Call Center Myth Busters, A Trilogy: Part 2: Measurement, Analysis and Management

Not since the days of Charles Dickens have we seen the likes of call centers and the “command and control” style in which they are run. Call centers have become modern day sweat shops with management alienation of workers, high staff turnover, low morale, entrapping technology, quotas of time and work, managers and inspectors micro-managing the work with scripts, “standard” work, coaching and monitoring for compliance. Customers have become “modern-day Oliver Twists” by asking for “more soup, please” and treated with disdain for their audacity.

This hard hitting trilogy is presented by Tripp Babbitt, founder of Bryce Harrison, a consulting firm that conducts interventions with service organizations and leverages the Vanguard Method to improve service and cut costs. Babbitt tackles the myths associated with improving call center operations. With practical insight Babbitt exposes the myths associated with reducing costs and improving performance and service. Listeners will learn why focusing on costs and productivity actually increase costs; why the way we use data can actually lead you to taking the wrong actions making service worse and creating waste. Additionally, we will discuss why things like copying, technology, inspection, monitoring, standard work, targets, incentives and focusing on the individual worker are decreasing service, increasing costs and killing culture and innovation.

Listeners will learn about a better way to design and manage the work in call centers and the systems they serve . . . improving the customer experience and decreasing costs. This “better way” will pave the way to liberation of method and innovation. Any organization looking for a competitive edge or new ideas for improving performance will benefit from this trilogy.

The first part of the trilogy discussed the fundamental thinking problem we have with how (call center) measures are derived (Myth Buster 1). In the second Myth Buster, Babbitt addresses the problems with the traditional call center measures like cost and productivity. Some activities are outlined for the listener at the conclusion of the presentation to apply what is learned. Babbitt will build off of these activities for the listener to see new opportunities to improve service, reduce costs and improve culture.