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WHITEPAPER
Sponsored by:
MASTER THE MULTI-SITE CONTACT CENTER: Sponsored by:
WHITEPAPER A MANAGEMENT MODEL THAT WORKS
The growth of support site locations has largely been organic, driven by the needs of a specific geography or
business unit. Companies have been investing as needed and often without a larger strategic integration plan,
focusing instead on meeting local demands. At a point, however, leaders realize that there are efficiencies to
be gained by standardizing operations and processes across multiple sites.
In addition to the more obvious customer-facing value of multiple support sites, there are also a number
of internal benefits:
• Global labor arbitrage has allowed the allocation of work across geographies
• Advances in technology have enabled cloud computing solutions, or “call centers in the cloud”,
which negate the need for expensive on-site infrastructure
• Distributed service models can optimize service to end-users by offering a platform that balances
native language communication with cultural, regulatory, and internal organizational requirements
As businesses work to coordinate and support multiple sites, they also encounter a number of significant challenges:
• Teams focus on localized delivery problems and often drift from a common process model
• Various levels of expensive oversight are necessary to ensure work is performed as intended across sites
• Balancing client in-country field office prerogatives with central office efficiencies is difficult
• Orchestrating operational processes site-by-site becomes less effective with every new center addition
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Many brands are choosing to outsource the management of these contact centers, taking into consideration a
more effective process to hire quality staff, develop training curricula, conduct performance management, create
reports and build infrastructure, and navigate local labor laws, all while consistently providing high-performance
customer service. Leaders are finding that they can organize more quickly and efficiently by relying on partners who
specialize in this area.
In this whitepaper, we will show how one global automotive manufacturer successfully developed and deployed
their multi-site contact center strategy with HP as their outsourced partner, and describe the following eight key
recommendations for multi-site management success as developed by ICMI and HP:
7 OPTIMIZE REPORTING
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CASE STUDY
More than twenty years ago, a leading global automotive manufacturer began to grow their customer centers in
Europe. They gradually developed an array of local customer-service and dealer-support operations, each with its
own distinct processes and information systems to support them. As its business grew and more functions and
sites were added, there was a continuing requirement for integration of customer assistance, marketing assistance,
retailer assistance and technical assistance. Their success became overwhelming.
The manufacturer realized that a centralized approach to customer relationship management would not only
improve the quality of service the company offered; it would also reduce costs by introducing economies of scale.
They turned to HP for help developing a comprehensive customer-service platform for their entire European
operation, resulting in multi-site centers serving more than 25 countries and languages.
Together, HP and the automotive manufacturer worked to design a new model to optimize customer and dealer
support in Europe. The goal was to integrate people, processes, and technologies into a common delivery model
that delivered a consistent brand image across all markets. This was especially important as the program expanded
to support multiple languages and CRM programs. A major priority was ensuring that the new solution maintained
the manufacturer’s cultural synergy with consumers and retailers. It was imperative that customers never felt
that they were “outsourced”.
Within six months, the manufacturer and HP had built a virtual contact center model. They integrated all HP
and manufacturer sites into a single enterprise, unified by processes that accommodated regional differences and
languages. Under the Vendor Process Management Organization (VPMO), HP now manages all core functions across
the customer service provider platform, including training, quality, WFM and knowledge management for the 11
locations. The team also optimized support processes such as recruiting, training, transaction management,
invoicing and human resources through continuous process improvement methods to industry-best standards.
To complete the overall support structure, HP created the Dealer Assistance Center (DAC) and the Customer
Assistance Center (CAC). The former assists dealers with all aspects of their after-sales business and provides tech-
nical support and guidance on product-related issues. The latter ensures that the customer experience strength-
ens loyalty to the automotive brand
Support Team
HR & Recruitment
Resolutions Training & Development
Warranty Electronic
Parts Social Workforce Management
Catalog Media Transaction Monitoring
(EPC)
Process Improvement
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RESULTS:
The virtual call center solution extended the manufacturer’s service coverage to enhance local customer service
operations. The implementation of service excellence strategies not only achieved targeted cost savings, but also
positioned the manufacturer to support expansion into the growing automotive markets of Eastern Europe. They
are utilizing HP’s “plug and play” features of the virtual contact center solution to seamlessly integrate new sites
and nameplates into the enterprise. Operational processes and technology have been designed to allow the
manufacturer to quickly ramp up its operations without ramping up its technology investment.
