Making virtual contact

Kim SOKOL

Six lessons for building a scalable customer contact model

As service once again becomes a key differentiator for brands, the c-suite and operational staff are finally on the same page—both are looking longer and harder at the prospect of virtual service delivery that is both scalable and of high quality.

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But how does an organization achieve this in a contact center environment? With so many fixed costs and the very real prospect of high staff turnover, contact centers are rarely seen as hubs of innovation. Yet the rise of the virtual agent workforce is changing all that, fast.

Virtual contact center agents—and the processes, management style and technology that support them—should not be seen as cost-cutting measures per se.

Instead, they are a tool to improve business reaction times and access on-demand capabilities

that can, and should, improve service quality.

For some businesses, which are accustomed to the peaks and troughs of seasonal demand, the

issue of scalability has been a long-running concern. For other businesses, the productivity and

cost-efficiencies of virtual environments are taking on new relevance as economic imperatives

apply continued pressure.

The benefits of virtual agent models are clear:

1. Businesses are not required to carry large, extra headcount volumes at the enterprise level.

2. The utilization of each agent is maximized and agents are given the right amount of work.

3. Delivery of quick response times to call volume fluctuations to avert service level crises.

In fact, virtual agents in a well-managed technical environment can reduce costs, lower enterprise

risk and raise the bar on service quality.

IntroductIon /03

Here are six key recommendations for ensuring your virtual contact center workforce can deliver these benefits.

Invest in your intellectual capital and

robust partnerships

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01

Repeatable service outcomes require planning and structure, but not necessarily permanency.

Every contact center is ultimately seeking to deliver great, repeatable service outcomes

to its customers. This is how loyalty, trust and sustainable business propositions are built.

So, even though many contact centers will use highly competent and efficient temporary

labor for some aspects of their work some of the time, relying on this approach without

considering the strategic value of your contact center workforce is rarely advisable. This

is not to say you shouldn’t hire temporary labor for your center, but that you simply must

have a strategic approach to doing so.

This is primarily because, without some level of continuity or holistic planning, a

temporary workforce will find it difficult to provide the consistency of quality that

your business strategy demands. Any good outsourcing model should provide the

opportunity for your outsourcer to build deep knowledge about your business, and

to continuously work with you (as your partner) to enhance and refine the model in

response to changing business conditions.

Invest In your Intellectual capItal and robust partnershIps /05

If quality and efficiency are your goals, you need a scalable approach that delivers these

three things:

• Therightmodelforbusinessthat’swellmanagedandissupportedbygood

technology (your own or your outsourcing provider’s);

• Accesstotrainingandrecruitmentprocessesthatsupportqualityserviceoutcomes,

even during demand fluctuations;

• Anoutsourcingrelationshipthatisbasedonsharedoperationalunderstandingand

continuous improvement.

If you want to improve your service outcomes and innovate your business model at the

same time, there’s plenty of evidence that the right virtualization partner can enable your

contact center to lead that charge instead of just following it.

Invest In your Intellectual capItal and robust partnershIps /06

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seek to lower all kinds of

service and scale risk

02

It’s not just during emergencies that the value of a virtual contact center should be recognised.

We all know about the business continuity benefits of virtual workforce models—this is

nothing new. But, what about the incremental, less visible continuity issues that arise in

contact center environments on a daily basis?

We would argue that a virtual agent workforce model is perhaps most valuable in

addressing the ‘everyday’ issues of scale, not just those that arise during emergencies.

seek to lower all kInds of servIce and scale rIsk /08

Our experience of running

a virtual agent contact

center during Hurricane Ike

proved its business continuity

benefits under extreme

circumstances. Leading

up to and during Ike’s

impact, our team achieved

the following:

• Hired60contactcenter

agents by the customer’s

target date. These agents

were recruited outside

the customer’s region,

which meant they were not

affected by the hurricane

and could provide the

assistance needed.

• Addressedthecustomer’s

space constraints and

lack of training resources

by successfully training

those agents in an existing

Kelly® facility, which was

converted into a classroom

and on-the-job training

environment.

Hurricane ike: Virtual agent contact center

• Answeredmorethan

30,000 calls over a

10-day period during the

hurricane catastrophe

period—in addition to

its core responsibilities

day-to-day.

• Managedagent

performance to

established customer

service levels using our

own ‘KellyConnect’ call

center technology.

Operational scale demands can be generated by any number of internal or external

forces, including:

• Seasonal demand: The floristry industry has extreme peak needs during Valentine’s

Day,Mothers’Day,ThanksgivingandChristmas.Avirtualsolutionensuresproper

training plus easy management of the required peaks, without expanding training

facilities or adding full-time employees.

