Marketing of IT Services

8/8/2019 Marketing of IT Services

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Marketing of IT Enabled Services

INTRODUCTION

What is Information Technology (IT)?

IT is a term referring to both telephony and computer technology

IT includes all forms of technology used to create, store,

exchange and use information in its various forms (business

data, voice conversation, still images, motion pictures,

multimedia presentations and other forms, including those not

yet conceived).

The term IT includes:

Hardware,

Software,

Internet Service,

Cables and Wires, etc.

IT or Information Technology has probably been the most redefined

term over the past few years. The definition has varied from simple

automation of manual processes using micro processors to computers

to networks to desktop publishing to networking.

Information technology is defined and characterized by the domain of

its usage and therefore the tools that are used in that domain typically

contribute to IT's definition.

Information Technology The Indian Scenario

As in most countries, computers and IT have been around for a long

time in India. But, considered as an industry gaining global recognition

and as having an internationally competitive future, ITs much-

publicized growth in India has been a much more recent phenomenon.

Software exports, the earliest harbinger of a more widespread IT

expansion, began only in 1985, when Texas Instruments established its

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subsidiary in Bangalore. This move was followed not only by other

foreign software companies setting up operations in that city and

elsewhere but also by a number of domestically-established software

companies (Tata Consultants, Wipro, Infosys, HCL Technologies and

others).

In more recent years, as the internet has expanded globally, these

earlier investments have been followed by an explosion of start- up

internet companies and by early efforts of a few well-established

manufacturing companies at using the internet and other forms of

communication to improve efficiency in their operations.

IT manufacturing also has occurred in India for many years and has

included investment by multinational companies, as IBMs early

involvement in India suggests. Today, many foreign producers of

computers and peripherals (HP, IBM, Compaq, Canon, etc.) have

manufacturing operations in the country, often in joint ventures with

Indian companies. There are in addition a number of wholly Indian

companies, exemplified by HCL, a company that formerly had a joint

venture with HP but has now taken over the enterprise. A variety of

other manufacturers exist, including producers of peripherals,

electronic supplies and fiber optic equipment, among others, including

Modi Xerox, Tata Liebert and Wipro as examples.

The Three Landmarks Evolution of IT

Industry:

The early 1970s saw large computer organizations like IBM and ICL as

the dominant players in the industry. The trend then was not to sell but

install the hardware, lease it and provide a range of services to users.

Soon, in the eighties, three major trends started emerging which

revolutionized the industry.

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The first, an increasingly smaller size of hardware became available

due to a technology called large-scale integration of circuits or what is

commonly now known as chips. It is now commonly known that the

power of hardware of the seventies, which was a large as an office

room, is now down to the power of a personal computer.

The second very noticeable trend that emerged was that the size and

cost of hardware became irrelevant when compared to the software

development around the hardware; this made software increasingly

powerful and a far more influential tool in the development and use of

systems. The early eighties saw the emergence of powerful hardware

and a large variety of software. This industry witnessed a growingnumber of hardware vendors and software companies. The traditional

monopolies were broken. The most notable of these new companies

was Microsoft, which, due to creative development and increasing

popularity of software, in only a decade, has become one of the largest

companies globally.

The third major development that took place towards the eighties

which had an impact on the hardware and the software industry was

the speed and use of satellite communication. It became evident that if

users were to use powerful hardware it was not necessary to own it or

even be physically close to it. The software resting on the hardware at

distant locations or even other countries could be reached by satellite

telecommunication through PCs or dump terminals. This made it

possible for users to access a variety of hardware or software

anywhere around the world on ordinary telephone lines.

Providing IT services became more important and that is where the

industry rests. IT emerged, in the late eighties, as a combination of

several facets; hardware, software and communications. It became

evident then that information technology had a wide range and scope

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covered a variety of hardware, several operating systems, innumerable

application software that facilitates development and easier interface

with the user. IT specializations have facilitated working in many

sectors such as banking, finance, mining, steel, transportation,

government and what not.

IT ENABLED SERVICES

Given the advances made in technology, especially information

sciences, the world has shrunk. This has resulted in a big businessopportunity because companies can now outsource service

requirements using technology and infrastructure to low cost centers.

IT enabled services help companies to support information

requirements, both internally and externally with the help of

computers and telecom networks.

