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4 Proven Strategies to Transform Your Organization’s Workforce Management

To improve the workforce is a constant goal of almost all businesses. If we evaluate the present and peer into the past and expected future by a close analysis of the latest workforce management trends, what emerges as a common objective throughout is nothing but creating a better experience for employees, leading to more efficiency. The quality of the workforce that any organization possesses has a direct impact on the brand’s bottom line; the success of a business crucially depends on how the employees feel about the brand. Hence, workforce management plays an important role in the overall reputation of any brand. And that’s the reason why leaders consider workforce management as one of the essential keys to a company’s success. Workforce Management encompasses everything from scheduling to how an organization compensates its people to what are the benefits it provides. In this article, we will discuss the effective strategies of workforce management that can drive the highest employee satisfaction and a company’s operational excellence too. Read on Focus on Internal Branding A competent workforce management strategy is all about focusing on all the activities that are crucial to manage and sustain a productive, cost-effective, and happy workforce. And, a productive workforce is nothing but an engaged one, which results in striking outcomes like reduced operational costs because of decreased absenteeism and lower staff turnover. It has been observed that the engaged employees do more work in less time, take responsibilities for their roles, and prove consistently excellent customer service. Companies must strive for highly engaged employees, and one integral element of this is internal branding. Hence, organizations should not solely focus on the exterior; it is vital to sell the brand from inside first, to the most important ones: your people. This way, the employees take no time to become the brand ambassadors and a company’s best form of advertising. Encourage More Communications and Interactions One of the significant ways to improve workforce management is by developing an interactive relationship between the management and employees. Also, to encourage more socialization between coworkers does wonder. When it comes to communication between coworkers in today’s organizations, a collaborative approach is gaining a lot of traction. Your organization should encourage employees to communicate and share ideas of one another instead of just merely sitting quietly at their desks all day. With this shared approach, there can be better employee engagement that, in turn, leads to higher productivity. Also, you must include some workforce management software solutions in the process. It will help employees communicate and share information in real-time, irrespective of whether they are working remotely or from a separate location in the office premises. According to the business professor and author Dave Ulrich, technology is all about connections, not just contacts. He said, “HR technology helps employees attach to feel a sense of belonging through personal relationships.” An emotional connection or attachment doesn’t stem simply from the feeling of belonging, but also the meaning and identity. Moreover, with the right analytics driven from the workforce management software, you will always be updated on which employees are performing extraordinarily and who are falling behind. When it comes to healthy workforce management, regular, informal meetings between leaders and employees are crucial. These can be more person-centered and seem to be less strict or pressured. In such meetings, the leaders can casually discuss issues and solutions with employees while they gain one-on-one attention. Offer Flexibility It should be one of your top priorities to offer flexible work timings to the employees. With a strict 9-to-5 grind, professionals end up being frustrated. Instead, if they work on flexible hours, can take phone calls during their commute, or take meetings outside of the office hours, it helps the employees maintain the work-life balance, and they, in turn, become more productive. The organizations should aim to improve the work-life balance of their employees by giving them more freedom to choose on when and where they should work, with reason. It is true that the millennials are driving today’s workforce remarkably, and they look for a better balance between work and life with a flexible workplace. Hence, your business should strive to keep them happy, and, ultimately, they understand your business better. However, if the employees have flexible working hours, and they can work from outside the office too, an ideal workforce management must include certain viable technologies to keep a track of the time they worked, rather than just knowing when an employee punches and in and out. This process might vary depending on your business, but you should undoubtedly have an effective one. Focus More on Middle Management Often, businesses end up making one common mistake, and that is emphasizing their finance and efforts on only the C-suite executive and new employees. However, those who are there in the middle are left quite neglected. Well, the actual scenario should be not like so. The middle-management employees are the ones who usually have the highest impact on the overall performance of an organization. They relay strategies from the executive team and ensure the employees understand what should be exactly done and the crucial requirements of a business. Hence, it makes an integral part of the workforce management to focus more on middle managers. With that, a company can develop more leaders within the organization. Ultimately, it will result in retaining and promoting employees who are actually performing well and already understand how the company works and its vision, goals, and strategies. To discover how Etech’s workforce management solutions can help your company grow, get in touch with us today and allow us to provide you with the freedom to focus on profitability.

Servant Leadership: An Ideal Approach to Enhance Job Satisfaction in Employees

Satisfied employees work harder and better. This adage has been repeated over and over again in business psychology courses across the US. Yet, many companies continue to fail at the task of creating satisfied employees. At Etech, we take this principle seriously. Through trial and error, we have determined the following is the key to creating happy employees: Servant Leadership. Etech invests significantly every year to ensure that our entire leadership team is trained and challenged on the principles of Servant leadership. As with the anything, the proof is the outcome. Our results speak for themselves! What is Servant Leadership? Servant leadership first made its emergence as a leadership style when the term was coined in 1970 by Robert K. Greenleaf. Since then, it has grown to an internationally accepted leadership style because it creates unmatched performance results. Servant leaders put their employees first. The revolutionary leadership style flips the traditional power hierarchy of a company upside down. Instead of a leader sitting isolated at the top, employees are placed at the top, and the leader is held responsible for serving them. Leaders are tasked with putting employees first and considering how to uplift and empower the employees that work for them. Their role as a leader is redefined, and instead of commanding or intimidating employees, they show humility and work to develop the potential of their employees to create a higher sense of purpose. As an employee, this may sound like a highly desirable situation, but what’s in it for the leader? CEO of the Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership Pat Falotico describes it as “magic.” When you put the employee first, their performance increases exponentially. For decades researchers in knowledge management and business psychology have been preaching that valued employees perform better. The proof is in the data. Study upon study shows that employees that are supported and valued return the favor with high rates of satisfaction and performance. Servant leadership positively impacts employees and allows them the freedom to reach their career performance goals. How Do You Create Servant Leaders? The process of creating serving leaders does not happen overnight. Etech began this journey in 2009 and continues. Many people who have achieved leadership roles were trained in competitive atmospheres. Creating Servant leaders is a process that requires retraining and adopting a new approach to interpersonal relations. It is not impossible, but it does require looking within to identify how you can alter your personal qualities to become more dedicated to service in the workplace. Former president of the Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership, Larry C. Spears identified ten qualities of a Servant Leader. They are an excellent place to start if you want to learn how servant leadership impacts employees. 10 Qualities of a Servant Leader Studying the ten qualities of a Servant leader helps a leader learn how to prioritize employees’ needs over their own. Short term, the focus is on serving employees better, long term, the goal is to increase satisfaction levels and performance goals. Listening It’s not enough to listen to what your employees are saying, you need to hear what they are telling you truly. Servant leaders are committed to giving their employees their full attention and demonstrating that they understand the importance of what they are being told. While listening, show you are considering their information by taking notes, looking at their body language, and offering immediate feedback. Healing To be useful as a leader or an employee, people need to be emotionally healthy and whole. Not all employees will come to you in a fully healed state. Servant leaders are aware that people may need to support mentally and physically. Have a directory of resources in place to offer people the support, resources, and knowledge they need to do their job effectively. In addition, Servant leadership requires leaders to ensure their workplace is a healthy and engaging environment for employees to prosper within. Empathy Servant leaders understand that perspectives and viewpoints can differ widely, so they put aside their thoughts while listening to others. This allows them to be more empathic and gain a deeper understanding of their employees’ intentions. Conceptualization Conceptualization is a quality that allows you always to see the bigger picture. It is easy for leaders to get caught up in the day-to-day shuffle, but it is more important to understand the long term mission and vision of your company. Etech reminds its leadership team to stay focused on our long-term objectives to make sure that our employees’ and teams’ daily work align with the vision. A long-term focus helps everyone remain motivated and avoid unnecessary distractions. Self-Awareness Before becoming a Servant leader, an employee needs to be able to look deeply at their behavior and emotions to see how they affect others. Many people in the modern world are only concerned with how they feel, but a servant leader is more concerned with how their behavior is affecting others. As part of self-awareness, servant leaders readjust their behavior to be sure that it affects employees positively. This ensures that their actions and emotions remain aligned with deeper values. Developing emotional intelligence is an invaluable tool for a Servant leader. Persuasion A Servant Leader does not demand that their employees fall in line but instead encourages people to work towards a group consensus. Everyone must believe in decisions for them to become useful tools in the workplace. Building Community A cornerstone of Servant leadership is that the organization is not a place of business, but instead a unique community. As a leader, it is your job to create a community that your employees want to be a part of. You can do this by offering plenty of interactive experiences such as social events and daily social chat before meetings are underway. Many employees will spend more time at work than they will with their family; the goal of a servant leader is to build a second work family that welcomes and comforts

What are the Important Operations Management Trends to Follow?

