Call center outsourcing and offshore call center outsourcing

News - With an aging contact center infrastructure and an expiring building lease, West Marine shifted its call center agents to a work-at-home model with some innovative approaches.

Article - CRM outsourcing, both customer service and application management, is getting a closer look as companies seek to cut costs amidst the recession.

Article - Call center infrastructure vendors are boasting of the environmental benefits of at-home agents, but the price of gas is proving a more compelling argument.

Article - Extending its CRM and human resources management initiative, Convergys today said it will acquire IVR vendor Intervoice for $335 million.

Article - A review of contact center priorities and performance 10 years ago and today finds that CRM initiatives like customer lifetime value have taken a backseat to finding efficiencies.

Article - Best practices for India-based contact centers include creating a clear career path, treating managers as coaches, and keeping agents connected to the corporate office.

Article - Work-at-home agents need different attention and require uniform training and service level agreements that focus on more than numbers.

Article - Sharing products, feedback and authority with outsourced customer service agents has increased customer satisfaction and reduced turnover for the online retailer.

Article - Taco Bell's customer service outsourcer calls its agents customer maniacs and rewards them for taking the customer's point of view.

Column - Within five to 10 years, contact centers will become one of the most important revenue generating departments in most enterprises. Some enterprises have begun to try to figure out how to improve their customer experience while keeping costs down. Read...