OFFICIAL AWARDS GUIDE | 2015
16th Annual Call Center Industry
FCR Best Practices Conference
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho - June 2 - 4, 2015
ABOUT SQM
CALL CENTER FCR EXPERTS
S
ince 1996, SQM has been a leading North American call center industry research
firm and FCR expert for improving organizations’ first call resolution, operating costs,
employee and customer satisfaction. We have done this by being operationally excellent
at benchmarking, tracking, consulting and recognizing our clients’ first call resolution (FCR),
employee (Esat) and customer (Csat) satisfaction performance. Over 70% of our tracking clients
improve their FCR and operating costs year over year. SQM benchmarks over 500 leading
international call centers on an annual basis. For the average call center SQM benchmarks,
a 1% improvement in their FCR performance equals $256,000 in annual operational savings.
SQM offers four different post-call surveying methods (i.e., phone, IVR, online and SMS
mobile). Our post-call survey is based on proven survey questions that provide accurate
results and clear insights on areas to improve. SQM conducts all phone surveys using our
own dedicated workforce. All post-contact survey methods can be integrated into one common
database. We can also survey within five minutes of the customer’s call without having to rely
on a call transfer into our technology. Our call list management system allows us to accurately
deliver a survey quota at a CSR level or any other survey quota level that is required. To ensure
the quality of our survey data and feedback collection, SQM monitors 100% of our survey calls.
The accuracy of each telephone survey representative is individually tracked and must comply
with our minimum error rate of less than 1%.
We have two state-of-the-art research call centers located in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and
Vernon, British Columbia, to conduct professional customer surveys with customers who used
a contact channel. SQM is recognized by the call center industry as a leading research firm
VoC expert for analyzing FCR, Csat, and customer experience performance. Our research
analyst professionals have strong mathematical academic backgrounds. They also understand
the call center industry and stay current with the best practices for capturing, analyzing and
reporting VoC data and feedback. Specifically, SQM research analysts use VoC metrics such
as FCR, Csat and the Customer Protection – CP SCORE™ to truly understand how your call
center impacts the customer service experience, operating costs and the ability of the call
center to retain customers.
CONTENTS
AWARDS GUIDE 2015
02
Letter from SQM’s President & Founder
03
Award Winners and Finalists Listing
10
SQM Announces 16th Annual Service Quality Awards
11
Agenda
15
Entertainment
16
SQM Facilitators and Guest Speakers
23
Call Center of the Year Winner
24
Best Performing Small/Mid-Size Call Center Winner
25
Interview with the 2013 CSR of the Year Winner
26
Stories from CSR of the Year Finalists
32
SQM Products and Services
www.sqmgroup.com
SQM Awards Guide 2015
1
PRESIDENT’S LETTER
LETTER FROM SQM’S
PRESIDENT & FOUNDER
SQM’s 16th Annual Most Prestigious North American Call Center
Industry 2014 Awards for Service Quality Excellence Program
Dear SQM Guest,
Thank you for choosing to attend SQM’s 16th Annual Most Prestigious North
American Call Center Industry 2014 Awards for Service Quality Excellence.
As a result of benchmarking in excess of 500 call centers and surveying
more than one million customers and 25,000 CSRs on an annual basis, SQM
is pleased to announce our 2014 award winning call centers and frontline
employees.
At this year’s awards ceremony, we will recognize 61 organizations with 65
different awards including Call Center of the Year, World Class Certification,
First Call Resolution (FCR) Improvement, Highest Employee Satisfaction
(Esat), Highest Customer Service, FCR Leadership, FCR Champion, and
Industry Best Practice Awards.
We will recognize the Top 25 World Class CSR Finalists who are the “best of the best” Certified World Class
CSRs, and of those 25 CSRs, we will announce the 2014 CSR of the Year. The CSR of the Year will be given
$500 in cash at the awards ceremony. SQM will also recognize the Top 5 World Class Call CSR Improvement
Winners for 2014.
Also, we will be recognizing the Top 6 World Class Supervisors who are the “best of the best” Certified World
Class Supervisors, and of those 6 Supervisors, we will announce the 2014 Supervisor of the Year. The Supervisor
of the Year will also be given $500 in cash at the awards ceremony. We believe that Supervisors are a key
ingredient to creating World Class FCR, Esat and Csat call center performance.
This year, we recognized organizations and vendors that have demonstrated a best practice that they have used
to improve or help maintain high FCR performance. We have 10 different Best Practice awards (i.e. Recognition
Program, Desktop Application(s), Career Advancement, Quality Assurance, Call Handling Practice, Real-Time
CSR Support Queue, Performance Management System, CSR Coaching, CSR Training, and CSR Hiring
Process).
In closing, I would like to congratulate each of the award winning organizations and their CSRs and Supervisors
who received World Class Certification. Your world class performance is vital to the success of your organization!
Sincerely,
Mike Desmarais
President & Founder | SQM Group
2
SQM Awards Guide 2015
www.sqmgroup.com
CALL CENTER OF THE YEAR AWARD
WINNER
ORGANIZATION:
CRITERIA:
ιι Canadian Tire Financial Services (CRCC)
Criteria used for Call Center of
the Year are based on having
the highest combined customer
FCR and employee overall very
satisfied (top box response)
rating
FINALISTS
ιι Arizona Public Service
ιι VSP Vision Care
BEST PERFORMING SMALL/MID-SIZE CALL CENTER AWARD
WINNER
ORGANIZATION:
CRITERIA:
ιι TELUS Sourcing Solutions Inc.
Criteria used for Best Performing
Small/Mid-Size Call Center
(under 100 CSRs) are based
on having the highest combined
customer FCR and employee
overall very satisfied (top box
response) rating
FINALISTS
ιι Alberta Blue Cross
ιι BC Automobile Association (BCAA)
CALL CENTER WORLD CLASS CERTIFICATION
RECIPIENTS
ιι
ιι
ιι
ιι
ιι
ιι
ιι
ιι
ιι
ιι
ιι
ιι
211 Ontario
407 ETR
BC Automobile Association (BCAA)
BlueCross BlueShield of Vermont
Canadian Tire Financial Services
(CRCC)
Enbridge Large Business Accounts
ENMAX, Inc.
FortisBC
Insurance Corporation of BC (DTVI)
Jackson
MassMutual Retirement Services
Prime Therapeutics (Nebraska)
ιι Rogers Enterprise Service Delivery
ιι Scotiabank International (Dominican
ιι
ιι
ιι
ιι
ιι
ιι
Republic)
Scotiabank International (Jamaica)
Scotiabank International (Mexico)
Scotiabank International (Trinidad and
Tobago)
Sun Life Financial Group Benefits
(Toronto & Waterloo)
Sun Life Financial Group Retirement
Services (Waterloo)
VSP Vision Care (California & Ohio)
CRITERIA: Criteria used for Call Center World Class Certification are 80% or higher of the calls are at the world class level for
3 months or more. SQM’s world class call criteria are based on the customer’s call being resolved, the customer is overall very
satisfied (top box response) rating with their call center experience and the customer service representative (CSR)
www.sqmgroup.com
SQM Awards Guide 2015
3
CALL CENTER FCR BEST PRACTICE AWARD WINNERS
CATEGORY
ORGANIZATION:
1. Quality Assurance Program
GOLD: 407 ETR
SILVER: Millennium1 Solutions
BRONZE: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
2. Desktop Application(s)
GOLD: Comcast Cable
SILVER: Nationstar Mortgage
BRONZE: Starwood Hotels & Resorts
3. CSR Recognition Program
GOLD: Regence BlueCross BlueShield
SILVER: Canadian Tire Financial Services
BRONZE: LoyaltyOne / Nationstar Mortgage
4. Career Advancement Program
GOLD: Sun Life Financial
SILVER: BlueCross and BlueShield of South Carolina
BRONZE: ENMAX, Inc.
5. Call Handling Practice
GOLD: Canadian Tire Financial Services
SILVER: 21st Century Insurance
BRONZE: Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota
6. Real-Time CSR Support
Queue
GOLD: VSP Vision Care
SILVER: Blue Cross Blue Shield Massachusetts
BRONZE: Cogeco Cable
7. Performance
Management System
GOLD: Scotia iTRADE
SILVER: Regence BlueCross BlueShield
BRONZE: Canadian Tire Financial Services / Millennium1 Solutions
8. CSR Coaching Program
GOLD: MedSolutions
SILVER: Nationstar Mortgage
BRONZE: Scotiabank International (Mexico)
9. CSR Training Program
GOLD: Premera Blue Cross
SILVER: BlueCross and BlueShield of South Carolina /
Canadian Tire Financial Services
BRONZE: Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina
10. CSR Hiring Process
GOLD: Canadian Tire Financial Services
SILVER: SMUD (Sacramento Municipal Utility District)
BRONZE: Sun Life Financial
CRITERIA: These awards recognize the organization that has demonstrated they have improved or helped
maintain high FCR and Csat performance. Organizations submit specific practices they have used to improve or
maintain high FCR and Csat performance
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SQM Awards Guide 2015
www.sqmgroup.com
VENDOR FCR BEST PRACTICE AWARD WINNERS
CATEGORY
ORGANIZATION:
1. Quality Assurance Program ιιMillennium1 Solutions
2. Desktop Application(s)
ιιOracle Corporation
3. Call Handling Practice
ιιGenesys / Virtual Hold Technology
4. Performance
Management System
ιιCallMiner Inc.
5. CSR Coaching Program
ιιUlysses Learning
6. CSR Training Program
ιιC3/ CustomerContactChannels
7. CSR Hiring Process
ιιFurstPerson
CRITERIA:
These awards recognize
the
vendor
organization
that has demonstrated they
have improved or helped
maintain high FCR and Csat
performance for their clients.
Vendors
submit
specific
practices they have used
to improve or maintain high
FCR and Csat performance
for their clients
CSR FINALISTS FOR CSR OF THE YEAR
CSR NAME
ORGANIZATION:
CRITERIA:
ιιJordana White 407 ETR
ιιDaniel Waterman
BlueCross and BlueShield of South Carolina
ιιEric Marks
BlueCross and BlueShield of South Carolina
ιιErika Worthy
BlueCross and BlueShield of South Carolina
ιιAnden Drolet
BlueCross BlueShield of Vermont
ιιCandace Pischetola BlueCross BlueShield of Vermont
ιιCindy Tilotson
BlueCross BlueShield of Vermont
ιιHeather Young
BlueCross BlueShield of Vermont
ιιPaula Miller
CareFirst
ιιPatty Nauss
Millennium1 Solutions
ιιJerry Dormido
Nationstar Mortgage
To be eligible the customer
representative
must
be
a World Class Certified
customer
representative.
The criteria for a Certified
World
Class
Customer
Representative is 80% or
higher of the calls surveyed
are at the world class call level.