Call center operations are vital to the success of any business enterprise. Representatives in these pivotal positions are often the first line of contact with the consumer, meaning the client’s first impression of corporate vision and culture is through a chat or phone conversation. Therefore, it is crucial that these interactions are well-crafted and do not put off potential customers. The best way to ensure satisfaction and control is to enlist the most updated tools in operations management. The following five trends offer the most support and significance to contact center operations. Artificial Intelligence There is no need to fear artificial intelligence. The technology is not a threat to employment but rather a useful tool to aid in the management and collection of essential client information. Many call center operations use chatbots and automated voice systems to help sort through the incoming call logs. This in no way eliminates the human element. AI systems assist call operations by providing consumers with the most frequently requested information, which enables contact center employees to spend more time with customers who really need it; this is especially helpful for IT assistants. However, any company currently operating will find great value in the implementation of some AI elements for their contact solutions. Serverless Computing and Cloud Storage Upgrades to infrastructure are necessary for all business operations, including call center operations. Through the integration of serverless computing and a reduction in data centers, companies will be able to conduct business at a more rapid pace without the need for redundant operations. These tools are especially useful to contact center workers because much of their job involves the repeated entry of data and the repetitive use of forms. If any of these operations can be sped up, then these individuals can perform complex tasks in less time and assist more clients in a single day. Automating Processes Automating contact points or call center operations is not the same as eliminating the human element of your business. Instead, it is aimed at improving efficiency through the use of improved software and tools. For example, reservations, check-ins, even translations once ate up significant amounts of time, but now, with advanced technology, these things can coincide in chatbot windows without needing to distract employees or take away time from customers. Beyond improving customer relations, tools for automating processes will also have a tremendous effect on internal communications, scheduling, group messaging and other operational processes that directly affect the day-to-day corporate culture. Mobile and Digital Communications Cell phones, tablets, laptops are all signs of the growing trend of mobility. While it has been a trend for some time, the technology and abilities of smaller and smaller devices to carry out complex tasks has made mobile and digital communications an essential part of any growing business model. Also, Call center operations are heavily rooted in communications, which is why mobile and digital platforms serve as the cornerstone of successful contact centers. However, not every company is on-board or updated on these current trends. Some critical elements of a mobile platform are team apps, client portals, accessibility, messaging and other features targeted toward frontline and remote workers. Culture and Workplace Experience Beyond the technological advancements necessary for call center operations, over the last two decades, it has become overwhelmingly clear that managing call center operations are also about developing and nurturing a positive culture. The benefits of an influential company culture have long been known, but only as the world has taken a closer look at work-life balance have businesses really understood what it means to be a team. A healthy team atmosphere establishes an identity and improves employee retention, which is critical in call centers. Also, when a team mentality is correctly developed, it enhances the level of satisfaction people have in the workplace, allowing them to be more productive with their time and energy. Call center operations are a crucial element of any business, but they must be nurtured. It is not enough for an operator to simply answer the phone anymore. Customers expect more, and team members deserve more, especially when there are technologies that can significantly increase productivity and effectiveness. However, implementing such a change is not easy and demands a skill set that not every company has on-hand. Therefore, when your contact center solutions are lacking an expert in the field, contact Etech Global Services. With over 20 years of experience, Etech understands the shifting trends and growing need for effective and efficient call center services. Contact a representative and find out what they can do for you. This blog was earlier published on LinkedIn.

How Can You Benefit Your Call Center Operations with Social Media?

Managing call center operations can be a challenging role in today’s highly social and digital environment. Comments, downvotes, unlikes, and there are many other trends for showing dissatisfaction with a company. Unfortunately, most traditional call center operations are not equipped to handle the growing and evolving criticisms from social media platforms and networks. However, to be effective in this current cultural climate, it is more necessary now than ever before to adapt to the times and grow with your customer base. Therefore, the days of being closed off with only a toll-free number for customer contact are over. Your business must embrace these new platforms, even if only through your contact center operations. There are at least six ways that your call operations will benefit from adopting social networks, and the millions of people using those platforms. Easy Customer Interaction When a company has a social media presence, it allows consumers multiple ways to contact them, which is necessary for creating an approachable brand. More often than not, consumers approach companies on these platforms to express their praise for them. While this praise is nice, it is not the most critical factor to consider when creating the social media presence for your business. By providing multiple avenues for contact, you are demonstrating an eagerness to interact with your consumer base, which ultimately increases brand loyalty. Mobile Capabilities While call center operations have traditionally focused on telecommunications, now it is equally important to focus on mobile capabilities and accessibility. Consumers want businesses to think about the convenience to the customer. Therefore, having chats and email support are crucial to contact center solutions. Also, when companies embrace mobile and technological capabilities, it becomes easier for call center team members to perform their daily duties. For example, when a bot can sort through communications to find those items that require immediate attention, it saves time for the professionals. Open Dialogue People working in call center operations are well-aware of the bad calls. They know the calls that leave the adrenaline pumping and the tears flowing. Many customers become agitated when forced to wait on hold, especially when they feel that their purchase or service is not meeting expectations. While aggravation is no excuse to blow up and blame the call center representative, consumers do lose their tempers from time to time. By using a social media strategy, contact centers can use a preemptive customer care approach, which can help to reduce consumer frustration and team members’ stress levels. Mostly, when a team member notices a negative complaint online on a social media platform, they can then reach out to the customer in a reply offering an apology, if necessary, and a possible solution. If no resolution is clear, then the representative can recommend the customer to call the appropriate help desk. This form of customer care is two-fold. On the one hand, the angry or disgruntled client is addressed and provided an explanation or assistance. On the other hand, the hundreds or thousands of people that might come across the complaint see that the business cared enough about this one individual to offer help, which means a potential win-win for the company. Improved Customer Satisfaction In addition to basic call center operations, a company can improve customer satisfaction by showing their appreciation for loyalty. For example, your contact center can have a team devoted to social media work, and part of their job can be saying thank you or retweeting positive customer stories and posts. Consumers want to feel like they are a part of the brand culture, and by acknowledging them, even in a simple retweet, companies can improve customer satisfaction. Also, it is worth it to note that improved satisfaction leads to fewer complaints and higher team retention. Versatile Communications If social media and mobile platforms are ignored, then call centers might be overworked, which leads to stress. However, if a company embraces a versatile communications strategy by implementing mobile apps, chatbots, and automated email responses, then the team can focus on the clients that need real and actionable support. These communications strategies can even be as simple as using alerts on social media platforms for when your company name is used, allowing representatives to take notice and engage the consumer through dialogue. Reduced Training Last, call center operations through social media does not require a significant amount of additional training. Most platforms are similar enough, and most team members are familiar enough with the technology to begin work on day one. Call center operations are integral and can be complicated for businesses. Etech Global Services has over 20 years of experience in call center solutions. Contact us to find out what we can do for your business.

Are Your Contact Center Quality Monitoring Parameters Effective?

Artificial intelligence is rapidly revolutionizing the world of business. Almost every process is now automated in one company or another. When it comes to contact centers, managers may even use AI for quality monitoring to provide call center quality assurance. This is just one of the many ways that businesses can ensure a consistently good customer experience. Before companies can expect customer service reps to meet quality standards, they must set quality monitoring parameters. These criteria help agents to know what expectations they need to meet. In a large contact center, however, the obvious problem is that it’s not possible to monitor every call. Here are some of the ways managers can pair artificial intelligence with a human touch to determine effective parameters. 1. Evaluate the Parameters When managers notice a quality problem, their go-to solution is often to try to improve how reality matches up with expectations. Instead, managers should first take a good look at the expectations. Parameters are not effective if they are not clear and reachable. Because these are objectives, they should meet the same criteria as SMART goals, i.e., they should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-constrained. When looking at the different aspects of SMART goals, managers must also be realistic. When managers do not play an active role in the day-to-day activities their team handles, they may fail to do this. Other times, managers may set big goals stretched over a long period. This makes it difficult to track progress. Creating milestones can help employees to better move from Point A to B as they work hard to meet company objectives. 2. Automate Some of the Process It is impossible for a supervisor to manually go over every phone call to or from the contact center. Because of this, many companies turn to automation with the assistance of artificial intelligence. In these instances, AI can transcribe and analyze phone calls. Bots can scan the transcripts for problematic words or phrases that indicate the need for a closer look. This is where the value of human touch comes in. Supervisors will need to listen to these flagged calls to better understand what went wrong if anything went wrong at all. AI systems do make mistakes, and tone can significantly change the meaning of a sentence or word. Sarcasm, for instance, may require a human ear to detect and understand. Some AI systems are even capable of alerting supervisors of noncompliance concerns in real-time, while the customer is on the phone. This creates the opportunity for timely intervention. Supervisors can then deescalate the situation before it costs the client a valued customer. 3. Use Artificial Intelligence for Sorting Managers focus most of their attention on the phone calls and chat histories that agents have with customers. However, this is not the customer’s first point of contact with a business. The first point of contact occurs when the customer calls or initiates a chat. An automated operator or chatbot then provides the customer with options to direct them to the best possible team for solutions. Sometimes customers become frustrated at this point before ever speaking to an agent. When consumers have to navigate numeric options, 73% skip the AI operator and press zero to reach a human being. In addition to this, 55% of customers prefer to speak to a human agent, but 54% would gladly take the chatbot instead if it saved them even just ten minutes. Even so, the first contact may have also occurred at 2:30 in the morning, while the business and customer service lines were closed. If the company has a chatbot at the ready, it could help to provide solutions to the customer. Failing this, it could schedule an appointment with the customer for a representative to follow up at a later time. The Bottom Line: The Need for a Human Touch While artificial intelligence provides many initial benefits for a company, it is the human touch that makes all the difference. Yes, when it comes to solving a problem, 56% of consumers prefer to reach out via chat before calling the company. However, as illustrated above, this is often to avoid the wait time before reaching a human being. At Etech, we understand the importance of an omnichannel approach to communicate with different employees in the ways they prefer. We also appreciate that they just want to have all the queries and problems solved as soon as possible. For more information on how we combine artificial intelligence with a human touch to satisfy the needs of our clients and their customers, contact us today. This blog was earlier published on LinkedIn.

