Chicago Ill.

“I love and respect Step Up Women’s Network for its ability to provide young teenage girls with opportunities that would otherwise be unavailable in its community,” says Janet Livingston, founder of Answer Center America. “Step Up Women’s Network boosts self esteem and confidence in young women.  I am committed to helping spread their message.”

With Chicago’s unemployment rate hovering around 10 percent this summer, teens face fierce competition to find part time work or summer internships. SUWN lends a hand to its young teens and helps them land internships among local Chicago businesses in areas that personally interest them. Dillard will perform tasks for multiple departments throughout ACA, with a strong focus in the marketing department.

“Step Up is thrilled to partner with ACA for a second year and I could not ask, nor hope, for more from a company,” says Rachel Bronson, program manager for Step Up Women’s Network. “These internship opportunities are a vital part of our programming that helps teen girls become confident, college-bound, and career ready.”

ACA looks forward to continuing its relationship with Step Up Women’s Network for many years to come.  Dillard hopes to one day own a company of her own within the pet care or fashion design industry.  ACA’s goal is to give Dillard one more stepping stone towards her dream.   

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About Answer Center America

Based in Chicago, Ill., Answer Center America, Inc. is an experienced partner in providing seamless call center and answering solutions. Founded in 1995 by Janet Livingston, ACA has proven itself as an industry leader through cutting-edge technology, unwavering customer service, and customized services. For additional information, please visit www.goacanow.com. 

About Women’s Step Up Network

Step Up Women’s Network is a national, nonprofit membership organization dedicated to connecting and advancing women and girls. By bridging communities of professional women and underserved teen girls through mentorship, networking and advancement, we ensure women and girls have the opportunities they need to create a better future. Connect with us at www.suwn.org.

Soft Skills versus Hard Skills in the

In the call center environment, hard skills are easily enforced, measured and monitored without hesitation. With these skills, there is a clear distinction between right and wrong. For this reason, hard skills are often used as a measurement of an agent’s success.  Soft skills, however, prove to be more elusive and indefinable. Soft skills involve the ability to communicate, motivate, listen, solve problems and manage stressful situations. What many contact centers fail to recognize is that encompassing a blend of these skills creates a recipe for success. One skill set without the other is ineffective and unproductive.  Failing to address the significance of both skills will quickly lead to low morale, frustrated employees, and failure to meet customer expectations.  

Hard skills can only help an agent get so far with the caller.  To effectively ease and resolve the caller’s concern, an agent needs to possess effectual communication, listening and conversational skills. Something as simple as answering the call with a friendly demeanor, “Hello, thanks for calling ______”, can set the tone for a positive call experience. An agent may say all the right things and follow all the correct procedures, but without the soft skills to communicate with the caller, the agent will quickly fall short.  

Investing in equal training time and tools for soft and hard skills will provide agents with the right talent to succeed in their role. Simple role-playing exercises or call reviews can help agents see where, and if, they fall short in soft skill techniques. While soft skills are not as definable and trainable as hard skills, the impact of training and employing a team of individuals who possess these skills will undeniably create an environment that will sustain long-term success for agents, as well as clients.

Bio: Sarah Wilson is a marketing communication specialist for Answer Center America, a leading provider of inbound, outbound and answering solutions.

Multi-Channel Enhancement Service Options

Most companies are available by phone; however, to beat the competition, this isn’t always enough.  Today’s consumers have much higher expectations than ever before.  24/7 live agents are critical to maintaining a positive customer service experience, but supportive communication channels ensure a more comprehensive and complete solution.  Voice, email, click-to-call and Web chat are quickly proving to be a worthwhile investment to a company’s bottom line. 

According to Forrester Research, “An investment in reactive chat is likely to produce a small positive return on investment (ROI) of 15%”.  Chat is a cost-effective motivator to convert more Web site viewers into Web site customers. Web chat, in addition to other customer service interaction channels, creates an environment where call center agents can provide support to multiple users at the same time. Together, these channels create a bundled approach of interactive touch points to obtain and retain customer relationships. 

Communication channels available…

Web Chat – Web Chat allows the customer to connect with your company instantaneously through your Web site with the click of a mouse. All chats are in real-time and are proven to be a convenient way for customers to connect with your company.

Click-to-Call – Click-to-Call makes it easy for web site visitors to call you. This service allows web site viewers to make an immediate connection to a live agent by phone.

 Email Response – Email response makes certain that customer email responses are rapid and consistent. Live agents are trained to respond to email inquiries in a way that would not be possible with an automated system.  

