Eric Berg
Eric Berg is a 25-year veteran of the contact center industry, running multiple brick-and-mortar as well as virtual agent centers across the US. Eric is founder of the Midwest Contact Center Association and currently provides consulting in the areas of outsourcing selection, recruitment, applicant intake process, employee retention, creating at-home agent programs and creating a culture of success.
Managing Different Personalities in the Contact Center: The Platinum Rule
Early in my management career, I followed the Golden Rule: Treat others as I would want to be treated. I believed that if I...
Managing Attrition in a Strong Economy
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the current unemployment rate is the lowest in 48 years.
When the economy is strong and contact...
Absenteeism Is a Pain
Absenteeism is a pain, we all know that. According to Benchmark Portal, absenteeism equates to 6.48% of all scheduled hours in a contact center....
Stop Drama from Poisoning Your Customer Service Team
In my 25 years in the contact center industry, I have seen a lot of drama. Before I knew how to handle it, I...
Seasonal Hiring
HAPPY SUMMER! It’s still hot, people are enjoying summer activities, picnics, festivals, vacations and barbecues, but for many contact centers, our season has arrived....
Celebrate National Customer Service Week
Show your staff appreciation for the important work that they do! Customer service professionals work diligently all year to protect and enhance your brand....
Customer Perception: Offshore vs. America
In the course of my business I speak to a few hundred contact center executives every year. One of the topics that seems to...
Promoting a Culture of Attendance
Poor attendance is one of the top reasons for termination in a contact center. According to Benchmark Portal, the average adherence to schedule rate...
Empowered Agents: A Key to Customer Satisfaction
According to a study from Customer Experience Management, 71% of agents do not have the authority to satisfy a customer. OUCH! With high attrition...
Avoid Supervisor Training Failure
What is your training plan for a new supervisor? According to a study by Benchmark Portal, 33% of new supervisors receive no training when...
Career Path to Failure
Are you promoting your best agents to supervisors and managers? If so, you may be promoting to failure.
Those of us in the contact center...
Cut Attrition with an Effective Applicant Intake Process: Behavioral Interviews
In my last post, I mentioned a Purdue University study on decreasing attrition in a contact center environment. The study found that contact centers...
Cut Attrition with an Effective Applicant Intake Process: Assessments and Realistic Job Previews
If your applicant intake process involves fogging a mirror, you may be hiring, not selecting.
According to a Purdue University study on decreasing attrition in...
High Turnover: Are Your Core Agents Suffering?
When agents leave there is a tangible and measurable cost to replace them. What cannot be measured easily is the effect of turnover on...
Manage Change by Listening
Have you ever heard the saying, “There’s a reason we have two ears and one mouth”?
I work with many companies looking to decrease attrition,...
The Cost of a Bad Hire
We’ve all been rooting for the U.S. economy to recover, but as it improves, it’s getting harder to attract and retain agents. In an...
Promoting a Culture of Recognition
Do you have a culture of retention or turnover? Do your employees feel like they are on a progressive journey, or that the foot...
Why Training Matters: Linking Training Program Success to Larger Company Goals
Wait a minute, if it’s 2015, shouldn’t we have flying cars by now? Much to the disappointment of Marty McFly from “Back to the...