With this, the logic of labor outsourcing has been stretched to the

other extreme. Earlier, outsourcing was limited to raw materials only;

now even services and support functions can be outsourced beyond

geographical barriers. With IT enabled services any company can have

24-hour access and interaction with its customers anywhere in the

world.

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In the past, outsourcing was limited because of physical barriers.

Historically, manufacturing facilities, especially in labor-intensive

areas, got transferred to low cost countries, like China, India, and rest

of South East Asia. The advances in information sciences has resulted

in outsourcing of services, which has created in its wake a new

segment called IT enabled services. The adjective IT highlights the fact

that IT infrastructure is the key to its growth.

IT enabled services are the growth opportunities for the new

millennium. Its rapid growth is an outcome of

Declining charges for telecom infrastructure

Declining unit cost of computing power

Increasing tendency to outsource non-core competency areas.

Types of IT Enabled Services companies:

There are two kinds of companies who set up IT enabled services

operations. The first kind is the companies, which set up captive

operations. The captive companies do business processing for their

own international businesses only. Examples of these kinds of

companies include HSBC (Hyderabad), American Express, British

Airways (Bombay), Citibank (Chennai), Dell (Bangalore) etc.

The second kind of companies is called the third party providers. Third

party providers as the name suggests provide outsourcing services to

other companies. The third party providers are in a sense just like the

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internet software services firms which go and complete various IT

systems setup projects for various companies. Examples of these kinds

of companies include Nipuna (Satyam),Msource, 24/7, Spectramind,

Daksh etc.

The spectrum of IT enabled services includes call centers, medical

transcription, back office operations, accounting and legal services,

content development especially from the internet, payroll

management, logistics management, GIS mapping, etc. The entire

range of IT enabled services varies from pure and simple data entry to

customer interaction, which is complex and requires intelligence.

The said services can be externally contracted (by Company X to

Company Y) or have internal division of a company in different area

(like a division of Company X or its subsidiary in India, China, etc).

What it does not involve is outsourcing of production, remote

production, manufacturing units and virtual business on the net.

Major Segments of IT Enabled Services:

Following is a fairly detailed generic classification of IT Enabled

Services which are already existing or which have potential for

evolving into areas of entry:

Customer Interaction Services such as Call Centres

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Finance and Accounting Services such as back office data

processing for Airlines, etc.

Engineering and Design Services such as outsourced design

activities

Human Resources Services such as outsourced payroll

preparations, etc.

Animation for movies and TV serials, cartoon strips, etc.

Translation, Transcription and Localization such as Medical

Transcription Services.

Network Consulting and Management covering outsourced

network designing and maintenance.

Data Search, Integration and Analysis covering areas such as

preparation of legal data bases, research & preparation of

reports based on data bases on past records, etc.

Marketing Services such as bureaus for marketing products or

services based on Call Centres or local market data bases, etc.

Web Site Services for creating site contents, advertising, etc.

Remote Education for utilizing IT infrastructure to strengthen

formal education system for remote and expertise starved areas.

Medical Consultancy by providing expert advice based on data or

making available data bases.

Secretarial Services through bureaus which utilize information

technology for offering secretarial help.

The key drivers of IT enabled services are outsourcing and out-

location. Outsourcing means that some functions can be done more

economically externally, something like "make or buy" decision in

manufacturing. Essentially it means is that all activities like salary

processing, call processing, credit cards processing, data mining, etc

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can be outsourced to a 3rd party at a cheaper rate, instead of building

overheads in-house. Out-location means that Company X has got a

subsidiary or a division located in a low cost area to provide the same.

This takes advantage of the lower cost of manpower to deliver the

service over the telecom links. Call centers, financial accounting

services, engineering design, animation are very good examples of the

same. The prime industry targets for IT enabled services are banking,

insurance, airline reservations, hospitals and utility billings.

The global market for IT enabled services is estimated to grow from

about US$10bn to US$200bn by 2010.

Category US $ billion

Human resources 50

Customer interaction 42

Finance & accounting 20

Data search and analysis 20

Remote education 19

Animation 2

Translation and localization 1

Engineering design 6

Network consulting and management 8

Website services 7

Market research 5

Spectrum of I.T. Enabled Services in India:

Amongst others, the spectrum of I.T. Enabled Services applications

already evident in India includes the following broad segments:

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Call Centers

Medical Transcription

Back Office Operations, Revenue Accounting and other ancillary

operation

Insurance Claims Processing

Legal databases

Content Development/Animation

Payroll

Logistics Management

Call Centers: A typical call center is a service center that has

adequate telecom facilities, trained consultants, access to widedatabases, Internet and other on-line information support

infrastructure to provide information and support to a customer. It

operates to provide round the clock and year round service.