With the right technology, best practices, and properly trained agents, these communication channels can address the needs of every customer. Multiple touch points allow the user to interact with your product/service in a way that is most convenient for them. In order to face the competition, companies are using these tools to get ahead and work proactively to obtain new customers.

Chicago, Ill.

Answer Center America is a leading provider of inbound and outbound call center solutions. The company has more than doubled its size in the past three years. Due to ongoing growth, ACA continues to hire on a weekly basis. With a recent increase in hiring, Kern’s role at ACA will ensure the employee hiring and retaining process remains seamless. ACA maintains an above average employee retention rate within the call center industry and has hired Kern to maintain their employee friendly culture of excellence.

Kern’s professional experience most recently consists of serving the last five years as a Senior Recruiter for one of ACA’s personnel staffing partners, Banner Personnel. Prior to this, Tara has numerous years of experience in the management and human resource arenas.

Kern is a graduate of Iowa State University with a Bachelor of Arts in marketing. In her free time, Kern is an avid marathon and half-marathon runner and stays active in the Chicago running community. 

About Answer Center America Inc.

Based in Chicago, Ill., Answer Center America, Inc. is an experienced partner in providing seamless call center and answering solutions. Founded in 1995 by Janet Livingston, ACA has proven itself as an industry leader through cutting-edge technology, unwavering customer service, and customized services. For additional information, please visit www.goacanow.com. 

Scripting (ACA Contact Management Solution)

The scripting method is the most commonly used conversation flow method.  This process leads callers through the call process with prewritten answers and responses based on the information exchanged. Generally the script consists of a predetermined introduction, information exchange and closing statement.  Scripts can be easily modified and customized to accommodate the individual needs of the client and their callers. With today’s advance technology, call flows and scripts can be easliy delivered to the agent’s computer screen.

The ACA Contact Management (scripting) Solution can be an effective process to improve call center efficiency, reduce labor, and provide a consistent message to customers.  A well engineered script, in addition to accurately trained agents, can hit key performance metrics. Scripting can help reduce human error on calls and still allow call flows to be flexible during interaction with customers.

Conversation Modeling (ACA CISR Model)

For more complex calls, a modeling approach can benefit the client and caller.  Modeling requires the agent to be trained on all aspects of the account and prepared to answer questions off the cuff.  An information guide is provided for the agent but the call flow is not as detailed as a scripted account.

ACA uses our proprietary conversation model, called CISR, to train customer service representatives to lead conversations with customers and to clarify each customer’s specific service need.  The CISR model consists of four steps. These steps are used in sequence while interacting with the customer. A customer service representative is able to guide the conversation and determine all of the information needed to identify and deliver solutions that are customer focused and results driven.

C = Concerns

I = Indicators

S = Solutions

R = Responsibilities

Answer Center America can help determine which call method works best for your company.  Contact an ACA sales consultant to determine a customized contact solution for your company.

Walker holds 15 years of leadership experience in strategic planning, telecommunication, system design and human resources management. She comes from Rush North Medical Center where she worked as director of telecommunications for more than 10 years.

“Walkers experience in the healthcare industry will be a tremendous asset to our organization.” says Trey Bynum, general manager of Answer Center America.

As manager of call center operations, Walker will oversee the operations team. Major responsibilities include implementation procedures, managing daily workforce, tracking team productivity and additional responsibilities.

In addition to Walker, Troy Berry is a recent addition to the ACA team. Coming from Navagon as director of customer service, Troy Berry brings a wealth of knowledge to the table.  For more than 15 years, Berry has managed operations, new business development, CRM and technical support in call center settings. 

“It’s rewarding to enter a position with such an enthusiastic team,” says Berry. “The environment here fosters a strong sense of commitment and innovation. I look forward to collaborating with my team to offer ACA customers the ultimate customer service experience.”

In his role at ACA, Berry is responsible for managing account development, implementations and management.  These three functional groups outline the strategy for ACA’s entire relationship with their business-to-business client base.

“In response to the growth we’ve experienced in the past year, we realize the value of bringing in external employees to accompany our growing family of clients,” says Bynum.  “Their fresh perspective and previous experience is sure to bring innovative ideas and solutions to the table.”

Berry is a graduate from the University of Iowa with a Bachelor of Science in sociology.  He was raised in Ottumwa, Iowa. Walker attended DePaul University and earned her certified telecommunication technician license through AT&T. She is a native of Evanston, Ill. 

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About ACA Inc.

Based in Chicago, Ill., Answer Center America, Inc. is an experienced partner in providing seamless call center and answering solutions. Founded in 1995 by Janet Livingston, ACA has proven itself as an industry leader through cutting-edge technology, unwavering customer service, and customized services. For additional information, please visit www.goacanow.com or call 1-800-270-7030.

