Call Center Management on Fast Forward: Succeeding in Today's Dynamic Inbound Environment (1st Edition)

I am writing this review from the perspective of an IT consultant who sets up processes and procedures for service delivery. A call center and an IT help desk are two very different animals. This book is written for call center managers, yet should be required reading for IT help desk managers and staff.As someone who has set up IT help desks and has also provided application support to call centers I often wondered why typical call centers were so well managed and IT help desks, for the most part, are not. This book goes a long way towards explaining the dichotomy by showing how call center professionals approach service. It contains a wealth of information that should be carefully read by IT help desk professionals who want to implement a world-class operation.The planning and management framework section of this book starts on the right note: service levels. This is followed by clear explanations of quantitative factors such as call load forecasting, staffing and service level metrics.Some things that set this book apart are the sections on quality and productivity, and new technologies. The authors go well beyond how to effectively manage call centers by discussing how to integrate new technologies and exploit technology to provide the best possible service. I also liked the section on characteristics of best managed call centers - the information provides an effective roadmap to excellence and benchmarking tool.Although I am not familiar with the entire body of technical literature on call center management I have to believe that this is one of the most complete books on the subject. I am familiar with the body of literature on IT help desks and can attest that this book needs to be included in the libraries and required reading lists of all IT help desk professionals.

It's hard to explain just how good this book is, but I'm going to try.When I first ran across this book (late '90s), I had no prior call center analytic experience, but used this book to save my company over $4 million a year. It explains the basics of call center management, analytics & behavior so simply and effectively that you are likely to make huge value changes just by implementing those basics.If you are already a call center whiz, and your company's call center are running smoothly with excellent customer service levels, there is still value here, but it's modest.If your company is NOT doing its blocking and tackling, with repsect to its call centers, then this is a gold mine.It literally is the highest ROI book I have ever purchased in terms of time and money.

Great insight! This book highlights key processes and performance indicators that are important to be aware of for an inbound sales office. Detailed, yet easy to read and follow.

This book is like a "Call Centers for Dummies" meets "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Call Center Management But Were Afraid to Ask!". This is an educational to that can lay the ground work for an aspiring call center manager or hone the skills of the most experienced call center manager. Very well written and comprehensive book that almost acts as a call center efficiency consultant. I have put together presentations for senior management based on material in this book that made jaws drop. Thanks to this point of reference I have been able to make many positive changes in my call center's reporting, forecsting, and performance measurement tactics. If you are thinking about dishing out a couple grand a head for offsite training I would highly recommend trying this book first and saving your budget!

Great book. Most of what it talks about is common sense, but then again, common sense isn't always that common. The content is delivered in an engaging and organized manner.Our group of Call Center managers found it extremely useful!

I found this book to be extremely helpful to me when consulting with clients who are concerned with what to measure in their customer service organizations. So many companies focus on things that don't make a difference. This book sets you straight.

This book is geared towards larger Call Centers.I gave it 3 stars because it didn't really apply to a the smaller Call Center that I run and the information wasn't consistently presented in a way that would allow me to scale it.

Not helpful for what I was looking for. Service was good

The book is good.

Delivered as promised !! Thank you.

Excellent book

This is an excellent reading on the theoretical side of resource planning and call center works. I can only recommend to any TM, STM who is working in a call center.

:)