reduce call center operations costs and increase operational efficiency sally hurley vipdesk 042209

Confidential- Proprietary VIPdesk Information 1

Cover Slide

Reduce Call Center Operations Costs and Increase Operational Efficiency

with Virtual Customer Care

April 22, 2009

VIPdesk324 N. Fairfax StreetAlexandria, VA 22314

(703) 299.4422http://[email protected]

Sally HurleyPresident


Today’s Presentation Will Cover

Operational benefits of virtual customer care:

● How the model attracts a higher-skilled workforce

● Unlimited recruiting pool allows for the best candidate to handle specific calls

● Ability to dial up or down staffing at a moment’s notice

● Decreased scheduling shrinkage/increased scheduling adherence

● Reduction in expenses related to infrastructure, attrition, training

● Ability to exceed performance metrics - greater ROI


Sally HurleyPresident, VIPdesk

• Co-founder

• 20+ years experience delivering premium customer service

• Has a passion for the customer experience

• Committed to building a culture that supports work-life balance

• Proud to be a green company- supporting thousands of individuals that work from home across North America

• Current President of Entrepreneurs Organization in D.C.

• Contact info: [email protected] or 703-837-3518

About Today’s Presenter

mailto:[email protected]


VIPdesk is an innovative pioneer of virtual contact center solutions for national brand leaders, providing premium customer experiences through our home-based Concierges and Brand Ambassadors™.

Changing Business. Changing Lives.


Leading the Homeshoring Revolution

• Provider of premium outsourced customer care services for national brands

• Pioneer of home-based model – leveraging home-based model since 1999

• Support 40+ clients committed to brand reputation, customer retention and growth - financial services, retail, luxury automotive, travel, healthcare

• Known for servicing complex, intuitive customer contacts


Inbound and outbound customer service &

sales

Customer loyalty & Concierge Services

• Premium customer care• Sales/cross-sell/up-sell• Customer Acquisition• Customer Activation• Welcome Calls• Transaction/order processing• Surveys• Peak volume management• Customer profile enrollment• Phone/Email/Chat services

• Dining reservations, entertainment tickets, trip planning, etc.

• Event management• Travel and tourism –

complete travel agency capabilities

• Experiential packages• Rewards and redemption

services• VIP Values-special offers and

discounts

VIPdesk’s Virtual Customer Care


Brands Using Virtual Call Centers


Virtual Customer Care Attracts Top Talent


Advantages of Work-at-Home Positions

Work/Life Balance Incentives/Benefits

• Flexible scheduling

• Ability to work off-hours, split-shifts

• Part-time work - maintain professional experience

• Comfort of working from home

• Ability to live where desired vs. location of job

• Maintain lifestyle beyond profession

• Increased job satisfaction

• Supplement household income

• Pay for performance -rewarded for results

• Elimination of commute

• Reduced expenditures -wardrobe, meals, etc.

• Get paid for doing work on behalf of favorite brands

Compelling Advantages for Team Members


Recruiting and Screening

Pass Basic Qualifications: 24%

Pass Client Specific Qualifications: 59%

Pass Hardware/Software Requirements: 73%

Pass Resume and Phone Screen: 83%

Pass Credit/Criminal Check: 79%

Complete Agreement and Tech Setup: 85%

Complete/PassCertification: 63%

Go Live: 95%

Ability to be Selective

Currently 1 out of 30 individuals go live


Home-based Agent Profile

Experienced Specialized Screened

• 40 years old• 95% college educated• 5% graduate degrees• 63% management experience

• 72% hospitality / customer service experience

• 15 years of work experience

• Have relevant subject matter experience

• Deep knowledge of brands

• Can have specific certifications or expertise

• Can be located anywhere worldwide

• Can be bi-lingual

• Background checks• Personality profiling• References• Skill assessments

Checklist for Success

Background checksCriminal and creditAptitude tests

Home environmentTechnology requirementsSecurity audits


The Virtual Model Snapshot

Virtual customer care model provides many solutions:

● Unlimited recruiting pool

● Profile of home-based CSR is educated, experienced, mature

● Savings per agents (ranges from 50%-150%)

● Attrition reduced from triple digits to single digits

● Opportunity to recruit for specific skills

● Less training is required

● Management/agent ratios greatly improved (1:25 vs. 1:12)

● Low attrition leads to highly productive, knowledgeable team


Virtual Customer Care Delivers Flexibility


Operational Benefits of Home-Based Model

Workforce Elasticity

● Unlimited recruiting pool allows for the best candidate to handle specific contacts