Call centers are normally operated by large airlines, by banks to

provide services to the customers/ callers, by investment banks,

mutual funds, telecom services, companies providing customised and

high value services, IT products companies, amongst others. The

primary determinant is any industry that has frequent interaction with

a broad client base and intensive stakes in services being offered to

the customer, where time and material value is of paramount

importance. These services are very popular in countries such as the

USA, Europe, Japan and Australia.

Medical Transcription: In countries like the USA, doctors time is at

high premium. The current practice by doctors is to simply record their

findings through a dictaphone or some such device. These sound

tracks are then sent through datacom lines to overseas companies

(where costs are much lower) that employ "medical transcripionists"

who hear these recordings, transcribe them into reports and send

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them back electronically through datacom lines. This has now become

a specialised discipline with people needing adequate training.

Turnaround time is often as low as two hours and, therefore, is often

better than what the hospital may have achieved if it had done all of it

in-house.

Initially, it was only being contracted out to companies that were in

close proximity to these hospitals. Increasingly, however, to take

advantage of lower costs, this work is being sent abroad to Mexico,

West Indies etc. Because of the availability of high speed satellite links,

it is now entirely feasible to do this in India in technical terms.

Back Office Operations, Revenue Accounting, Other Ancillary

Operations: Industries such as Banks, Airlines require large scale data

entry and revenue accounting work to be done. For revenue

accounting and other BackOffice accounting operations, paper

documents/ raw data are sent to remote locations, which are used for

data entry and necessary reconciliations. Using high speed datacom

links for their back-office and data processing operations, these banks,

airlines and other organizations with extensive data turnover and

customer interface, are able to save costs and valuable resources. The

prime concern of these companies is 100 percent availability of data

and uptime of facility. This can be ensured through high speed

datacom links from India to the parent country. Over the last few

years, there has been a steadily growing trend to outsource these

services to major I.T. service providers, with contracts running into

decades. The prime criteria for such projects are quality of

organizational processes, availability of abundant manpower and

ability to dedicate resources to clients needs. India stands to gain

from such a trend as the Indian software industry has been able to

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make a mark and also has access to huge pool of skilled as well as

semiskilled professionals with relative cost advantage.

Insurance Claims Processing: Large insurance companies get

myriad claims. Since there are well laid down rules on how they are to

be processed such processing can be done anywhere, as long as there

is availability of graduates who can read and write English in large

numbers, a few doctors and a few accountants. As a result, to save

costs, large insurance companies in the U.S. are now outsourcing a lot

of this work. This is another good opportunity area.

Legal Databases: There is a constant need for lawyers who counsel

cases to go through relevant laws, rulings and precedents in order to

build up their case. This is usually done by very junior lawyers in legal

firms. However, in the U.S. and other developed countries, even junior

lawyers services are highly priced. One of the ways to get around this

hurdle is to have a readily accessible source of well managed and

intelligent information. One of the most promising and low cost way of

having ready access to information is information technology.

Therefore, many legal firms have started to outsource this work to

organizations who have a large English speaking, lower priced

workforce of trained lawyers. The job comprises working closely with

the firms to create a database of their existing records, index on the

basis of various useful and common understood criterions, keeping

track of new documents being created and incorporating them into a

database as per well established parameters. Lawyers can then simply

use their computers to draw up a history of like cases and draw a clear

plan of action. Once again, the rules are clear and only average

qualifications and ability are required.

Digital Content Development/Animation: New Media content

development is emerging as one of the fastest growing service

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segments in the global I.T. services industry. It caters to needs of web

site management, production of content for new media such as

Compact Disk, Digital Versatile Disk and products of convergent

technologies such as Internet enabled TV. It offers a large emerging

potential; as more and more offices, homes, institutions, students and

professionals realize an ever growing need to have easy access to

information that can also be suitably fused with other media. It

consists of compilation and development of digital content for intra-

organization dissemination, cross-institution usage, collaborative

projects, public domain information, programs for public/specialized

education, web content development and management, developing

animated movies. It typically involves defining a set of rules and norms

for collection of data; collating various unorganized sources of data;

sorting; indexing and sifting; compilation; conversion into digital format

and disseminating to various users. In other types of digital content

development, there is usually a contract between the content provider

and developer to review the project on an ongoing basis such an

cartoon movies, etc. Opportunities also include acting as an offshore

content developer for organizations such as Internet media companies

and advertising organizations where there is a constant need for

content development. It would also ensure that operations are not

erratic. Thus, web content development is becoming a multibillion

dollar segment.