• e-commerce activities: In some cases, service agents need to verify and validate

customer requests and posts through their global e-commerce sites. Given the

difficulty in predicting traffic in peer-to-peer commerce, a virtual model is ideal to

support this low-cost business model because it is easily and quickly scalable in

response to variability in web traffic.

• Marketing activities and sales: A virtual solution manages the demand peaks

generated by time-sensitive special offers that can be the result of specific marketing

activities. The virtual agent network maintains service quality at all hours of the day

and night.

seek to lower all kInds of servIce and scale rIsk /09

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turn training processes into

strategic assets

03

Competitive advantage requires focus, repetition and training scalability at the right cost.

A repeatable, high-quality training capability is the beginning of a serious competitive

advantage for any contact center.

As long as the learning curve associated with each new ‘hire’ can be accurately

predicted, managed and facilitated through a highly supportive virtual environment,

with real-time feedback and collaboration tools, virtual agents will do as well as in-

house agents. And, the faster they can be trained and deployed, the more attractive the

training investment is for both parties.

In our experience, a best-practice training approach that scales well without sacrificing

quality requires the following:

• Flexibilityintheratiooffull-time/part-timeagents.

• Aminimumnumberofpart-timehoursshouldbeprovidedtoretainpart-time

workers and ensure they do not seek additional employment elsewhere..

• A70%FTEutilizationrate—thisprovidestheappropriatelevelofengagement

without risk of burn-out.

turn traInIng processes Into strategIc assets /11

A strong training program that enables agents to enter your workforce quickly and

competently will also assist in talent retention, providing the flexible work that many

good employees want. Those who simply cannot access a physical work location for any

number of reasons can be attracted and retained by virtual models.

Typically, the larger the footprint of a virtual workforce, the easier it is to leverage the

benefits of a scalable training program that can flex up or down across a virtual network,

all the while building intelligence about your customers and your processes. Tailored

approaches for small organizations can also realize the same benefits over time.

/12turn traInIng processes Into strategIc assets

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consider each model in light of budgets and

talent supply issues

04

Getting the right mix of in-house and outsourced labor means something different for every business, so choose your virtual model wisely.

In a virtual contact center model, your ability to attract and retain talent will depend

almost entirely on the quality of the employment and service experience that your

specific model enables. Your ability to alter the mix of in-house and outsourced labor fits

squarely into budget and headcount constraints allocated by leadership—and both of

these issues must be considered carefully before choosing which virtual model will work

for your business.

Simplified, there are three basic outsourcing approaches that provide flexible access to

labor in a virtual model:

1) a pilot program: This is a good way to get your feet wet and gain valuable insights

for your business before committing to one specific virtual model.  You may wish to

provide the technology solution to support the model, or the outsourcer may provide

it, but it is critical that clear separation between your pilot program and your existing

model is created in order to compare data. If both teams are ‘sharing’ technology, be

consIder each model In lIght of budgets and talent supply Issues /14

clear about how you will separate the data for comparison at the outset. Selecting

a proven partner in the virtual space who understands the complexities and

management strategies required for successful virtual operations will be critical in

both setting up your pilot and comparing it with existing operations.

2) outsourced Solution (with thought leadership and direction provided by the customer): Manycompanieswhounderstandthevalueofoutsourcingandthe

operational expertise that comes with an outsourced model, remain reluctant to ‘turn

over the keys to the ship’.  An outsourced partnership, by definition, is just that—one

of collaboration and ongoing input from the customer with the focus on day-to-day

management and oversight provided by the outsourcer. The customer maintains

control and direction over where the ship is headed, while the outsourcer provides all

the functions behind the scenes to keep the ship afloat and fully operational.

3) complete navigation: Some customers have very clear SLA and metric expectations

and want to completely turn over the function to an outsourcer, expecting service

delivery of the goals. In this scenario, ‘how’ the outsourcer gets there, ‘how’ they

choose to navigate, combined with full operation of the behind the scenes functions

remain100%withtheoutsourcer. Thisrelationshipstillrequiresapartnershipfor

success, yet there is less directional involvement than option two.

/15consIder each model In lIght of budgets and talent supply Issues

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remember, it’s the

culture that binds

05

In virtual workforces, a shared vision is key to success.

It is not location or physical proximity, but a shared vision and purpose that make positive

collaborations possible. It is not an office building, but leadership, culture and a clear

understanding of the task ahead that sets employees on a parallel course with your

business goals.

That’s why, when building a virtual workforce model for customer contact roles, it’s

important to foster both a sense of trust and of personal responsibility, but also a sense

of being part of something collective. This requires an employer brand that is accessible

and applicable to both in-house and outsourced labor.