Overcoming Organizational Adversity with a Servant Heart

Most team members appreciate a leader who is committed to helping them grow and achieve their personal and professional goals. A leader who is heavily invested in this mindset, also called a servant leader, helps team members develop & build upon their strengths which in turn will make the team and organization stronger. When your organization experiences a setback or something goes wrong, these leadership skills get put to the test. You may be tempted in these times of stress to adopt a more dictative or authoritative stance to maintain controls, however, a servant leader will remain consistent with serving the needs of the team. The best way through a rough patch, is the same way you built a strong team to begin with – by being a servant first. Lean on the Skills You’ve Honed Consistency is a leadership quality that most team members appreciate. It communicates stability and focus. Maintaining the servant leadership skills you use during times when everything is going smoothly can reassure your team and lets them know that although there may be some turmoil, everything around them is not going to change suddenly. In fact, some of these very strategies can help pull your organization out of a slump: Adaptability – Adjusting a process that is not working as well as you planned can often resolve major problems. By modeling this tactic to your team, you show them that you are able to be flexible. You also demonstrate that you are willing to lead by example by re-examining something that is not working well. The humility and maturity required to adapt to solve problems can increase your team’s confidence in you. Reinventing continuously with your team demonstrates that you value adaptability and creativity, and you are there to support them through the process. Connection – During times of adversity, it is imperative that you maintain your connection with your team and support their collaboration. You may be tempted to withdraw and figure out the problem on your own. On the surface, this may seem like a good way to save time. In reality, though connecting your team with the decision-making process can help everyone get on board with it more quickly. It’s easier to implement a solution that the whole team created together than it is to convince others to try something new that they have no ownership in. Leaders skilled in servant leadership understand the importance of listening to their team members. This type of collaboration often leads to the best solutions. A servant leader is one who is focused on ensuring the best ideas win, not being a hero or proving they have all the answers. Selflessness – One quality of a good leader that tends to rise to the surface during hard times is a willingness to put the team and the business ahead of selfish concerns. A servant leader understands the priority is to take care of the team and help those they serve achieve their personal and professional goals. You must be willing to support those you serve through giving of your time, creating opportunities, and by ensuring the necessary resources are available. You may not have to go so far as to take a pay cut to raise everyone else’s salary but you must be willing to put everything on the table to support your team’s long term success. You cannot achieve long term success without ensuring those around you have what they need to be successful. This may require putting some of your own personal goals on hold to get your business back on track and safeguard your team in the process. Continue Pursuing Professional Development Goals Putting your own goals on hold does not mean that you should stop growing, in fact, the opposite. Growth requires growth, and to grow your team you must continue to grow your own skills. Failure to do so could stunt the growth of your team members. As much as 87% of millennials, likely the largest portion of your workforce, consider access to professional development opportunities as one of the key factors in engagement. Always remember that one of the main goals of servant leadership is to empower people to take your place. No organizational problem is large enough to justify a lax approach to leadership development and thoughtful succession planning. You need to continue to take steps to further your development as well as that of your team: Make regular appointments to discuss goals. Each member of your team deserves to have time each month to discuss their professional goals and get advice on how to pursue them. These check-ins don’t have to be lengthy, but you should set aside enough time to discuss their strengths and learn about the skills they want to work to improve. Suggest professional development opportunities. Once you know where someone wants to take their career, it is easier to find learning opportunities that help them get there. Keep up this practice during difficult times to remind team members of their future potential. Set a realistic timeline. A common struggle for people who want to advance their careers is knowing when they’re ready to take the next step. Loyal team members may feel stuck when the organization is not growing at a pace they expect or they do not see a clear roadmap for growth. Continuing to discuss goals in the context of their unique professional growth can put their minds at ease. A servant leadership management style can increase team members’ level of commitment to the organization even through adversity. Credibility is tested during these times. Employing the leadership skills that work well during times of growth when there are setbacks reaffirm your commitment to your team and will help you set your organization on a stronger course. This blog was earlier published on LinkedIn.

What are the Five C’s of Employee-Centric Company Culture?

In today’s competitive recruiting environment, the significance of an engaged and active company culture can’t be overstated. The statistics reveal that 94% of executives and 88% of employees believe a distinct workplace culture is crucial to organizational success. A company culture that is employee-centric impacts everything from employee productivity and happiness to customer retention and market growth. Etech believes in this fact; hence, we treat our workforce just like the way we treat our customers, and it reflects in our vision statement. Etech’s Vision To make a remarkable difference for each other, our customers, and within our communities. Building and protecting an employee-centric culture might seem daunting to the HR leaders, especially as a company grows by thousands of employees. However, it just needs some straightforward steps to transform your workplace. In our 20-plus years of experience in fostering an employee-centric culture at Etech – growing from only a few people to more than 2,000 we have today- we have focused on the below five integral pillars: Commitment Commitment comes first because it’s not possible to build an employee-centric culture without committing to doing so. The foundation of any organization should be a genuine commitment from each one, from the C-suite to interns. It will lead to an environment where a healthy and connected culture can flourish. Commitment is also important because a great culture can’t develop overnight; it’s something you have to work on and evolve continuously. How can you develop the commitment that you want? You’ve to ensure that everyone in your organization understands the company’s mission and vision, and most importantly, believes in it. Complete buy-in from the leading executives in the organization can instill a companywide tone. When every individual in the organization feels connected to the same central mission, there evolves the real employee-centric culture. Communication Communication is the most significant cornerstone for any successful relationship, whether between a manager and his/her direct report or a company’s CEO and the employees. If there is clear and consistent communication, it strengthens trust, one of the vital elements of employee happiness. 93% of employees have said that if they could trust their direct manager, it drives their overall satisfaction at the workplace. That trust can only grow if you communicate with your employees about the goals of the company. You must ensure that your employees are aware of the right path that can help achieve those goals and how they can individually contribute to the company’s success. Also, it is crucial to share every good and bad news about the company with the employees. You should communicate with employees at all levels, across different channels, so that everyone is well-informed. Care Remember, there’s a reason why it is called ‘human’ resources. All types of great cultures thrive based on empathy and human understanding. A healthy employee-centric culture is the one where people care about everyone, every day. Establishing this mindset should start with your company leaders and the HR (Human Resource). There must be policies that encourage respect for all individuals working in your company. As the ‘Golden Rule’ from the kindergarten says,- Treat others as you want to be treated. This concept is an important lesson today, and we should keep this in mind as we walk through our professional lives. At Etech, our core value is rooted in this guiding principle. Our North Star is ‘People First.’ We genuinely believe that if we care for our people, they will reflect that back towards us. We think you should always focus on doing the right thing and show care for your employees and the community. Community A positive employee-centric corporate culture extends beyond the workplace. To volunteer in the community and charity should be core to your company values. You must ask your employees what they are passionate about and plan to contribute to those causes, supporting the non-profit organizations that align with your company values. To understand how your company can contribute within the community can be helpful for everyone around you, letting the employees feel a sense of social responsibility inside and outside the walls of your organization. Make it a priority to set aside some service days for companywide volunteering or you can offer paid volunteer time as a benefit. It will help your employees take time on their own to support various social causes that they strongly believe in. These initiatives won’t just benefit several noble reasons- they’ll also add to the company’s morale and culture. Undoubtedly, it will help to build a feeling of camaraderie amongst your employees. Celebration The company that celebrates together stays together as a family. You should be proud of what your people achieve and recognize them for that. You must celebrate the financial and professional successes of the company, but also don’t forget to appreciate personal milestones- the employees getting married, having a baby, or completing a marathon. People like to sometime spend a cheerful time amid the hectic work schedules; it brings good and positive vibes in the workplace. If you create a culture of professional and personal celebration, it will make your people feel appreciated, which has a vital impact on employee satisfaction. 79% of people who quit their jobs said ‘lack of appreciation’ was the reason why they left. In a Nutshell The above “Five C’s” of an employee-centric culture have proven to be effective for years. We, at Etech, believe they keep us focused and accountable. With these pillars in place, we could build and protect a positive workplace with happy employees. Hence, the five pivotal milestones mentioned above can have a profound impact on the way your business operates and help you redefine your company in such a way that people feel motivated to work with it.

