Jim Collins, in his book Good to Great, asked companies several questions to determine if they are “great” in what they are doing. Perhaps you may have heard about the book or even read it.
We also read the book and are applying some of the principles to our Contact Center operations:
- He speaks about having the “right people on the bus.” For Contact Centers, that simply means do you have the right contact center partner today? Are they helping you succeed on a consistent basis? Are they proactive versus reactive in bringing solutions and improvements to you…before you ask for them or before you absolutely need them to remain “great” in what you do?
- He talks about “confronting the brutal facts.” Are you getting the best, most accurate information possible from which to evaluate your overall effectiveness and your customer’s experience via your contact center operations? Or…is your current vendor (or partner?) ignoring you and merely feeding you with information that you already know or information that doesn’t “move the needle” forward in making sound business judgments’? Are they engaged?
- Technology. Collins mentions that technology is an “accelerator.” Is your Contact Centerpartner helping you to
- execute better, get better results, reduce and lower abandonment rates;
- up-sell more to the “right” customers;
- moderate social media content, and
- track down and resolve problems quickly and satisfactorily, working to help you reduce your cost structure?
- Being Passionate. He mentions that passion is a key to executing business concepts. Is your team/supplier passionate about your business and are they clearly focused on helping you turn your contact center into a profit center while enhancing the overall customer experience at the same time? Are they striving to be “great” at what they do for you in your Contact Center operation? Or is it just a job or an assignment?
- Creating Momentum. Collins calls it a “flywheel” which keeps pushing one in the same direction. Momentum is about consistency and diligence in work which will help overcome obstacles and produce better results. How is your team/supplier doing in creating momentum and consistency?
Collins also refers to Big Goals. As we head into 2011, how is your Contact Center doing in reaching the Big Goals? Is progress being made? Are you getting closer to being “Great?” Collins reminds us that it is much harder to be “Great,” than Good. So what could be standing in your way?
Might you need some help or assistance?
We are Centris. We are dedicated to finding solutions for Contact Centers of all shapes, sizes, backgrounds and specialty niches. We are in the business of building long-term relationships packed with consistent and predictable results that never go stale. We live on the cutting edge and hope you want to as well. So when you’re ready to go to the next level towards “Greatness,” you will hopefully remember us and give us a call.
Perhaps we can start with a brief conversation. Nothing fancy; just a conversation about how your Contact Center can move beyond just being “Good.” You deserve it, right?