A successful virtual customer contact center is one in which the brand is embodied by

tangible actions—not just words. It’s enabled by technology, but it is facilitated and

reinforced by good management practice and a supportive culture that promotes

feedback, diversity and inclusion.

remember, It’s the culture that bInds /17

Apart from having technology that enables effective collaboration and feedback on staff

performance, a good virtual model must fulfil the following criteria:

• ensure internal communications strategies adequately address the virtual workforce and engage them in dialogue. This means scheduling all-staff

meetings/updates in a way that enables virtual workers to participate, as well as

actively seeking input from virtual workers about change, strategy and big-picture

business issues, as well as the day-to-day operations. It also requires analysis of data

collected about this workforce segment to ensure their input/feedback is addressed.

• ensure adequate representation of this workforce segment in management team decisions. Depending on the size of the workforce and

the structure of your organization, direct managerial representation for virtual

workers may not be required, yet ensuring their unique circumstances and value is

considered when new strategies, policies and procedures are developed will be.

This segment holds specific knowledge, and having adequate channels to filter this

up to senior management is an important way to keep customer interests at the

center of the organization.

/18remember, It’s the culture that bInds

• avoid ‘special’ treatment or different policies for one segment of the workforce unless there is a clear, practical reason why this is the case. Virtual technology may facilitate agility and efficiency, but it cannot make these things

happen alone. Your outsourcing provider and the virtual team it engages must know

your business, understand your customers and play an integral role in developing

service intelligence in the virtual space.

/19remember, It’s the culture that bInds

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look for a turnkey approach if you’re new to

virtualized workforces

06

Every innovation is an experiment. Finding a proven model that has already worked elsewhere lowers the risk of moving to a virtual work model.

KellyConnect is a proven and effective, scalable virtual model for customer-facing staff.

Our solutions have been tested and used consistently on a large scale, by thousands of

agents in various locations. We’ve discovered through this experience that any model

you choose must have the following:

• Appropriateuseofautomationinhandlingcustomerinquiries

• Trainingonappropriateuseoftheknowledgebaseandskill-setofeachagent

• Skill-basedroutingtodirectcallsinthemostefficientway

• Anappropriatemixofbothfull-timeandpart-timeagentsinthebaselinestaffing

population to ensure the model can be scaled up or down with seasonality

• Anopportunityforself-servicewhenappropriate.

look for a turnkey approach If you’re new to vIrtualIzed workforces /21

The other critical element in a turnkey approach to virtualization is the need for the

right social media tools and processes to reinforce your company culture and unique

approach to service differentiation. The solution must be robust enough to facilitate

communication and collaboration that is as good as (if not better than) that which is

experienced by an internally housed team.

/22look for a turnkey approach If you’re new to vIrtualIzed workforces

At Kelly, we have worked with many companies—large and small—across most industries

to implement virtual customer contact and technical support workforces. We have seen

virtual workforces deliver results through our own technology solution, as well as with

our customer’s own platforms. We have also seen a virtual model become critical to

contingency plans as well as fundamental to operating smarter on a daily basis. We’ve

seen it improve service, not just the bottom line.

/23Conclusion

Virtual models are no longer technological experiments—they are a proven way to manage issues of scale better, cheaper and faster.

REFEREnCES:http://www.fujitsu.com/downloads/EU/ie/pdf/news/events/Virtual_Workplace_Whitepaper.pdf

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/wireless/ibm-predicts-demise-of-traditional-offices/222

EXiT

AbOuT ThE AuThOr

kIm sokol is the strategic development director for kellyocg’s kellyconnect center of

excellence. kim joined kellyocg in 2008 to help launch kellyconnect outsourcing solutions.

she is responsible for both sales and account management of customer care and service desk

programs. kim holds a bachelor of science degree from the united states military academy at

west point. she earned a masters degree in business administration from wilmington university

and has over 20 years of administration, operations, and sales experience. she is also a certified outsourcing

professional (cop) with the International association of outsourcing professionals (Iaop) and is currently serving

as president of the great lakes chapter of socap® International.

AbOuT KELLyOCG

KellyOCG® is the Outsourcing and Consulting Group of workforce solutions provider Kelly Services, Inc. KellyOCG is a

global leader in innovative talent management solutions in the areas of Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), Business

Process Outsourcing (BPO), Contingent Workforce Outsourcing (CWO), including Independent Contractor Solutions,

Human Resources Consulting, Career Transition and Executive Coaching, and Executive Search.

KellyOCG was named in the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals® 2013 Global

Outsourcing 100® list, an annual ranking of the world’s best outsourcing service providers and advisors.

KellyConnect is a pioneer in the set-up and maintenance of virtual workplaces. We have access to local talent via

440 Kelly-owned branches across the US. We combine this with the intellectual property of understanding how to

deliver plug-and-play technology solutions (if you don’t have your own).

Further information about KellyOCG may be found at kellyocg.com.

For more thought leadership go to talentproject.com