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Implementation teams must be in alignment with the strategic roadmap. It is equally important for a BPO
partner to understand them as well. HP’s experience supporting multiple automotive clients enables it to identify
industry mega trends that can be utilized in development of the strategic roadmap.
One example of trend analysis could come from customer experience data. In our automotive case example, HP
analyzed customer data to determine the reasons customers, dealers, and suppliers most commonly contact the
call center. They looked at how these calls could be anticipated and more efficiently handled, or better yet avoided
in the first place. They also looked at multiple methods to improve service.
To maximize the value of the strategic roadmap, it must be actively used and changed when necessary. The
aforementioned auto manufacturer brought together their own established business units - training, quality,
knowledge management, workforce management, and reporting groups to share best practices with HP across all
brands, countries, and languages. This ‘lower level’ governance strategy enables leaders to manage opportunities
across the broader organization in a scalable way; they are not required to be present at every site yet each site is in
alignment with the strategic roadmap.
As these steps conclude, work can begin on a Statement of Work and Terms and Conditions. A formal “yes or no”
Terms and Conditions review is recommended to ensure alignment with the selected vendor. Follow this activity
with a contract and a post-implementation audit guide. The post-implementation audit is critical as a means to
communicate whether the work is being performed as intended and results are truly being achieved.
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1. Collaborate – as opposed to making direct demands, and come to a shared agreement through discussion
and partnership on all challenges and improvements
2. Communicate honestly and fully – present both achievements and concerns in an open, respectful manner
3. Leave with action - agree on a future communication plan, dates and responsibilities, resolution touch points,
and tangible and achievable goals
ICMI and HP have not found it necessary for a business review to be conducted at each site, but a review of each
site should be completed and at some point, there should be plans to travel to each location. At the very least,
it is recommended that representatives from each location be available for the review through virtual means.
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The Quality and Transaction Monitoring team develops effective transaction monitoring tools, gathers and
analyzes data to identify process and product level improvements, and ensures quality standards are consistently
met. This team works across all channels, which simplifies training modules, team meetings, processes and qual-
ity feedback sessions. Monthly ‘Calibration Sessions’ with key clients and sites, are held to maintain consistency
and encourage compliance. To accommodate multiple sites, they use virtual rooms, share points, and conference
calls. All employees also have access to a single knowledge database that contains all processes and updates.
The Training team works to provide a repeatable training experience across all site employees in a measureable
way. In the automotive shared service training group, training is delivered through the three methods below:
A shared service training team ensures a streamlined approach to the challenges inherent in multi-site people
management: language barriers; cultural differences; and process, product and, procedural differences within
each country such as warranty guidelines, products, and marketing offers.
High-quality trainees are selected through well-defined recruiting and selection practices. Recruiting staff establish
the minimum skills for all key customer-related jobs, profile candidate requirements, prepare an applicant to start
working, and provide guidelines for skills development, supervisor attention, and management of employees.
Finally, the Human Resources group works to manage new, existing, and departing employees to identify any
organizational challenges impacted by staffing. They provide support to employees at all levels and have
developed a retention program to manage attrition.
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HP and ICMI recommend managing individual site performance and compliance through annual management
reviews. Conducted by independent auditors, these reviews should identify inconsistencies within and between
sites. Szymanski noted that, “each site wants to excel, adding dynamics that are healthy. Local initiative also
introduces an urge to expand and flex. The trick is to allow a site to mature, but to also reinforce and nurture
a common trajectory for all sites across a program.”
In an effort to minimize variability, HP follows the Customer Operations Performance Center (COPC) family of
standards. Through adherence to COPC, HP limits ‘fire-fighting’ moments, paving the way for smoother
communications between local and enterprise level leadership for their multi-site customer center clients. This
operational framework lends itself to repeatable, successful processes that include helping leadership
communicate about issues and more easily allocate staff and manage volume between sites, while establishing
standards at the individual site and enterprise levels.
For the automotive company featured previously, a consistent performance management system was critical in
the improvements to CSAT metrics. Training, recruitment, knowledge management, and transaction monitoring
are all highly tuned to drivers of client satisfaction. In some cases, acting as a neutral partner organization, HP has
been able to diplomatically mitigate some of the growing pains their clients experience when expanding to new
regions or countries in small regional offices and provide seamless customer service.
