Implementing a Virtual Call Center Curry Spain, Richard Heman-Ackah, Jeff Franklin, David Foster 05/19/2009

Transcription

1 Implementing a Virtual Call Center Curry Spain, Richard Heman-Ackah, Jeff Franklin, David Foster 05/19/2009

2 What is a Virtual Call Center (VCC)? The VCC is the incorporation of hardware and software technology to enable telephone interviewing to be conducted from home instead of a traditional centralized call center.

3 Why deploy a VCC? Unlimited resource pool More mature, responsible and educated employees can be identified (retirees, school teachers, persons with physical disabilities, stay-at-home parents etc.) Provides greater avenues to identify employees with specialized skill sets (Language specialists, institutional contactors, specialized recruiters etc.) Ability to utilize experienced field interviewers to conduct telephone data collection from home

4 Why deploy a VCC? (cont.) Cost implications Hardware costs less expensive than traditional in-house costs Software licensing is the same per user No physical infrastructure costs (rent, utilities, furniture, etc.) Provide scaleable solutions to minimize expansion costs Provides contingency options in the event of inclement weather, localized natural disasters and or other disruptions to centralized operations More qualified staff may result in lower cost per interview rates

5 What is the deployment model? RTI Campus - Ragland Application Data Video Monitoring Application Data External Voice Path / Audio Monitoring RTI-CCS Private WAN Citrix Terminal Client SSL VPN (2 factor authentication ) Firewalls Public Internet N. Raleigh Call Center Services Employee Owned Equipment Environment Secured through Citrix Client Policy Public Telephone Company

6 Steps to deploying a VCC Proof-of-concept tests and literature reviews were conducted to review best practices, identify proper infrastructure and develop a set of recommendations for hiring, training, monitoring and supervising remote interviewers Implemented technology to support integrated interviewing environment Established protocols required to support remote interviewing staff Fielded three studies to help evaluate hardware configuration and protocols for hiring and managing remote interviewers

7 Steps to deploying a VCC (cont.) Implemented Citrix solution as the remote presentation layer Implemented new telephony application for all Call Center Services Migrated Call Center to its own network domain to better support and provide secure access for up to 250+ remote users Achieved National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST-Low) certification for the call center and its technology infrastructure.

8 VCC Evaluation - study results National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) field test 514 completed CATI interviews VCC staff were added mid-way into the production schedule No difference observed in qualitative monitoring ratings No difference observed in interview administration length Other qualitative monitoring results VCC interviewers had more positive feedback comments and fewer negative comments based on monitoring reports Background noise was not a problem during VCC monitoring sessions

9 VCC Evaluation - study results (cont.) Non-pharmaceutical Intervention of Influenza (NPI) 4,135 completed interviews VCC staff and in-house interviewers were brought onto project at same time No difference in production (calls per hour, completes per hour, refusal rates, etc.) and quality between VCC staff and in-house interviewers

10 VCC Evaluation - study results (cont.) NPSAS Full Scale 08 Compared performance across 4 groups VCC new hires In-house new hires VCC existing staff In-house existing staff

11 VCC Evaluation - study results (cont.) NPSAS Full Scale 08 (cont.) Data suggests that in-house staff had better production rates than VCC staff. However, actual performance comparisons are difficult to make. VCC staff were monitored more frequently resulting in more feedback sessions non production time VCC staff were limited in which sample queues they could access VCC staff could not accept in-bound 800 calls (21,689 calls) Call Center staff (VCC existing) underestimated the level of self discipline required to work from home. Attrition rates across all groups was comparable VCC new hires and VCC existing staff had comparable performance rates Average length per complete across all groups was comparable No difference in item non response rates across groups

12 Supplemental applications VCC elearning training site Web scheduler to allow remote interviewers to monitor their work schedule and request schedule changes Administration Personnel and project dashboard to administer Telephony chat feature Web based monitoring

13 Lessons learned Learning curve process / technical awareness Helpdesk tiered support Ongoing support PC support Not all projects can fit the VCC model Staff size is critical to success (maximize workload to keep productivity up) VCC staff are not cross-trained VCC staff and Call Center supervisors must stay connected and in constant communication

14 Next steps Find projects to expand beyond North Carolina to specific geographic locations and eventually spread out nationally Build out support structure Continue to enhance elearning training site Additional training for supervisors in VCC support Capture remote interviewer computer specs to ensure system requirements are met

15 Next steps (cont.) Implement and tweak best practices protocols as we ramp up to support 125 concurrent virtual connections (250 interviewers) Investigate ways to conduct virtual project training Second Life Use of NetMeeting Video conferencing connect to live instructors Robust reporting where phone call details are merged with CATI call records

16 Contact Information Curry Spain Richard Heman-Ackah David Foster Jeff Franklin Web site: