Contact Center Pipeline started 12 years ago, 145 issues ago… in March 2008. We had less than a handful of sponsors… and not any more subscribers than that! We built a website with no content and a database with no subscribers. Shucks… we had more people on our team than we did subscribers! But, we had passion and a great team of people who supported our idea to create a magazine for the contact center industry.

I am forever grateful to Susan Hash and Mark Knight, Steve Harden and Frank Priola who helped to turn this dream into reality. Lori Bocklund and Jay Minnucci were our founding advisory group members and agreed to write a monthly column! Former colleagues wrote articles for us. Verint was our first issue sponsor. And with this… we were launched!

I don’t say this to brag. I say this to show we started from a humble beginning. I have the good fortune to have a dedicated team, contributors and authors who continue to surround this idea with their talents, loyalty and friendship. Contact Center Pipeline is not possible without them and the support of the contact center industry. Thanks for making our journey possible!!

Whoever would have thought in March 2008 that we would see so much change in our industry? I think our March issue is quite representative of these changes. Please enjoy.


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Contact Center Pipeline March 2021

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FEATURE
How to Foster Diversity & Inclusion in the Contact Center
By Susan Hash
Driving change is hard work, but the benefits for your customers, employees and brand far outweigh the effort.

TECH LINE
What Execs Want: How to Respond to Visionary Ideas
By Lori Bocklund
The next time your leadership asks you to pursue a new technology, consider it opportunity knocking.

IDIOM INSIGHTS
Strike While the Iron Is Hot
By Kathleen M. Peterson
Executive-level awareness is like hot steel… temporary. Seize the opportunity to make a case for proper funding of your contact center.

VIEW SADDLE
Reminiscing
By Paul Stockford
We’re in a people business in more ways than one.

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
What Is Your Customer-Centric DNA?
By Janet LeBlanc
Key findings from the eight-year study on customer centricity in North America.

INDUSTRY OUTLOOK
Biden Administration Impact on Contact Centers
By Dick Bucci
A new administration brings legal and regulatory changes for contact centers. What are some of the potential effects on our industry?

SOCIAL CUSTOMER CARE
Digital Customer Care: 10 Ways to Fix Not-Very-Good Tweets to Customers
By Leslie O’Flahavan
Writing better customer service tweets can improve the sincerity of your Twitter feed and strengthen the connection with customers.

LEADERSHIP SKILLS
Becoming an Emotionally Intelligent Leader
By Sangeeta Bhatnagar
Beginning your journey: Reflecting on intentions, mindfulness and self-awareness.

LEADING THOUGHTS
The Role of Contact Center Agents in Product Innovation
By George Horvat
Don’t miss an opportunity to tap into a valuable source for creating thinking—your frontline agents.

PERFORMANCE MATTERS
Managing Emotional Labor in the Contact Center
By Mark Pereira
Are your agents “surface acting” their way toward emotional exhaustion and burnout?

DATA SECURITY
COVID-Era Phone Fraud Demands Omnichannel Response
By Mark Horne
Defeating fraud in the age of coronavirus calls for a proactive, wide-ranging approach.

EXECUTIVE INSIGHTS
Changes in Customer Experience: What does 2021 Hold?
By Ryan Tamminga
Individual personalized experiences with empowered CSRs will drive loyalty and business success going forward.


Please note: Contact Center Pipeline is a subscription magazine. To view all articles, please consider a subscription.


Thank you to our March sponsors: 2Ring America, 8×8, Aryaka, Calabrio, CallShaper, Customer Contact Strategies, Human Numbers, Intercom, Khoros, Bold 360 by LogMeIn, MusicWorks, NICE inContact, Panviva, PowerHouse Consulting, ProcedureFlow, ROI-DNA, Service Agility, Strategic Contact, Upland Software, VCC Live and Verint.

They help make Contact Center Pipeline possible!! Please visit all our sponsors in our Pipeline Directory!