to customer experience, and their own employee attrition rates.

www.fairtradeoutsourcing.com

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Mental Fitness: Building Behavioural Habits that Will Change the Game

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Mental health is a growing concern in the modern workforce, and the contact centre environment is no exception. With the increasing demands of a 24/7 economy, pressure to maintain high levels of performance and customer satisfaction, and a competitive labour market, contact centre employees are facing challenges that can have a significant impact on their mental well-being.

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From Burnout to Breakthrough

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Gone are the days when corporate culture was stifling and restrictive, limiting employees to a one-size-fits-all mold. Today, corporate culture is more like a bespoke suit, customised to fit each unique employee, while still aligning with the company’s values and mission. Just like a well-tailored suit elevates one’s style, a positive corporate culture elevates employees, unlocking their full potential and bringing out the best in them. It’s time for your contact centre to embrace a corporate culture that inspires, motivates and supports employees.

How to transform your Contact Centre

Emma Sudano

The new hybrid and work from home model has thrown how leaders interact with employees and how coworkers connect with each other on its head. Contact centres have rapidly adapted to remote work arrangements in order to maintain operations. Most contact centres operated in physical office spaces with large numbers of employees, however, in response to Covid-19, many contact centres made the move to work from home (WFH) models. This need to remain flexible during the pandemic revealed the ineffectiveness of a top-down leadership approach which doesn’t allow for quick adaptation and decision making at the ground level, where most of the changes and challenges are being faced. Company culture has grown in importance, thanks to recent high-profile culture crises such as those at Uber, pushing for diversity, equity and inclusion alongside the continuing fight of the #MeToo movement. It is because of these cultural shifts that the bottom line is now affected by how strategically important culture has become. It can no longer just be divided up and delegated.

EMPOWER EMPLOYEES AND TEAMS TO BUILD HEALTHY AND VIBRANT MICRO-CULTURES THAT ARE FREE OF TOXIC BEHAVIOURS.

This approach to culture-building is known as a “bottom-up” or “holistic” approach, where the responsibility for shaping the company culture is shared by all members of the organisation. It recognises that every individual has a role to play in shaping the culture and creating a positive and inclusive workplace environment. This approach also involves a continuous process of evaluation and improvement, ensuring that the company culture remains relevant and aligned with the company’s values and goals.

In a contact centre, culture encompasses the behaviour and attitudes of all individuals, from agents to management. To remain competitive, companies must empower their employees and teams to cultivate healthy and thriving micro-cultures devoid of negative behaviours. As Sonja Van Den Bosh, Co- Founder of ONE Beyond Success, explains, when businesses “empower employees and teams to build healthy and vibrant micro- cultures that are free of toxic behaviours. [Because] as humans we are more likely to be connected to and care about something that we helped build, shape and influence.”

The Remote Revolution: Navigating the Challenges of Maintaining Strong Corporate Culture in the Contact Centre Industry Amidst the shift to WFH

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the trend of remote work, particularly in the contact centre industry. An Australian Bureau of Statistics report shows 40.6 percent of Australians are working from home, and two-thirds of managers in the industry are now working from home regularly. The shift towards remote work has brought about numerous challenges for contact centres, one being the challenge in ensuring a strong corporate culture is maintained. It is crucial for contact centre organisations to ensure that their values, beliefs, and work environment are preserved even when employees are working from a different location, to maintain the high level of customer service that is expected in the industry.

Sonja Van Den Bosch noted that “connectedness becomes the most common consistent cultural experience. More important than physical proximity is emotional proximity. It’s about being seen, heard, and valued for who you are and feeling that you are contributing to something larger than yourself.”

The Key to a Thriving Contact Centre: Empowering Employees with the Right Tools and Support

The corporate culture within a contact centre plays a pivotal role in determining the success of the organisation. Given that contact centre employees engage with customers on a daily basis, it is imperative that they are empowered with the necessary resources and support to provide a positive customer experience.

Creating this positive culture for both on site and WFH agents, is essential for the wellbeing of employees and the success of your organisation. A thriving culture can lead to higher morale, job satisfaction and a sense of pride in the work they do. To achieve this it’s important to focus of key elements, such as promoting open communication, facilitating professional development, recognising and rewards merit, encouraging collaboration and promoting a healthy work-life balance.

Incorporating these elements into the culture of your business can foster an atmosphere of support and inclusivity resulting in increased employee engagement and therefore, enhance customer experiences.

Maintaining a healthy work-life balance is paramount for remote agents. This can be achieved by offering flexible schedules and the proper technology and support for their remote work. It is important to understand that achieving this balance is a personal and situational matter, and there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Rather than striving for perfection, recognising and rewarding top performers can motivate others to strive for excellence, regardless of their location. As Vincent Nair, from SmartTech Business Systems notes, “cultural balance for people who work from home is very situational and cannot be seen as a one-size-fits-all situation. Try to avoid the pressure to find the perfect balance, because it’s impossible to get right all of the time.”

Implementing these elements into the organisation’s operations can significantly enhance the corporate culture, yielding positive results for the call centre. This will increase employee engagement, job satisfaction, and motivation, leading to enhanced customer service.

 

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Navigating Bad Bosses: Your Essential Guide to Career Success

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It’s a familiar tale: the toxic boss who crushes morale, sows’ seeds of stress and leaves a trail of demoralised employees in their wake. Sadly, this all-too-common scenario can take a toll on your career trajectory, impeding your progress and leaving you feeling stuck.

In fact, a staggering 57% of employees have left their job due to the detrimental impact of a bad boss, according to new research. And in the fast-paced and high-pressure environment of the contact centre industry, where employees face constant interactions with customers and relentless demands, the effects of bad leadership can be magnified.

But fear not! This article is not another lamentation about the perils of poor leadership. Rather, it’s a roadmap to success, brimming with practical tips and actionable strategies that will empower you to not just survive, but thrive in your career despite the challenges posed by bad leadership.

Drawing on compelling contact centre statistics and real-world examples, we will unveil 10 invaluable insights to help you effectively deal with bad leaders. From mastering the art of communication to harnessing the power of resilience, we will equip you with the tools and techniques to rise above the fray and elevate your career to new heights.

So, whether you’re currently grappling with a toxic boss or simply seeking to fortify your career armour for the future, this article is your essential guide to navigating the treacherous waters of bad leadership in the contact centre industry.

1.  Chart Your Own Path:

Despite encountering bad leadership, don’t lose sight of your own career goals. Set ambitious objectives for yourself and strive towards them, even if your leader falls short in providing support or motivation. By maintaining focus on your goals, you can stay resilient, motivated, and poised for future advancement opportunities.

2.  Forge Meaningful Bonds:

When dealing with challenging leadership, strong relationships with your co-workers can serve as a powerful antidote. Seek out positive and supportive colleagues and foster meaningful connections with them. Collaborate on projects, extend a helping hand, and offer support and encouragement. Building a sense of community and shared purpose can keep you engaged and motivated, despite any leadership obstacles.

3.  Embrace Wise Guidance and Mentorship:

In the face of bad leadership, seek out mentors who can provide valuable guidance and support. Look for mentors within your organization or industry who can offer insights, feedback, and career development advice. They can serve as a trusted sounding board for challenges or frustrations you may encounter at work and provide invaluable perspective and wisdom. Embracing mentorship can empower you to navigate difficult leadership situations with confidence and resilience.

4.  Master the Art of Effective Communication:

When dealing with difficult leaders, effective communication becomes a strategic tool. Be clear, concise, and direct in your communication, while also proactively addressing their needs or concerns. Building trust and respect through effective communication can foster a positive working relationship over time, and help you navigate the challenges of bad leadership.

5.  Cultivate a Positive and Solution-Focused Mindset:

Maintaining a positive and solution-focused mindset is a powerful strategy for resilience in the face of challenging leadership. Instead of dwelling on the negatives, focus on identifying solutions and opportunities for improvement. This proactive approach empowers you with a sense of control and agency, keeping you motivated and engaged in your work.

6.  Be a Proactive Change Agent:

Taking a proactive approach to your work can elevate your motivation and engagement, even when dealing with bad leadership. Look for opportunities to take on new projects, responsibilities, and seek ways to improve processes or systems within your team or organization. Being proactive showcases your value and positions you for future opportunities, despite any leadership obstacles.