Call center management
must also send an example
of a great customer service
story that the CSR delivered
ιιHeather Sundheim
Premera Blue Cross
ιιLeslie Wassmuth
Regence BlueCross BlueShield
ιιTrisha Wells
Regence BlueCross BlueShield
ιιAnna Gizicki
Scotia iTRADE
ιιMelliza Beroy
Scotia iTRADE
ιιDanielle Angus
Scotiabank International (Jamaica)
ιιErica Kelloway
Sun Life Financial
ιιGenevieve Tees
Sun Life Financial
ιιKerri Schebesch
Sun Life Financial
ιιMichelle Robinson
Sun Life Financial
ιιDavor Ilic
TELUS Sourcing Solutions Inc.
ιιJennifer Ryan
TELUS Sourcing Solutions Inc.
ιιRachael Clarke
TELUS Sourcing Solutions Inc.
ιιKelly Durkee
VSP Vision Care
www.sqmgroup.com
SQM Awards Guide 2015
5
CSR WORLD CLASS CSAT IMPROVEMENT WINNERS
CSR NAME
ORGANIZATION:
ιιLori Guy-Robinson
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
ιιAmy Duhamel
BlueCross BlueShield of Vermont
ιιPeter O’Meara
ICBC (Insurance Contact Centres)
ιιAbraham (Greg) Mucyo
Nationstar Mortgage
ιιLauren Balzer
Sun Life Financial
CRITERIA:
To be eligible, a customer representative
must have improved their WCC (World
Class Call) performance by 10% from
the previous year. SQM’s WCC criteria
are based on the customer’s call being
resolved, the customer is overall very
satisfied (top box response) with their
call center experience and very satisfied
with the CSR. Call center management
must also send an example of a great
CSR Csat improvement story
SUPERVISOR FINALISTS FOR SUPERVISOR OF THE YEAR
SUPERVISOR NAME
ORGANIZATION:
CRITERIA:
ιιJanalee Willett
BlueCross BlueShield of Vermont
ιιDede Tobin
Regence BlueCross BlueShield
ιιSue Fordyce
Rogers
ιιJefferian Thompson-Pratt
Scotiabank International (Jamaica)
ιιAlexandrea Roopram
Sun Life Financial
ιιJennifer Riggle
VSP Vision Care
To be eligible the supervisor must be
a World Class Certified supervisor.
The criteria for a Certified World Class
Supervisor is 80% or higher of the calls
surveyed are at the world class call
level, in which customers are overall
very satisfied (top box response)
with their call center experience, very
satisfied with the person who handled
their call and that the call was resolved.
Call center management or CSRs
must also send an example of a great
Call Resolution or Csat coaching story
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION & FIRST CALL RESOLUTION AWARDS
Highest Customer Satisfaction for the Call Center Industry Awards
ORGANIZATION:
AWARD:
CRITERIA:
ιιScotiabank
1. Best Selling Customer
Satisfaction
1. This award recognizes the call
center with the highest Csat (top box
response) rating for selling approach
ιιScotiabank 2. Highest IVR Customer
Satisfaction Self Serve
2. This award recognizes the call
center with the highest overall Csat
(top box response) rating for a self
serve IVR
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SQM Awards Guide 2015
www.sqmgroup.com
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION & FIRST CALL RESOLUTION AWARDS cont’d...
Highest Customer Service by Industry Awards
ORGANIZATION:
AWARD:
CRITERIA:
ιιScotiabank International (Jamaica) / Banking
ιιJackson
Financial
Based on having the highest FCR
for an organization in each specific
industry/sector
ιιCanadian Tire Financial Services (CRCC)
Credit Card
ιιVSP Vision Care Insurance
ιιSun Life Financial Group Benefits Health Care
ιιPetro-Canada Retail/Service
ιιENMAX, Inc. Energy
ιιCogeco Cable
Telco/TV
ιι407 ETR Union
ιιCNH Industrial Parts & Service
Helpdesk
ιι211 Ontario Government
Scotiabank International (Trinidad and Tobago)
ιιJackson Business to
Business
First Call Resolution Improvement Awards
ORGANIZATION:
CRITERIA:
ιιArizona Public Service
Based on a 5% or greater annual FCR improvement
from the most recent study within the last two years
ιιBlue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama
ιιBlue Cross Blue Shield Massachusetts
ιιHighmark BlueCross BlueShield Delaware
ιιNationstar Mortgage
ιιPerformRx
ιιPrime Therapeutics
ιιScotiabank International (Peru)
www.sqmgroup.com
SQM Awards Guide 2015
7
EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION AWARDS
Highest Employee Satisfaction for the Call Center Industry Award
ORGANIZATION:
CRITERIA:
ιιCanadian Tire Financial Services (CRCC)
Based on having the highest employee overall very
satisfied (top box response) rating with working in
their call center
Most Improved Employee Satisfaction
ORGANIZATION:
CRITERIA:
ιιMassMutual Retirement Services
Based on having the most improved employee
overall very satisfied (top box response) rating with
working in their call center
Highest Employee Satisfaction by Industry Awards
ORGANIZATION:
AWARD:
CRITERIA:
ιιArizona Public Service Energy
ιιCanadian Tire Financial Services Financial
ιιBC Automobile Association (BCAA)
Insurance
Based on having the highest employee
overall very satisfied (top box
response) rating with working in their
call center for each specific industry
ιιAlberta Blue Cross Health Care
ιιTELUS Sourcing Solutions Inc. Outsourcer
World Class Employee Satisfaction Awards
ORGANIZATION:
CRITERIA:
ιιAlberta Blue Cross
Based on 50% or higher of employees
rating their overall experience of
working in the call center as very
satisfied (top box response) rating
ιιArizona Public Service
ιιBC Automobile Association (BCAA)
ιιCanadian Tire Financial Services (CRCC & CSG)
ιιCVS Caremark (Tennessee)
ιιTELUS Sourcing Solutions Inc.
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SQM Awards Guide 2015
www.sqmgroup.com
FCR LEADERSHIP AWARDS
FCR LEADER NAME
ORGANIZATION
CRITERIA:
ιιDave Difelice Canadian Tire Financial Services
ιιTom Band Millennium1 Solutions
ιιJoanne Walch Regence BlueCross BlueShield
These awards are judged by a panel
of SQM Client Account Managers
who work closely with our tracking
clients on an ongoing basis. Final
award determination made by Mike
Desmarais, President and Founder of
SQM Group
FCR CHAMPION AWARDS
FCR CHAMPION NAME
ORGANIZATION
CRITERIA:
ιιEmily Fair BlueCross BlueShield of Vermont
ιιGeoff Adams MassMutual
ιιMauricio Ramos Scotiabank International
ιιLaura Martin
Scotia iTRADE
These awards are judged by a panel
of SQM Client Account Managers
who work closely with our tracking
clients on an ongoing basis. Final
award determination made by Mike
Desmarais, President and Founder of
SQM Group
Winner of SQM’s Vendor FCR Best Practice Award
for Quality Assurance Program
The Millennium1 Solutions name may sound new, but they have
been operating as a leading Business Process Outsourcing
(BPO) solutions provider for over 38 years. Millennium supports
its clients in three main verticals: contact center, credit cards,
and back office administrative functions, with many choosing an
integrated solution across all three divisions. Their clients seek
support for capacity and flexibility, but also with designing service
solutions and strategies that surpass their expectations along
with instigation of transformational change via delivery of valuable
analytics and insights.
Company information:
(416) 503 1800
www.millennium1solutions.com
Contacts here at
SQM’s conference:
Holly Abbott
(519) 217 4657
holly.abbott@
millennium1solutions.com
Whether performing as an extension of a company’s existing
capabilities or as a stand-alone service delivery channel,
Millennium’s award-winning team brings the right expertise, best
practice processes, technology, and focus on experiential delivery
Tom Band
to ensure expectations are surpassed with consistency. They
(613) 220 3904
deliver sustained benchmark performance in the industries they
tom.band@
millennium1solutions.com
serve and execute with excellence so their clients can rest easy
knowing their brands are being managed with care.
Don’t miss the opportunity to connect with Millennium
– they have some great practices to share.
www.sqmgroup.com
SQM Awards Guide 2015
9
AWARDS 2015
SQM’S 16TH ANNUAL MOST PRESTIGIOUS NORTH
AMERICAN CALL CENTER INDUSTRY 2014 AWARDS
FOR SERVICE QUALITY EXCELLENCE PROGRAM
SQM
i s ple a sed to a n n o u n c e our
2014 award winning call centers and
frontline employees. This is SQM’s 16th Annual Most
Prestigious North American Call Center Industry 2014
Awards for Service Quality Excellence.
SQM benchmarks over 500 leading international call
centers on an annual basis and has been conducting
first call resolution (FCR), employee satisfaction (Esat)
and customer satisfaction (Csat) benchmarking studies
since 1996. On an annual basis, SQM conducts over
1 million surveys with customers who have called a
call center. SQM also conducts over 25,000 surveys
annually with employees who work in call centers.
Based on our call center benchmarking studies, SQM
awards excellence in FCR, customer and employee
satisfaction for the call center industry. We have
recognized leading North American call centers for
customer and employee satisfaction since 1998.
For each call center that participated in our customer
benchmarking study, SQM completed 400 post-call
phone surveys, conducted by SQM’s telephone survey
representatives. SQM uses an in-depth post-call
customer survey approach that consists of both rating
questions and follow-up customer feedback questions
that can be used to help the call center improve
their FCR and Csat performance. SQM’s call center
awards are based on customers who have used a call
center and employees who work in a call center. SQM
conducted the benchmarking studies for the period of
January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014. SQM has 65
different awards that recognize the top performing call
centers.
Criteria used for Call Center of the Year are based
on having the highest combined FCR and employee
overall very satisfied (top box response) rating. Criteria
used for Best Performing Small/Mid-Size Call Center
10
SQM Awards Guide 2015
(under 100 CSRs) are also based on having the highest
combined customer FCR and employee overall very
satisfied (top box response) rating.
In 2014, SQM added five new FCR Best Practices.
The categories for these 10 awards were: CSR
Recognition Program, Desktop Application(s), Career
Advancement Program, Quality Assurance Program,
Call Handling Practice, Real-Time CSR Support
Queue, Performance Management System, CSR
Coaching Program, CSR Training Program, and
CSR Hiring Process. These awards recognize the
organizations that have demonstrated they improved
or helped maintain high first call resolution and
customer satisfaction performance as a result of their
best practice. Submissions were invited from clients
and non-clients through an online application and
were judged by a panel of 6 subject matter experts to
determine the finalists and winners.
In 2014, SQM introduced a new type of award to
recognize FCR Best Practices on the vendor side. The
categories for these 10 awards were: CSR Recognition
Program, Desktop Application(s), Career Advancement
Program, Quality Assurance Program, Call Handling
Practice, Real-Time CSR Support Queue, Performance
Management System, CSR Coaching Program,
CSR Training Program, and CSR Hiring Process.
