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 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
BPO -FAQS :
What does BPO Consulting stand for?
BPO is an acronym for Business Process Outsourcing. Traditionally, Business Process Outsourcing has been a management tool available only to large companies. These companies saved millions of dollars by outsourcing their non-core functions, such as accounting, finance and Human Resources to specialized service providers. BPO Consulting Corp. provides outsourcing of these back-office functions to small, mid-size and emerging growth companies.
What is BPO Consulting?
BPO Consulting provides business process outsourcing, consulting and accounting system implementation to small, emerging growth and concept-stage businesses. We pride ourselves on providing practical solutions for back-office needs. Employees of BPO Consulting have consulted to over 200 businesses in the Boston area in the last 20 years. Employees of BPO Consulting include experienced CPAs, MBAs, accountants, and bookkeepers.
Does BPO Consulting provide non-accounting services?
BPO Consulting provides other "back office" services such as Human Resources. BPO Consulting also has a network of professionals who provide other "back office" services on a consulting basis. BPO Consulting can supervise these individuals on non-accounting projects and, if requested, can employ these individuals and offer a fixed price or hourly arrangement to our clients.
I am thinking about starting a business. Why do I need BPO Consulting?
BPO Consulting has consulted too many concept-stage companies. There are many important decisions that need to be made with the help of someone experienced with complex accounting, financing, business, and tax issues. One example is the preparation of financial projections to be included in the business plan. These projections are used to formulate a financing strategy and, upon funding, a tax strategy to minimize taxes. After funding, there are several other issues that need to be immediately addressed such as selecting affordable accounting software, establishing budgets, implementing policies, procedures and authorizations, registering the business with the appropriate local, state and federal agencies, establishing a month-end closing schedule to ensure timely, accurate financial statements. BPO Consulting has been involved with many concept-stage companies that have grown into multi-million dollar companies.
I have just started a business. Why do I need BPO Consulting?
Congratulations! There are now several issues that need to be discussed and actions taken. Some examples are the type of accounting software to be purchased and implemented (we always emphasize keeping this expense to a minimum, as most low end packages now offer much of the same functionality as the expensive, industry specific packages), the policies and procedures (who can buy what and how much can they spend), accounting policies (how and when do you recognize revenue), establishing a month-end closing schedules to ensure timely, accurate financial statements, compensation strategies (including stock options, restricted stock, employee benefits), establishing a filing system (believe us, this is extremely important and a good, neat, organized filing system saves much time and many headaches in the future), local, state and federal filings (Secretary of State, Sales and Use Tax, nexus issues, DOL filings), employee benefits. BPO Consulting consultants are experts in all of these issues and can provide you with efficient, affordable answers and solutions.
I already have a bookkeeper. Why do I need BPO Consulting?
Most bookkeepers do a great job. Remember though, they usually do not have the experience to address many of the complex issues that face small businesses today. Many of these issues do not surface until they become a problem. These issues, and there are many, will inevitably "rear their ugly head" at the most inopportune time, if ignored, or are not properly addressed. Bookkeepers record transactions, but often do not know the full implication of the transactions for financial statement and tax purposes. Also, many business owners do not have the background to properly train and supervise a bookkeeper. Bookkeepers can make bad decisions if there is no one to answer complex financial questions. We pride ourselves on building trust and rapport with our client’s staff and we are always reachable by phone. We strongly encourage them to contact us with questions or issues at any time.
I already have an accounting staff. Why do I need BPO Consulting?
Most accounting staff employees have limited work experience. They perhaps have worked at two or three other companies where they reported to a more senior accountant. They may now be reporting to the business owner who has a background in general business, engineering or sales – probably not finance or accounting. There may be many areas where these staff accountants do not have experience and need guidance. BPO Consulting can provide this guidance and management. This enables the staff accountant to grow and to gain the experience to properly address these issues. Eventually, the staff accountant can be promoted to Controller or CFO and then becomes a more valuable and dedicated employee. At that time, the talents of BPO Consulting may not be needed. This is a win-win situation. It is a win for BPO Consulting because we were successful in our mission, who is to help our clients grow, and a win for you because you now have an accounting staff that can bring you to the next level.
My accounting staff is not efficient. Why do I need BPO Consulting?