7.  Embrace Self-Care for Optimal Performance:

You are your most valuable asset, and taking care of yourself is crucial for peak performance at work. Prioritize healthy habits such as regular exercise, quality sleep, and stress-reducing activities like meditation or yoga. By nurturing your mental and emotional well-being, you’ll be better equipped to handle the challenges of working with difficult leaders and stay motivated and engaged in your work.

8.  Elevate Your Skills to Propel Your Career Forward:

Even in the face of bad leadership, you can still take control of your career advancement. Look for opportunities to acquire new skills or knowledge through courses or training programs. By investing in yourself, you’ll position yourself for future growth and advancement, regardless of whether your current leader is supportive or not. Don’t let their shortcomings hinder your progress.

9.  Be Your Own Advocate for Success:

Advocating for yourself is a powerful strategy for navigating the challenges of difficult leaders. Clearly communicate your goals and aspirations to your leader, and be assertive in advocating for opportunities to develop new skills or take on additional responsibilities. Be willing to negotiate and find solutions that align with your career aspirations. Remember, you are your own best advocate and champion for success.

10.  Stay Committed to Your Career Vision:

Despite the hurdles of bad leadership, don’t lose sight of why you chose your profession and what motivates you. Stay committed to your career vision and use it as a guiding force to stay focused and dedicated to your work. Don’t let the negativity of bad leadership deter you from your purpose and fulfillment. Your career is a long-term journey, and staying committed to your path will help you persevere through challenging times.

Dealing with bad leaders can be challenging, but it doesn’t have to derail your career. By focusing on your goals, building positive relationships with co-workers, seeking out mentors, communicating effectively, staying positive and solution-focused, being proactive, practicing self-care, developing new skills, advocating for yourself, and staying committed to your career, you can not only survive, but thrive, even in the face of difficult leadership. Remember, you have the power to take control of your career and create a fulfilling and rewarding professional life for yourself, regardless of the leadership you may encounter along the way.

 

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Transforming WFM: Automation is key

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WFM

At Call Design’s recent WOW 2023 Conference, the contact centre industry’s top leaders in Workforce Management congregated to share insights into industry best practice, challenges faced and the future of workforce optimisation.

Workforce Management (WFM) is an essential part of running a successful contact centre, today more so than ever before. The process of managing staff scheduling, attendance, training and forecasting to ensure the centre operates at maximum efficiency may seem like a small part of a broader business, but for those in contact centres, it’s the most business critical area of expertise. WFM is a complex area that requires a combination of technologies, best practices, and skilled professionals. With changes due to work from home and hybrid business models, the dependence on strong WFM solutions that adapt and provide necessary flexibility to a contact centre workforce, while at the same time, provides efficiencies and drive better employee engagement is a conundrum for seasoned WFM professionals.

One of the most significant challenges that contact centres face is managing attrition rates. In Australia the average attrition rate is approximately 30%, which means that every year, a third of a company’s workforce may need to be replaced. This is significant for contact centre operations and puts undue demand on recruiting new talent, and training and development. The cost to hire a new agent is amplified due to the growing cost of advertising and training, with new contact centre job board, Contact Centre Jobs a welcome relief on the advertising side.

Technologies such as Interactive Voice Response (IVR), automation, scheduling and forecasting are essential components of WFM. IVR, a technology that enables customers to interact with a computer system through voice recognition or touch-tone keypads is leading the new look tech stack. It can be leveraged to provide customers with self-service options, such as checking their account balance or making payments. Automation, on the other hand, has one of the fastest uptakes of any new technology in contact centres today. The ability to perform routine tasks, such as sending automated emails or routing calls to the appropriate agent, is both time saving and cost saving. Another key area that dominated Call Design’s WOW2023 conference was forecasting, with a majority of companies seeking to use forecasting technologies in their contact centres.

 

“The evolution of the modern workforce demands a hybrid working environment in contact centres. As such, it is imperative for contact centres to prioritise providing their employees with the flexibility around where and when they work.”

Nimesh Dhanak CEO, Call Design

“As we continue to navigate the new reality of post-pandemic work, one thing has become clear: the hybrid working environment is here to stay. For contact centres, this means rethinking how we provide employees with the flexibility to work from anywhere, at any time,” says Nimesh Dhanak, CEO Call Design.