There are several other such areas where the potential is high. The

acceptability of outsourcing such work to distant countries and the

recognition of the cost savings is rapidly growing.

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THE SERVQUAL MODEL FOR IT SERVICES

The concept of service quality can be applied to measure the

performance of IT services. A conceptual model of IT service quality

was developed based on the service quality gaps model, first

introduced by Parasuraman et al. (1985). The concept of using service

quality to measure the performance of IT services companies is due to

the acknowledgment that their service performance can be determined

by the perception of customers of IT services within an organization.

The quality of IT services being provided then becomes essential to the

management. That is, there is a need to develop a conceptual model of

IT service quality and measurement systems.

Service Quality:

Service quality is measured by calculating the difference scores

between corresponding items, the difference between customers

perception and expectation of service, along 5 dimensions of service.

The 5 distinct but correlated dimensions of service are:

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Tangibility - appearance of physical facilities, equipment,

personnel and communication materials;

Reliability- ability to perform the promised service dependably

and accurately;

Responsiveness - willingness to help customers and provide

prompt service;

Assurance - knowledge and courtesy of employees and their

ability to inspire trust and confidence; and,

Empathy - caring individualized attention the firm provides its

customers.

Conceptual Model of IT Service QualityIn a further development, Parasuraman et al. (1994) proposed that

there are three distinct levels of service desirable, adequate and

actual. For the purposes of this study, these three service levels are

applied to the IT setting, and re-defined as:

Ideal level of IT service - the level of service IT customers

(suppliers) would like to receive (provide) in order to meet the

customers requirements, based on their needs and past

experience;

Acceptable level of IT service - the minimum (feasible) level

of service IT customers (suppliers) are willing to receive (provide)

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given the constraints of personnel, technology and organizational

limitations; and,

Perceived level of IT service - the actual level of service

perceived by IT customers (suppliers).

By integrating these three levels of IT service into the original gaps

model by Parasuraman et al. (1985), a new conceptual model of IT

service quality was developed in this study. This new model is shown in

Figure . The major difference between the two models is the

acknowledgment in the new model that IT customers are aware of

limitations imposed on IT suppliers due to the personnel, technology

and other organizational factors. In addition, the gaps between

perceptions of customers and suppliers regarding the three levels of IT

service are also acknowledged.

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Figure: The Conceptual Model of IT Service Quality

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The new conceptual model of IT service quality identifies that there are

7 gaps between suppliers and customers of IT service. These are

defined as:

Between Suppliers and Customers of IT service

Gap 1: the difference between IT suppliers and customers

perceptions ofIdeal level of IT service;


perceptions ofAcceptable level of IT service;


perceptions ofActual level of IT service;

For Customers of IT service

Gap 4: the difference between IT service level customers would

like to receive, and what they would accept, given the limitations

due to personnel, technology and other organizational factors;

Gap 5: the difference between IT service level acceptable to

customers, and the actual level of IT service perceived by

customers;

For Suppliers of IT service

Gap 6: the difference between IT suppliers perception of what

customers require, and the level of IT service they can provide

given the constraints due to personnel, technology and other

organizational factors; and

Gap 7: the difference between IT service level IT suppliers can

provide, and the actual level of IT service being provided.

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ADVANTAGE INDIA

By outsourcing IT-enabled services, overseas companies can not only

achieve significant improvements in cost, quality and time but also

create platforms for building new businesses. Overall, these benefits

are due to the advantages offered by skill-surplus economies. India has

currently the best value proposition of all IT-enabled services hubs.

Indias value proposition is already leading IT-enabled services hubs

such as Ireland and Singapore to back-end their operations in India,

since skilled labor is becoming an increasingly scarce resource in these

countries. Seizing the opportunity, several companies in the financial

service sector, have saved at least 50-60 percent of their process

costs. Additionally, the process redesign that comes with out location

provides additional cost savings.