These awards highlight the vendors who are vital to
providing real and meaningful improvement of First
Call Resolution in each of the 10 FCR Best Practice
areas identified by SQM. These are the vendors who
truly have an impact on their clients’ FCR.
In closing, SQM would like to congratulate all
award winning organizations and their CSRs and
Supervisors. Their world class performance is vital to
their organization’s success!
www.sqmgroup.com
AGENDA
AGENDA OVERVIEW
Agenda Overview
Monday, June 1st – Meet & Greet Welcome Event
Time
Location
8:00 am – 6:00 pm
Spokane Airport
Concierge Lounge
1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
SQM’s State-of-theArt Call Center
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Coeur d’Alene Resort
Whisper’s Lounge
Details
Refresh after your flight with juice, coffee and snacks at our relaxing Concierge
Lounge at Spokane Airport before hopping on the shuttle to the resort
(Provided by SQM).
Staggered groups to be taken on buses throughout the afternoon for a sneak
peek at SQM’s US state-of-the-art call center facility.
SQM cordially welcomes guests to Coeur d’Alene with an evening of fine Wine
and Cheese at the Whispers Lounge and Lakefront Patio.
Tuesday, June 2nd – Day 1 FCR Research and Best Practices
7:30 am – 9:00 am
Hagadone Events
Center
9:00 am – 11:30 am
Hagadone Events
Center
11:30 am – 1:00 pm
Hagadone Events
Center
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Hagadone Events
Center
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Hagadone Events
Center
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Hagadone Events
Center
4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Boat Cruise
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Coeur d’Alene Resort
Lake View Terrace
www.sqmgroup.com
Boat Cruise to Hagadone Events Center
Meet at lakefront boardwalk at Coeur d’Alene Resort to board cruise boat at
7:30 am to cruise the lake on your journey to the Hagadone Events Center. Kickoff the SQM conference while enjoying a delicious breakfast to start your day
right. Boat departs at 8:00 am.
Call Center FCR, Csat and Esat Research
Speaker: Mike Desmarais, President & Founder
SQM Group
SQM will share customer experience FCR, Csat and Esat research based on
benchmarking over 500 call centers and conducting over 2.5 million phone
surveys. SQM will also share the highlights of its new findings from the
Customer Channel Preference and Usage Study and what the data means for Call
Center Executives.
Each conference attendee will receive a copy of SQM’s new book
“First Contact Resolved Best Practices”
Buffet Lunch & Hole-in-One Tournament
Try your golf hand at SQM’s Hole-in-One Prize Tournament on one of the most
beautiful and unique golf holes in the world.
World Class FCR Performing Organization
Speaker: Dave Dobrosky, Senior Vice President
Scotiabank
(Session 1)
Top 5 best practices they used to achieve world class FCR performance
World Class FCR Performing Organization
Speaker: Dave Difelice, Vice President of Customer Service and Operations
Canadian Tire Financial Services
(Session 2)
Key strategies they used to achieve world class FCR performance
Best Practices used for Improving FCR
Speaker: Vicki Whichard, Customer Experience Officer
BlueCross BlueShield South Carolina
(Session 3)
Top 5 best practices they used to improve FCR performance
Boat Cruise to Hagadone Gardens
Board the boats at 4:00 pm to cruise to Casco Bay and stroll through the
stunning gardens of the Hagadone family estate (owners of Coeur d’Alene
Resort), featuring over 25,000 varieties of plant species. Re-board cruise boat to
return to the resort. Boat departs at 4:30 pm.
“A Taste of Idaho” Themed Dinner
Enjoy an evening sampling a variety of the best Idaho potato culinary creations,
featuring local beer and wine stations to enhance your taste buds.
SQM Awards Guide 2015
11
AGENDA
Wednesday, June 3rd - Day 2 FCR Best Practices Tracks
All Day 2 Events (Excluding Dinner) Take Place at Coeur d’Alene Resort Convention Center
Executive Track
Management Track
(By invitation only)
(Available to all conference attendees)
Boardroom 5 ABC
Bay 2-3
Mike Desmarais, President and Founder of SQM, will
share best practices for improving FCR. In addition,
world class leaders interviewed for SQM’s new book
“First Contact Resolved Best Practices” will share their
experiences. Each SVP participant will also share their
good and bad FCR experiences.
World class leaders from some of the best
known organizations in North America that
were interviewed for SQM’s new book
“First Contact Resolved Best Practices”
will share their practices they used to be
successful at improving or maintaining world
class FCR performance.
7:30 am – 8:30 am
Breakfast Buffet at Club Coeur d’Alene
Breakfast Buffet at Bay 4-5
Desktop Application(s)
8:30 am – 9:30 am
Speaker: Mike Desmarais, President & Founder
Customer Channel Preference and Usage
SQM Group
Performance Management System
Speaker: Laura Martin, Director,
Client Experience
9:30 am – 10:30 am
Scotia iTRADE
Coffee Break at Boardroom 5 ABC
CSR Call Resolution Training
10:30 am – 10:45 am
10:45 am – 12:00 pm
Speaker: Dave Floden, Director, Customer Service Operations
Speaker: Anthony Ramos, Manager of Workforce
Analytics & Planning
Premera Blue Cross
Lunch Buffet at Club Coeur d’Alene
Desktop Application(s)
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Speaker: Jennifer Labs, Vice President,
Customer Service Strategy & Systems
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Comcast Cable
Quality Assurance Program
Speaker: Anita D’Alessandro,
Manager, Customer Service
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Speaker: Jennifer Labs, Vice President,
Customer Service Strategy & Systems
Comcast Cable
Quality Assurance Program
Speaker: Anita D’Alessandro,
Manager, Customer Service
407 ETR
Coffee Break at Bay 2-3
Performance Management System
Speaker: Laura Martin, Director, Client Experience
Scotia iTRADE
Lunch Buffet at Bay 4-5
Career Advancement Program
Speaker: Jean-Pierre Chabot, Vice-President,
Shared Operations
Sun Life Financial
Real-Time CSR Support Queue
Speaker: Denise Bannister, Supervisor, Support Queue
Speaker: Amy Debord, Service Delivery Manager
407 ETR
VSP Vision Care
Vendor FCR Best Practice Award Winners Solutions Sessions at Casco and Kidd Island Bay, Bay 1A, 2, 3
Visit and learn from the 2014 Vendor FCR Best Practice Award Winners
3:00 pm – 4:45 pm
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
12
Western Style BBQ Dinner at Hagadone Events Center
Board the cruise boat to head over to the events center and join us for a western themed BBQ, complete with
campfires and s’mores on the beach. Boat departs at 5:30 pm to Center.
SQM Awards Guide 2015
www.sqmgroup.com
AGENDA
Thursday, June 4th – Day 3 FCR Best Practices Tracks
All Day 3 Events Take Place at Coeur d’Alene Resort Convention Center
Executive Track
Boardroom 5 ABC
7:30 am – 8:30 am
8:30 am – 9:30 am
9:30 am – 10:30 am
Breakfast Buffet at Club Coeur
d’Alene
CSR Coaching Program
CSR Call Resolution Training
Speaker: Dave Floden, Director,
Customer Service Operations
Speaker: Anthony Ramos,
Manager of Workforce
Analytics & Planning
Premera Blue Cross
CSR Call Handling Practices
CSR Recognition Program
Multi-Channel
Speaker: Sarah
Moffat, Ph.D.,
Director of
Research
SQM Group
Speaker: Joanne Walch,
President, Customer Experience
Speaker: Penny Garrett, Director
of Customer Service
Regence BlueCross BlueShield
Speaker: Connie Marinaccio,
Manager of Operations
LoyaltyOne
Coffee Break at Boardroom
5 ABC
Coffee Break at
Bay 2-3
Coffee Break at
Bay 1A
Career Advancement Program
CSR Call Handling Practices
IDCA/Call
Resolution
Speaker: Jean-Pierre Chabot,
Vice-President,
Shared Operations
Sun Life Financial
Lunch Buffet at Club
Coeur d’Alene
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Real-Time CSR Support Queue
Speaker: Denise Bannister,
Supervisor, Support Queue
Speaker: Amy Debord,
Service Delivery Manager
VSP Vision Care
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
CSR Recognition Program
Speaker: Joanne Walch, Vice
President, Customer Experience
Speaker: Penny Garrett, Director of
Customer Service
Regence BlueCross BlueShield
CSR
Appreciation
Day
CSR
Appreciation
Day
Speaker: Rosemary French,
AVP Sales and Retention
Speaker: David Schlumberger, AVP
Customer Relations
Contact Centre
Canadian Tire Financial Services
10:45 am – 12:00 pm
Speaker: Rosemary French,
AVP Sales and Retention
Speaker: David Schlumberger,
AVP Customer Relations
Contact Centre
Canadian Tire Financial Services
Speaker: Sarah
Moffat, Ph.D.,
Director of
Research
SQM Group
CQA
Speaker: Rosemary French,
AVP Sales and Retention
Speaker: David Schlumberger,
AVP Customer Relations
Contact Centre
Canadian Tire Financial Services
Speaker: Charlene
Hutchison, BA,
Client Services
SQM Group
CSR Coaching Program
New Web Portal
Releases
Speaker: Brent Gardner, Vice
President, Operations, Contact
Centers/WFM
Speaker: Mary E. Loots,
Sr. Director Ops Infrastructure
CareCore National | MedSolutions
• Silverwood
Theme Park
• Spokane White
Water River
Rafting
Lunch Buffet at Bay 4-5
CSR Hiring Process
Activities
Available:
• Paddle Boarding,
Mani’s & Pedi’s
• Outdoor
Adventure
Package
• Sushi, Sake &
Beverly’s Wine
Tour & Tasting
• Golf Coeur
d’Alene Course
• Body
Treatments at
Coeur d’Alene
Spa
Speaker: Charlene
Hutchison, BA,
Client Services
SQM Group
Vendor FCR Best Practice Award Winners Solutions Sessions
at Casco and Kidd Island Bay, Bay 1A, 2, 3
Visit and learn from the 2014 Vendor FCR Best Practice Award winners
3:00 pm – 4:30 pm
www.sqmgroup.com
Analyst Track
Bay 1A
Breakfast Buffet at Bay 4-5
Speaker: Brent Gardner, Vice
President, Operations, Contact
Centers/WFM
Speaker: Mary E. Loots,
Sr. Director Ops Infrastructure
CareCore National | MedSolutions
10:30 am – 10:45 am
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Management Track
Bay 2-3
SQM Awards Guide 2015
13
AGENDA
Thursday, June 4th – Evening Awards Ceremony Celebration & Gala Dinner
5:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Whisper’s Lounge
Cocktail Reception
Mingle in the lounge and enjoy a few drinks before the main event.
