ACCOLADES

The customer service model is changing – it must, in order to meet the needs and demands of a digital society, which has redefined the customer experience. That means not only adjusting to new technology trends, but also to evolving generational trends. But what has not changed – and is, perhaps more important than ever before, given the state of mind of today’s customers, who are more likely than any previous generation to express displeasure by moving to alternate providers or vendors – is the need for quality.

Outsourcing can be an ideal option for several reasons. Of course, the need for high-volume or periodic/seasonal engagement requires staffing that most companies don’t have, and can’t afford to have, internally. But, the continued evolution of technology presents another challenge. To meet the evolution of the customer experience, companies often lack the technology to implement new engagement strategies – along with the resources to continually upgrade their systems and the time and expertise to train agents to use new capabilities. The pace of change makes it difficult for many businesses to keep up, while delivering consistent service, which is where outsourcing can often become a desirable option.

But, that is not to imply that all outsourcers are the same. There are many areas of expertise among outsourcers, some based on vertical market, others based on engagement type or target customer, and others based on specific desired outcomes. As always, finding the right solution provider requires research. Your outsourcer is a direct reflection of your business and picking the right one isn’t as simple as going to a fast food restaurant and choosing your favorite burger.

In our annual MVP Awards program, CUSTOMER magazine has taken a look not only at how vendors have traditionally approached their business, but how they are evolving over time to meet the needs of today’s customers, as well as their employees.

This list is by no means intended to be a singular resource for your decision-making, but a starting point that can provide you with a look into some of the outsourcing providers that pride themselves on their service capabilities enough to be included in this list, now in its 24th edition. We are pleased to deliver you this year’s MVP Quality Awards, including key excerpts from an extensive application and evaluation process. Of note this year is the addition of a Platinum award level, a reflection of market evolution of the market, not regression by any means.

PLATINUM

InfoCision (News - Alert) Management Corp

Why do customers choose your services over competitors?

Our CommSense joint venture partnership offers a fully bilingual and bicultural solution. Understanding the evolving cultural landscape of the U.S. population, CommSense provides cost-effective customer engagement solutions by leveraging the benefits of operating in Puerto Rico, U.S. The advantages this solution provides are the ability to engage in rich, diverse customer interactions in English or Spanish; 100 percent domestic and fully U.S. acculturated; ability to seamlessly blend cultural sound and feel familiar to the U.S. population.

GOLD

Callzilla

Why do customers choose your services over competitors?

Callzilla focuses on being the best at delivering consistently high quality service. The keys to doing it are employee engagement and measuring the right things (customer experience, not traditional metrics such as wait times and the like).

A comment from a Callzilla client: “One of the great things about Callzilla is that, at an agent level, even, they have a very competitive spirit. Whenever there's a challenge put before them, they always want to be the one that takes ??rst place. They compare themselves to the other centers and want to be on top. That almost guarantees that they will be on top, and I love that competitive spirit.”

Knoah Solutions

Specifically state your policies on quality and your company's philosophy/motto on quality.

Our QA process has become mature enough that Knoah also offers a stand-alone, third-party QA offering that we have branded as TotalAssure. Built through continual improvement of our own internal contact center best practices in support of client programs, Knoah offers a world-class, quality assurance offering to clients that do not have the time, staffing, tools or expertise to do comprehensive quality assurance in their existing operations. Clients that participate in the TotalAssure program pay Knoah to perform the same type of analysis and coaching we do internally to their own agents.

SILVER

Ansafone Contact Centers

How do you measure customer satisfaction?

Ansafone’s client base includes many clients dating back more than 20 years and many newer clients came as recommendations from other satisfied customers. Our bulletin board is crowded with client letters of appreciation and gratitude for our continued high level of service. Of all clients choosing to cancel their account with Ansafone, we are very proud that zero reported call quality as the reason for cancelling. Accurate reporting and measurement of all service related data provides significant visibility into our success in achieving each client’s specific goals and level of satisfaction.