Committing to ‘Teachability’ Takes You One Step Closer to Becoming a Great Leader

There’s one characteristic that separates a successful leader from an unsuccessful one in every walk of life: teachability. A leader who is teachable continuously evolve by exploring ways to improve himself so that he can help educate others. At Etech, we have embraced “Teachability” as one of our character commitments. But what does it mean to commit to teachability? Below are some tips to help you on your journey! Know your subject It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts. Coach John Wooden of UCLA won 11 national championships in 12 years, yet he never stopped searching for ways to learn more, improve himself, and improve his teams. He leveraged the knowledge of basketball from his experience as a player and the wisdom of his coaches (Earl Warner, Glenn Curtiss, and Piggy Lambert). As a college player, he interviewed opposing coaches to gain insight into their strategies. As a high school coach, he attended Frank Leahy’s Notre Dame Football practices and learned time management. After every season, he sent out his research survey on a particular basketball topic to coaches who were outstanding in that field. Through the end of his career, he attended every coaching clinic he could, always with an open mind, wanting to learn more. Although many considered him a “subject matter expert,” he always sought more knowledge. Whether it is the BPO industry or hospitality, one should never stop reading, researching, attending seminars, expanding your subject expertise, or seeking advice from those around you. General knowledge Gandhi once said, “Learn as if you were going to live forever, live as if you were to die tomorrow.” Coach Wooden took this message to heart. He took several classes in psychology as he thought it would help him become a better teacher. He was an avid reader on a variety of subjects. The numerous books that he read about Mother Theresa and Abraham Lincoln helped him formulate his philosophy of life, which he shared with his students. He truly had intellectual balance. When people ask one of Etech’s leaders, Dilip Barot, what he does, his first response is always, “I am a student of life.” His life works back up that statement. Professional attitude Learn to disagree without being disagreeable. There will be conflict in any work environment. Working through these situations with an open mind, calmness, and reason is the mark of a true professional and enables unparalleled growth opportunities for you and those around you. Discipline You cannot antagonize and be a positive influence, and you will antagonize when you discipline through emotion. Discipline is required in any learning environment. It is helpful to remember that the purpose of discipline is to teach, not to punish. Organization There is no substitute for hard work and careful planning. At the core of Etech’s success are project plans. Everything we do starts with a detailed and documented plan to drive success. At times, it seems we spend as much time in planning as in execution, but it works! Community relations The happiest moments in life come from making someone else happy. At Etech, we have been blessed. It is our responsibility to help others, especially those less fortunate intentionally. When we do, not only we will find it rewarding, but we will learn some valuable lessons along the way. Teach by example and not always words Our youth need examples more than critics. When we set a great example, instruct with reason & not criticism, and listen — we’re likely to have a productive relationship – one that benefits both student and teacher. A genuine concern for others People truly do not care what you have to say as much as they want to know that you truly care about them. In my 35 years in business, my best leaders were more concerned with loving than been loved, giving than receiving, being a motivator rather than being motivated. You will discover that when you learn to put the needs of others at the forefront, the whole organization will benefit. A burning desire to Improve When success blinds you to your opportunities, you will face failure. The burning desire to improve, even when others view us as successful, is the trademark of a truly great teacher. Never lose that desire to improve! Be an ideal teacher, a great leader, and until next time, may you make a remarkable difference in the lives of the people you touch each day.

Analytics and the Power of the Human Touch: 5 Predictions for the Future

Everyone knows the story behind the demise of at least one brand or company that eventually failed to thrive due to an inability or refusal to innovate and change with the times. Many of these major businesses that experienced failures were, at one time, hugely successful and popular. Perhaps you remember the joy and anticipation of searching the shelves for that newly released video on a Friday night at Blockbuster or browsing aisles of new toys at Toys R Us. These are just two examples of large companies that thought incorporating new and evolving technologies into their game plans weren’t necessary, and ultimately paid the price for those decisions in the end. The truth is new technology is king and it’s constantly evolving. When it comes to successful business strategies, staying up-to-date on what’s new and what’s to come in the world of analytics is a must. To be clear, there’s certainly expected to be huge advancements in technological resources in this field over the next decade. The question is, which of the technologies should you keep your eye on and how can you ensure you don’t lose the human touch needed to get the most out of the analytical breakthroughs? You read that right: while artificial intelligence (AI) and analytics continue to grow and become increasingly important for sustained success, so will human intelligence (HI). Read on for five predictions on what’s ahead and how AI and HI will need to work hand in hand to reach their maximum potential. AI Isn’t Going Anywhere and Is Growing Larger Currently, most businesses across a wide expanse of fields utilize AI in some way. The technology is often used for providing predictive analysis on customers and for automating some work processes. It’s expected that AI will eventually be interwoven with how consumers communicate and engage with nearly anyone and anything, including friends, companies, other technologies and even their homes. What’s important to not lose sight of in this technological advancement equation is the equal importance of human intelligence. AI is only as good as the people that know what to do with it. In the case of analytics, if it can’t be deciphered and put to good use to make positive and effective changes, what difference does having the data make? The best way to make use of analytics gleaned through AI is to keep a human element involved. Experts, such as Data Scientists, will be a crucial link between pinpointing customer needs and developmental weaknesses among team members. The human element is the key to instituting actionable coaching and development plans to spur continued improvements. Evolving AI Will Allow Team Members To Reprioritize Tasks While many companies already rely on some form of AI or system to generate their customer and performance data, most of them still count on people to detect anomalies, compile reports, score leads and any number of other manual processes. It’s predicted in the not-so-far-off future that most, if not all, these tasks will be automated thanks to marketing software and analytics updated with more advanced AI features. This provides benefits to help companies improve two-fold. First, this technology is able to evaluate all the data points available to it, not just a single one at a time. This provides a deeper look into a brand’s performance and where additional focus is needed. Second, with the software compiling the data, leaders are free to focus on training and coaching team members and putting actionable plans in motion. Consumers Will Demand Personalized Service The cold, hard truth is that many businesses will only be as successful as their customers are happy in relation to the experience they’re provided. The customer experience (CX) offered by a brand can easily make or break it. According to a survey from the Sitel Group, more than half of the consumer market is willing to spend extra money on a product or service from a company that provides top-notch CX. Businesses would be wise to take note of this important statement. It will no longer be enough for a brand to take a channel perspective and expect all customers to want the same experience and modes of engagement. Businesses will require a deep understanding of the various ways customers wish to communicate and will then need to act and deliver upon these customer expectations. Continued and heightened engagement over social media, online chat services and email will likely stay relevant and popular for the time being. This doesn’t necessarily mean all automation, bots, online interactions and the like. Sitel points out in its study that human interaction is still preferred by 70% of consumers, so having a live voice ready to assist will continue to be crucial to delivering excellent customer experiences. The Goal of Personalized Customer Experiences Will Be Achieved Through Prescriptive Analytics Speaking of exceptional and personalized customer experiences, prescriptive analytics may well be the key that pinpoints what that customer will need or want next. For some businesses, that may take the form of offering the right product or service at just the right time to the right customer. For other companies, implementing more effective prescriptive analytics may involve putting into play a recommended solution to a found problem. Human intelligence will drive positive outcomes here as solutions are implemented, monitored and adjusted in real-time, as needed. No matter what this looks like for a particular brand, inviting in some form of prescriptive automation will be imperative for quickly meeting customer needs. Businesses Will Gain a Better Understanding of End-User Happiness With Sentiment Analytics Gone will be the days of solely relying on traditional surveys and call-center data. The wave of the future is gaining a sense of customer attitudes, loyalty and satisfaction through the collection of additional behavioral data. This could include the analyzing of customer interactions through a brand’s website and any other offered channels of communication and engagement. Although it’s still in the very early stages and not nearly ready to be rolled out in

