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Posted Fri 29 June 2007 @ 12:09 p.m. by Ernie

It was a GREAT conference in my personal view. My job has me conferencing to excess so I know the excellent ones when I see one. The TUANZ 2007 Contact Centre Conference buzzed!There were parts I missed - the work of TUANZ has to go on alongside - but here are a few of my key insights:- Nancy Tichbon. She and the Virgin Mobile brand and culture are inseparable - she walks and talks the corporate values. - New Zealand contact centres are well up with the world technology-wise,...

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Another great awards night

Posted Fri 29 June 2007 @ 11:26 a.m. by Sarah

For those of you who partied hard at the TUANZ Contact Centre Awards, I hope the boss doesn’t work you too hard today! From the feedback the TUANZ team has received, it looks as if another great night was had by all. Highlights for me were the fabulous Jackie Clarke (who is now my favourite diva from Gisborne), the bopping Beat Girls whose tunes inspired some very inventive dance moves and, as usual, the fantastic open-hearted spirit on the night. As I was organising all the winners to be photographed,...

Categories: Events

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Respond to the blogs

Posted Thu 28 June 2007 @ 5:19 p.m. by Sarah

That you can’t afford to ignore online commentary about your company, or its products, was the message Dell Asia Pacific and Japan VP director of customer experience Justin O’Sullivan shared with delegates at the TUANZ Contact Centre Conference today.The multinational company experienced a serious dip in customer relations in 2005 and a key way of turning things around was to tackle its online presence. O’Sullivan says they’d originally taken a “watch and listen” approach to blogs but after one site...

Categories: International | Profile | Technology

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Partners in crime

Posted Wed 27 June 2007 @ 5:14 p.m. by Sarah

Getting the ear of senior management is something that many contact centre managers struggle with. So ihug’s initiative of teaming senior managers with CSRs impressed many during a presentation by Russell Stephens, ihug GM for Customer Care at the TUANZ Contact Centre Conference today.The company’s Partners in Crime programme means that an agent is welcome to call the CEO, the marketing manager and other senior managers to let them know exactly what it’s like on the front line. Stephens, whose...

Categories: Events | Leadership | Recruitment and HR

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Top technology picks for the next 3 years

Posted Wed 27 June 2007 @ 3:59 p.m. by Sarah

What’s big in technology for contact centres for the next three years? A panel of vendors and users at the TUANZ Contact Centre Conference has just made the following predictions: Sandeep Singh, Nortel Networks: Unified Communications, multi media and CTI (Computer Telephony Interface). Tony Lennon, Gen-i: SaaS (Software as a Service), Unified Communications, Integration (tying together disparate technologies), and Datamining. Miles Valentine, Zeacom: Self service – driving the customer away...

Categories: Events | Technology

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What makes Generation Y tick?

Posted Wed 27 June 2007 @ 1:41 p.m. by Sarah

It’s the generation that makes employers nervous – so what makes them tick? Virgin VP for customer service Nancy Tichbon offered the following summation of what Generation Y (those born between 1975 and 2000) loves and what it hates: Generation Y loves: Personal job satisfaction rather than job security.Frequently change jobs (for better benefits, more flexibility, opportunities)Process information quicklyEmbrace changeImpatientExcellent multi taskersSlow to be shockedOften labelled as disrespectful...

Categories: Events | Lifestyle | Profile | Recruitment and HR

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Hey, what's up? This is Suzette.

Posted Wed 27 June 2007 @ 1:30 p.m. by Sarah

Throw out the script, don’t stress over AHT and if an agent wants to sing to the caller then that’s just fine. Keynote speaker Nancy Tichbon, VP for Customer Service at Virgin Mobile in Canada has just presented a lively opening address at the TUANZ Contact Centre Conference. Dressed casually in black top and jeans, she began by telling us that this was the Virgin way – t shirt and jeans. She also revealed she likes Marmite, Jimmy Choos and Red Bull and that her nickname is Sparkplug. Well, she...

