Improved Service Quality, Reduce Cost and create a Profit center at Specialty Retailer
The Challenge:
An International specialty retailer never expected Ecommerce to become large and successful. What started out just a few short years ago as a couple of people answering phones in support of the website grew to more than 50 people. The call center was increasingly viewed as a cost center. Management was reluctant to keep adding staff to what was seen as adding little value to the company
The Process:
A Strategic Assessment end-to-end review of each of the ‘moving-parts’ within the call center infrastructure was conducted to establish a baseline and identify priorities. The engagement assessed the people in the call centers, their skills and competencies, the processes, procedures, operational methodologies, technologies, quality and service practices and business objectives. The results were compared to proven operational practices. The comparison gap and the business objectives were analyzed to find the high value high return projects and tasks that could be completed by the management themselves.
The Solution:
TRG recommended and implemented a number of initiatives including redesigning the operational model, empowering agents, introducing multiple channels (email, chat and IVR) and shifted from a call center to a contact center.
The Result:
The center went from a cost center in 2008 to more than million dollars profit in 2009. Productivity improved by 54%, while the cost per contact declined by 47%. At the same time reduced call handle time, improved first call resolution, increased answer rate by 33%. The Service Level attainment improved by over 50% in the year. With the work still in progress we anticipate even more improvements in the future.