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Communication
Executive leaders require clear and meaningful communication - despite site diversity in roles, nationalities,
languages and cultures. A variety of methods can used to make communication effective - from bulletins and
newsletters to formal meetings, workshops, and town halls. Structured and unstructured forums are useful for
the sites to talk and share ideas, issues, resolutions etc. A few checkpoints are usually necessary to ensure policy
is adhered to as part of the solutions.
Advanced reporting capabilities that centralize data from multiple sources help measurement and analysis. It’s
important to collect structured and unstructured data from both the manufacturer and vendor environments
into a single “source of truth.” Consolidating data from social media, the case management system and other
sources greatly aids analysis and interpretation.
People care
High quality training programs, comprehensive personal development opportunities and effective human
resource practices are all essential to retain and attract the best talent. The people who answer end-user queries
are crucial to success. Providing a professional, caring, developmental environment in which people feel valued
and able to progress is key in ensuring a happy workforce. In our case study, HP and the automotive manufacturer
created several recognition initiatives – from site breakfasts, account competitions (Harlem Shake), awards, and
more to maintain workforce morale and improve productivity levels.
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7 OPTIMIZE REPORTING
Leading organizations review daily reports on the performance of each site. Key indicators include call volumes,
abandon rates, numbers of active cases, and the level of correspondence arriving in the system. QA data also
provides insight into how teams, countries, and business functions are performing and affecting CSAT measurements.
Senior leaders are able to utilize this information to stay aware of performance without having to travel to each
location. Issues and concerns are identified, resolution plans created, and escalation paths designed where
necessary. Good reporting makes it possible to link overall CSAT scores back to the team of agents who served
each case. It will also extend across channels.
Finally, organizations must move beyond reactionary decision making. Reporting that analyzes performance over
time is critical. Look for true trends that require corrective action for sustained improvement.
HP and ICMI have noted that it’s a good idea to frequently revisit people, process, and technology decisions.
For the auto manufacturer, HP states that they are continuously monitoring and analyzing trends. They hold
performance reviews twice a year, and monthly quality evaluations and calibrations. In addition, there are weekly
staff meetings to discuss how they can operationalize improvements or address concerns, and resource meetings
every other week to review volume forecasts and discuss necessary staff changes.
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IN CONCLUSION
“Managing across sites is complex and continually evolving,” says Magda Llagostera, the European Project Manager
for HP Enterprise Services. “The totality of processes which connect the different customer service elements must be
fluid, agile, integrated, transparent and connected.” As organizations recognize that true differentiation lies through
positive customer service and support experiences, ICMI expects that more companies will be standardizing their
multi-site approach. While organic site growth has helped serve local needs, customers and businesses find many
benefits in the creation of consistent, best-in-class processes. The eight recommendations above should assist
in the multi-site integration strategy, and certainly help if one selects a BPO as a partner in the endeavor.
“Ultimately, there is only one thing that really matters with multi-site management,” continues Llagostera.
“One must deliver an effortless customer experience across all sites.”
About ICMI
The International Customer Management Institute (ICMI), is the leading global provider
of comprehensive resources for customer management professionals—from frontline
agents to executives—who wish to improve contact center operations, empower contact
center employees and enhance customer loyalty. ICMI’s experienced and dedicated team
of industry insiders, analysts and consultants are committed to providing uncompromised
objectivity and results-oriented vision through the organization’s respected lineup of
professional services including training and certification, consulting, events and informational
resources. Founded in 1985, ICMI continues to serve as one of the most established and
respected organizations in the call center industry.
About HP
HP is a world leader in business process outsourcing (BPO), with 45,000 professionals
serving more than 300 enterprise and government clients and nearly 700 small/medium
businesses in 26 countries. We provide strategy, solutions, services, and products
designed to solve complex business issues and achieve better business results. Our
comprehensive portfolio includes a variety of industry-tailored business services,
including finance & accounting, business analytics, customer engagement management
and HR / Payroll services. Supplemented by applications and IT experience and in-depth,
industry-specific knowledge our BPO services provide business-focused solutions
tailored to client’s strategic goals.
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