10 Steps to Prepare Your Business for a Cyberattack

In 2017, cyberattack incidents cost companies, consumers, and governments around the world $600 billion. If this figure sounds unsustainably high, consider that projections show it will only continue to rise. Forbes estimates that it will reach $2 trillion by this year. In the past, cybercrime was a problem reserved for more substantial, wealthier companies with money and consumer data to attract hackers. However, smaller businesses have also become a target. Follow these steps to help prevent data breaches at your company. Raise Awareness through Training CNBC notes that a company’s most significant cyber security risk is its employees. In fact, employee negligence remains the most significant cause of data breaches. This may come in the form of losing company equipment or writing down passwords on sticky notes. Raising awareness and regularly training employees on updated best-practices can help to eliminate many of these problems. Use Antivirus on all Devices Forbes asserts that antivirus software still plays an indispensable role in preventing cyberattacks. It helps to patch some of the vulnerabilities present in a company’s security system, smart office features, or local network. Most antivirus systems are reasonably priced and easy to use, eliminating any legitimate reasons for companies to neglect this critical step. Use Firewall to Protect Networks According to Indiana University, firewall systems block unauthorized access via private network traffic. MacOS, Windows, and Chrome OS include basic built-in firewall protection. However, additional protection may be necessary for businesses, particularly those that use WiFi networks and store large volumes of consumer data. Rely on Data Loss Prevention Tactics DLP methods help to protect cyberattacks that originate externally, internally, and even unintentionally. It involves the use of behavioral analytics and data management. Some examples provided by Forbes include the following: Conducting regular inspections Observing the movement of data Blocking Bluetooth and disabling USB ports on key devices Conduct Vulnerability Scans As one of the main DLP tactics, this involves scanning devices and networks to look for vulnerabilities. These are the loopholes hackers might exploit to get into a system. Sometimes simple updates to a system for reasons unrelated to security can create security vulnerabilities, so it is important to conduct a scan at least after each new update or patch. Monitor and Log System Use When it comes to the general security of premises, a guard’s primary role is to observe and report. To do this, they watch cameras, make patrols and log routine checks, and any abnormalities. Technology professionals can use similar practices to prevent a cyberattack or at least catch on as soon as possible. Monitoring system use and maintaining logs help to determine suspicious behavior and track illegitimate log-ins. Encourage Multi-Factor Authentication Few people like to use this feature, even for their accounts. The extra step of copying and pasting or manually typing in code is one many people would prefer to skip. Still, this is one of the best ways to protect accounts. According to Google, two-factor authentication can block 66% of targeted attacks, 99% of phishing attempts, and 100% of automated bot hacks. Use Change Control and Lifecycle Management Change control management limits and monitors system changes. For example, employees may be prohibited from making changes to firewall settings, installing new software, or removing antivirus. The tech team then logs all permitted changes. This goes hand-in-hand with managing the lifecycle of devices. For instance, some older operating system platforms are no longer supported by Microsoft, thereby creating a vulnerability issue if not updated. Physical devices also need to be properly disposed off at the end of their lifecycle. Enforce Policies through Auditing Conducting regular audits of holistic cyberattack prevention methods helps to protect data from hackers. Unlike vulnerability scans, this also includes evaluating whether or not employees have received proper training. Audits may even include budget assessments to see if more money should be allocated to cyber security and whether or not the current budget is used wisely. Incident Response Plan Every company should have crisis management plans. These include emergency plans for fire and natural disasters relevant to that area, such as tornados, earthquakes or flooding. Incident response plans for cyberattacks should follow a similar vein. Just as companies conduct fire and earthquake drills; they should also conduct routine testing of this plan. The more consumer data a company stores, the more important it is to make cyberattack prevention a priority. At Etech, we rely as much on our call center employees as our information technology team to keep consumer data safe. Contact us today for more information on how we maintain high data security standards for our clients and their customers.

Developing the Ideal Leaders of Today, Tomorrow, and Beyond

During some quiet time this week, I was thinking about and praying for our Etech team members. My thoughts took me to the vision statements for our organization – to make a remarkable difference for each other, our customers, and within our communities. I then pondered how this vision could become a reality, and I thought about these words of wisdom from one of my favorite business writers, John Maxwell, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.” I concluded with the following ….. My hope, determination, and prayer are that the world would overflow with great leaders! Leaders who …… Choose to come to work each day with a positive attitude. That even in the midst of trials & challenges, they would look to encourage each other, support each other and give authentically of themselves to each other. Value others by involving them, recognizing them, giving of themselves to them. That they would respect and encourage the person even while in the midst of holding them accountable. Lead with integrity. That they do what they say and say what we do … all the time. That they would be consistent in how they treated all team members. That they would realize that the ability to influence those around us starts with integrity. Show humility. That they would not gloat of personal accomplishments but that would recognize the accomplishments & contributions of those around. That they would not think less of themselves, but would think of others more often. Are courageous. That they would not retreat or give up in the middle of the battle but would look for ways to win and have the courage to take risks. That they would have the courage to challenge the status quo with customers and each other and were never satisfied with being average. Are great communicators. That customers and team members would know how important they are because these leaders communicate consistently, effectively, and authentically with them. That communication was over the top! Understand what it means to be a team player. That they would leave titles and egos at the door and embrace being part of a team. That they would not look to find weaknesses in each other but that they would recognize, leverage, and celebrate each other’s strengths. Hold them accountable first before earning the right to hold others accountable. Adapt well to change. That they be skilled at finding ways to win by changing the course of action and influencing those around them to embrace the change with them. Commit to a life of learning and investing in them, knowing that the more knowledgeable and skilled they became, the better WE become — leaders who look for opportunities to teach and be taught. Seek out creativity and innovation by enrolling those around them. Those who understand that the ideas of all of us together will always be more robust than the ideas one can generate on our own. Embrace the vision to make a remarkable difference. That they understand it, live it, and cast it to those they meet each day. We all should have this dream, and it is a great dream! And it is a dream that is becoming a reality! Until next time, won’t you join me in living this dream and continuing to strive to make a difference in the lives of the people you touch each day?

Get Involved to Create a Passionate Workforce

One of the most important characteristics of servant leaders is that they understand the value of getting their hands dirty to support and lead their team effectively. These are the leaders who are not above participating in any task to get the job done. Being involved and supportive of your team helps to create a work environment where your team is engaged and feels inspired to innovate. Here are four tips to help you lead and inspire your team to create a culture of engagement, innovation, and inclusiveness. Assess the Workplace Culture One of the main reasons aspiring servant leaders fall short of creating an efficient workplace is not assessing and acknowledging the starting point. It is easy to entertain grand perceptions of a team’s performance and how organizational culture helps and hinders this. However, an objective assessment is necessary to see where your team or company truly stands. You must ground yourself in reality and understand both where you are and where you want to go to create a roadmap between these two points. Sometimes there are clear signs that a company needs this assessment. Reduction in employee morale and productivity or increased turnover can all be signs. Another common factor is employee complaints. If the same complaints keep resurfacing, it is time to consider what cultural factors are driving this. Inc. suggests that servant leaders can become involved in this step by creating surveys and scheduling more one-on-one time for performance assessments that can be used to generate ideas. This can also help to increase engagement and build stronger relationships over a period of time. Try to Find Your Center Harvard Business Review conducted a study to determine what characteristics make leaders truly inspirational. The study made some surprising findings. For starters, responders said that less than half of leaders inspired them or unlocked any motivation in the workforce. Even fewer said their leaders made good role models. When asked what traits defined good leaders, one stood out above the rest. This trait was “centeredness.” It involves a state of self-awareness that allows leaders to remain calm under even the most stressful situations. Centeredness also reportedly helps leaders to practice active listening, show empathy and remain fully present. Because this is a trait that can benefit all team members, leaders can make this a group effort. On-site meditation classes, mental health services and even yoga classes can assist with this. Almost every team member plays a leadership role at some point of the work process, so everyone can benefit by tactics that help create a level head. Get to Know Your Team In the words of Forbes, when it comes to inspiring employees, leaders need to know more than the recipe; they also need to know the ingredients. Many leaders acknowledge that employees are the building blocks of the organization and its culture; however, they may take a more collective approach to assessing team members. The larger the workforce, the more likely this becomes. Forbes encourages leaders to rise above this tendency by getting to know the inner makings of each team member. What motivates them? What are their hobbies? What are their values? By understanding the ingredients, servant leaders put themselves in a better position to create a recipe for success and best support those they serve. When leaders take a hands-on approach to becoming involved in workforce management and day-to-day tasks, they create more opportunities for creating community. This helps to provide the contact point they need to better understand how each team member thinks and what further resources they may need to level up their performance and achieve their personal and professional goals. Help Create Purposeful Work When you understand what drives your team members, you are in a better position to create work with a purpose. Ascribing a strong value to each aspect of the work process caters to the underlying values professionals may hold on to. It also helps to nurture the feeling of doing work that makes a difference. One way that servant leaders can achieve this is by tying individual objectives back to company goals. For example, a contact center may take over an account with poor customer service reviews. To raise customer ratings, agents may need to earn five-star ratings from customers in a post-call survey when they creep forward from two stars to three starts with a prescribed time, rather than focus on the gap from five-stars, encourage them to continue on their improvement trend and push toward five stars.. This is far more motivating for your team than being told the work they do is not enough or has little effect on the overall organizational goals. Next work together to create a plan to continue this momentum. Lastly, create rewards for positive milestones achieved and you will create energy within your team. Employee engagement plays an integral role in productivity levels at every company. When servant leaders play an active role in encouraging a culture where team members hold themselves and colleagues accountable for high-performance standards, the results can be phenomenal. At Etech, we put these principles into practice every day to maintain a workforce that is as excited about happy customers as our clients are. For more information about our contact center services, send us an email at info@etechgs.com. This blog was earlier published on LinkedIn.