Awards Ceremony Celebration & Gala Dinner
Semi-Formal Attire – Black Tie Welcome
This is SQM's 16th Annual Prestigious North American Call Center Industry Awards
Program for Service Quality Excellence – as judged by customers who used a call
center and by employees who work in the call center.
SQM will be presenting Service Quality Excellence Awards and Certificates for the
following categories:
• Call Center of the Year Award
• FCR Best Practice Awards
• World Class Call Center Certification Awards
6:00 pm – 12:00 am
Convention Center
Ballroom
• World Class Supervisor and CSR Certification Awards
• Call Center First Call Resolution Improvement Awards
• Call Center Customer and Employee Satisfaction Awards
• Customer Service Representative of the Year and Finalist Awards
• Supervisor of the Year and Top 5 Finalist Awards
And many more!
Featuring Live Entertainment by The Rhythm Dawgs
End of Conference
14
SQM Awards Guide 2015
www.sqmgroup.com
ENTERTAINMENT
SQM Conference & Awards Celebration
Featured Live Entertainment
Kosh has been performing for over 25 years across the nation and will
perform at SQM’s dinner on June 3, 2015. Originally from the San Francisco
Bay Area and a member of the 80’s metal band TSUNAMI, Kosh has shared
the stage with many national and international acts such as Kid Rock, Bret
Michaels, Metallica, Heart, Billy Squier, Loverboy, Starship, Montrose, Hagar
and Cheap Trick to name a few.
The Rhythm Dawgs will be performing live on the night of June 4, 2015 for
the Gala Dinner and Awards Celebration. They are a premier dance band
offering a wide variety of musical styles. From 50’s rock to today’s Top 40,
the Dawgs play songs everybody loves.
www.sqmgroup.com
SQM Awards Guide 2015
15
SPEAKERS
SQM CONFERENCE SPEAKERS & FACILITATORS
MIKE DESMARAIS
President and Founder
Mike Desmarais is the President and Founder of SQM Group. Mike has over 25 years of call
center service quality measurement, benchmarking and consulting experience. As a consultant,
Mike has experience in working with leading North American call centers on improving their first
call resolution, cost, employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction performance. Mike has also
written and published dozens of articles on call center service quality in many leading journals
and call center customer service publications and is the author of the thought-provoking books:
World Class Call Center, First Call Resolution and FCR Best Practices. Mike is considered
North America’s leading authority on call center first call resolution and customer protection
best practices. In addition, Mike owns and operates two call centers, located in Vernon B.C.
and Coeur d’Alene ID, with over 100 frontline representatives who conduct telephone customer
satisfaction surveys and call quality assurance assessments.
SARAH KENNEDY
Partner and Senior Vice President of Client Advocacy
Sarah Kennedy, BSc, is a senior managing partner for business development and customer
relationship management with SQM Group. Sarah has 20 years in the service quality field.
She is the co-founder of the Customer Contact Strategy Forum, an association of senior
contact center executives in North America. Sarah uses her skills of facilitation and speaking
to work closely with clients to develop service quality improvement action plans. She has also
written and published many articles on contact center service quality benchmarking for many
contact center customer service publications.
CHARLENE HUTCHISON
Manager of Client Advocacy
Charlene Hutchison, BA, is a Manager of Client Advocacy and has been with SQM for 14 years.
Along with her 14 years contact center industry experience, Charlene has over 16 years of
educating and training experience. Charlene has the responsibility of assisting in the development
of the mySQM™ Reporting Tool in addition to managing client relationships. Charlene brings a
wealth of knowledge from SQM’s research/analysis and technology departments.
SARAH MOFFAT
Director of Research
Sarah Moffat, Ph.D., is the Director of Research with SQM Group. Sarah completed her Ph.D.
in Mathematics at the University of British Columbia, with a focus on Analysis and Optimization.
She has 9 years of research experience and her responsibilities include quality assurance, data
analysis, customized research, and compliance.
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SQM Awards Guide 2015
www.sqmgroup.com
SPEAKERS
GUEST SPEAKERS
DENISE BANNISTER
Supervisor, Support Queue
VSP Vision Care
Denise has been a Supervisor with VSP for 15 years, and has managed the Support Queue
for the last 7 years. Prior to coming to VSP she had a successful career in Retail Management,
where she developed her leadership talent with Macy’s, Pfaltzgraff, Bloomingdales, and
Nordstrom. Throughout these experiences, and now with VSP, Denise has developed a strong
passion for the Customer. This permeates all that she does at VSP and has been a key influence
over the success of her team.
JEAN-PIERRE CHABOT
Vice President, Shared Operations
Sun Life Financial
Jean-Pierre Chabot is Vice President, Shared Operations at Sun Life Financial. He holds a senior
leadership role responsible for leading a service focused organization with other Canadian
Business Unit leaders. The customer contact centre (850 people) supports customers, advisors
(and others) who have dealings with the Company’s Business Units: Individual Insurance and
Investments, Group Benefits and Group Retirement Services. He has led a major initiative
to move the organization from a service focus to a ‘service to sale’ environment in the past 4
years. He has 20+ years of CC experience and holds an MBA.
ANITA D’ALESSANDRO
Manager, Customer Service
407 ETR Concession Company Limited
Anita D’Alessandro joined 407 ETR, the concession owner of Highway 407 ETR, the world’s
first all-electronic, open-access toll highway which extends 108-kilometres east-west, just north
of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 2006 and has over 20 years of experience in customer service
call center management, coaching, motivating, analysis and budgeting. As the Manager of
Customer Service at 407 ETR, she is responsible for providing leadership to 6 Team Managers
and over 100 employees in multiple areas including the Call Center, Customer Service Center,
Video Exception Processing and Early Cure departments within Customer Service. She is
accountable for performance management, financial performance, customer satisfaction and
employee satisfaction. Anita is also responsible for setting and implementing strategic business
objectives relative to customer service and guiding its positive outcomes. She holds a Degree
in Marketing from Seneca College.
AMY DEBORD
Manager, Call Center
VSP Vision Care
Amy has been a Manager in VSP’s Ohio Call Center for 16 years. Prior to joining VSP she
had a successful 16 year career in Cigna’s Call Center operations. Throughout her 32 years in
the customer service industry she has refined her skill in operations management with a keen
focus on customer satisfaction. Being part of VSP’s award winning team and partnering with
SQM to focus on First Call Resolution has inspired Amy to continually raise the bar for her team
and to approach her work with a high level of energy.
www.sqmgroup.com
SQM Awards Guide 2015
17
SPEAKERS
DAVE DIFELICE
Vice President, Customer Service and Operations
Canadian Tire Financial Services
Dave is the Vice President of Customer Service and Operations at Canadian Tire Financial
Services. In his 20 year career at CTFS, Dave has held a variety of roles within the company
and the Contact Centers, including workforce management, HR, and Collections. Dave is
passionate about building and fostering a highly engaged and Customer focused culture.
Dave has a M.B.A from McMaster University and has earned his CMA designation.
DAVE DOBROSKY
Senior Vice President
Scotiabank
Dave is the Senior Vice President in charge of Scotiabank’s Customer Contact Centers located
in Canada. His 27 year career with Scotiabank includes roles in Retail, Commercial, Projects,
Operations and most recently, progressively more senior positions in the Customer Contact
Centres. Dave is passionate about working to enhance the ‘Customer Experience’ through
the delivery of ‘Best in Class’ service experiences. He has an Economics degree from The
University of Calgary and is currently a Fellow of The Institute of Canadian Bankers, where he
earned a ‘Gold’ Medal for Honors in their Professional Banking Program.
DAVE FLODEN
Director of Customer Service Operations
Premera Blue Cross
Dave is responsible for Customer Service for the Employer and Individual Lines of Business
as well as the Workforce Management team. He is also responsible for the overall Customer
Service strategy for Premera and LifeWise. Prior to this, he was Director for Claims Operations
for the Employer Group. Prior to joining Premera in 2009, Dave worked in Customer Service
and I.T. for Texas-based Atmos Energy and Canadian Airlines in Calgary, Canada. He has
been working in Operations since 1990. He holds a Bachelors degree in Music from the
University of British Columbia in Canada and studied Radio Broadcasting.
ROSEMARY FRENCH
Associate Vice President, Sales and Retention
Canadian Tire Financial Services
Rosemary has been with Canadian Tire for 30 years and holds a Bachelor of Arts (Business)
from Brock University. She has a strong Marketing background with previous experience in
financial services and roadside assistance. She has 10 years of contact centre experience with
responsibility for business integration, sales and retention.
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SQM Awards Guide 2015
www.sqmgroup.com
SPEAKERS
BRENT GARDNER
Vice President, Operations – Contact Centers / WFM
CareCore | MedSolutions
Brent is a career proven high performer and consummate professional. He has assembled
over 20 years of industry experience, primarily within operations and IT disciplines. Over 90%
of his career has been spent in leadership capacities, at Fortune 500 organizations within
Healthcare, Communications and Service professions. In his role as Vice President, Operations
at CareCore | MedSolutions, Inc., Brent maintains responsibility for core Operations groups,
including all inbound contact center teams along with all Workforce Management functions. This
spans multiple locations within FL, SC, CO and TN company facilities and indirect leadership of
over 800 people. Brent’s accountabilities include oversight of respective business unit budgets,
call center metrics performance, contractual Service Level Agreements and facilities leadership
functions.
Brent came to MedSolutions from Express Scripts, Inc., where he spent over 9 years. Prior to
joining Express Scripts, Inc., Brent worked for Sprint PCS as an Operations Manager, overseeing
outbound marketing and sales efforts for the company. Brent graduated from the University
of Central Florida with a Bachelor of Science Degree (Biology). He is also actively working to
complete his MBA, with a concentration in General Management. Brent is married with 3 children
and enjoys many family activities like camping and fishing as well as sports related hobbies.
Winner of SQM’s Vendor FCR Best Practice Award
for CSR Hiring Process
Since 1997, FurstPerson has helped contact centers
improve their frontline service, sales, and support hiring.
Through a blended approach that integrates assessment
content, simulations, analytics, and deep contact center
hiring expertise, FurstPerson customers are able to reduce
0 to 90 day attrition by up to 45% and improve new hire
performance by up to 30%.
FurstPerson operates on five core principles that
distinguish it in the highly competitive talent-assessment
industry:
1. Create a quick, engaging candidate experience via
Audition® simulations and computer-adaptive tests.
2. Produce unmatched ROI via employee lifecycle
analytics, which ensure continuous improvement.
3. Provide global customers with award winning customer
service and technical support 24/7.
4. Deliver technology solutions reliably and with
exceptional uptime - previous18-month-uptime is
100%.
