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Q:
How should I fund the call center?
Q:
What options are there for staffing?
Q:
Can my agents do both inbound and outbound (my boss thinks so)?
Q:
What should be the reporting structure to the rest of the company?
Question: How should I fund the call center?
Answer: One of your first decisions needs to be is
if you will be viewed as a profit center or a cost center within your company.
A profit center is when your call center generates
its own revenue (which is used to cover expenses). The revenue can be
received directly from your customers or in the form of charges to other
departments for whom you do work.
A cost center is when your call center is does not
generate any revenue for itself and then funding needs to be allocated
to the call center.
Always opt to be a profit center. If you are
generating profits, it is much easier to protect your call center, your
staff, and your mission from budget cut-backs and expense reductions
mandates. After all, if you are forced to cut expenses, the revenue you
generate will also be cut. If you are a cost-center, no such direct
connection can be made; you may find your call center budget - or your
entire department - on the chopping block each year.
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Question: What options
are there for staffing?
Answer: You can work with your HR department to
find and hire staff for your call center. Do whatever you can to let
them know the type of person you are seeking and the skills they must
have.
Another option is to go through a temp agency.
Many of the national chains have special screening software tailored for
call centers. If you are running a large call center, with hundreds of
agents, the temp firm may actually have their own management staff
on-site to help you with staffing issues.
There is also the option of starting out with temp
workers and then moving the good ones to your own payroll. This is
called temp-to-perm.
Job fairs and local colleges are other good sources
for call center staff.
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Question: Can my agents do
both inbound and outbound
Answer: This is not a good idea. Although it looks
good on paper, very few employees have the skill set and the personality
to effectively make and answer calls. They will usually excel at one
and struggle with the other. If you find an agent who can do both,
great, but don't expect it.
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Question: What should
be the reporting structure to the rest of the company?
Answer: Call centers, depending on their function
and focus, have varied reporting structures. Common areas include the
IT department, the CIO, the telecommunications director, or the
marketing department. All too often, however, no one in upper
management wants the call center to be their responsibility, so the call
center gets shuffled off to low level managers and those who lack the
power to decline.
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