The End of 2012 approaches-You know what that means! It’s time to plan for 2013!

It’s the annual review of your business and your Contact Center plans for the upcoming year.

First, recognize that the process can be positive! It allows people to discuss what was successful and maybe what needs to be improved. Perhaps it even gives managers and staff an opportunity to even cut through any bureaucracy and have a dialogue to openly recognize positive contributions as well as critical challenges that must be addressed in 2013! It’s also a time to look at strategy vs. operational execution. It’s the “what did we want to achieve…and why or why not did it happen?”

Here’s 5 quick tips to consider:

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1. It’s all about results! What goals and milestones were established and what was achieved …and why? It’s no time for vacuous reasons or excuses, just the true facts and solid information. Every business faces changes that aren’t always predictable; how did your Contact Center adapt?

2. What Challenges did your business face and how did you handle them? Did you recognize challenges and take appropriate action to reconcile them or was it a continuous “re-invention” every quarter because of unresolved challenges and reoccurring problems?

3. Was your “Brand Promise” consistent with the expectations of your customers ….were the “Key Performance Indicators” (KPI’s) among your Contact Center employees consistent during communications with customers and prospects? What is the customer “relationship” with your brand/company after interaction with your Contact Center(s)? Has the overall “customer experience” exceeded your stated goals and was it consistent with your Brand/Company promise? If not, what will be the critical improvements, changes and capabilities needed in the next plan?

4. What is the one or two BHAG’s (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) for the coming year for your Contact Center to accomplish?

5. Planning is not an “event” but an on-going process. If you discover that you might need help with the outcomes you are required to achieve and you need to investigate alternatives to what you’ve done in the past, perhaps part of that plan should include investigating new alternatives with other service providers in the Contact Center industry to see if there are other pragmatic, focused and disciplined options available to help achieve your goals and exceptional customer experience.