Human Resource: The Key to Corporate Social Responsibility

In today’s world, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a lot more than just a nice-to-have. It has become an integral part of doing any business. The customers are likely to get involved with any brand with the organizational CSR activity as one of the major deciding factors. Hence, it is crucial to create a corporate social responsibility driven culture, and none other than the Human Resource (HR) department should play the central role here. If HR drives CSR within the organization, every employee will come forward to take it upon themselves and uphold the company values consistently. Ultimately, this would create an automatic environment, staying true to the business vision. Corporate Social Responsibility should Reflect in All the Company Decisions   CSR is all about considering the benefit that your company and its decisions can have on society. Even the smallest decision at the initial stage can have an impact. It is the reason why corporate social responsibility should be placed on the radar of every employee. The role of the HR manager is to figure out a link between the issues that your employees care about and what the company can do to support them. It encourages more individual responsibility, make employees a part of the decision, and cuts down the likelihood of mavericks hampering your brand’s reputation. When corporate social responsibility becomes a part of your company culture, it triggers the element of authenticity. People like to see businesses committed to CSR through several actions that are taken regularly; it’s just not about the public statements that happen once or twice a year. However, CSR is not the sole responsibility of HR. Everyone who is working in an organization should uphold this aspect. But, HR has the highest impact on recruitment, people, management, or learning and development, and it’s these activities that can make sure the CSR permeates your entire business. How can HR Integrate CSR into the Company Culture?   Employees should be a part of Any Decision Taken Your company can focus on different social causes to extend the helping hand: inequality, education, the environment, and much more. It is HR’s responsibility to split the resources between all of them and create a significant impact. It should be not only HR’s viewpoint to decide the right cause for the organization. Instead, the role of human resource management is to survey the entire company, which lets the employees feel that they are part of the decision-making process. Employees are an excellent source of new CSR initiatives. It is HR’s role and responsibility to create a few easy ways for them to share their ideas and encourage the same behavior across the company. Once this becomes an integral part of the company culture, you will never fall short of ideas for new Corporate Social Responsibility activities. Let Corporate Social Responsibility be a Part of the Brand Millennials are the largest generation in the US workforce, and they are expected to represent 50% of the global workforce by 2020. If your business wants to attract them, CSR should be at the heart of your brand, as the statistics reveal that 76% of millennials consider a company’s social and environmental commitments while deciding their workplace. HRs should talk about the CSR initiatives in interviews and mention them in the job descriptions as well. There should be time off for volunteer work in your company, or it is even smart to introduce a policy that exactly matches employee contributions to charity. What’s more, it is recommended to have a page on your website about Corporate Social Responsibility. Still, potential employees will look for policies and internal behaviors that reflect your brand’s values once they join. If not, the employees will feel disillusioned, leading engagement issues in the future. Go for CSR Driven Manager Training and Development Managers should demonstrate a commitment to corporate social responsibility. It helps them encourage the employees to make use of the company’s CSR policies like volunteering and matched contribution ideas. If HR conducts the right training for managers, they can explore varied ways to align particular work-based goals with company-wide Corporate Social Responsibility goals. It can be anything from creating marketing campaigns that promote your products and also raise the awareness for sustainability to hosting various customer events that address the issue of gender inequality too. Managers should be trained more about team-building activities. It can help them approach their teams to participate in any CSR activity, whether it is collecting plastic at the beach or volunteering at a food bank. Summing Up   There are infinite ways a company can contribute to society, but they all require the contribution of HR to encourage the people that work in an organization. CSR is a people-driven approach that creates authenticity, and this process encourages your employees to stay loyal to your company. If the HR department considers CSR to be a part of the company’s recruiting process, it will create a self-sustaining cycle of corporate social responsibility. The world can now easily differentiate between a company that genuinely believes in giving back and one that issues a nicely crafted public statement. CSR has to be in your employees’ DNA to have it in the company’s DNA. And that is only possible when HR takes it as a priority to integrate CSR into the company’s culture and values.

Measuring the ROI of Implementing Live Chat on Your Website

Have you considered implementing live chat features on your business website? If not, there are many reasons you should. For example, marketing experts say that implementing live chat support generates a 305% return on investment and a 20% increase in conversion rates. As a direct result of all this, more companies are implementing live chat services, making it an integral part of the customer experience. However, is it right for your business? Here are a few metrics to include when measuring the effectiveness of live chat services and calculating your return on investment. Forecasted Live Chat Volume As with all company investments, the ROI of implementing live chat support is directly impacted by economies of scale. Generally speaking, the more customers you expect to engage with live chat support, the more support agents you will need. The more support agents you need, the higher the cost, which has a negative impact on investments. However, as conversions increase, this should offset the cost of agents, thereby generating a high ROI. In short, when live chat volume continues to rise, the ability to maximize ROI will depend on keeping the cost of the live chat support low. If the cost of implementing live chat services increases parallel to the revenue it brings in, ROI will be negatively impacted. Technology Costs Another initial investment that will affect economies of scale and ROI is technology. This can be for better or for worse, depending on efficiency, the human element and how it is applied. For instance, some companies have mastered the art of creating live chat bots. These bots speak with customers and allow them to respond by selecting from a list of predetermined answers. If the bot is unable to assist, the customer may be forwarded on to a human agent via live chat, email or even phone. Some bots are so advanced that they can respond to typed responses. This type of implementation reduces costs drastically after the initial investment. Other technology costs may include furnishing a department with new computers and licensing software to run your live chat support service in-house. This can be very expensive, leading many companies to outsource the function. Value of Average Sale In order to calculate if conversions are high enough to offset live chat costs, you must look at the value of an average sale. The higher the value of an average sale, the better the opportunity to maximize ROI, even with a large team of agents to field multiple ongoing queries. However, small sale volumes mean that more agents will eat into company profits. The good news is that live chat offers the perfect opportunity for upselling and cross-selling i.e. increasing incremental sales. When customers purchase without engaging with the brand, they may choose the least expensive option. However, live chat agents may be able to persuade them to purchase more expensive options or a few add-ons to increase the value of the sale. Monthly Website Traffic Another way to measure ROI is through monthly website traffic. However, you can look at more than just the number of visitors to measure the true effect of live chat services. Here are some of the metrics you should take into consideration when measuring ROI based on website traffic: The percentage of visitors retained from the week or month before The average length of time a customer spends on your website Most active times of day The conversation rate The bounce rate Gross Sales Margin There are many different elements to consider when looking at ROI. However, the final calculations are perhaps best described by the gross sales margin. The gross margin is calculated by subtracting the cost of goods sold from the net sales revenue. What is the purpose of the gross sales margin? It signals to a business how much of each dollar that the company makes actually remains inside the company as profit. Returning to the concept of economies of scale, it’s well to note that if a company is efficient, this dollar value will increase over time. As discussed earlier, the cost of live chat support services should not increase parallel to the revenue obtained through conversions. This helps to widen the profit gap as more and more conversions are made over time. Inc. states that 51% of customers prefer live chat so they can multitask while problem-solving, and an additional 21% prefer live chat support so problem-solving doesn’t interrupt their shopping. Moreover, when customers use live chat services, 92% are satisfied with the feature. Are you ready to implement this high-demand feature, while ensuring a high ROI? Contact Etech today to see how we can help you get started. This blog was earlier published on LinkedIn.