Best practices in WFM include creating an engaged workforce, providing regular training and leveraging data to optimise staffing levels. Engaged employees are more likely to stay with the company, reducing attrition rates and improving productivity. Regular training ensures that employees are up-to-date with the latest technology and best practices, enabling them to provide better customer service. Leveraging data enables companies to optimise staffing levels, reduce costs and improve overall customer experience.

Alvaria, Calabrio, NICE and Genesys are companies that specialise in WFM solutions with the newly merged Alvaria being lauded for its focus on innovation. Alvaria is a leader in enterprise-scale customer experience and workforce management and through the merger of Noble Technologies and ASPECT has gained significant traction in delivering high return on investment from WFM solutions.

Call Design is another international company that specialises in AlvariaWFM solutions. Their highly experienced team is full of industry veterans and along with Alvaria WFM solutions, the company also partners with Attune and automation company Intradiem. They offer a range of services including consulting, software development and WFM training and are well known in the Australian and New Zealand markets.

Calabrio has a growing profile in the Australian market but is emerging with an alternative solution to Alvaria. Their workforce management solution includes features such as forecasting, scheduling and adherence tracking. Calabrio’s quality management solution enables managers to monitor agent performance and provide feedback and coaching.

“WFM solutions can predict best shifts and agent fit for a complex hybrid-working, multi-channel environment,” said Calabrio Vice President Asia Pacific, Nick Smith. “With data driven AI, planners can manually tweak forecasts and schedules, factoring in agent experience, skillset and know-how. App-based self-service scheduling engages and empowers agents with flexibility and control.”

 

“From a workforce management perspective, some of the biggest challenges for contact centres are recruiting staff with the right skills and keeping them. With low unemployment rates and the ability for staff to work from anywhere, contact centres aren’t just competing against other centres in the same area but potentially across Australia.”

Julie-Anne Hazlett, Call Design

 

Scheduling and Forecasting: Essential aspect of WFM

Employee scheduling and forecasting is an essential aspect of Workforce Management in contact centres. Accurately forecasting customer demand and creating optimal schedules for agents is key to ensuring high-quality customer service while also meeting the needs of employees.

In the current era of remote work and flexible schedules, it is more important than ever for contact centres to have a scheduling and forecasting solution that provides flexibility while also maintaining productivity. Companies like Alvaria offer workforce management solutions that enable businesses to have full visibility and control over their workforce, whether employees are working from home or in-office.

“ Today many Real Time Analysts and Team Leaders spend a lot of time manually updating schedules and entering exceptions.

A lot of this work can be automated with technology such as Intradiem’s intelligent automation freeing up people to do the more value-add tasks,” states Julie-Anne Hazlett from Call Design.

One of the key features of Alvaria’s scheduling and forecasting solution is the ability to set rules and parameters that accommodate the needs of both the business and its employees. This includes setting up work from home schedules, allowing for flexible start and end times, and accommodating requests for time off.

The system also provides real-time data to managers, allowing them to make informed decisions and quickly adjust schedules as needed to ensure adequate coverage during peak demand periods. This level of flexibility not only benefits employees but also helps businesses avoid the high costs of turnover and low morale associated with rigid scheduling practices.

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Internal Marketing Strategies for Contact Centres

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Imagine you’re driving down the highway and suddenly your car engine starts making a strange noise. You pull over, pop the hood, and try to figure out what’s wrong. You’re stumped. What do you do? You pick up your phone and dial the customer service number of the car manufacturer. A friendly voice answers, listens to your problem patiently and assures you that someone will be there to help you in no time. This is the power of contact centres.

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CCSG: Investing in People to Grow Their Business

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CCSG: Investing in People to Grow Their Business

With a strong leadership philosophy centred around its people, CCSG Group is going from strength to strength. Founded in 2005, CCSG Group, began as a specialist Commercial and Consumer Debt Recovery company. Quickly recognising a gap in the market, founder, and CEO Daniel Taylor, transformed CCSG into a full-service debt recovery agency, incorporating contingent debt collections, legal services, investigations, and debt purchase. CCSG Group supports large organisations with the recovery of their portfolio debt, supported by their inhouse Law Firm CCSG Legal.