● Meet unanticipated spikes, new call patterns

● Fill additional hours needed vs. adding entire shifts

● 100% operational despite weather impacts

● Meet SLAs without overstaffing

● Capture “lost revenue” opportunities from abandoned calls

● Time zones allow for 24/7 coverage with ease

● Expand foreign language capabilities


Performance-based Staffing

Preferences● Agents provide preferred availability to work by

day and time period

Flexibility● More flexible scheduling methodology for Agents

with inconsistent schedule needs

Performance ● Can use individual performance to provide the

best performers with schedules of their choice

● Overall performance scores can be weighted to reward desired results

● Rankings can also be leveraged for routing


Operational Flexibility

• Unlimited flexibility in call center capacity without fixed overhead● Can easily add additional capacity for “busy

seasons” ● No need for physical expansion● No reliance on physical scheduling limitations

• Decreased scheduling shrinkage/increased scheduling adherence● Attendance is much greater with home-based

team


Virtual Customer Care = Decreased Costs


Traditional Customer Care Fixed Costs

Infrastructure costs (7-10K per yr/per agent)● Building/leasing costs● Utilities and maintenance ● Facilities management● Furniture/fixtures● Technology costs● Telecommunications costs

Personnel costs● Recruiting and hiring● Turnover● Management● Training● Cost of unproductive time

Now you can impact these costs


The Virtual Solution

Infrastructure Cost Reductions: ● Eliminate/reduce costly capital expenditures● Eliminate/reduce costly ongoing expenses

including facilities, management, support ● Eliminate/reduce costs of idle infrastructure

Personnel Cost Reductions:● Reduced recruiting/hiring costs● Reduced training costs● Reduce cost of turnover associated with

productivity loss● Reduce costs of overstaffing required to meet

SLAs● Reduce management costs


Potential Annual Savings

Real Estate● Real estate costs * number of agents=_____________

Increased Productivity● Fewer agent hours * hourly rate=_____________

Attrition Recruiting Replacement Cost● (Recruiting time * salary) + job posting costs=______

Attrition Training Costs● (Trainers’ time * salary) + materials + licenses=_____

Fewer Managers● Number of managers * salary=___________________

Lower Salary Agents (based on locations)● Number of agents * salary difference=_____________


Virtual Customer Care Agents = Better Results


Quality Customer Service = Results

Quality people ● Greater knowledge and confidence● Deliver amazing service● Convey enthusiasm and passion for the brand

Positive customer service interactions have tangible results and KPIs:

● Increased spend with current customers● Increased conversion metrics● Increased customer satisfaction scores● Increased customer retention


Case Study: Customer Satisfaction

• VIPdesk Client Bluefly Awarded 2008 International Service Excellence Award ● Bluefly was awarded the International Service Excellence Award

in November 2008● Category of Business-to-Consumer Contact Center● Awards are given to organizations in all industries worldwide in

recognition of their commitment to customer service excellence

• VIPdesk has provided Bluefly’s e-mail, phone, and online chat customer support since July 2007. Results include:● Increased total service sales by 23% year-over-year● Increased sales conversion● Reduced cost per contact 18% year-over-year● Virtually no attrition● Within 3 months:

● 87% customer satisfaction phone and e-mail● 94% customer satisfaction in chat


Recap of Benefits of Virtual Customer Care


Advantages of Virtual Customer CareVirtual

Call CenterTraditional Call Center

Company Benefits

Superior Cost Model• Decreased Overhead/Facilities Costs/Expansion

√

Operational Efficiency• Seasonality adjustments• Peak/overflow management

√

Business Continuity / Disaster Recovery √

Higher Quality Agents• Higher quality of interaction• Targeted recruiting• Can hire based on skills/knowledge vs location• Cultural understanding

√

High Retention• Reduced training/recruiting costs

√

Increased Customer Satisfaction Levels √

Carbon Reduction √

Agent Benefits

Enhanced work/life balance• Flexible scheduling• Elimination of commute/expenditures• Comfort of working from home

√


More Information


More Information on Virtual Customer Care

• VIPdesk and IDC co-authored a whitepaper on the virtual customer care market

• This whitepaper can be downloaded at www.vipdesk.com/whitepaper

• Subscribe to the Virtual Voice – a monthly newsletter clipping of relevant articles covering the virtual call center space

• Industry-wide information, not just VIPdesk specific

• Subscribe via email at:[email protected]

http://www.vipdesk.com/whitepaper



Questions?


Questions?

• Submit your questions now

• You can also email questions to [email protected] or call 703-837-3507 for follow-up after today’s Webinar

• Sally Hurley [email protected]




Website: http://www.vipdesk.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/vipdesk

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/vipdesk

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/companies/vipdesk

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/vipdesk

Via RSS: http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/23095083.rss

http://www.vipdesk.com/�

http://www.twitter.com/vipdesk�

http://www.facebook.com/vipdesk�

http://www.linkedin.com/companies/vipdesk�

http://www.youtube.com/user/vipdesk�

http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/23095083.rss�

http://www.vipdesk.com/�

http://www.twitter.com/VIPdesk�

http://www.facebook.com/vipdesk�

http://www.linkedin.com/companies/vipdesk�

http://www.youtube.com/user/vipdesk�

http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/23095083.rss