Assuming you spent much time and money to hire an accounting staff and at one time this staff was probably very efficient and responsive but perhaps due to a changing business environment, or a change of management, they have lost their edge. There is probably no need to fire the staff and hire a new one. Our experience with over 200 clients in the last 20 years allows us to quickly evaluate your staff and make and present to you specific, concrete recommendations to improve the accounting staff’s efficiency. You can then implement these recommendations using your staff, BPO Consulting, or any other consultant. There is no commitment to use BPO Consulting to implement these recommendations.
I just downsized and fired my accounting staff. Why do I need BPO Consulting?
Although your business size has reduced in terms of sales and number of employees, there are still bills to pay, payrolls to process, financial statements to prepare, bankers and investors to satisfy, business plans and projections to be updated, new sources of capital to be sought, analyses of costs to be completed, cash flows analyses to be prepared, etc. The need for timely, accurate, professional and, perhaps most importantly, affordable accounting and finance information is now more important than ever. The presence of a financial professional is also critical to keep the confidence of investors and bankers during these uncertain times. BPO Consulting can perform the routine accounting and bookkeeping functions and provide the higher-level (CFO and Controllership) assistance that is critically needed during these times. BPO Consulting will work with you to ensure that all of your needs are addressed in a timely and affordable manner.
Is there a minimum commitment required to use BPO Consulting?
No. We are committed to meet your needs. Our experience has taught us that every client is different and there is no "one size fits all" solution. We know that every company has a different culture and every CEO a different management style. We pride ourselves on being very flexible. We believe strongly in giving clients the flexibility to use BPO consulting as much or as little as they feel comfortable and justified. We have clients who use us several days a week and other clients who use us a couple of times a year. Our commitment to serve these different clients is the same. We will always offer clients a fixed price or hourly arrangement and give them the flexibility to switch from one arrangement to the other at any time.
Does BPO Consulting replace my auditor?
No. Your auditor is an independent, outside accountant that delivers audited or reviewed financial statements and is very important to the success of your business. BPO Consulting represents you and your business and should be considered you’re inside accountant. BPO Consulting works very closely with your auditor to ensure the audit process is efficient and affordable by preparing detailed and accurate work papers for the auditors, attending to their many requests for information, answering questions, explaining and justifying the accounting policies, reviewing proposed adjustments to the financial statements, helping to prepare the footnotes and reviewing the auditor’s opinion. BPO Consulting has worked with all of the Big Four, most of the national and regional and several of the local CPA firms. We have an excellent working relationship with all of them. BPO Consulting is often referred to clients from these firms to ensure the accounting department is properly staffed and management is receiving timely and accurate financial information.
Will BPO Consulting do my taxes?
BPO Consulting believes that the audit firm should prepare your taxes. They have the expertise in the preparation and the filing of tax returns. BPO Consulting is very involved and experienced in advising clients on a tax strategy that will both minimize taxes and be compliant. This strategy is best done jointly with those responsible for preparing your tax return. In situations where there is not an audit firm, BPO Consulting can refer someone who will affordably and accurately prepare the tax return.
How much does BPO consulting cost?
The cost is dependent on many factors, such as the number of hours involved, the function to be staffed, the project to be completed, the support staff available, the complexity of the situation, the risks involved, etc. BPO Consulting always ensures that the scope and the timing of the assignment are clearly defined and a budget established. BPO Consulting always offers an hourly or a fixed price arrangement. We feel strongly believe that our advice, experience and work ethic will result in savings and efficiencies that greatly exceed the fee paid to BPO Consulting.
CALL CENTER -FAQS :
What is a call center?
A call center is traditionally defined as a physical location where calls are placed, or received, in high volume for the purpose of sales, marketing, customer service, telemarketing, technical support or other specialized business activity. One early definition described a call center as a place of doing business by phone that combined a centralized database with an automatic call distribution system. That's close, but it's really much more than that. It is:
Huge telemarketing centers Fundraising and collections organizations Help desks, both internal and external Outsourcers (better known as service bureaus) that use their large capacity to serve lots of companies Reservation centers for airlines and hotels Catalog retailers "E-tailing" centers and e-commerce transaction centers that don't handle calls so much as automated customer interactions.
Estimates of the number of call centers in North America range from 50,000 to as high as 200, 000. The reality is probably somewhere around 100,000, depending on what you consider a call center. Some experts believe that you shouldn't count centers below a certain number of agents (or "seats"), and that floor hovers somewhere between 15 and 30 seats. I believe in the widest possible definition, all the way down to micro-centers of four or five people. Why? Because those centers face many of the same kinds of problems on a daily basis as their larger cousins: problems of training, staffing, call handling, technology assessment, and so on. Companies that run those smaller centers have to put the same kind of face forward to the customer as the largest centers, in order to remain competitive. And more often than not, those small center become medium-sized centers over time.