We caught up with CEO, Daniel Taylor to hear more about their contact centre operations, workforce strategies, leadership approach and what he sees as the company’s biggest challenge for 2023.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR TEAM AND YOUR FOCUS WHEN RECRUITING NEW EMPLOYEES AT CCSG GROUP.

When I started the company, my focus was on building an organisation where our employees were specialists, trained experts who would help us achieve the strategic outcomes we were aiming for.

Our team is educated, dynamic and motivated. We believe the key to our success is our people, so we employ staff we want to work with, people who we are proud to represent our clients.

CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE LEADERSHIP STYLE AND MANAGEMENT APPROACH USED IN THE CONTACT CENTRE?

We have adopted a collaborative approach in the management and leadership within the contact centre. We have seen a positive change in the engagement between agents and management with this style and it has helped us improve our services by empowering all staff to drive change and innovation in the workplace.

HOW ARE EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE METRICS TRACKED AND EVALUATED IN THE CONTACT CENTRE?

Managing employee performance is essential for us to deliver results when servicing our clients’ portfolios. Performance metrics range from outbound call volumes, inbound call time handling, quality
and compliance measures, emotional engagement with customers, portfolio recovery and NPS on calls. We use these performance metrics to build a holistic view of performance, not using any one metric in isolation.

CAN YOU PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF THE CURRENT ATTRITION RATES AMONG AGENTS IN THE CENTRE?

Like most contact centres, we do face challenges when it comes to attraction and retention in the current market. Post July 2022 we experienced some challenges with increased attrition, with the main driver being staff shifting for higher salaries. Our attrition rate was sitting at circa 15%.

DO YOU SEE A LOT OF INTERNAL PROMOTION WITH AGENTS FROM THE CONTACT CENTRE MOVING INTO OTHER ROLES WITHIN THE ORGANISATION?

We have been quite fortunate to have been able to promote internally within our organisation. We have also looked externally when recruiting for some team leader positions to bring new thoughts, techniques, and skills to the company. This has been fantastic for the continued growth of our organisation.

WHAT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS ARE CURRENTLY IN PLACE TO SUPPORT THE CONTACT CENTRE’S OPERATIONS?

Our base Collections CRM supports a lot of the work we do. We utilise cloud-based dialer and call recording solutions coupled with call analytic software. The call analytic software that we use was sourced from America and has been fantastic in supporting our organisation, monitoring both agent and customer emotional scores. In our industry it is extremely important to support customers in circumstances where they raise dissatisfaction with our engagement or the services of our clients. The call analytic software allows us to monitor and report complaints and other key words in real time.

CAN YOU DISCUSS ANY PLANS FOR ADOPTING NEW TECHNOLOGIES OR MODERNISING THE CURRENT TECH STACK?

We are looking at gamification and deploying this in our contact centre. This will bring another level of agent engagement for us. Ordinarily, organisations do not have an opportunity to monitor and reward staff for varying degrees of performance. Gamification will give us the ability to have a broader performance based incentive and reward scheme for our staff.

HOW RECENTLY HAVE YOU ONBOARDED NEW STAFF?

We did a large recruitment drive in December 2022 which culminated in a great influx of staff joining us in January 2023. This has been great to get some fresh faces into the organisation and to continue to be ahead of the curve in supporting our clients.

ANY PLANS TO EXPAND IN THE FUTURE?

In 2022 we purchased a new office in Newcastle, NSW and have capacity to grow our staff numbers quite significantly. We are excited about the opportunity to tap into the resourcing pool of Newcastle and the broader Hunter region. It has been fantastic to bring on new staff in this location and to see them grow with and add to the CCSG culture.

IF YOU LOOKED AT CHALLENGES THAT YOU WERE FACING IN 21 VS NOW -WHAT WOULD BE THE BIGGEST CHANGE?

The biggest challenge that we see is the employment market.
Being able to recruit staff at a sensible remuneration is going to be challenging. That being said, we have seen a lot of quality staff joining us taking a holistic and long term approach to their work and remuneration, joining us with a view of career growth, capability development and strong technical experience. Given our focus on development, continuous learning opportunities to hone skills and adopt best practice approaches is a key element of our employee value proposition.

HOW DOES CCSG WORK TO ENSURE ITS EMPLOYEES ARE MOTIVATED, ENGAGED AND SUPPORTED IN THEIR ROLES?