Best Practices: Password Security 2019

Did you know that 81% of data breaches occur due to poor passwords? This is a staggering statistic and yet one of the simplest things for you to address. What can you do to ensure your passwords are strong enough to drive hackers absolutely bonkers? Creating passwords to ensure the security of your protected systems and information is one of the most overlooked items when it comes to cyber security. However, with a few simple precautions, we can protect ourselves and our organization from malicious actors looking to wreak havoc. Take a moment to review the tips below and begin using them to strengthen your password profile. Create a strong password: over 8 characters both upper and lowercase; do not make them too long One of the easiest ways to secure is to generate passwords that are more difficult to hack. However, as we do create more complexity, cyber criminals continually evolve in order to bypass these additional measures. With this in mind, it is no longer best practice to simply use a password consisting of alpha characters with a number or special character inserted. What we can do is create additional complexity by adding caps into our password (“AbcD”) as well as special characters and numbers (“Ab@567_cD”). Consider adopting a passphrase instead of using a password This may actually prove easier than remembering a complex password. To mix things up even more than substituting special characters, the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recommends creating long passphrases that are easy to remember but difficult to crack. The popular web comic XKCD compared the strength of a complex password—”Tr0ub4dor&3”—and a long passphrase—“correct horse battery staple”. They found that it took only 3 days to guess the password created in with special character substitutions, while the passphrase would take 550 years to crack. Do not use words commonly found in the dictionary One of the easiest ways for a hacker to compromise a system is by launching an attack that goes through tens of thousands of dictionary words in a few seconds. Use random passwords and stay away from words commonly found in the dictionary. Use different passwords for different accounts Using the same password for multiple accounts means the hacker now has access to every account that uses the compromised credential. Secure your mobile devices; strong password and fingerprint or facial recognition We all use mobile devices to shop, work, communicate, etc. This is now a major concern in the security industry as mobile devices are becoming a primary target for malicious actors. Make sure you set your devices up with strong passwords. Use fingerprint and facial recognition technology when available. Set your device up with MDM. In the event it is lost or stolen, Etech security can remotely lock and wipe the unit. Do not store your passwords or write them down Would you write your bank account number and all access information down on a piece of paper and leave it out in the open for everyone to see? Protect your password. It is associated with your account and your activity. If can be used to access your systems and files. Do not write it down where someone else could see it and possibly use it to compromise systems or breach data. Always be on the lookout for malicious activity Remain vigilant and aware that cybercriminals are always on the lookout for someone to compromise through weak security controls. Make sure your system is running anti-malware software and report to Etech DTS if the system is behaving erratically or giving you popup messages and/or alerts. Do not click on anything suspicious. Always report anomalies. Use a password manager More and more businesses and professionals are using password managers as a means of practicing high levels of security and to help keep their sanity. With password managers, you only need to remember one password, as the password manager stores and even create passwords for your different accounts, automatically signing you in when you log on. Thanks for Reading. Have a Great Week and Stay Secure!

How Can a Servant Leader Use the Amplification Hypothesis?

True leadership skills are in short supply and in high demand in the modern-day workplace. In the past, team members often responded immediately to authority based on a person’s position. This is no longer the case. An empowered workforce brings many advantages to the table. Still, one aspect of that is resistance. Servant leadership provides managers with the tools to turn resistance into an opportunity for creative input, which spearheads positive change. One item in that leadership development toolbox is the amplification hypothesis. According to a study published by the U.S. National Library of Medicine, researchers have been fascinated by the effects of the amplification hypothesis since the 1990s. This particular study in 2008, however, helped to bring the amplification hypothesis out of the social psychology vacuum and into the work environment. What Is the Amplification Hypothesis? Everyone believes in something or holds opinions. Some people have stronger convictions than others. Similarly, people feel more strongly about some of their beliefs than others. When someone has a strong sense of commitment to a particular belief, social scientists call this attitude certainty. When servant leaders disagree with team members, this certainty comes to life. The knee-jerk response in these scenarios is to fire back with facts and directly attempt to persuade a team member to your side. However, a strong leadership quality is an ability to find common ground. The amplification hypothesis, therefore, states that if your team members disagree with what you desire, find common ground and start your negotiation there. If you instead exhibit certainty about a particular opinion or belief, it may increase resistance. However, when servant leaders give some leeway and take a softer approach, it softens the resistance and may lead to a more positive outcome. How Servant Leaders Can Put This Into Action It sounds good on paper. However, managers may wonder how they can act smartly and use the amplification hypothesis as part of the servant leadership model? Here are a few quick tips to keep in mind. Practice Active Listening: Finding common ground with team members requires understanding what the pain points are. What people say may only indicate or suggest what they really mean, especially in a professional setting. Too often people spend the time they should be listening on formulating a response. Always listen for the true meaning behind the words. Engage With Questions: One way to amplify your active listening skills is to verify your understanding by asking questions. Showing a genuine interest in what team members have to say further offers validation, even when you disagree in the end. It also provides you with greater insight and may challenge any initial assumptions you had about their pain points. Respect Their Competence: Team members often believe managers do not respect their ability to do their work well. The less autonomy they have over their own work and the lower their job position, the more likely this may be. To make it worse, poor leaders often find a weak point in an argument and use that as a foundation to push their own agenda. Servant leaders should place more emphasis on showing team members how much value they offer now as opposed to pinpointing flaws. Approach as an Equal: A study published by Springer Nature illustrated that humility was an important quality of good leaders. Humility in servant leadership helps managers to build trust and earn respect from their team members. This often facilitates more honest input so that managers may create changes that directly address real problems. Consider Personal Biases: Humility requires identifying and acknowledging your shortcomings too. Team members aren’t the only ones with strong convictions. Your own personal beliefs backed by your authority may hinder your active listening and bias you toward acting on your own opinions. Beware of this and find ways to ensure biases do not get in the way. Create a Positive Environment: A 2017 study on servant leadership found that it can help to create a positive work environment. Focus on developing characteristics, such as compassion, empathy, and philanthropy. The study found that these contribute to the emotional well-being of workers. This, in turn, increases teamwork, strengthens social relationships, and improves performance levels. At Etech we promote servant leadership as not just a managerial principle but a strong component of our customer relationships and our service model. From motivating our own team members to neutralizing tough situations with customers at our call centers, we put the amplification hypothesis to good use on a daily basis. Contact us today to learn how we use these principles to manage client relationships and interactions with your customers.

Characteristics of a Good Project Manager That Translate Into a Great Customer Experience

One of the goals of project management is to create a positive experience for your customers. According to a recent survey conducted by Gartner, within the next two years, 81% of respondents expect that the company that rises above its competitors will do so on the basis of quality customer experience. It’s still important to have a great product, but among top quality producers, you need something extra to make you stand out. The project manager is the person who has the most contact with the customers and thus is the one who is likely to have the most influence over their decision to choose your product or service over the competition. There are several characteristics that this vital point person needs to exhibit in order to build a solid customer relationship. Solution Orientation   Project management involves fostering collaboration and cooperation in your team to come up with the best solutions for your customers. While ideally, every person on your team is going to be a talented problem solver, the bulk of that responsibility lies on the project manager. A good manager leads the team by thinking outside the box when the standard answer doesn’t address what the customer actually needs. To offer good solutions in a timely manner, it helps if the person in charge of the team has a broad range of knowledge. When customers contact a company, they often don’t know exactly who at the organization will be able to answer their question the best. This can result in being shuffled around from person to person until it gets to someone who can give them a clear solution. This may make sense from the inside, but from the outside, it can feel like they’re getting the runaround. As the project manager, if you have a general grasp on a lot of the questions customers typically ask, you can satisfy them without having to pass them off to someone else. Good Time Management   Time management is a key component of project management toolbox. In a world where customers can make a few clicks and have what they want delivered to them in record time, being able to offer swift, efficient service is not optional. Be available to your customers, and return calls and emails promptly. In fact, if you find a way to serve them better, don’t wait for them to contact you. Follow up with them to make sure that all their needs have been met. Taking the initiative to contact them to ensure their satisfaction can make you stand out and give you a loyal customer for life. Open Communication   Many of the characteristics of good project management are made possible by great communication skills. These skills start with your team. Aside from brainstorming sessions, you can utilize other tools to make sure everyone stays on the same page: Email Task management tools Instant messaging software When it comes to customer service, the main role of the leader in charge of project management is to act as a liaison between the team and the customer. You want to communicate regularly with them but not excessively. By having one person who is tasked with keeping the lines of communication open, you can better manage the relationship with the customers. As a project manager, you are in a unique position to listen to your customers. You are the face and voice of the company to them, and as such, you are likely the first person they will contact to voice a complaint. Pay close attention to this feedback. It will tell you where you need to focus your service efforts. Good customer experience doesn’t usually involve revamping the entire way you do business. Identify the one key element that makes customers happy, and you can soar above your competitors. Extra Mile Service   Good project management involves paying close attention to the service you provide to your customers. As the project manager, you should ask yourself six questions about the experience of your customers: What are the unique qualities of your product or service that satisfy the specific needs of your customers? Does what you offer meet or exceed the customers’ expectations? What extras can you supply to surprise your customers and add value to your service? Is the overall customer experience pleasant? How can you simplify the buying process to make it easier for your customers? How quickly do you respond to both positive and negative customer feedback? You need more than a great product or service to attract customers and keep them coming back. The characteristics that make you excel at project management are the same skills that you need to please your customers. This blog was earlier published on LinkedIn.