5. Design a custom, competitively differentiating solution
that will enable customer to achieve its strategic goals.
www.sqmgroup.com
Company information:
(888) 626 3412
www.furstperson.com
Contact here at
SQM’s conference:
Darren Ross
(404) 272 6737
darren.ross@furstperson.com
Don’t miss the opportunity to connect with FurstPerson
– they have some great practices to share.
SQM Awards Guide 2015
19
SPEAKERS
PENNY GARRETT
Contact Center Director
Regence BlueCross BlueShield
Penny leads a 237-person team of customer service representatives charged with helping
people use the most complicated product they buy: health insurance. Her team has performed
to award-winning standards during the biggest change to health insurance in 50 years: the
multi-year rollout of the Affordable Care Act. Penny’s team in Washington State earned an SQM
award in 2014. In 2012, her team earned a Best of Blue award for first contact resolution,
and her four teams serving Idaho, Oregon, Utah and Washington placed in the top 10 among
the Blues’ 37 plans nationwide for meeting comprehensive member touchpoint measures in
2014. Penny also represents the voice of the customer in departments across the enterprise
to influence business decisions that improve the customer experience. Penny brings three
decades of proven success and award-winning service in call centers and banking to Regence.
JENNIFER LABS
Vice President, Customer Service Strategy & Systems
Customer Service, Comcast Cable
Jennifer Labs is Vice President of Customer Service Strategy and Systems for Customer Service
at Comcast Cable. She is the business product owner for all enterprise call center employee
tools supporting Comcast’s frontline employees. Her role includes leading the complex, multiyear business transformation effort to implement a new enterprise-wide internal universal
CRM application, Einstein, which has already won SQM Group’s 2013 Best Practice Award
for Knowledge Management Tools and 2014 Best Practice Award for Desktop Applications.
Jennifer joined Comcast in 2006.
A native of Ocean City, NJ, Jennifer earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Arizona
in Interdisciplinary Studies: Communications, Psychology and Spanish. She also attended
San Diego State University, earning her Master of Business Administration in Marketing. An
active member of Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT) and the Comcast’s Women’s
Network, she is also a graduate of Comcast’s Executive Leadership Forum (ELF), the Comcast
Women in Leadership at Wharton Program and a participant in the exclusive Women in Cable
Telecommunications (WICT) Betsy Magness Leadership Institute (BMLI) Program.
MARY E. LOOTS
Senior Director, Operations Infrastructure
CareCore | MedSolutions
As the Senior Director of Operations Infrastructure and Voice of the Company for CareCore
National | MedSolutions, Mary oversees the quality management and training areas for the
Non-Clinical departments. She is also responsible for the management of vendor relationships
relative to the contact center customer service, quality and training initiatives. Mary has
demonstrated a passion for healthcare over the years and found her niche with a successful
utilization management company when CareCore National opened a contact center in Colorado
Springs, CO. A recent transplant to the Savannah, GA area, Mary now works in the CCN/MSI
Corporate office in Bluffton, SC. Mary has a diverse background, having served honorably in
the US Navy for 9 ½ years as a communications expert. She then began pursuing her passion
for health care by working as a licensed massage therapist in a physical therapy office and as
a certified nursing assistant for the Penrose-St. Francis Healthcare system in Colorado Springs
for many years, gaining both health care and customer service skills.
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SQM Awards Guide 2015
www.sqmgroup.com
SPEAKERS
CONNIE MARINACCIO
Manager of Operations
LoyaltyOne
A creative and inspiring people manager with an extensive background in the Travel Industry as
well as Call Centre Management. Connie has a degree in Travel and Tourism and a background
in Call Centre Management. Connie has been with LoyaltyOne for 18 years and has managed
teams with Customer Service, Travel, Workforce Planning, Email and Social media skillsets.
Prior to LoyaltyOne , Connie worked in both the retail and wholesale sector of the Travel industry.
Connie has a passion for building relationships and as a result has been able to produce high
performing teams that drive for results. Employee engagement is her strength and she has
been able to create meaningful and relevant Rewards and Recognition programs that empower
Associates and foster collaboration, teamwork and a spirit of accountability.
LAURA MARTIN
Director, Client Experience
Scotia iTRADE
Laura currently holds the position of Director – Client Experience with Scotia iTRADE an online
brokerage division of Scotiabank. Laura champions the client experience at Scotia iTRADE,
leading the development of strategies and programs to optimize exceptional client experience
and satisfaction across the division at all touch points. An experienced Banker with 20+
years proven track record at Scotiabank in progressively more senior roles. Prior to joining
Scotia iTRADE in 2013, Laura has held various positions in Retail Banking Branches, Wealth
Management and Real Estate Secured Lending Executive Office. Laura holds a Financial
Services MBA from Dalhousie University and a Bachelor Business Administration degree from
Brock University.
Winner of SQM’s Vendor FCR Best Practice Award
for CSR Coaching Program
Our success in helping contact centers improve
performance at the point of contact can be attributed to
our unique blend of simulation based e-learning, focused
feedback coaching and ongoing consultative support. Our learning solutions focus on the needs of the learners,
taking into consideration their learning style and level of
experience including:
•Just-in-time coaching methodology that provides
feedback when the recipient is most open to receiving
the feedback and changing behaviors.
•Self-directed, self-paced learning allowing for a safe
environment to make mistakes and learn from the
mistakes
•Ongoing mentoring and coaching development so
learners can learn from experts and peers and sustain
performance over time
Ulysses Learning spent four years in research and
development to create the validated content and proven
methodologies to help companies effectively develop
their frontline staff, engage all levels of leadership in
accountability and coaching and ultimately increase the
voice of the customer and FCR.
www.sqmgroup.com
Company information:
(800) 622 4066
www.ulysseslearning.com
Contacts here at
SQM’s conference:
Dina Vance
(704) 957 4854
dvance@ulysseslearning.com
Susan Meyer
(704) 942 0801
smeyer@ulysseslearning.com
Plan to connect with Ulysses and learn best practices for
building a different customer experience.
SQM Awards Guide 2015
21
SPEAKERS
ANTHONY RAMOS
Manager of Workforce Planning & Analytics
Premera Blue Cross
Anthony’s responsibilities include First Call Resolution, Workforce Management, Email and
Social Media. Anthony was nominated for the CEO Award in 2014 and won the Leading
Excellence Award for exemplifying Premera’s Core and Leadership Values. Prior to joining
Premera in 2011, Anthony worked in Children’s Health Insurance Industry and has over 18
years of contact center management experience.
DAVID SCHLUMBERGER
Associate Vice President, Customer Service
Canadian Tire Financial Services
David has been with Canadian Tire for 7 years. David holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the
University of Toronto and a Masters of Business Administration from Queen’s University. He has
over 20 years of leadership experience with a background in telecommunications and financial
services. David has deep knowledge of contact center operations and customer experience
management.
JOANNE WALCH
Vice President, Customer Experience
Regence BlueCross BlueShield
Joanne has been with Regence since 2001. She has held various roles during that time with
responsibility for customer service, the Federal benefits program, member enrollment, billing
and print and mail services, and with current responsibilities for customer experience. Prior to
coming to Regence, Joanne served in a similar role with strategic and operational accountability
for service at PacifiCare Health Systems, now part of United Healthcare.
She holds a Bachelor’s degree in business administration and is a senior fellow in the American
Leadership Forum, Oregon Chapter. Joanne also serves on the Board of Directors of the Oregon
Historical Society and is an Alumnus of the Cascade AIDS Project Board of Directors. She has
two children at Oregon State University and lives in Portland with her husband, Patrick.
VICKI WHICHARD
Customer Experience Officer
BlueCross BlueShield South Carolina
Vicki Whichard is Customer Experience Officer at BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina. She
has more than 19 years of insurance marketing, product development, operations and project
management experience. At BlueCross, she recently oversaw a First Call Resolution increase
of 13 percent in 12 months. Vicki has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia and a
master’s degree from Webster University. She is also a recipient of the SQM FCR Leadership
Award.
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SQM Awards Guide 2015
www.sqmgroup.com
WINNER PROFILE
Call Center of the Year:
CANADIAN TIRE FINANCIAL SERVICES
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP CONTACT CENTER
AT CANADIAN TIRE FINANCIAL SERVICES, delivering consistently high-quality service
experiences is a philosophy that is woven into the fabric of the organization’s “Customers for Life”
culture. Every representative at its award-winning Customer Relationship Contact Center (CRCC)
is fully aligned with the mission to deliver world class customer service, and is accountable for first
call resolution (FCR) and customer satisfaction. A look inside the CRCC reveals a best-in-class
contact center with consistently high FCR performance and employee engagement. Some of the
elements that contribute to this customer-driven environment include:
•
A solid employee connection: The average tenure for a call center rep is 12 years. One
reason why employees tend to stay is that their input is valued and acted upon—especially
when dealing with process improvements that involve customers and efficiency.
•
Highly empowered front line: First call resolution is a core component of its Customers for
Life culture. Call center reps understand that taking care of the customer’s needs is the top
priority, and they are empowered to take the time to satisfy their customers.
•
Process improvements driven by employees: Frontline staff are also actively involved in
improving FCR and reducing customer effort. They participate on process improvement
project teams from the initial idea generation and input stages through to the solution design.
•
Customers for Life culture reinforced daily through team and peer recognition activities: One
of the most visible mechanisms is the Customers for Life awards, which serves as both
an individual commendation for promoting the culture and a companywide reminder of the
importance of making the right choices for the customers. It is a peer-nominated award, open
to both customer-facing and back-office staff.
•
Strong connection to the local community: As one of the major employers in the Niagara
region, the organization extends its Customers for Life culture to the local community. In
fact, the focus on investing back into the community is another key contributor to its high
employee satisfaction and longevity.
It’s a winning combination, to be sure. Yet the CRCC is not one to rest on its past achievements.
The center continuously improves its performance year after year by reviewing and recharging
processes and programs. Overall, consistency is the key to the CRCC’s strong performance.
www.sqmgroup.com
SQM Awards Guide 2015
23
WINNER PROFILE
Best Performing Small/Mid-Size Call Center:
TELUS SOURCING SOLUTIONS INC.
P
utting Customers First is both an enterprisewide
vision and the No. 1 priority of all team members
at TELUS Sourcing Solutions (TSSI). The
foundation for TSSI’s customer-centric culture is built
upon leadership values to embrace change and initiate
opportunity, have a passion for growth, believe in
spirited teamwork and have the courage to innovate,
according to Linda McCutcheon, Vice President,
Operations. “Within our contact centers that support
our client’s employees, our team members ensure
that the vision becomes a part of everyday practice by
adhering to TSSI’s Customer First Commitments”:
• We take ownership of every customer experience.
• We work as a team to deliver on our promises.
• We learn from customer feedback and take action
to get better, every day.
• We are friendly, helpful and thoughtful.
