Should You Set Annual Goals?

If We Aim for Nothing, We’ll Hit It Every Time

Do you make New Year’s resolutions? How does that work for you? Some people mistakenly place annual goals in the same category as New Year’s resolutions: ideas that sound good but that we quickly forget and that accomplish nothing.

We need to disassociate the two. Annual goals, specifically for your job and for your answering service are essential. Without them you will flounder in your work, going from day-to-day, month-to-month, and year-to-year.

A Guide to Pre-Employment Testing for Call Centers

The call center industry has changed so much over the past several years, bringing a new set of challenges that pre-employment tests can best address. Nowadays, TAS owners and Operations Managers have to be prudent when hiring call center staff. If they aren’t, the performance of their staff may lead to higher turnover, lower productivity, and compromised service delivery.

Call centers typically experience a turnover rate close to 45%, and the cost to replace one agent can be 25% to 30% of a full salary plus a benefits package. On top of that, it is believed that 78% of consumers have backed out of a purchase due to poor service from call center employees.

Top 5 Benefits of Joining 

The Association of TeleServices International

If you’re in the answering service or call center industry, joining a professional association can provide you with many benefits. By becoming a member of the Association of TeleServices International (ATSI), it’s a win-win scenario for call centers and similar organizations because while they receive opportunities to network with other industry professionals, they will also get the training and education needed to learn more about growing a profitable TAS business.

Here at ATSI, we take pride in holding the umbrella for hundreds of professional call centers, answering services and contact centers. Here we are listing the top five (5) benefits of being an ATSI member.

HOW TO IMPROVE AGENT ENGAGEMENT AND BOOST YOUR CALL CENTER’S PERFORMANCE

Driving agent engagement is a priority in every call center, regardless of size. The truth is, engagement is what drives motivation, increases performance and decreases turnover, making it a key factor for you and your Operation Manager’s sanity. 

When it comes to answering services and call centers, increased engagement has two main benefits: high performance and high retention.

Pursue Growth Through Acquisition
Expand Your TAS by Acquiring Accounts Instead of through Sales and Marketing

When you think of the future of your telephone answering service, what will it look like? What strategy do you need to use to get there? There is no one right answer that works for everyone, but there might be one right answer that works for you.

ATSI President, Joe Pores Discusses the Impact of Excessive HIPAA Requirements for the TeleServices Industry

Compliance with Federal laws and regulations is important in most industries throughout the United States. The 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), is one of the laws established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) with the main goal of creating a set of security standards and requirements that address the confidentiality of Protected Health Information (PHI) and Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI).

Answering Services Reduce The Impact Of Increasing Minimum Wages On Small Businesses

Rising minimum wages throughout the United States will definitely have a tremendous impact on small business owners. With a $15 minimum wage gaining momentum, it will be necessary for owners to course correct in order to minimize the impact. The sensible solution is to leverage the support of an answering service.

AMERICA'S PRIVATE SECTOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE CENTERS

In the dark silence of the night, there are a few lights forever burning – a few voices never stilled.
Those lights are your community’s Private Sector Emergency Response Centers. The voices are those of 40,000 skilled agents.
For nearly 100 years, PSERC agents have faithfully answered America’s critical calls around the clock, every day and night. Their caring voices bring a feeling of security, whatever the need or the hour.

STATISTICS

Discover why having fewer answering services is a good thing

The telephone answering service industry is consolidating, and it has been for quite some time. Though we don’t have precise numbers to support this trend, the empirical evidence is all around us. Acquiring organizations grow larger, while the number of industry players gets smaller.

Don’t Underestimate the Importance of HIPAA Compliance

HIPAA Compliance Is More Than a Best Practice, It’s the Law

6 Tips to Help TAS Associations Have Successful Events

In a prior post we discussed what you can do to support your favorite TAS industry associations.  We gave four tips: become a member, attend their events, volunteer your time, and buy their products. Let’s look specifically at industry events and what you can do to make them more valuable.

4 Tips for You to Help TAS Associations Succeed and Grow

Last month we discussed the impact of industry consolidation on TAS user groups and trade associations. Though there’s reason for concern over this trend, there are also solutions. It’s important we don’t lose sight of that. There’s no room for panic. Intentional action is required, now more than ever.

TAS industry user groups and associations need you now more than ever

In the last two posts we looked at the impact of TAS industry consolidation, first on the answering services themselves and then on the vendors that serve our industry. While most people shudder at the thought of industry contraction, we noted several positive aspects of consolidation on those answering services that remain. When it comes to TAS vendors, however, there is more pressure on them, with fewer answering services left to buy their products and services. Yet, when we support our vendors, we support ourselves and prepare for the future.

By supporting our vendors, we support ourselves

Last month we looked at the impact of TAS industry consolidation on answering services. After analyzing the causes and the results produced, we discovered many positive outcomes as a result of our industry consolidation.

Most everyone talks about quality service, but too often they can’t back it up

Telephone answering services typically compete in one of two ways. One is by the quality of their service and the other is by price. Let’s set aside competing on price, because there will always be an answering service out there willing to charge less. Besides, competing on price is a race to the bottom, which no one can win for the long-term.

But Not All E&O Insurance Policies Are the Same

As individuals and businesses, we purchase insurance policies to protect us from loss. Personally, we insure our home and cars, our life and our health, along with other things. For our answering service, we insure our building and its contents, to start with. Then we add a general liability policy. But for a telephone answering service, especially in this litigious society, a general liability policy isn’t enough. We also need an errors and omissions insurance policy, E&O for short.

Attending a Conference Is Valuable but It’s What You Do When You Get Home That Counts

Hopefully you had the opportunity to attend this year’s ATSI conference.

Discover the Benefits of TAS Niche Market Focus

One of the possible telephone answering service strategies we mentioned is to pursue niche markets. It is the second of four major TAS tactics to consider.
Aside from focusing on medical accounts, there once was a time when most all answering services were generalists, taking on any new account that required their services. This once was the best growth strategy, but that’s not necessarily the case anymore. Pursuing a niche market—or markets—is emerging as a more tactical solution to answering service success.
Here are some of the benefits available from pursuing a niche market growth strategy for your answering service.

Allow for Specialization

Focusing on one (or a few) vertical markets allows for increased focus. This lets you and your staff accumulate specific knowledge about one industry, which permits you to serve them more fully and effectively. You’ll learn their industry jargon, understand their pain points, and pick up on hot-button issues. This specialization will allow you to serve clients in that vertical market with greater ease and produce better results.

A Failure to Plan Is Planning to Fail

Last month we talked about the importance of finishing the year strong to best prepare for the new year. Hopefully you followed some of the recommended steps and did indeed finish last year strong. Now you’re prepared to make the best of this year for your telephone answering service.

With the Changing Season Comes the Opportunity to Make Meaningful Change

Spring is that time of year we usually associate with doing a thorough cleaning of our house, called spring cleaning. Whether we actually get around to doing it, of course, is another story. Let’s move the concept of spring cleaning from our home to our business. Here are some spring-cleaning projects we might want to consider for our answering service.