News
Jun 28, 2017
Contact Centre 2017 Infographics
Check out the latest data of infographics for contact centres, provided by our sponsor, Skills. Click here.
Fairfax Brings Back Manila Call Centre to Palmerston North
In case you haven't read this interesting piece of news yet, click here.
NZ Needs to Move Faster In Embracing Technology
A leading Kiwi tech expert has slammed New Zealand's slow progress to embrace technology. Read more here.
Tech Company to Open Up Call Centre in Auckland
Human resources IT company, Workday, plans to open an international call centre in Auckland, creating up to 140 new jobs.
Read more about this by clicking here.
ACC to shut Auckland and Wellington call centres
Around 87 staff will be affected by ACC's plan to shut down Auckland and Wellington centres. Read here.
CCiNZ Enghouse Interactive Sponsorship
CCiNZ is proud to have Enghouse Interactive as its latest Bronze Sponsor! Read more about it here!
Excellent Customer Service at the Heart of Mercury
When a company goes through a rebrand, there’s one big question: how do they put this new approach into practice and bring it to life for their customers?
For Mercury, who had involved their customers in the creation of their new yellow brand, a significant part of the answer rested on the customer experience, and Mercury’s Contact Centre staff, who talk to their customers every day.
The picture below shows NZC CC L3 Alignment Pilot class graduates. They actually all completed in December and the CEO was there to award all 30 trainees with their certs and the next co-hort of 16 complete next month, with another co-hort set to enrol in May. Read more about it here.
Weight Watchers Announce New Contact Centre Technology Partner
Weight Watchers Australia and New Zealand today announced a partnership with contactSPACE, the Cloud Contact Centre for Business, to unify its contact centre solutions across both countries. Weight Watchers provides both on-line and group coaching to ANZ and is a leading provider of Weight Loss & Healthy Lifestyle wellness programs across the region.
Weight Watchers undertook an extensive international search for the right solution. According to Belinda Dimovski, Director for Customer Experience at WW Australasia, the combination of contactSPACE’s best in class technology, and nuanced understanding of our customer-centric philosophy made contactSPACE the clear choice.
“Given the close ongoing relationship we have with our members, it’s crucial we can provide a tailored and supportive experience at every engagement’’ Dimovski explains. “contactSPACE took the time to understand our business, and demonstrated an impressive CRM, contactSPACE will produce significant efficiency gains and also serve Customer Service representatives a 360-degree view of their members’ engagement with the organisation – all to drive a better Customer Experience.
Paul Schiffner, Weight Watchers Managing Director and SVP Australasia, stated; ”Weight Watchers is a holistic lifestyle program, and as such we require a holistic view of our member interactions”. Schiffner added; ‘’As a highly capable, integrated contact management solution, contactSPACE’s offer is very compelling”.
David O’Leary, contactSPACE CEO said of the new partnership, “We love great brands! Weight Watchers is a fantastic brand which is highly focused on delivering a quality Customer Experience. At contactSPACE, we help companies achieve the highest level of experience by using our tools and thought leading methodologies to get brands closer to customers. The Weight Watchers/contactSPACE relationship ensures that Customer Experience remains a top priority into the future.”
The New Buzz Word... Chatbots!
In case you haven't heard, there is a new buzz word... chatbots! So you now ask, what can chatbots actually do? Check out this interesting article which will start you thinking about using chatbots in your contact centre! Click here.
Genesys Announcement
Genesys (http://www.genesys.com/anz) has completed its acquisition of one of our sponsors, Interactive Intelligence. CCiNZ are excited about the opportunities presented and look forward to continuing to work together and support our great industry.
http://www.genesys.com/about/newsroom/news/genesys-completes-acquisition-of-interactive-intelligence
For more information, please contact Chris Nguyen | Genesys | chris.nguyen@genesys.com
Halloween Theme Winners
Check out the pictures sent in by our CCiNZ members showcasing their Halloween themed contact centres! Winners are the following:
Best Costume Individual: Saffron Drylie - NZTA
Best Costume Team: Globug
Best Team Pod Decoration:
Winner: Paymark
Runner-up: DHL
Click here to see the pictures.