“Alongside our TELUS leadership values, our
Customer First Commitments guide our actions and
interactions with our customers, and have become an
important element of our performance culture,” she
says. “Our Customer First Commitments drive what
we do and our values define how we do it.”
First call resolution (FCR) plays a key role in TSSI’s
focus on it’s customers. “Measuring, analyzing and
improving on FCR are fundamental activities in
delivering on our Customer First Commitments,” she
explains. “We know through our quality program,
post-call electronic surveys and deep trending from
our CRM tool, who, what and where we need to train,
improve or celebrate, as appropriate.”
TSSI’s collaborative performance development
process aligns every team member’s efforts and
contributions with the contact center’s common goals,
and ensures that individuals are provided with the
growth and learning opportunities they need to be
successful. Importantly, contact center leaders discuss
individual development progress regularly with their
team members. This ongoing focus on performance
management helps to promote individual responsibility
24
SQM Awards Guide 2015
and creates shared understanding between team
members and leaders, McCutcheon says.
Ongoing performance development is supported
formally in the contact center by:
• Setting expectations related to a team member’s
role and TELUS’ business needs in meeting the
center’s Customers First commitments.
• Defining
employee-specific
learning
and
development activities that will enable team
members to achieve and exceed expectations.
• Assessing performance on an ongoing basis and
providing feedback to continually raise the bar.
There are a number of other processes in place
to ensure ongoing attention to team member
development. How? “By regularly supporting,
coaching, developing and recognizing the contributions
and efforts of team members consistent with TSSI’s
high-performance culture,” says McCutcheon, adding
that “to support high performance and drive business
priorities throughout the year, TELUS uses a suite
of online and social media based tools to help team
members document, track and share their progress
in reaching both their performance and career goals.”
With such attention to helping employees achieve
strong performance and success, it’s no wonder that
employee satisfaction is high at TSSI. “We believe
that great customer experiences start with great
team member engagement, which is why we place a
significant focus on ‘Fair Process’ (ensuring that our
team members are a part of all aspects of a change),
‘Own-It’ (continuous improvement methodology), and
annual employee surveys,” McCutcheon explains.
“Our surveys give us an appreciation of how engaged
our employees are. We also use the feedback to
build action plans and work with our employees to
implement them. This entire approach and process
has afforded us with annual results that outshine the
typical ‘Best Employer’s’ award criteria. Last year,
we achieved 100% engagement, and we have had
consecutive wins in our category as Outsourcer and
www.sqmgroup.com
WINNER PROFILE
SQM Interview with
2013 CSR of the Year Winner:
Tara Gray – Sun Life Financial
World Class in this same category.”
In addition to high employee satisfaction,
over the past 12 to 24 months, TSSI has
brought about remarkable improvements
in its FCR performance by supporting its
staff with an extensive knowledge base (to
which customers also have access via the
website), and just-in-time assistance provided
by dedicated staff who sit with the CSRs to
answer their inquiries on the spot. The center
also has engaged a dedicated call center
trainer to support a new training program with
checkpoints on weeks 2, 4 and 6, and monthly
check-ins with team members to identify any
areas of opportunity. In addition, frontline staff
receive proactive training based on monthly
call trending, mentors who provide real-time
coaching (in addition to a quality coach who
provides more formal monthly coaching), ad
hoc classroom training on pending top topics,
and training on tone of voice to ensure that
agents communicate in a confident manner.
TSSI also ensures successful customer
interactions by providing the front line with
integrated systems that allow agents instant
access to required data, reducing both
additional handoffs throughout the workflow
and callbacks.
While the technology and tools, as well as
call trending and customer data analytics, help
to ensure TSSI continuously improves the
contact center’s processes, when it comes to
delivering on the Customer First Commitment,
McCutcheon says that “hands down, the key
strength of our center is our people. While
each team member has personal passion
and fun while delivering on our Customer
Commitments, they also display high levels of
organizational loyalty.”
www.sqmgroup.com
“My name is Tara, and I am a customer service representative
for Sun Life Financial. I have been with Sun Life since
October of 2012, so I am coming up on my year and a half.
Last year was actually my first year to even qualify for the
SQM award. For the award, first I had to have 80% of my
calls world class certified, which means they like me, they
like the call center they are calling, and they like the overall
customer experience and of course first call resolution. I was
able to get over 80%, I think I hit 85% and with over the
25 calls, so then I wrote my story. The story was about a
couple, it actually happened in March of last year. It kept
playing in my mind over and over what had happened to
them and just the difficult situation they had gone through. I
took a few extra steps to help them along the way and was
actually really proud of what I had done for them. For me it’s
just about listening, it’s about honestly listening to what the
person is saying, not assuming when they call in that I know
what they are talking about, but actually taking what they are
saying and thinking: how can I make this better for them or
what situation are they dealing with in their life. If they call
me and they are having a bad day, I don’t know that, I can’t
take it upon myself, I need to make sure that however I end
that phone call I make it better for them. Improving is actually
my goal for this year. To become 10% above what you did
the previous year, to become most improved, so I can do
it, but it might be difficult. So far this year I have had 22
surveys, and 21 have been world class, so I am making my
way there. But, honestly it’s just doing the same thing day
in and day out, taking every call as it comes, treating every
call individually and every person with the same respect that
I would expect when I call in.”
Tara Gray – Sun Life Financial
SQM Awards Guide 2015
25
CSR OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
AWARD-WINNING STORIES FROM THE FRONTLINE FOR CSR OF THE YEAR
OWN EVERY CALL
“For a small moment in time, he is their warrior.”
W
hen we think about the characteristics that we by drug support worked and the pharmacy had the
would want all customer service advocates medication ready for the member upon his arrival back
to possess, there are several traits that to their store. Eric called the member and let him know
come to mind. Knowledge, compassion, empathy and his prescription was ready and even told the member
leadership are just a few. Selflessness, willingness how much it would cost. The member was grateful for
to advocate on behalf of others, and thinking outside this. He could not thank Eric enough. Eric found a way to
the box to find a solution for a member, these are the get the much-needed medication for the member when
other qualities. A customer service advocate should the member truly felt as if all hope was lost. Why? Eric
bring these traits to work every
wanted to own the issue and
day. Eric Marks does just that.
make sure the member did not
He leads by example
Eric provides a world-class level
have any additional issues with
but
often
fades
into
the
of service on each and every call
this prescription. Eric wanted to
by using these traits to ensure
take care of this matter on the
background.
He
does
our members have their issues
first call. He did just that and
resolved on the first contact with
helped solidify the member’s
not
seek
recognition
or
our call center. Eric has been a
perception of how much his
customer service advocate for two
accolades for providing health insurance carrier cared
years and has grown into one of
for him as a person. This was
world class service.
our strongest silent leaders. He
due to Eric’s willingness to
leads by example but often fades
put his own needs aside on a
into the background. He does not seek recognition or Friday night and get the job done.
accolades for providing world class service. However,
Over the course of his two-year tenure, Eric has only
Eric strives to take ownership over the issues he finds had two escalated phone calls. This is phenomenal.
our members in. This isn’t just a one-time occurrence This is a true indication of his ability to own every call.
for Eric. He is always resolving issues for our members. He listens to the caller’s needs and even hears the
Eric’s goal is to help whomever he comes in contact needs when the member is not speaking them. Eric
with.
has an innate ability to understand what the member
For instance, one Friday night after 5:00 PM, Eric’s is trying to say. He is a calming force on the phone.
path crossed with one of our members who needed He de-escalates any issue and works to find a solution
help with his medication. The member was new to to whatever the problem our members are facing. He
our plan and was trying to get his prescription filled at takes on their problems and for a small moment in time
the pharmacy before the weekend. The member was he is their warrior as he finds a way to get their needs
at the end of his rope when the phone rang at Eric’s taken care of. By always putting our members first,
desk. Eric immediately recognized that this member handling their issues on the first contact, and providing
had a trying experience up until this point. Eric took superior customer service on every call, I believe Eric
ownership of the issue and worked with our internal Marks is a wonderful representation of what a customer
drug support team to figure out why the prescription service advocate should be.
was being rejected. Once they figured out what was
wrong, Eric reached out to the pharmacy and asked —Eric Marks
them to rerun the prescription. The fix put in place BlueCross and BlueShield of South Carolina
26
SQM Awards Guide 2015
www.sqmgroup.com
CSR OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
AWARD-WINNING STORIES FROM THE FRONTLINE FOR CSR OF THE YEAR
TAKING OWNERSHIP TO OBTAIN RESOLUTION
“I put myself in her shoes, followed it to the
end and made sure this was resolved.”
I
received an early morning call just after we opened
at 7:00 AM; the caller was a frantic mom calling
about her son. I could barely hear the mom’s soft and
distant voice; it was really hard to identify the problem
at hand because we had such a bad connection. This
mom was calling from Thailand, she did inform me that
there was poor phone service, and they are twelve
hours ahead of us. I knew I had to talk fast so I didn’t
use up all her time on the phone she was using, but be
clear so we could get the issue resolved.
A speeding truck had hit her son and his friend in
Thailand. The other boy did not survive and her son
was in serious condition. Once the mom learned of the
accident, she booked the next flight out to Thailand. She
got there with little money, no one to help her navigate,
and her U.S. cell phone would not work there. She had
to buy a cell phone from that area and still there was
little service. This is about the time she called me at
BlueCross BlueShield of Vermont. The mom poured
her heart out to me, and I could feel her pain. I listened
to her speak, I acknowledged her and asked validating
questions back. She explained the whole situation, and
stated that the hospital was demanding money from
her because they were not getting an authorization
or approval to move forward from blue card. She was
being pressed against the wall; she had called our blue
card worldwide call center a few times and was getting
nowhere. Her concern was to be with her son, not
Winner of SQM’s Vendor FCR Best Practice Award
for Performance Management
CallMiner helps businesses and organizations improve
contact center performance and gather key business
intelligence by automating their ability to listen to every
customer interaction.
CallMiner’s market leading cloud-based voice of the
customer analytics solution automatically analyzes
contacts across all communication channels: calls, chat,
email, and social.
CallMiner offers both real-time monitoring and post-call
analytics, delivering actionable insights to contact center
staff, business analysts, and executives. The results include
improved agent performance, sales, operational efficiency,
customer experience, and regulatory compliance.
With over 10 years of industry leadership and over 2 billion
hours of conversations analyzed, CallMiner serves some of
the world’s largest call centers, delivering highly effective,
usable, and scalable speech analytics solutions.
Company information:
(781) 547 5666
www.callminer.com
Contacts here at
SQM’s conference:
Brian LaRoche
(781) 547 4052
brian.laroche@callminer.com
Debbie Peterson
(239) 292 2766
debbie.peterson@callminer.com
Don’t miss the opportunity to connect with CallMiner
– they have some great practices to share.
www.sqmgroup.com
SQM Awards Guide 2015
27
CSR OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
AWARD-WINNING STORIES FROM THE FRONTLINE FOR CSR OF THE YEAR
chasing down an authorization. I wanted to make sure
that she knew I was taking ownership of her situation
to get a resolution.