5 Ways to Handling Workplace Conflicts

Are you Conflict Exhausted? Are you looking for a productive way to move forward in conflict? CONFLICT in itself is not bad at all. It is how we handle this conflict that could use some strength training. Here are 5 ways leaders can strengthen their conflict strategy skills. 1. See Conflict as an Opportunity Change your mindset first. Conflict gives you an opportunity to come to a resolution in a healthy manner maintaining a relationship and, in some cases, enhancing the relationship. On the other hand, handling conflict in a strategy to win at all cost will damage relationships. Address conflict in a way the other party wants to be treated. Chose to respect and trust first. 2. Practice Active Listening Handling workplace disagreements in the earliest stages also prevent them from spiraling out of control. However, this requires paying close attention. Is there an employee’s name frequently coming up in discussions with negative connotations? Is there one specific problem always dragged to the forefront in meetings? Entrepreneur recommends active listening without interruptions so that you always get the message employees are trying to send. 3. Look for Common Ground Managers should always try to find the similarities that bind people together rather than play up the differences that drive them apart. For example, Sarah and Raj may have recommended completely different ways of improving customer retention, but they may have also both factored AI into their propositions. Use this as a starting point to move forward. Work to establish what good looks like for each involved. Find the common ground and work backward. 4. Focus on the Situation Emotions are a natural part of conflicts. Unfortunately, they can play a damaging role in workplace conflicts. Emotions can distort the facts and cause people to say things they do not mean. By keeping conversations focused on the situation and forward to an outcome, people may feel more compelled to set personal differences aside and focus on the good of the collective unit. 5. Admit When You’re Wrong Sometimes the manager is the person at fault. For example, you may have reprimanded someone in front of the team for not submitting work on time, but then realize you accidentally missed an email. Make a habit of admitting when you are wrong to set an example for other employees to follow. Egos eat relationships! During the conflict work to see where you made a mistake or could have misunderstood or was misunderstood. Admit gaining common ground. The Bottom Line Handling workplace conflicts is one of the many essential skills of a good manager. Etech leaders understand that healthy conflict helps us to grow and be innovative by pushing us to achieve our best self. Unhealthy conflict does not serve our teams or those we value. Our goal is to make a Remarkable difference in resolving conflict in a healthy way. To learn more about our leadership development skills and how we SERVE our customer, contact us today.

What does the Cyber Security Awareness Month Have to Empower You?

We are almost at the end of Cyber Security Awareness Month. This year’s theme is “Own It, Secure It, Protect It.” What does this mean exactly? Internet-enabled crimes and cyber intrusions are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and preventing them requires each user of a connected device to be aware and on guard. “It’s no longer enough to be on the lookout for something in your inbox that appears suspicious,” said FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director Matt Gorham. “As criminals have grown savvier and their efforts more targeted, individuals and organizations need to scrutinize messages and requests that appear legitimate.” Some of the most common and damaging Internet-enabled crimes begin with an employee clicking a link in an email that appears to be from a colleague, following the instructions in a message that looks like it came from a supervisor, or opening an account link or file that seems to be from a trusted source. “These routine actions can be what exposes a computer or an entire network to a ransomware attack, data breach, or another crime,” said Gorham. “As we mark National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we hope to focus attention on the efforts required to safeguard individual computers and accounts and secure and protect critical data and infrastructure.” Now in its 16th year, National Cybersecurity Awareness Month is hosted every October by the Department of Homeland Security and the National Cyber Security Alliance. Multiple agencies and organizations, including the FBI, collaborate to raise awareness about cybersecurity and stress the collective effort needed to stop cyber intrusions and online thefts, and scams. “Today’s cyber threat is bigger than any one government agency—frankly, bigger than the government itself,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said at a cybersecurity conference in March. “But I think no agency brings the same combination of scope and scale, experience, tools, and relationships that the FBI has.” The FBI works in close coordination with the private sector as well as with state, local, and international partners to understand and anticipate cyber threats and pursue cybercriminals. During National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the FBI joins in asking every user of a connected device to Own IT. Secure IT. Protect IT Own IT Understand Your Digital Profile – Internet-based devices are present in every aspect of our lives: at home, school, work, and on the go. The constant connection provides opportunities for innovation and modernization but also presents opportunities for potential cybersecurity threats that can compromise your most important personal information. Understand the devices and applications you use every day to help keep you and your data safe and secure. Secure IT Secure Your Digital Profile – Cybercriminals are very good at getting personal information from unsuspecting victims, and the methods are getting more sophisticated as technology evolves. Protect against cyber threats by learning about security features available on the equipment and software you use. Apply additional layers of security to your devices—like multi-factor authentication—to better protect your personal information. Protect IT Maintain Your Digital Profile – Every click, share, send, and post you make creates a digital trail that can be exploited by cybercriminals. To protect yourself from becoming a victim, you must understand, secure, and maintain your digital profile. Be familiar with and routinely check privacy settings to help protect your privacy and limit Internet-enabled crimes. Thanks for reading and stay secure!

How Workforce Optimization Can Help You Reach Greater Heights

When it comes to service-oriented businesses, the labor force is the core of the company. Whether the employees are human or robotic, workforce optimization helps teams to work smarter instead of harder. How so? As the name suggests, contact center workforce optimization involves using managerial practices to ensure maximum productivity meets maximum efficiency. Naturally, this is just a general idea of how call center workforce optimization works. Read on for details. How To Implement Workforce Optimization   Even the best concepts fail if they are not properly applied. Here are just a few ways you can implement best practices for WFO at your organization. Focus on the Customers   When handling WFO tasks, it is easy to lose focus on what is important. Yes, your starting point is your labor force, because they play an integral role in the success of your business. However, the focus is still your customers. When looking for ways to improve the workforce, use surveys or other forms of customer feedback to better understand what customers want and how you can best fulfill these wishes. Automate the Process   Technology is one of the best ways to ensure objectivity and accuracy when tackling WFO. Companies may consider employing the use of WFO software suites to analyze current workforce performance and find areas that require improvement. Some important patterns to watch out for in a call center include the following: • Inefficiencies or inadequacies with scheduling • Long wait times for callers • Queries requiring several transfers to other departments to be resolved • Average time spent assisting callers Performance Management   By relying on data analytics, you will have objective information to present to employees about their performance — for better or worse. Use this information not just to reprimand workers who fall short of goals, but also to congratulate those who go above and beyond what is expected. The reward does not always have to be monetary. An extra day off, a gift card or even recognition in the office can go a long way toward motivating employees to be more productive. By speaking with employees, you are also in a better position to discuss and implement effective solutions to correct any patterns in the data analytics that give you cause for concern. Training and Coaching   Rather than wait until analytics show something is wrong to focus on workforce optimization, be proactive. Investing time in training and coaching employees help to keep them working at their best. Remember to create interesting training material that workers can engage with, or they may simply go through the motions and then return to work with few changes — if any — to their productivity levels. The Benefits for Call Centers   When implementing new policies at the call center, you should also continue to monitor progress to ensure you receive your return on investment. If the first attempt fails, revisit your original policies and craft new solutions. Once you find solutions that work, here are some of the benefits you can expect from effective workforce management. Improved Decision Making   When employees are well-trained and empowered, they are in a better place to make good decisions that benefit customers and the business. For instance, a customer may call to say they can no longer afford their subscription service. A worker who is not empowered would perhaps try to discourage that customer by mentioning all the key benefits they would give up, or perhaps try to get a supervisor involved. They may even simply assist the customer with canceling their service. Thanks to workforce optimization, an empowered employee may ask the customer if a 20% discount would make the plan more affordable. They may even suggest a temporary pause rather than a cancelation. Chances are that the customer might take the offer. Reducing Cost   The thought of allowing employees to hand out 20% discounts and pause accounts may make you start to think about your bottom line. However, there are efficiencies that save you money. Forbes notes that one benefit of business intelligence tech is that they assist with letting you know peak hours and slow hours of business, so you can schedule employees accordingly. This prevents your business from losing customers to long wait times during peak hours and paying call agents for twiddling their thumbs during slow periods. Another way workforce optimization reduces cost is by removing or improving steps in the product cycle that tack on unnecessary time. This helps to reduce wait time for callers and reduce time spent on specific tasks for employees, thus increasing productivity. Would you like to see these WFO benefits realized in your own call center? Send an email to info@etechgs.com to see how we can make that desire a reality.

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