2016 CRM Contact Centre Awards
The "Oscars Night" for the NZ Contact Centre Industy was held last Friday at the Sky City Convention Centre and the whole place was once again buzzing with excitement and expectation! After a presentation showcasing the theme "Come Fly With Me" and some sumptuous food that Sky City is renown for, the 2016 CRM Contact Centre Awardees were announced and applauded as they received their plaques on the stage!
Congratulations to all the finalists and winners who worked so hard to get that much-coveted CRM Award! Click here to see the list of winners.
We look forward to another wonderful evening next year!
APCCAL EXPO 2016
Hong Kong Call Centre Association (HKCCA) is honored to have been selected as the host for Asia Pacific Contact Centre Association Leaders (APCCAL) EXPO 2016. It will be held in Hong Kong Disneyland Resort with the theme of "Omni-channel Customer Experience." It is a 3-day event from 2 to 4 November 2016 which includes Leaders Meeting, Conference, Exhibition, Korean Night, Networking Cocktail, Contact Centre Visits, Awards Presentation and Gala Dinner.
For bookings and enquiries please refer to the HKCCA website.
12th CCAS Regional Contact Centre Symposium
Early bird rates for APCCAL members for the coming 12th Regional Contact Center Symposium 2016 (5 & 6 Oct) is now available!
AGM 2016
If you weren't able to attend the recent AGM held in Auckland last week, you can view the Annual Report and Financial Report and the Financial Statement on the website.
Call Centres That Truly Make a Difference
This article, published by journalist Ash Argon in the Herald Sun, is about a small call centre in Victoria and the critical role these women play in supporting some horrific circumstances...
Click here to read about Safe Steps.
Source: Blog taken from Contact Centre Central, 2 May 2016
Do you want to Sponsor a 2016 CCiNZ Award?
This year's CCiNZ Contact Centre Awards are right around the corner. We are inviting expressions of interest for Award sponsorship. Find out more details here.
Social Media Customer Service in Decline
The number of consumers using social media to resolve issues has dropped compared to two years ago.
The NICE/BCG 2016 Consumer Experience Report focused on customer interactions with providers of financial, telecom and insurance services. Over 1700 people between the ages of 18 and 65 were interviewed across the US, the UK, the Netherlands, France and Australia.
While daily, weekly and monthly use of social channels doubled between 2011 and 2013, those same categories declined between 2013 and 2015. The number of respondents who never use or are not offered social media customer service rose from 58% in 2013 to 65% in 2015.
Respondents who do not use social media cited a number of reasons. 33% said it takes too long to address issues, 32% that it has limited functionality, and 30% that it isn't feasible for complex tasks. Social media was the channel with the highest percentage of abandons in both 2013 and 2015, with the number rising from 32% to 42% over that period.
Australian and European respondents thought it essential that they be automatically routed to the correct customer service agent along with their information, without being transferred multiple times. They also said that their service provider rep should be aware of their past three to five interations with the company to tailor service to their needs.
American respondents, on the other hand, said all of those actions would "exceed expectations." In total, Americans surveyed ranked only 15 out of 25 factors as essential, while other countries' respondents expected anywhere from 21 to all 25 attributes.
While American respondents seem to have lower expectations, immediate resolution was cited by other countries, genders and ages as the top factor in a perfect experience, valued by 51% of respondents. Other important factors include reps knowing what consumers need and providing an immediate solution, forwarding information and actions from department to department, and knowing what consumers had already done through a self-service channel.
To download the full report, visit www.nice.com
6 April 2016, Call Centre News, NICE
Datacom Opens New Melbourne Office
Victoria's Minister for Small Business, Innovation and Trade, Hon. Philip Dalidakis, has officially opened Datacom's third Victorian office in South Melbourne, a reflection of the IT service company's extensive growth in the region.