Country WorkforceMarket

Access

Local

Market

Infra-

structur

e

Cosmo-

politan

Cost

base

New Zealand 2 2 - 2 3 2

Kuala Lumpur 1 2 - 2 2 2

Japan 1 2 1 3 1 3

Hong Kong 1 2 2 2 2 2

India 3 2 2 2 3 1

A comparison amongst some countries in Asia Pacific based on these

factors highlights the following (ratings are on a scale of 1 to 3, with 1

being the lowest and 3 the highest).

IT-enabled service centres in India are able to deliver superior quality

because of specialization and scale benefits. India already has a large

and rapidly growing number of IT-enabled services providers

collectively covering a wide range of services with different levels of

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complexity and value added. Yet another compelling rationale for IT-

enabled services is that it allows companies to capitalize on time zone

differences and to provide services round-the-clock, every day of the

week (24x7 service). For example, doctors in the US can have

transcribed records of their notes at the start of the next day by

sending them to medical transcription services in India who will start

work at the end of their working day in the US.

Companies can discover new business opportunities in the skills they

learn from operating IT-enabled services. GE Capital, one of the largest

IT-enabled services operators in the financial services arena, is now

planning to extend IT services beyond GE group companies to external

customers. It is planning to expand its IT-enabled services operation in

India to over 10,000 employees. Additionally, there are already a large

number of smaller Indian companies that provide services in many

areas of the business system.

The sustainability of the value proposition makes it irresistible. India

will continue to offer a large talent pool and favorable economics for

some time to come. These advantages are reinforced by the significant

number of IT-enabled services set-ups in the country that they can

learn from. The proliferation of IT-enabled Services and its continuing

demand-led growth may well emerge to be a strong opportunity for

India, both in terms of generating employment and export.

As evident, IT-enabled Services is a major boon for India as it provides

tremendous potential to provide employment opportunities and attract

foreign investments. Amongst others, the benefits include:

Generation of new direct or indirect investment

Earning of foreign exchange leading to higher earnings of

local staff

More revenues to telecom carriers

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Introduction of new technology

Transfer of skills to India

Increase in competitiveness

Improved parity of income levels in and far flung areas and

remote states.

India Offers Many Advantages:

India offers many advantages to serving as an I.T. Enabled Services

destination for major global companies. These include:

A virtual 12-hour time zone difference with USA and other

major markets for I.T. Enabled Services.

A huge pool of English speaking and computer literate

manpower that can continue to cater to the growing demand for

professionals for I.T. Enabled Services. These professionals are

skilled as well as quality conscious.

Cost of qualified personnel is amongst the lowest in the world.

Stable legislative and economic framework

Many State Governments in India offer special incentives and

infrastructure for setting up I.T. Enabled Services.

Thrust by Government of India to make India an I.T. driven

nation with a focus on the services sector where potential for

value addition and thus premium is higher.

India enjoys very strong brand equity in major markets,

thanks to its growing and globally competitive software industry.

The proliferation of I.T. Enabled Services and its continuing

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demand-led growth may well emerge to be a strong opportunity

for India, both in terms of generating employment and export.

Benefits to India:

I.T. Enabled Services is a major boon for India as it provides

tremendous potential for employment opportunities and attracting

foreign investments. Amongst others, the benefits include:

Generation of new direct or indirect investment

Earning of Foreign Exchange leading to higher earnings of

local staff

More revenues to telecom carriers.

Transfer of skills to India

Skill sets required for different services:

Segment Skill set required

Customer services Language, accent

Data processing Computer literate

Human resource HR skills, legal

Remote education Domain knowledge

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Engineering design Domain knowledge

Translation & localization Language

Medical transcription Computer literate, medical knowledge

Animation Creative, computer literate

Finance International/country specific accountingWeb hosting Computer literate

Market Research Knowledge of MR, statistics

Network consulting Computers, LAN

Prime Industry Targets:

Undoubtedly, I.T. Enabled Services is an essential infrastructure for

most larger organization. However, its very nature is particularly suited

to service organizations which experience large turnover of data, have

a frequent and extensive customer interface and in which, tolerance

for mistakes or customer dissatisfaction is low. In view of such an

imperative, some of the industries that may be pursued are:

Insurance Banking

Financial Institutions

Hospitality

Large Hospitals

Consortiums of Legal Firms

Software/Hi-Tech companies that have to provide 24-hour

helplines

Large Manufacturing companies

Airlines

Utilities

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The above are only indicative of potential industries that may be

tapped. It is also suggested to enter into strategic alliances with

industry consortium representing the above industries.

