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 the changes that will inevitably come with an India that has equal economic footing with the G8 nations. Will outsourced customer service and tech support increase or decrease? Will the quality of service get better as Indian agents become more like their Western counterparts, or will it actually get worse?”
Sheff goes on to write: “That all our concerns in North America are shared by agents in China, Australia, the UK and Singapore. And everywhere else.”
So what's the best way of facilitating the sharing of ideas across nations? Is it the Contact Centre Global Forum that took place for the first time in France this year and which is scheduled to occur in the same place next year?
A report on the Forum's website shows the regional division of the 450 delegates who attended was as follows: Europe 67%, Asia Pacific 16%, Middle East/Africa 11% and Americas 6%. But just over half – 51% - of all those who attended were from contact centres.
Furthermore the report says 97% of delegates “described themselves as satisfied or very satisfied with the content of the Forum and the networking opportunities it presented.” Yet the New Zealanders who attended the forum found it disappointing.
Datacraft representative Paul Goode suggested in a Mouthpiece post on the Forum that the time has come for a global association, but that the Forum wasn't necessarily the right venue.
"There was a lot of representation from Contact Centre associations from around the world but personally I think it’s time to formulate a Global one with teeth."