As the healthcare reform continues to move forward, medical call centers will most certainly aid in the customer service relationship between patients, healthcare professionals and insurance companies. This new reform will expand coverage to 32 million Americans who are currently uninsured. With this new reform comes the good and some may argue, also some bad.

Whether or not we are ready, the reform is on its way.  This change will affect the relationship between healthcare professionals and patients. A HIPAA certified medical answering service and call center can help patients and healthcare professionals seamlessly adjust to the changes brought about by this new development.

Here are obstacles that could present themselves once the new reform comes into action and ways in which a qualified call center can help:

• Decrease in patient personal attention – With a significant increase in patients, may come a shortage in healthcare professionals.  This could affect the level of attention each patient receives by his or her doctor.  Healthcare professionals must become more efficient with their time. HIPAA certified call centers will play a vital role in helping doctors address patient concerns, scheduling appointments and patching emergency calls.
• Increase in insurance claims and questions – The 32 million newly insured patients will most likely have questions for their insurance companies.  Just read this article on how Callers Flood ehealthinsurance Asking ‘Where’s my Free Obama Care?”. HIPPA certified call centers with licensed insurance agents will play a vital role in accommodating these individual’s concerns and questions.
• New member registration forms and expanding databases – This may overwhelm some insurance companies.  In addition, technology and environmental factors are encouraging healthcare organizations to go paperless. Outsourcing licensed insurance agents with a HIPAA compliant call center can keep costs at a minimum while providing quality customer service.
• Communication Barrier – This problem existed before the reform came into play, however, with 45 million Spanish speaking individuals in the United States, this issue is likely to be stressed.  Multilingual call centers enable insurance companies and healthcare professionals to communicate effectively with all types of language.

The new reform is going to provide individuals with health insurance that was previously unavailable, however, a quality call center can ensure these patients are given the quality customer service experience they deserve.

Article: Connecting your callers with an answering service is the best way to improve customer satisfaction.  You’ll feel confident that your calls are being answered in a professional manner by an extension of your company.  These services make it possible for your customers and other individuals to stay in touch with your company even after business hours, regardless if it’s day or night.

All businesses care about their customers.  Although it’s impossible to maintain 24/7 contact with customers, clients, or patients if you’re a medical professional, there are ways to provide them with the opportunity to contact you in case of emergency.  Answering services, both business answering services and medical answering services provide patients and clients with the answers they need.  Answering services transfer calls to you or to members of your staff who can then provide professional care and solutions.

You want what’s best for your customers, so here are things to look for when hiring an Answering Service to take care of your needs.

What services does the Answering Service Provide? Do these services apply to your facility or business?  If you choose an answering service that can go beyond scheduling appointments and routing calls, you’ll be able to provide better customer service to your clients.  If your answering service provides answers to incoming questions, your clients won’t have to wait for a callback.  Excellent answering services offer medical answering services, 24-hour emergency messaging and dispatching for home health, hospice, and home care providers, as well as appointment scheduling, rescheduling, and reminders.

How professional is your Answering Service? Before deciding upon an answering service, you want to assess their level of professionalism and training.  A good answering service specializes in handling medical and all other inquiries with compassion and privacy.  Remember, you have the option to work with your answering service and direct them to provide callers with the responses and service you’d like.  Work with your answering service to establish guidelines and responses for specific customers and tailor their services to your business.

What are the hours your Answering Service Provides? The best answering services provide around the clock services—that is 24/7, 365 days a year.  Especially if you work as a medical professional, you’ll need answering services to schedule appointments, transfer emergency calls at all hours, and provide answers and responses to patient callers.  If your answering service makes customer service available to individuals during and after business hours, your customers and patients will enjoy customer care at all hours of the day and night.

When choosing the best answering service, rely on a company that provides excellent and professional customer service, cost-effective solutions, and a wide-range of services.  When your answering service works with you to provide consistent high quality service, your company will enjoy customer satisfaction in the future and further down the road.

Outsourcing your customer service representatives can be an effective solution to manage the cultural differences between these two sectors.  The growing demand for a bilingual call center enables companies to accommodate this segment of the population, without the high-cost of hiring internal employees. With the Hispanic and Spanish speaking population on the rise, make sure your call center is providing bilingual services.

Here are key benefits you’ll gain when outsourcing a Spanish Speaking call center:

• Increased efficiency
• No need to hire or train employees
• Call center management already set in place
• Competitive edge
• A wide-range of services

Bridging the language barrier between your company/organization and the Spanish speaking community will quickly prove beneficial.  Answer Center America can help determine an effective strategy to help you reach Spanish speaking individuals.