Call centers are generally set up as large rooms, with workstations that include a computer, a telephone set (or headset) hooked into a large telecom switch and one or more supervisor stations. It may stand by itself, or be linked with other centers. It may also be linked to a corporate data network, including mainframes, microcomputers and LANs. Increasingly, the voice and data pathways into the center are linked through a set of new technologies called CTI, or computer-telephony integration.
Call centers were first recognized as such in their largest incarnations: airline reservation centers, catalog ordering companies, consumer-oriented problem solvers like the GE Answer Center or WordPerfect's customer support services. Until the early 1990s, only the largest centers could afford the investment in technology (the ACD) that allowed them to handle huge volumes. More recently, with the development of LAN-based switches, internet-based transaction processing, client/server software systems, and open phone systems, any call center can have an advanced call handling and customer management system, even down to ten agents or less.
As companies have learned that service is the key to attracting and maintaining customers (and hence, revenue), the common perception of the call center has changed. In some industries (catalog retailing, financial services, hospitality) a call center is the difference between being in business and not being in business. In other industries (cable television, utilities) call centers have been the centerpiece of corporate attempts to quickly overhaul service and improve their image. It's a strategic asset that companies can use to improve their customer relationships, and more important, to learn more about their customers, and therefore serve them better. This improves the bottom line. Call centers have evolved from cost centers to profit centers.
It's a good working hypothesis to assume that any company that sells any product has a call center, or will shortly have one, because it is the most effective way to reach (and be reached by) customers
Are there any general guidelines on how big or small a call center should be? How big does a call center have to be to take advantage of economies of scale?
In general, companies are and feel free to concoct their own cost/benefit calculations for how big centers should be. Indeed, in this decade we've seen simultaneous trends towards centralization and decentralization in the call center industries, thanks to technologies that allow companies to take their pick. You could put all your eggs into one basket, using switches that allow you to seat hundreds, even thousands in a single site; or, you could spread them out among lots of linked sites, very small, and try to get economies not in the tech, but in the market for labor and real estate. This, thanks to tech that allows you link them together and manage them as one.
If anything, perhaps we're edging toward a consensus that linked centers are better than super centers, though that's my anecdotal sense and not a fact. I would say a center becomes too big when it a) taps the total labor pool, and becomes vulnerable to the size of the population and the employment rate and b) becomes too stacked with layers of management to manage effectively.
How many call centers are there?
This is a hard question to answer, because the truth is nobody knows. A lot depends on how you define a center. Do you define it by the number of people who can work there at any one time ("seats")? Or by the kind of technology used in it? Or by the basic function—some people don't count either dedicated inbound or outbound centers, for their own strange reasons. Sometimes people count the number of call centers within a certain industry, and try to extrapolate something broader from that, which is dangerous and a little bit foolish.
Because of this, and the fact that call centers are traditionally hidden within corporations that don't talk about them, it's hard to get an accurate count. Add to this confusion: many of the analysts who study the numbers question really don't have any idea what they are measuring. We are just at the dawn of the era of good analysis.
That being said, here's my guess. Based on the broadest possible definition, I think that there are somewhere close to 140,000 call centers in the US and Canada. There are perhaps 20,000 more scattered around the world. That 140,000 number is based on anecdotal reports of growth over the last few years, on an extrapolation from a known figure (the 67,000 call centers that are known to exist using a particular type of technology, and a best guess as to the number that are not), and a decades worth of conversations with people who do count the numbers. Take it for whatever you think it's worth.
What are the hottest parts of the US for new call centers and why?
The most attractive areas right now appear to be the south and southwest, areas that have plentiful labor at the lowest cost, coupled with available real estate for centers, good telecom, and perhaps most important, state and local governments that go out of their way to offer tax and job creation incentives to attract centers. For more information, take a look at our Info Guide, called Destination: Call Center
What are the advantages and feasibility of using Internet chat to enhance call centre operations?