We are quite fortunate that we get to support clients in various industries. This allows us to provide movement across portfolios for our agents and provide them with continued mental stimulation. It is quite challenging to motivate staff when there are mundane or repetitive tasks.

IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT THE PERCEPTION OF CONTACT CENTRES, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

I would change the perception of relevance and value in the face of digital technologies. Contact centres that are done well provide a fantastic customer journey and increase loyalty and appreciation for services being offered. Non-human automated channels enable organisations to reduce FTE and attempt to increase customer satisfaction. There is still a direct need for human interaction and support to customers. Contact centres are the lifeblood of customer engagement.

WHAT IS THE VISION FOR THE FUTURE OF THE CONTACT CENTRE AT CCSG GROUP, AND HOW DOES IT ALIGN WITH THE GOALS OF THE ORGANISATION AS A WHOLE?

Our vision is to continue to invest in people and grow a customer centric contact centre. This will be supported by non-human channels; however, the focus will be to drive customers to agents in a quicker and more efficient way. Our goal as an organisation is to continue to provide a high level of human customer service supported by tech to those who do not want to engage directly with agents.

 

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Did you feel the earth move?

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THE TECTONIC SHIFT CAUSED BY A GLOBAL PANDEMIC

BY SIMON KRISS

COVID-19 has changed the entire world and its impact on the global contact centre industry is most closely akin to a tectonic plate shift of the earth’s crust.

Traditionally, contact centres have been renowned as one part of an organisation that will stay firmly operating as they always have, a person in an office, at a desk, with a headset. The work might change, there might be some new tech, however conceptually the contact centre has remained the same for the last 20 years.

However, in 2020 all of that changed as the pandemic and lockdown restrictions drove a sudden corporate shift in views around work from home, from “it cant be done” to “how do we make this work”. This should not really surprise us though, humans have a history of avoiding change until there is no choice, and the life impacts driven by COVID have not really been felt at a global individual level since the second World War.

Let’s explore a few of the changes that have taken place, both here in Australia and internationally, since 2020.

Strategy

A massive shift in the industry has been the rise to prominence of the contact centre function and the value they deliver on behalf of an organisation. Until recently many contact centres shared that they felt like a ‘poor cousin’ or ‘the corporate dumping ground’.

With many organisations increasing their focus on digital adoption, it was soon realised there was considerable effort and support required to make this viable. For many organisations, digital solutions fell short of providing an end-to-end customer journey. Contact centres stepped in, supporting customers to channel shift where they could, and filling the gap for where there were no alternate digital solutions.

The added complexity was that customer needs were also changing, the external environment challenged everything organisations knew and had built around historic customer personas. The contact centre rose from a tactical business unit to a strategic one overnight, taking a ‘seat at the grown-ups table’ and influencing organisational decisions.

Technology

Technology vendors made handsome profits through COVID. Many companies caught with demising on-premise solutions suddenly had to pivot to cloud based solutions to support mobile working.

COVID also saw the single biggest period of investment in automation technologies such as voice-bots, conversational AI and more. These investments had been on the contact centre manager’s Santa list for years and suddenly, budget was available (and all it took was a global pandemic!)

Workforce Management

There are not too many WFM Managers left that still have their sanity post COVID. Prior traffic models were rendered useless in a world where customer behaviour changed daily. Nothing like locking down a major city to change the way in which people utilise contact channels. Some business soared with traffic while others floundered and struggled to remain viable.

I watched call traffic change based on what the Victorian Premier wore when addressing the State. If it was casual clothes, we were alright, but if he wore his suit then we were going into lockdown again and the phones lit up like a Christmas tree.

The knock-on effect, of course, is that call traffic patterns of the last 3 years need to be almost ignored when building future forecasts. Whilst some organisations are taking a breath and looking to identify their last ‘normal’ year, some would say that customer behaviour and expectation has now fundamentally changed forever.

Location & WFH

The concept of large, centralised contact centres in capital cities is no longer valid. Ignoring the lowest unemployment rate in many decades, recruiting in capital cities has become almost untenable at entry level wages for frontline agents. Similarly balancing home and family, and minimising that daily commute is driving potential employees to look for something more. We are seeing creative solutions involving smaller hubs (and even shared centres) in regional tier 3 locations, along with a re-think of ‘why we care’ where people sit when they work.

