Outsourced Call Centers: Choosing Effective Tools for Reducing Costs

One of the major considerations for in-house call centers that use outsourcing services is the need for accurate data exchange. Bob Webb, Vice-president of Sales for Pipkins Inc. says inaccurate forecasts can drive up costs and have negative consequences for both parties. The good news for both in-house centers and outsourcers is that tools are available to create more productive outsourcing relationships. In-house call centers can forecast their outsourcing needs with the press of a button, based in part on an ability to determine how many calls can be handled at a given staffing and service level, and then pass the information to a web portal. Webb says outsourcers can retrieve that information from the portal for timely processing; use the same workforce management functions to improve their own planning; and even use the portal to share real-time call handling information with the customer. He feels the results are: better utilization of resources, smoother communication, and overall cost savings.  More…

Toward Full Use Of VoIP In Business

Most organisations view VoIP and Internet Protocol (IP) communications systems as merely replacement solutions for traditional PBX systems in a strategy to reduce infrastructure and call costs, says Deon Scheepers, technology solutions director at Atio, but the convergence of all communications on Internet Protocol (IP) networks and open software platforms has enabled a new paradigm to emerge that is changing the way individuals, groups and organisations communicate.  More…