This is really a million dollar question right now. A lot of new products are out that perform this function, and a lot of companies (particularly dot-coms and catalog retailers) are trying it out. It's certainly feasible, as feasible as connecting the website and/or email system to an agent pool. As far as advantages, a lot will be determined when we and others examine the fallout from this holiday shopping season. I think it's too early to tell. But initial anecdotal reports seem to indicate that customers respond well to it, particularly when its done through an existing Instant Messaging interface (like AOL’s) rather than through a downloaded applet pushed by the company's website. More than that we just can't say that this time. We will, however, be covering this extensively in 2000
What are the different advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing a call center? What is the importance of having a call center nowadays?
Outsourcing is one of those things you do when you either have too much call volume to handle yourself using your own centers, or when you want to try out some new technique or technology without making a hefty capital investment before you're ready.
The key advantage of hiring an outsourcer for all or part of your call center operation is that it spreads the risks around: the risk that any given call won't be answered, primarily, as well as the risk of failure at any one center. Outsourcing can allow you to respond quickly to changing circumstances, like sudden shifts in volume. It can also allow you to gradually extend what you do—extending the hours you offer customer service, for example.
On the downside, there is always a lack of control when someone else is handling your calls for you. Not everyone is comfortable with that. Customers are, after all, the most precious asset of any company. Hiring the wrong outsourcer can put customer-relationships in jeopardy. For that reason, we don't advise anyone to go into an outsourcing relationship lightly.
As to the importance of having a call center, I would say this: if you have
What are the origins of the call center industry?
Something around 30 years ago, the travel and hospitality industry began to centralize their reservation centers into what we would recognize now as huge call centers. This happened at around the time the first large-scale high-volume premise-based telephone switches became available.
Banks have also used them since the 1970s at least, and later in that decade, with the rise of the catalog shopping movement and outbound telemarketing, call centers became a staple within many industries. Each industry, however, had its own way of operating centers, its own standards for quality, and its own preferred technologies. This balkanization of the industry persisted until early in the 1990s, when call center managers became more recognized as having a consistent set of skills and an operational knowledge.
In 1984, Business Week wrote the following:
"Much of the impetus for establishing such centers was generated by Technical Assistance Research Programs Inc. (TARP), a Washington consulting firm hired by the White House to assess service in the US. TARP's findings were eye-opening, suggesting that corporations were inadvertantly losing many of their customers....[C]ompanies as diverse as GE, AmEx, GM's Buick, and Coors mentioned the TARP studies when discussing their service operations. To make their companies more accessible, they began to advertise toll-free lines. But more than phone lines are needed, as several companies are discovering. The 800 numbers can be an added source of customer frustration unless they provide fast and efficient response. A number of companies that have installed the lines do not cover them continuously—or at the times when customers would be most likely to use them..." (BW, 6/11/84, pp.164-167.)
What does a call center manager actually do?
A call center manager's job consists of ensuring the continued daily operation of the center. He or she is responsible for setting service standards for the center (i.e., how long before calls get answered, on average, or how many contacts per hour outbound agents are required to make).
The manager is responsible for solving intraday problems, arranging for having the correct number of agents in the right number of seats, and for making sure that the center operates with enough of the right kinds of technologies to make the customer experience a positive one. The call center manager's job is to put out fires all day long, and it's truly an impossible one.
What does a rep do?
A rep answers the phones. A rep takes a day's worth of crap from customers and comes back tomorrow. A rep puts up with long hours and low pay and not enough motivation from his or her supervisors, and usually doesn't stay at the job for very long. A rep ensures that the customer experience is the best it can possibly be, a truly thankless task.
What issues and factors should be taken into consideration when one actually thinks about establishing a call centre for his/her organisation?
While the actual factors are going to depend strongly on the unique needs of the company doing the considering, here are some starting points that every prospective center operator should keep in mind.
1. Is there an informal infrastructure that exists already that will be superseded by the creation of a formal center? What are these people doing, and what will they do in the new structure? (This would include agents, supervisors, and "casual" call center management—those people who run a department which for one reason or another happens to have an accidental call center on board.)
2. What telecom and data networking resources are going to be needed to create the center? Presumably these already exist in some form as well, and need to be fitted into the new model of the center (that is, customer history data, product information, web sites, e-mail response procedures, incoming phone numbers, etc.).
3. Is the center going to be expected to produce revenue? Or reduce costs? A mix? How is success going to be measured. (This is very important.)
4. Do you have upper management buy-in to the goals of the center? Without it you might as well pack up the tent. Does that buy-in extend to a resource commitment in technology? To what extent?