The new South Melbourne office will employ an additional 100 local staff over the coming 12 months, covering software solutions and app development, Cloud consulting and professional services.
"The opening of Datacom System's new South Melbourne office comes hot on the heels of a host of major investments by Australian and global tech companies that are boosting Victoria's reputation as the number one tech destination in the Asia Pacific region," Minister Dalidakis said.
"I am especially proud of the team we have assembled in Victoria. Our success is in no small part due to their hard work and expertise. We will continue to grow by focusing on the state government sector and across the banking and financial services industries, health, transport and logistics. Victoria is a great place to do business and we thank the state government for their support," said Scott Green, Director, Datacom Systems Victoria.
7 April 2016 ContactCenterWorld
How to Fix Your Customer's Call Centre Service Experience
What are your customers REALLY saying? No one likes calling customer service... but why? And what can be done to fix a bad call centre experience?
Mattersight, a behaviour analytics company, surveyed over 1,000 ordinary consumers to find out more. Their recent report, Please Hold for a Reality Check, uncovered startling statistics around the call centre experience - plus insight into how almost every caller's interaction can be dramatically improved.
Check out this helpful article by clicking here and register to get a free copy of the whitepaper.
Congratulations to CCiNZ 2014 Award winners
WOW! a great night at the 2014 CCiNZ awards on Friday night held at the Waipuna Hotel and Conference centre in Auckland.
Congratulations to this years winners
2014 Contact Centre Team Leader of the Year
Hannah Jordon, Meridian Energy
2014 Contact Centre Manager of the Year (Under 50 Seats)
Haig Davidson, Mitsubishi Motors New Zealand
2014 CCiNZ Trainer of the Year
Janet Tautaiolefua, Mercury Energy
Average speed of answer has jumped by 27%
"The UK Contact Centre HR & Operational Benchmarking Report (4th edition 2014/15)", is a major study of 215 UK contact centre operations, looking in depth at salaries, attrition, absence, recruitment, operational performance benchmarks, budgets and growth, with forecasts to 2017.
Some stand-out findings from the 87-page report include:
- Average speed to answer has jumped by 27%
- New agent salaries have risen to £16,027
- Call duration for a service call has increased to almost 5 minutes, despite improvements in contact centre technology and business processes
- Agent attrition rates in large (200+ seat) contact centres are 2.5 times higher than in sub-50 seat operations
- Agents in the manufacturing, retail & distribution and technology, media & telecoms sectors spend more than 15% of their time handling emails and web chats.
Findings are segmented by 11 vertical markets, 3 contact centre size bands, inbound/outbound activity and services/sales focus to give you the most accurate comparison with your own operation.
Historical data going back to 2003 are also used to identify key patterns in the industry, enabling the report to forecast how salaries, HR and performance benchmarks are likely to look in 2017.
No other report offers this kind of detail, because no other report has this level of research or analysis behind it.
"The UK Contact Centre HR & Operational Benchmarking Report - 2014/15" costs £295 + VAT. You can download more key HR & performance findings, as well as how to purchase the report, from www.contactbabel.com/reports.cfm
Photos from Wellington Regional Event 2014
What a great day! check out the photos from our Wellington Regional event 7th November 2014.
NZ Contact Centres represented at the 2014 Asia Pacific Contact Centre Association of Leaders
CCiNZ was happy to attend this years APCCAL General Meeting held in Beijing in conjunction with China Association annual Expo and Awards. Shona (CCiNZ committee member) attended and shared her experiences with us. Click here to read the full article.
Congratulations to our winner
Ron Karras at Office Max in Christchurch CONGRATULATIONS, by giving us feedback on our recent survey you have won a book of MOVIE tickets for your team. WELL DONE
HRV CSR wins a brand new car
Kiki Zhau drove away in a brand new Mazda2 after being named top customer service performer by her employer West Auckland based company HRV. To read full article click here
Did you miss Don Peppers Event?