THE APEX BODY - NASSCOM

The National Association of Software and Service Companies

(NASSCOM) is the apex body and umbrella organization of IT software

and service organizations in India. It was formed in 1988 with the

primary objective of being a catalyst for the growth of the software-

driven IT industry in India. NASSCOM is a non-profit organization and is

registered under the Societies Act, 1896. NASSCOM currently has over

800 member companies who collectively contribute to more than 95%

of revenues of the software industry in India. Its members include

software, Internet, IT enabled services and e-commerce companies

spanning private and public sectors that include homegrown

companies and multinationals.

Vision:

NASSCOMS vision is that by 2008, the organization will comprise

world-class software and service companies with global dominance in

their core business of software development, clear ascendancy in

cross-border IT and It-enabled services, and an unassailable position in

software products and e-businesses.

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Aims and Objectives:

1. Maintaining close interaction with the Government of India in

formulating National IT policies with specific focus on IT software

and services

2. Maintaining a state of the art information database of IT software

and services related activities for use of both the software

developers as well as interested companies overseas.

3. Encourage members to provide world-class quality products,

services and solutions in India and overseas and help build brand

equity for the Indian IT software and services industry.

4. Taking effective steps to campaign against software piracy.

5. Provide an ideal forum for overseas and domestic companies to

explore the vast potential available for Joint Ventures, Strategic

Alliances, Marketing Alliances, Joint Product Development, etc.,

by organizing Business Meets with delegations of various

countries.

6. Work actively with Overseas Governments, Embassies to make

the Visa and Work Permit Rules more "Indian Industry Friendly".

7. Disseminate various policies, market information and other

relevant statistics by sending more than 200 circulars (annually)

to all members.

8. Involve membership participation in various forums of NASSCOM

on subjects such as HRD, Technology, Exports, Domestic Market,

E-Governance, IT Enabled Services, IPR, Finance, Government

Policies, Quality, etc.

NASSCOM has actively facilitated the enforcement of laws against

software piracy in India and worked with the Indian Government to

introduce a legal framework for E-commerce in the country. NASSCOM

also advises the Government of India on Intellectual Property Rights,

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keeping in line with International laws and treaties. Starting in 1993, it

began an active public awareness campaign to educate users about

the lawful use of software. NASSCOM also has launched the countrys

first Anti-Piracy toll free hotline.

NASSCOM also organizes conferences, seminars, workshops and

exhibitions in India and abroad. These events focus on areas such as

Internet, e-commerce, e-governance; IT enabled services, ERP,

networking, banking etc. NASSCOM also participates at many

international events like SMAU, CeBIT and Comdex, through Indian

pavilions. It organizes specialized export promotion events in various

countries of the world where overseas companies are encouraged tointeract with Indian companies.

As a member of the Asian Oceanian Computing Industry Organization

(ASOCIO), a group of computer industry associations from the Asia and

Pacific Rim, NASSCOM plays an active role in the international software

community. NASSCOM is also a founder member of the World

Information Technology and Services Alliances (WITSA). This is a forum

of member associations from 41 countries.

NASSCOM is active on myriad fronts within the software sector. All the

activities of the organization is centered on catalyzing the growth of

the Indian software industry and enabling the fulfillment of its future

goals and aspirations. NASSCOM is not only the face of the countrys

software industry, it is also a key arm. Through its information

dissemination, awareness generation and brand building activities,

NASSCOM has been helping Indian software companies to stay ahead

in the market and maintain their edge globally. Whether it is providing

information to the software industry on targeted markets, wresting

concessions for the industry through close alliances with the Indian and

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overseas Governments, or organizing seminars and workshops to

promote India Inc. across the globeNASSCOM has a packed agenda.

CASE STUDY - CALL CENTER

A call center is a central place or network of places where customer

and other telephone calls are handled by an enterprise. Typically, a call

center has the ability to handle a considerable volume of calls at the

same time, to screen calls and forward them to someone qualified to

handle them, and to log calls. Call Centers are used by mail-order

catalog organizations, telemarketing companies, computer product

help desks, and any large enterprise that uses the telephone to sell or

service products and services.