Categories: Events | Leadership | Profile | Recruitment and HR

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SkyCity here we come

Posted Tue 26 June 2007 @ 11:28 a.m. by Sarah

The office is a little crowded today, with delegate bags and speaker presents boxed up and ready to be transported to SkyCity. The events team hasn’t even paused for morning tea, apparently immune to the lure of the chocolate Tim Tams on the table. Of course the reason for the buzz is the TUANZ Contact Centre Conference which begins tomorrow. The line up of speakers will cover topics as diverse as multi lingual teams, leadership and development, and the global contact centre scene. And international...

Categories: Events

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Should flexible working hours be mandatory

Posted Wed 20 June 2007 @ 12:48 p.m. by Sarah

Workplace flexibility is a concept that those on both sides of the employment divide generally agree with. Where they differ, according to a Department of Labour report, is on whether it should be legislated. The results of the DoL’s discussion paper ‘Quality Flexible Work: increasing availability and take up in New Zealand’ are now online. Of the 777 responses, 90% supported increasing the provision for flexible working hours. However it's on how this can be achieved that opinion is divided between...

Categories: Recruitment and HR

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Hot and cold technology debated

Posted Mon 18 June 2007 @ 1:28 p.m. by Sarah

Is it true that 90% of technology purchases in contact centres are made without a business case?* If that stat seems to resonate with the experience you've had then you’ll want to check out the technology workshop at the TUANZ Contact Centre Conference next week. A panel discussion chaired by TUANZ CEO Ernie Newman will feature both a user and a vendor perspective, with the following taking part: Vendors: Rob Spray (Nortel), Mark Simmons (Cogent), Miles Valentine (Zeacom) and Tony Lennon (Gen-i).Contact...

Categories: Events | Technology

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Lunch is no longer for wimps

Posted Thu 14 June 2007 @ 7:14 p.m. by Sarah

In the iconic 1980s movie Wall Street, the archetypal bad boy capitalist played by Michael Douglas famously declared “Lunch is for Wimps.” But 20 years later the very opposite is true - especially at a business conference. Lunch, morning and afternoon tea, as well as the drinks that follow the day’s official programme can be the most important part of the function. Suzanne Moore, an executive development consultant for Trans Tasman Business Circle, says the ability to network during the breaks...

Categories: Events

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Going global

Posted Wed 13 June 2007 @ 1:52 p.m. by Sarah

Is it time for associations representing contact centres to form a global alliance? And if so, is the Contact Centre Global Forum a step in the right direction?I was prompted to consider these questions after reading the ICMI blog today in which Harry Sheff writes that Indian and Chinese contact centres are becoming indistinguishable from those in North America and Europe and their success is a factor in driving economic growth.“It’s exhilarating to imagine...

Categories: International

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Good to Great – a confession

Posted Tue 12 June 2007 @ 2:31 p.m. by Sarah

With the 2007 TUANZ Contact Centre Conference taking place in a couple of weeks the realisation has struck me that I have unfinished business from last year. A book that cost me the price of 20 flat whites has sat on my shelf unread for twelve months. I was inspired to buy it after listening to Craig Morrison at the conference last year. At the time he was the contact centre manager for Southern Cross. During his presentation he claimed it was one of the most useful business book he’d...

Categories: Events | Leadership

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The metric that matters the most

Posted Thu 7 June 2007 @ 1:40 p.m. by Sarah

The most important metric for customer satisfaction is First Call Resolution (FCR) according to Lyn Trewenack, director of ST Squared and associate partner AsiaPacific, SQM Group.SQM Group work with more than 260 contact centres worldwide and have surveyed over 500,000 customers every year for the past 11 years. Trewenack is a speaker at this month’s TUANZ Contact Centre Conference and I caught up with her today to find out why FCR is rated ahead of other key metrics. I was particularly interested...

Categories: Benchmarking | Events | International

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APN opens contact centre in Tauranga

Posted Tue 5 June 2007 @ 3:31 p.m. by Sarah

APN – owner of the New Zealand Herald and a string of daily newspapers throughout the country – has opened a contact centre in Tauranga. APN regional contact centre general manager Rowena Sykes says the 50-seat contact centre provides a range of inbound and outbound services for eight regional daily newspapers and an assortment of community newspapers. These include circulation support, subscription services and classified advertising for the Bay of Plenty Times, Daily Post, Northern Advocate and...

Categories: Profile

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