5. What's the growth path; do you expecting multiple linked centers over time? Expecting to increase staff? Increase call volume? Increase the center's functions, perhaps to take on outbound calling? You need to plan these things somewhat in advance, at least before you buy equipment and hire staff.
This just scratches the surface, but you get the idea. Focus on big picture issues as readily as you focus on the small issues.
What performance standards are usually measured and what are the standards?
Performance measurement varies greatly depending on the function of the call center, and the industry sector within which that center resides (financial, reservations, catalogs, etc.). So we can't answer the second part of the question, as to what the performance standards actually should be.
We can tell you that the standards usually measured involve call duration, handling time, post-call wrap up time, number of calls handled per unit of time; typically things that can be spit out of an ACD report pretty easily.
Secondarily are the more application specific standards that have to do with what the person is actually doing. These things can have a revenue base (how much did the person sell, or how well did an upsell or cross-sell offer perform). Or, they can be service related, and for that you usually get into issues of monitoring and human-to-human performance evaluation, which is a whole specialized field unto itself.
What should my service level be?
This is what's known in the trade as a "how the hell should I know" question. The service level (one of many metrics that determines how well the center is performing relative to its customers) should be set by the company, using its own standards of what's acceptable behavior.
Different industries have different standards. And different kinds of callers and centers within an industry will have varying standards. A center that answers calls from people willing to pay $5000 on the spot for a cruise ticket should answer those calls pretty damn quick. A center that takes calls from people who broke their $5 radio shouldn't waste the resources to answer so fast.
What type of training should reps receive?
1. They should have core training in customer-interaction essentials. How to speak to people intelligently, politely, empathetically, without sounding like an automaton. These are the people skills.
2. Training in the specific tools they need for their job: how to operate the phone set, desktop and software they need to manage the flow of a call.
3. Training in what the company does, and what the particular products they sell or service are like.
4. Training in general call center operations; that is, how to be productive with their time, when it's ok to take a break, what it means when you leave customers on hold, how their own productivity is measured, and that of the group and the center as a whole.
What's the difference between inbound and outbound centers?
Literally, an inbound center is one that handles calls coming in from outside, most often through toll free numbers. These calls are primarily service and support calls, and inbound sales.
An outbound center is one that does mainly outgoing telemarketing.
Inbound is the biggest component of call center traffic these days, though perversely, outbound represents the area of largest projected growth in the next few years.
In truth, the majority of centers contain some element of both inbound and outbound
Why are call centers constantly called other things, like "contact centers," "customer care centers," "support centers," and ugly constructions like "customer contact zones" or "multimedia access centers"?
These terms are the industry's ongoing attempt to come to grips with changes in what a call center is supposed to do. Now that you have call centers that answer e-mail, engage in live internet chat sessions with customers and sometimes even transmit live video, people are looking for a broader definition to replace "call center." Rest assured, they all mean basically the same thing.
General Technical Support Questions :
Where do I get help when something isn't working as I'd expect, or I'm getting error messages?
Ans: There are a couple of outlets for obtaining help. The first resource you should always use is the Technical Knowledgebase. You can also ask to IBN Technical Support Team by visiting the Technical Forum. And lastly of course, you can open a ticket with the IBN Technical Assistance Center (TAC), either by filling out the Web Form, or by calling 91+ 020+24225916. If you need to email the IBN Technical support then sends mail support@ibntech.com.
I can't remember my username or password. What should I do?
Ans: If u can not remember your username & password. Please contact with IBN Support center by emailing them at support@ibntech.com or by calling 91+020+ 24225916/24421879 .Be sure to have either your case ID or other proof of business handy.
I'm using an older web browser like Netscape 3 or Internet Explorer 3. Will it work?
Ans: NO. Unfortunately, in order to maintain a high level of security .We recommended however, that you use
At least 5t h generation browser (Internet Explorer5 or Netscape 6) for optimum performance.
When I try to log on, I get a message saying that I'm already logged on. What should I do?
Ans : To protect your account, IBN tech prevents the same user from logging on more than once. This is to prevent any unauthorized access into your account. If u does get locked out, please contact the customer support center to reactive your account
When I go to your site, I get an error stating that my SSL certificate is invalid. What should I do?
Ans: Older browser version only uses 40-bit encryption to create Secure Socket Layer connections. For maximum security, ibn tech requires that your browser be configured for at least 128 bit encryption. Please list your browser manufacturer (Netscape, Microsoft, and act) to upgrade your browser.
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