Call centers combine the use of highly effective and empowered

company representatives with a service framework that relies heavily

on state-of-the-art communications and information technologies. A

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call centre is sometimes defined as a telephone based shared service

centre for specific customer activities and are used for number of

customer related functions like marketing, selling, information

dispensing, advice, technical support etc. Thus, a call centre is a

service centre which has adequate telecom facilities, trained

consultants, access to wide database, Internet and other on-line

information support infrastructure to provide information and support

to customers. It operates to provide round the clock and year round

service i.e.24 x 365 service.

Definition:

The Call Centre Association (1999) defines call centres as a physical

or virtual operation within an organization in which a managed group

of people spend most of their time doing business by telephone,

usually working in a computer automated environment.

The Basic Components:

The basic components of a call centre are computers, interactive voice

response systems, EPABX and an automatic call router. The earlier

adopters of call centres were able to reduce the cost of sales, become

more responsive to their customer requirements and thus, get a

competitive edge.

The costing of the call depends on the value of the service provided by

the call centre. The international call centres will be driven by a

globalization, increased competition, customer expectations and the

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fact that products are becoming more and more commoditised with

improvement in computing and database management skills. The

reason why international call centres are looking at locations like India

is because of staff costs, which are almost 65% of total cost overseas,

is about 50% or less in a country like India. It is not so easy to shift

because of lower staff costs. Lower staff costs should be backed by a

skill set, which is language and cultural specific. The other things that

impact operations of an international call centre are real estate

expenses and telecom expenses.

Types of Call Centres:

Call centres can be of different types. A regional call centre implies

that a centre in America to handle America, Europe to handle Europe

and a centre in South East Asia and Australia to handle Asia. This

enables some economies of scale but duplication of efforts can

minimize operational efficiency. The other option is to have a global

call centre where all calls across the globe are handled. This results in

tremendous economies of scale, which is really cost effective. Such a

centre cannot afford any downtime because of lack of back up.

The latest version of call centre is a global intelligent network, a

centralized database with advanced call handling facilities, managing a

typical end-to-end service. The network is spread across the globe with

local resources tapping it. This requires technically qualified manpower

to maintain the backbone and telecom infrastructure management

skills. This global internal network allows access to worldwide staff and

ability to match languages, skills and resources. This is the first step

towards a global virtual call centre.

Interactive Voice Response (IVR) has been the most significant

productivity gain. 70 - 80% of calls can be handled without agent

intervention, which helps reduce operating costs. In some extremely

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competitive markets like financial services, airlines, etc., IVR systems

is a necessity.

What does a Call Centre do for anOrganization?

It allows a wider customer base to do business with.

It offers an economical means of reaching diverse and

widely distributed customer group.

It fine tunes offerings to specific customer groups.

It allows customers easy access to experts.

It facilitates business round the clock and in any

geography.

It allows a company to avoid the overheads of brick and

mortar branches.

The use of call centre is undergoing enormous growth due to

importance attached by companies to customer care, telemarketing for

product offerings, tele-banking, concept of direct response television

and home shopping, market liberalization of utilities, growth of direct

marketing etc. In addition, telemarketing is growing and information

lines are forming part of many product service offerings. Telephone

banking has led to call centre growth in the financial services sector,

while in retail the increase in direct response television and home

shopping have driven call centre growth. Market liberalization of

utilities has also been a key driver of call centre growth. Finally, the

growth of direct marketing has also contributed to the popularity of call

centers as a means of reaching targeted customer bases. Call Centers

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provide large and small international enterprises with the unique

ability to establish a presence in foreign markets without the expense

and complexity of owning and managing their own infrastructure.

A call centre with good metrics and good data capture abilities

represents a credible marketplace intelligence system. A call centre

can be seen as a window to the marketplace and is also a window to

the client organization allowing call centre operators to see weakness

in client organizations which could represent business opportunities in

future.

Call centre originally conceived as a separate and individual

distribution channel of customer care system has been transformed

into integrated customer management system. With the enabling of

integration of call centre and Internet technology, call centers of future

will handle telephone, fax, web, internet and interactive TV enquiries

on a 24x7 basis. These combined Internet Call Centers or Customer

Contact Centers will shape the future of call centre design.

Call Centers in India:

In the last couple of years, India has emerged as one of the preferred

countries for setting up of call centers. Many companies including GE,

iDLX, Bechtel, British Airways, Dell Computers, Bharati Telecom have

already chosen India as the base for their new global call centers.