While she was on the phone, I conferenced in the blue
card worldwide call center to speak to a representative
to find out what was going on, to see if they had been
contacted and why an outreach to the out of country
hospital had not been done yet. We did find out that
the call center was waiting for an authorization from
us. They received all other eligibility but needed an
authorization from us to give to the hospital in Thailand.
Since I was on a conference call with the mom and
the blue card worldwide call center, I wanted to get an
authorization during the call, but it was so early our
IHM (Integrated Health Management) department was
not open yet. The mom indicated the best way would
be to communicate through email as the phone service
was costly and unreliable.
As I worked with IHM in the early morning hours to
put in place an authorization for the son, I kept the
mom constantly up to date by communicating through
email. I was also able to be in constant email with the
supervisor of IHM as well. I was in contact with their
dedicated BCBSVT case worker, making sure she also
was communicating with the mom via email. We got the
authorization in place, sent it to blue card worldwide,
and then followed up with blue card worldwide’s call
center to make sure they called the authorization over
to the hospital in Thailand.
One of the mom’s touching emails back to me read,
“Thank you so much, Candace. You have not lost your
humanity, despite working in a huge and unwieldy
system.” I cannot begin to imagine how she was feeling
when jumping on a plane to see her son who was
barely hanging in there, then the hospital demanding
money from the family because they do not have an
authorization from the insurance company, and then
the mom having to make numerous calls. I was so
thankful for my co-workers in case management and
in IHM for their quick response and assistance with
this case. I personally would not want to be in another
country worrying whether my kid was going to live or
die, and on top of that, wondering what was going on
with my insurance. I put myself in her shoes, followed it
to the end and made sure this was resolved.
—Candace Pischetola
BlueCross BlueShield of Vermont
STRONG PARTNERSHIP WITH SUPPORT TEAM
ENSURED A POSITIVE RESULT
“I wasn’t sure if our procedures would allow for anything to be
done, but I wasn’t willing to give up just yet.”
I
often handle call types where
customers are concerned about
interest or other charges on their
credit cards. Recently, I handled a
call with a credit card customer that
from the opening had the potential
to be challenging. This caller came
in quite displeased and clearly
had a very negative view of the
credit card company. He started
off by introducing himself as a
professionally employed individual
28
SQM Awards Guide 2015
with knowledge of the finance
sector. Reading between the lines
and factoring in his tone, he was
warning me that I better get this
interaction right!
As I listened intently while he
explained the situation, I learned of
a $3.50 statement balance that went
unpaid for two statement periods,
which resulted in a delinquent
status being automatically applied
to his credit file. He kept repeating
how he could not believe that such
a small amount could negatively
impact him and then he shared
more details that helped explain his
level of displeasure. He was in the
process of applying for a mortgage
so the timing could not have been
less ideal.
To start, I explained how the small
unpaid balance had ultimately been
the root cause of the situation and
educated him on options to avoid
www.sqmgroup.com
CSR OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
AWARD-WINNING STORIES FROM THE FRONTLINE FOR CSR OF THE YEAR
this issue in the future. He explained
that the card is not used frequently,
and that his wife used his card
in error. He had not checked for
statements or payments, as he did
not realize it had been used. This
client was not speaking of his credit
card company in a very positive
light and I knew that this interaction
was our only opportunity to turn
around his view. I told him I was
not sure if our procedures would
allow anything to be done, but that I
was not willing to give up just yet. I
wanted to see if there was anything
creative we could do to change the
impact that this small error was
having on his credit score.
I understood why he was upset, so
my empathy was certainly natural. I
did not know at this point if I could
earn back this client’s trust, but I
wanted to try. While the customer
was on hold, I escalated his concern
to have his credit file reviewed. It
did take a bit longer than initially
anticipated, so I refreshed the hold
a couple of times, and ensured he
knew I was working on a solution. As
a part of the escalated credit review
process, I was able to remove the
delinquency status from his credit
bureau file, which immediately
corrected his credit rating. I was
finally able to deliver good news
to the client and he became
speechless. I simply reassured him
that I meant what I said when I told
him I understood and was not going
to give up.
This tough situation was resolved
in one call, which made me proud,
but I could not have done it without
the help of our support team. With
the help of my Team Leader, we
were able to immediately engage
the proper channels and resolve
with positive results – all while the
client was on hold. This correction
of the client’s credit file not only
improved his view of his credit
card company, but also allowed
him to secure the best rate for his
mortgage.
—Patty Nauss
Millennium1 Solutions
Winner of SQM’s Vendor FCR Best Practice Award
for Call Handling Practice
UNLEASH THE POWER OF GREAT
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
Genesys is the market leader in omnichannel customer
experience and contact center solutions in the cloud
and on-premises. Genesys is trusted by over 4,500
customers in 80 countries to orchestrate more than 100
million digital and voice interactions each day .
Company information:
(650) 466 1100
www.genesys.com
With over 20 years of expertise, the award-winning
Genesys Customer Experience Platform powers optimal
customer journeys consistently across all touchpoints,
channels and interactions to turn customers into brand
advocates for organizations of any size or vertical industry.
Through cloud, on-premises or hybrid deployment options
that can be easily integrated and extended to both front
and back office environments, the scalable Genesys
platform enables enterprises to design, implement and
manage journey-specific customer experiences that are
consistent, seamless, and personalized.
Contact here at
SQM’s conference:
www.sqmgroup.com
Francine Moore
(856) 986 7986
francine.moore@genesys.com
Don’t miss the opportunity to connect with Genesys
– they have some great practices to share.
SQM Awards Guide 2015
29
CSR OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
AWARD-WINNING STORIES FROM THE FRONTLINE FOR CSR OF THE YEAR
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A REAL CSR?
“I chose to serve.”
O
ne memorable call I had was was unaware of the transfer to if there is a way he could contact
five minutes right before the Nationstar and his payments were someone to make a follow up on
end of my shift and I was sent to the prior mortgage servicer the request. The representative
excited to finish the call as soon as address instead of being sent to the decided to connect us to another
possible. Instead, I got an angry and new payment processing address. agent who agreed to email me
troubled voice. The customer was The customer had made multiple the required document. I let the
so furious he told me that if I could attempts to submit a credit dispute customer know that I felt even more
not assist him I should connect the to our research team. However, the confident now that the situation
call to a manager or someone
could be corrected. Before
else. Though I was tempted
concluding the call, I contacted
“I could have passed the call
to pass the call off, I knew
his prior mortgage servicer to
off that day. I could have gone
that he needed help and I
get more details. This time,
home when I was scheduled
needed to do something to
the customer thanked me for
help him. I decided to provide
my patience and willingness to
to. I could have given him
my empathy statements
make another conference call
a canned response about
differently from the standard
though it was getting late in the
responses and not only did it
evening.
contacting the third party
lessen the aggravation, but it
After the last conference call, I
vendor as he was instructed
also gave me the opportunity
learned that the prior mortgage
prior, but I chose not to.
to bring up his account
servicer forwards any excess
information and learn that
payment to the new mortgage
I chose to serve.”
there was a four month
servicer automatically but
Jerry
Dormido
negative credit reporting
could take up to 30 days after
dispute.
the transfer. I filed a credit
As the customer’s emotions research team’s instruction was dispute, which I escalated to the
hindered him from explaining the that the customer must contact research team with the attached
situation thoroughly, I used effective the third party vendor and ask for supporting documents. I monitored
probing questions to obtain more a letter stating that it was the third the submitted research request
information. Bit by bit, the story party vendor’s error of sending the daily, and contacted the customer
unfolded making me realize that the payment to the wrong payment as soon as I got a response.
situation was far more challenging processing address. He rebutted
A month passed when our CEO
than I first thought, but I encouraged that he already made the request to received a letter from this customer
myself not to give in and to focus them but failed to get such a letter. recognizing my efforts. I could
on the goal of resolving the call.
Being fully aware of the situation, have passed the call off that day.
The customer’s mortgage servicing I realized that it was up to me to I could have gone home when I
rights were recently transferred to fix this and no one else. I told my was scheduled to. I could have
Nationstar. He was very particular customer that I would be the one given him a canned response about
with all his payments so he had to talk with the third party vendor contacting the third party vendor as
set up an automatic payment to help him with the request. We he was instructed prior, but I chose
with a third party vendor to make attempted a 3-way call, but we got not to. I chose to serve.
sure all his payments were made an uncooperative representative. —Jerry Dormido
on time. However, the customer I kindly asked the representative Nationstar Mortgage
30
SQM Awards Guide 2015
www.sqmgroup.com
CSR OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
AWARD-WINNING STORIES FROM THE FRONTLINE FOR CSR OF THE YEAR
TURNING AROUND THE CLIENT EXPERIENCE
T
“Nothing motivates me quite like turning someone’s
negative experience into a positive one.”
he primary goal of a customer
service representative is to
get the call resolved. The
primary goal of an SQM World
Class Certified representative is
not only to get the call resolved,
but to provide a unique, memorable
and pleasant experience whether
starting with a blank slate or turning
around an experience that started
badly. When faced with a new
situation, I take the steps necessary
to find a permanent solution and to
educate the client of all applicable
information and consequences.
With situations where I am not the
first contact regarding a situation, I
take extra care to ensure that I am
the last, most accurate and most
helpful person the client speaks
to. Nothing motivates me quite
like turning someone’s negative
experience into a positive one. In
situations where the client gets
the short end of the stick, I work
on behalf of the client to come to a
reasonable and speedy solution the
client can be satisfied with.
One example of this is when I had
a client who was confused about
a transaction that occurred on an
account. There was a movement
of assets from her husband’s nonregistered account to her son’s
Tax-Free Savings account as a
contribution. She has authority
on both accounts so she was
able to see this transaction but
could not remember asking for
the transactions. Upon further
investigating I found a letter of
direction she had sent attempting to
www.sqmgroup.com
set up power of attorney (authority
to transfer shares and cash
between these two accounts on an
ongoing basis), signed by all three
family members. It was not the
required Power of Attorney form, I
confirmed with her that it was not
an instruction to transfer specific
assets, but rather an attempt to set
up sufficient authority to do so in the
future. The damage was done and
assets were already contributed
from the husband’s non-registered
account into the son’s TFSA,
causing a taxable over contribution.
Someone else had interpreted the
letter differently.
I empathized with the client’s
shock and disappointment and
guaranteed that everything will be
resolved as soon as possible in a
method that inconvenienced her the
least. As a permanent solution to
her original problem, I showed and
explained the Power of Attorney
form to set up authority for the
future, and the proper procedure
and letter format required for
movement of cash or securities
between ownerships. I apologized,
explained to the client what went
wrong, confirmed the original
request with her, and corrected the
incorrect or incomplete information
she received before ensuring that
she understood my message as
I intended her to. I requested the
client to allow me what I believed
was a reasonable time frame to
resolve the issue, committed to
keeping her informed along the
way.