The most searched term on SEEK is work-from-home and this feature has moved from being a ‘benefit’ to being a hygiene factor for people applying for roles. Oddly though, even in the light of such fundamental industry upheaval, many corporates and governments are trying to continue as if nothing has changed and push staff to return to the office on a full-time basis.

In an interesting twist, although the majority (note: not all) of staff want to work from home, they also miss the interaction with others and report feeling lonely and disconnected from the business. Thus, the emergence of hybrid models where choice is available, are yielding results when it comes time to recruit.

People

The change for our people has been so profound that it is important to acknowledge that we won’t ever return to that pre pandemic world we all knew.

Careers have given way to lifestyle choices for many, often driving a significant migration of people (especially families) from the burbs to regional locations serviced by a major trainline, and a migration away from wanting to work a 40 hour week to something closer to 25 or 30 hours.

The lifestyle choice also extends to the company and its cause. Staff are seeking a value proposition from their employer and the tables have turned from the employer saying, “why should employ you” to candidates asking, “why should I work for you”. Culture and employer / employee value match has never been more important.

Induction training has also gone through upheaval as traditional models based on 4-weeks in the classroom became unraveled. After all, who wants to sit in front of Zoom for 4 weeks?

There is so much more that we can unpack here, including the impact to cyber security controls and so much more. Needless to say …. Tectonic level change.

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Discover Your Dream Job with Auscontact’s Job Board

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Top 10 jobs in the Contact Centre Industry

Are you looking for a job in the contact centre industry? Look no further than Auscontact’s job board, the first of its kind dedicated to the industry in Australia and New Zealand. With a range of job opportunities available from top recruiters, this is the perfect place to start your career or take the next step in your professional journey.

Here are the top 10 jobs being advertised on the Auscontact job board:

1. Contact Centre Manager – Hays Recruitment

Are you an experienced manager looking to lead a team in a fast-paced and dynamic environment? Hays Recruitment is currently seeking a Contact Centre Manager to oversee the operations of a busy contact centre.

2. Team Leader – Probe CX

As a Team Leader at Probe CX, you will be responsible for managing a team of customer service agents, ensuring they provide the highest level of customer satisfaction. With a focus on coaching and development, this is a great opportunity for an experienced team leader looking for a new challenge.

3. Sales Consultant – TactiCall Recruitment Services

Do you have a passion for sales? TactiCall Recruitment Services is currently seeking a Sales Consultant to join their team. In this role, you will be responsible for driving revenue growth by developing and executing sales strategies.

4. Customer Support Executive – TactiCall Recruitment Services

TactiCall Recruitment Services is also seeking a Customer Support Executive to provide outstanding customer service to their clients. If you have excellent communication skills and a passion for helping others, this could be the perfect job for you.

5. Customer Care Consultant – nib Group

nib Group is currently seeking a Customer Care Consultant to join their team. In this role, you will be responsible for providing excellent customer service and support to their members.

6. Learning Design Specialist – Hinchen Resources

As a Learning Design Specialist at Hinchen Resources, you will be responsible for creating engaging and effective training materials for contact centre agents. If you have experience in instructional design and a passion for helping people learn, this could be the perfect job for you.

7. Candidate Experience Team Leader – Adecco 

Adecco is seeking a Candidate Experience Team Leader to oversee their recruitment team. In this role, you will be responsible for ensuring a positive candidate experience throughout the recruitment process.

8. Customer Service Agents – TactiCall Recruitment Services

TactiCall Recruitment Services is also seeking Customer Service Agents to provide support to their clients. If you have excellent communication skills and a passion for helping others, this could be the perfect job for you.

9. Trainer – Probe CX

As a Trainer at Probe CX, you will be responsible for designing and delivering training programs to contact centre agents. If you have experience in training and a passion for helping people learn, this could be the perfect job for you.

10. Senior Operations Manager – Concentrix

Concentrix is seeking a Senior Operations Manager to oversee the operations of their contact centre. In this role, you will be responsible for ensuring the highest level of customer satisfaction while driving revenue growth.

These are just a few of the many job opportunities available on the Auscontact job board. With a variety of positions available at all levels, there is something for everyone. Don’t miss out on the chance to take your career to the next level – visit the Auscontact job board today!

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