international contact center - survey results
DESCRIPTION
Results from a survey from over 100 managers of International Contact CentersTRANSCRIPT
Managing Global Contact Centers Information Derived from a Survey of over 100 Contact Center Managers with International Responsibility
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Managers of Contact Centers in North America who also managed international Contact Centers – Q. Are you responsible, directly or indirectly for customer service or customer
care operations in one or more countries outside of the USA?
Who We Asked
Web-based Survey Token incentive provided for completion 116 Respondents (Not all respondents
answered every question) Survey Conducted by VoltDelta
(4Q 2011)
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Survey Goals
Understand the technology and business requirements needed to be successful at competing on a global scale from a Contact Center perspective.
Identify best practices for servicing international customers
Evaluate if particular characteristics such as global span, presence in a particular country (s), cultural differences or other factors impact how an organization with a global Contact Center footprint applied customer care.
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Survey Results North American Contact Center Managers with International Responsibilities
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How many countries does your organization provide customer service to?
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
2-5 Countries
6-10 Countries
11-15 Countries
16-30 Countries
31+ Countries
# of Responses
6
How many call or contact centers do you have in the US and overseas combined?
# of Responses
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
1-2 Contact Centers
3-5 Contact Centers
6-10 Contact Centers
11+ Contact Centers
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How do you currently service overseas customers?
More than one selection possible
0 10 20 30 40 50
From Regions with local language Support
Backhaul all calls to the U.S.
Backhaul only English speaking calls to the U.S.
International Hubs
Other
# of Responses
8
Is there a preferred channel in certain markets?
# of
Res
pons
es
54 Respondents
More than one selection possible
9
What key measures do you use in managing your call centers?
# of
Res
pons
es
More than one selection possible 58 Respondents
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
North America
Central Europe
Eastern Europe
Middle East
Africa Central America
South America
Asia Australasia
Customer Satisfaction
Customer Effort
Net Promotor Score
Time to Answer
Average Handle Time
Sales-based Results
Other
Total Respondents
10
Key Measures by Regions and Number of Contact Centers (1)
# of
Res
pons
es
0 2 4 6 8
10 12 14 16 18
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Eastern Europe Responses by Number of Contact Centers
North America Responses by Number of Contact Centers
Central Europe Responses by Number of Contact Centers
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Middle East Responses by Number of Contact Centers
# of
Res
pons
es
# of
Res
pons
es
# of
Res
pons
es
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Key Measures by Regions and Number of Contact Centers (2)
# of
Res
pons
es
South America Responses by Number of Contact Centers
Africa Responses by Number of Contact Centers
Central America Responses by Number of Contact Centers
Middle East Responses by Number of Contact Centers
# of
Res
pons
es
# of
Res
pons
es
# of
Res
pons
es
0 0.5
1 1.5
2 2.5
3 3.5
0 2 4 6 8
10 12
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
0 2 4 6 8
10
12
Biggest business challenges that you face?
# of Responses
0 5 10 15 20 25
Growth in Traffic
Growth in Avoidable Contact
Need to grow Customer Sat. and/or Net Promotor Score to Match U.S. Levels
Adapting to Differing Service or Business Models
Inability to Roll Out Speech-based Self Service due to Langauge Support
Data Security
CapEx Investment Planning for the Future
Other
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Biggest staff challenges that you face associated with the international aspects?
More than one selection possible
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Recruiting Qualified Staff
Finding Staff with Multiple Language Skills
Handling Staff Turnover
Dealing with Different Service Metrics Based on Cultural Norms
Adapting to Local Employment Legislation
Training Effort
Cultural Issues
Other
# of Responses
14
How high is annual staff turnover in your call centers?
# of
Res
pons
es
59 Respondents
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Do you wish to harmonize cultural aspects or celebrate the differences?
We harmonize the customer experience regardless of culture
We allow the cultural aspects to drive the customer
experience
We slightly vary the customer
experience based on culture
52 Respondents
16
Are there efficiency differences between your US and Internationally based call centers?
53 Respondents
51%
9%
21%
19%
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Rate how important each factor is when looking for a solutions provider that includes both your US and International businesses?
More than one selection possible
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Important
Neutral
Not Important
# of
Res
pons
es
18
For your international business, what are the key investments you will be planning?
68 Respondents
More than one selection possible
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Survey Results North American Contact Center Managers with International Responsibilities
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Key Findings (1 of 4)
Strategic – Most international Contact Centers are deployed within country and
with local language support. – Adapting to differing business/service models and cultural issues for
staff within regions was frequently noted.
Channels – Voice (agent) is the dominant form of preferred contact across all
regions with email a distant 2nd in all regions – Web chat is preferred more highly in North America than in other
regions. This scoring may be attributed to the higher usage and prevalence of online stores and online self-service.
– Voice based self-service is also preferred more in North America than elsewhere, likely due to the widespread use of DTMF based IVR systems.
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Key Findings (2 of 4)
Measures of Success – CSAT (Customer Satisfaction) is the top metric to measure contact
center performance regardless of the location. – However, Contact Centers with more locations tend to favor more
objective metrics such as Average Handle Time, Time To Answer and Sales-based results.
Cultural Impact on Success metrics – Do International Contact Centers embrace cultural differences or hide
them? In some cases agents may be “renamed” to use Western names and may be trained not to reveal their location.
– The survey was fairly evenly split between harmonizing to the region serviced, slightly varying difference and embracing differences.
– Number of Contact Centers was not a factor.
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Key Findings (3 of 4)
Business Challenges – Retention, loyalty and general growth in traffic were at the top of the
list, but also tied for second was adapting to regional differences. – However, Contact Centers with more locations tend to favor more
objective metrics such as Average Handle Time, Time To Answer and Sales-based results.
Staff Turnover – Central America, South America and Australasia deviated from the
other regions with higher turnover (relative to response rates)
United States vs. International Call Centers – Managers clearly appear more satisfied with the efficiency of
their U.S. based centers
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Key Findings (4 of 4)
Vendors Supporting U.S. & International – General Contact Center competence clearly appeared to be the most
important factor when choosing a vendor for International support. – Local support and the ability to tailor to each market were strongly
represented. This seems to be a match for the high representation of adapting to differing business models in the Business Challenge question, and cultural challenges noted in the Staffing question.
Key Investment Plans – Social Media is emphasized by response count. – Self-service for Web and Voice (Speech) were also rated highly.
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About VoltDelta
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and beyond North America
More than 2 Billion calls/year at 99.99% reliability Multi-Channel solutions with CRM integration
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