I pulled all available strings,
provided proof of error and
expressed the client’s point of view
while coordinating and negotiating
a solution with other departments
involved, and the solution was found
quicker than expected. I called her
the next day to let her know that the
correction will be processed within
days, and the contribution will be
cancelled. As the letter provided
originally was misinterpreted, no
further action by the client or her
family members would be required.
Again, I committed to call her with
updates and leave messages as
required. Within the same week, on
the Friday just before leaving work
for the weekend, I was pleased to
receive an email informing me that
the error was corrected and the
client had been made whole. With
a smile on my face, I called and
left a message with her husband
(as instructed) to let his wife know
that the issue was resolved, and to
wish her a happy and stress-free
weekend. Leaving on vacation the
next week, I put the situation out of
my mind. As it was resolved I did not
expect for the client to communicate
with me again. To my pleasant
surprise, upon my return to work, I
had received a hand-written thank
you card from this client. For me, it
was just a regular part of my daily
duties, but to her it was so much
more.
—Anna Gizicki
Scotia iTRADE
SQM Awards Guide 2015
31
MULTI-CHANNEL PRODUCTS
Multi-Channel Impact on the Call Center
and Channel-Specific Studies
Why measure the multi-channel impact to the call center?
•
•
18% of customers who used the call center also used other contact channels to resolve their
inquiry or problem
Customers who used another channel with the call center has increased by 38% in the last 5
years
The 6 Key Performance Indicators for Multi-Channel:
•
Multi-Channel Customer Satisfaction Experience
•
Multi-Channel Contact Resolution
•
Customer Effort
•
Company Endorsement Score
•
Customer Protection Score
•
Call Avoidance
SQM offers a step-by-step progression (shown below) to full multi-channel measurement. Most call center
leaders start by focusing on the most expensive channel, the call center, knowing that if a self-service
channel fails the customer usually then defaults to the call center.
Once call center leaders have a firm grasp on the impact of multi-channel customers on the call center,
the next logical step is to measure the performance of every customer contact channel. This is critical to
do through the same vendor using a unifying survey method and design to answer the ultimate question
of First Contact Resolution.
SQM offers the following multi-channel surveying products:
1. Benchmarking Study – Multi-Channel Impact on the Call Center
SQM conducts approximately 2000 customer surveys leading to 400 multichannel and 400 call center uni-channel surveys.
This study gives:
• Benchmarking data on volume of multi-channel users
• Impact of multi-channel on customer experience
• Impact of multi-channel on customer revenue, retention and operating costs
• Insights as to how to deliver on the omni-channel experience
Cost: $16,000
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SQM Awards Guide 2015
www.sqmgroup.com
MULTI-CHANNEL PRODUCTS
2. Tracking Study – Multi-Channel Impact on the Call Center
SQM “bolts on” a suite of questions designed to leverage the existing survey work to
deliver on the same core metrics as the baseline study.
This study gives:
• Benchmarking data on volume of multi-channel users
• Impact of multi-channel on customer experience
• Impact of multi-channel on customer revenue, retention and operating costs
• Insights as to how to deliver on the omni-channel experience
• Ability to leverage existing survey
Cost: $5 extra for every multi-channel survey.
3. Channel Specific Survey Studies (Benchmarking or Tracking)
SQM has developed core surveys that understand the customer experience using the
common alternative channels of:
Typical Method of Channel Specific Surveying
Web Channel Survey conducted through web pop-up or email
IVR Channel Survey conducted through live, IVR or email
Email Channel Survey conducted through live or email
Chat Channel Survey conducted through web pop-up, email or live
SMS Channel Survey conducted through live, SMS or email
Retail Channel Survey conducted through live or email
These surveys quantify the experience within each channel and also the use of multiple
channels in conjunction with the same inquiry.
Cost is dependent on survey design and methodology (live, IVR, web or SMS surveys)
www.sqmgroup.com
SQM Awards Guide 2015
33
CALL RESOLUTION TRAINING
Contact Center
Call Resolution Delivery Model Training
The reasons why you should coach to Call Resolution and Voice of the Customer data are compelling…
• The CSR is the source of error for 38% of repeat calls
• When a call is unresolved, 40% of those customers felt the CSR could have done more to help them
• When a call goes unresolved, 23% of customers expressed the intent to defect as a result of their call center experience
• There is a 45% difference in call resolution performance between a world class CSR performing at 95% call resolution
and a fourth quartile CSR
• When a customer calls the contact center, their expectation is that the CSR will resolve their call, preferably on the first
call. The customer forms their impression of the contact center experience within seconds of reaching the CSR – there
is no second chance to make a positive first impression
How to coach to Call Resolution and Voice of the Customer is the big question faced by so many of our
clients.Here are two training programs that deliver the answer.
1. Train the Trainer Call Resolution Training Program
A two day Train the Trainer program to give your trainers and supervisors the skills required to facilitate a
CSR Call Resolution Training program for your CSRs. This ensures that your CSRs have the skills needed
to accomplish world class call resolution using the Call Resolution Delivery Model (CRDM). This program is
delivered in 6 steps:
Step 1: Introduction to FCR and call resolution and its importance to the contact center
Step 2: Performance review of the individual CSR based on customer survey data
Step 3: Education on the Call Resolution Delivery Model
Step 4: CSR self-assessment of call recordings
Step 5: CSR group call calibration using call recordings
Step 6: Establishing CSR call resolution goals and improvement plan
2. VoC Coaching Guide for Supervisors
A one day training program to support your CSRs to maintain their world class call resolution skills using CRDM,
your supervisors need to know how to coach. This one day Train the Trainer Program will provide the tools to
teach contact center front-line managers and supervisors the skills to effectively coach their CSRs to achieve
world class call Csat and retention performance using the CRDM model.
Step 1: The call assessment process is an ongoing customer survey business practice. When a supervisor
assesses CSR calls, they need to determine the strengths and weaknesses for resolving calls and improving Csat.
Step 2: The supervisor develops an action plan for improving the CSR’s call resolution performance.
Step 3: The supervisor communicates with the CSR about their call resolution and Csat performance in a private
setting.
Step 4: The CSR consistently receives feedback on areas identified in the action plan to check on the progress.
Cost: For the two training programs $7,500
We recommend that they are run back to back.
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SQM Awards Guide 2015
www.sqmgroup.com
SQM CONSULTING SERVICES
FCR Improvement Consulting Services
DO YOU:
• Want to drive higher FCR numbers?
• Feel like you’re not doing all you could to use the FCR data?
• Feel like FCR doesn’t get all the attention and resource it deserves?
• Wonder what is getting in the way of implementing the Best Practices?
The SQM Consulting team is headed by Mike Desmarais, President and
Founder of SQM with the expert team of Laura Costa, Andrea Pow and Nader
Ghattas. Laura has a career leading VSP’s customer service operation with
a track record of certified world class performance since 2006. Andrea and
Nader both have customer service backgrounds with 5 years plus knowledge
of SQM processes and methods. They have consulted at many leading North
American companies and fine-tuned a unique approach that follows the 4
steps shown on this page and delivers powerful and practical guidance to
improve your FCR performance.
What makes the SQM approach so different and effective is that:
1. It starts with a deep analysis of customer, employee and operational
survey data
2. The consulting team go on site armed with data to ask insightful
questions that can only come from people who know and understand
both call centers AND data
3. The final recommendations are focused on no more than 5 clear
improvement opportunities
4. The final recommendations are quantified in terms of % FCR
improvement
5. The final recommendations are supported with practical “how to do it”
knowledge and training from SQM
Hear what recent Clients have said about SQM’s Consulting work…
“The SQM Consulting team arrives day one and immerses themselves as part
of the team. They show up well educated on your data and results beforehand
which leads to insightful questions and learning about your operations. We felt
their final recommendations were not only clear and quantifiable, but coupled
with real world explanations of how those suggestions could be executed.“
—Chris Browning, Director Operations, Sitel
“SQM’s depth and expertise in the call center business uniquely qualifies them
as FCR thought leaders. Their dedication to understanding our business and
processes, and their approach in consulting with our people, surfaced a rich
list of improvement insights and opportunities. I was thoroughly impressed
with the breadth and thoroughness of their recommendations. An “exceeds
expectations” experience from start to finish. Thanks for helping us accelerate
good to great”
—Brent Scowen, VP Operations, Cogeco Cable
Call your Account VP or Sarah Kennedy, 1-800-446-2095 or
sarah@sqmgroup.com to discuss your needs.
www.sqmgroup.com
FCR Improvement
Consulting Steps
Step 1 – Conduct Surveys
and/or Analyze Data:
SQM will conduct customer, employee
and an FCR operational survey, if not
already completed by SQM or another
vendor.
Step 2 – Review Business
Practices and Analyze Data:
SQM will conduct a comprehensive
analysis of your FCR, customer
satisfaction, employee satisfaction,
operational performance and call center
operating practices for opportunities to
improve your FCR performance.
Step 3 – Develop
FCR Improvement
Recommendations:
SQM’s consultant team will develop an
FCR Improvement Plan focusing on the
Top 3 to 5 opportunity areas for FCR
improvement, based on the Top 10 FCR
Industry Best Practices.
Step 4 – Assess
Implementation of the FCR
Improvement Plan:
SQM offers the option to lead on the final
step of assessing what percentage of
the FCR Improvement Plan has been
implemented effectively and then provide
recommendations if requested.
The process takes 3 weeks with
1 week spent on site. The cost is
$30,000 which covers an on-site
team of 2 consultants and a team of
analysts over 3 weeks.
Looking for payback?
Remember that 1% improvement
yields an average of $256,000 in
terms of cost savings for the average
call center.
SQM Awards Guide 2015
35
CONFERENCE NOTES
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SQM Awards Guide 2015
www.sqmgroup.com
CONFERENCE NOTES
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www.sqmgroup.com
SQM Awards Guide 2015
37
Introducing SQM’s New Book
FIRST CONTACT RESOLVED
Best Practices
Top 10 FCR & Multi-Channel Customer Experience
Best Practices from Award Winning Contact Centers
As a result of benchmarking over
500 leading North American contact
centers and surveying over 1 million
customers and 25,000 CSRs on
an annual basis, SQM has gained
valuable insights into contact center
FCR performance and best practices
for improving FCR.
This book covers the Top 10 FCR &
Multi-Channel Customer Experience
Best Practices from our Award
Winning Contact Centers.
Since 1996, SQM has been the leading authority for measuring,
benchmarking, tracking, consulting, awarding and improving contact center
FCR performance in North America.
For more information on purchasing the book…
Contact SQM Group: 1 (800) 446-2095
www.sqmgroup.com