If you did miss Don Peppers event and you are a CCiNZ Member you can view the full presentation and video here.
Northland District Command Centre well prepared
Northland District Commander Superintendent Russell Le Prou says police were well-prepared to deal with any incidents thanks to the District Command Centre (DCC). To read the full article click here
No payouts for Pizza Hutt call centre staff
15 staff losing their jobs with the closure of the company's call centre. Click here to read the full article
Happy Birthday ContactCentreWorld.com
ContactCenterWorld.com, the Global Association for Contact Center Best Practices & Networking is pleased to announce its 15th Birthday!
More Contact Centres coming to NZ
An international recruiting firm says New Zealand's low wages and the cost of doing business here is bringing hundreds of call centre jobs to the country.
NZ Post announce Contact Centre Job loses in Wellington
On Wednesday 26 Feb, 70 finance employees in NZ Post's corporate head office were told they are among them, while 44 workers at the company's Petone call centre also got the news.
Read more: NZ Post announce Contact Centre Job loses in Wellington
AGM become part of the CCiNZ team 2014
CCiNZ is holding the Annual General Meeting on 11 June 2014. Do you want to be part of the CCiNZ team and make a difference to this industry? If you do click here. At the AGM the nominations for executive elections will be voted in.
Click here for more information about attending the Annual General meeting.
Facebook page dedicated to Keeping Call Centre Jobs in Australia
A facebook page dedicated to updates, and news on Australian call centres
Read more: Facebook page dedicated to Keeping Call Centre Jobs in Australia
Scammers claiming to be collecting money for charity
The Child Cancer Foundation warns that New Zealanders are being targeted by scammers claiming to be collecting money for the charity.
Read more: Scammers claiming to be collecting money for charity
UK-NZ call centre creates more jobs
A British call centre which sends employees to New Zealand to cover night shifts in the UK says it will create more than 100 jobs in 2014.
Union reps and security guards in brawl
They were there to talk to members made redundant following the Yellow Pages Group decision to outsource its call-centre work to Manila next year.
Accused of "fobbing off" customers
Wellington's lines company was accused of "fobbing off" customers and "denying all knowledge" of electricity faults on its network in the aftermath of the June storm, council documents reveal.
Be polite, stay calm and take notes, call centre customers advised
An even temper, good manners and careful record keeping can help defeat call centres that don't co-operate. Contact Centre Institute of NZ chairwoman Nadene Gavigan said people encountering a call centre needed to apply courtesy and an even temper.
"There are some very rude people who want to take their frustration out on the person who answered the phone. Just remember the person that you're ringing is not necessarily the person that got them frustrated in the first place."
Fair Go's Gordon Harcourt said polite insistence was essential. "They are human beings," he said. He said if it didn't work, asking to "escalate" the issue "seemed to push a button" by getting more senior staff on the phone. He said recording all calls - and asking for the company's recording - were also good tactics in keeping dealings straight.
The boss of a firm fined $250,000 for the unlawful antics of call centre staff says the put-upon phone workers should be recognised as critical to any business. "If you can't engage with your customers you'll never be successful," says Slingshot's chief executive Mark Callander. Mr Callander has front-footed the company's response to a $250,000 fine handed down last week over 50 charges under the Fair Trading Act.
The fine covered unauthorised access to rival Telecom's database which it used to switch across clients.
Mr Callander said Slingshot had addressed problems from 2009-2011 linked to the charges by streamlining its systems and restricting its growth.
He said the company also no longer contracted out any frontline contact with the public. That allowed its values to be directly passed to staff and gave more control over the way customer relations were managed. Phone and internet users' advocate Paul Brislen said complaints about Slingshot had fallen in recent years and it had joined the Telecommunications Dispute Resolution service.
Firms were taking call centres back inside the business because of the importance of staff interactions with customers.
NZ Hearld, David Fisher, 17 December 2013
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