These are choices made for solid, practical reasons which guarantee

them competitive advantage in the global marketplace. Many banks -

ICICI, HDFC, Standard Chartered, Citicorp, American Express to name a

few- telecom service providers and InfoTech companies - Lotus,

Hewlett Packard, 3Com etc. have deployed call centers for better

customer support and care.

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Typical Customers:

This is very useful feature in airline reservations, hotel reservations,

banking services, technology solutions, etc. The areas, which are

addressed by call centers, include sales support, airline/hotel

reservations, technical queries, bank accounts, client services,

receivables, tele-marketing, market research, etc.

Potential customers for call centers are banks, insurance companies,

airlines, financial services, technology companies, telecom companies,billing utilities, hotels, etc.

Global majors like GE Capital, American Express, Lufthansa, British

Airways, Singapore Airways, etc have already invested in IT enabled

services in India. The specific services include transaction processing,

call centers, billing, credit card processing, medical transcription, etc.

Working and Administration:

Earlier all call centers used to work on the "toll free" or the 1-800

concept. With sophisticated query handling services, nowadays the call

center and the client share costs. There are some premium services

like technical consulting where the caller has to pay the calling

charges.

Technologically speaking, call centers have advanced in the last ten

years. Earlier, it was just a labour-intensive department trying to

handle some customer queries. Now, it is supposed to be a vital cog in

the entire process of marketing and improving customer interaction.

Unlike an airline reservation where the queries are generally simple

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and easy to handle, requirements of a technology customer support

are different and need technical knowledge. A pre requisite for any call

handling person is extremely good customer relationship skills and

command over language/ accent.

The basic components of a call center are computers, interactive voice

response systems, Electronic Private Automatic Branch Exchange

(EPABX) and an automatic call router. The US experience shows that

the earlier adopters of call centers were able to reduce the cost of

sales, become more responsive to their customer requirements and

thus, get a competitive edge.

Interactive voice response (IVR) has been the most significant

productivity gain. 70- 80% of calls can be handled without agent

intervention, which helps reduce operating costs. Some extremely

competitive markets like financial services, airlines, etc. An IVR system

is a necessity.

In the operation of the call centers that revolves around satisfying the

needs of the customer and increasing the customer base, key issues to

be kept in mind include -

Process integration means that the call center service flow

should be closely integrated with the normal business process flow

of the customer. This is extremely relevant for banks where a query

can actually result to a transaction.

Customer satisfaction is the ability to satisfy the customer

needs the very first time.

Response time is the time taken to handle a query or how

long you are keeping the customer on hold.

Quality standards like Customer Outsourcing Performance

Center (COPC).

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Professional services, i.e. outsourced call center services

should be better than clients in-house call centers.

Training all the staff of the call centers on the client's

business, role of the call center, nature of business, etc.

Communication abilities should be tuned to requirements

of the customer.

To approach the end customer directly is very difficult. It is better to go

through an existing relationship. The other option is the "sub contract"

model. The strategy here would be to use the Build Own Operate

Transfer model.

In future, e-mail can emerge as a potential threat to call centers. The

reason why e-mail is becoming very popular is because it is

inexpensive and requires no special hardware, software or people

skills. People are slowly realizing that it is more convenient to send a

mail and wait for response than to hold on a telephone and wait in

queue and deal with transfer between agents. Also e-mail can be sent

any time of the day, even midnight. Earlier people use to ignore e-

mails. Now they are using e-mail seriously because of its potential. E-

mail enabled call centers generally have multiple sources of e-mail

traffic. They can get it directly to the response center or through their

own website or through some 3rd party website such as financial sites,

agent sites, etc.

The future of call centers will be an interaction center, which

transcends the call center and offers communication for all media

including voice over net, e-mail, chat and may be video conferencing.

It is all about communicating with the customer in the form they

choose. The promoter of a call center should be prepared that voice

may no longer be the only medium in the future. Hence, we believe

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that the business model would undergo a transformation into an

interactive media center.

Services:

Call Centers offers various services like Customer Service Help line,

Sales Support Help line, Technical Support, Query handling, helpdesk

services, on-line Credit and billing problems, Tele Marketing, Lead

generation and follow up, Data Capture, Data Verification, Debt

collection and Subscription Renewal, Email management, Web chat,

Web call back, Web collaboration browsing.

Inbound Services:

All incoming calls are received by the Interactive Voice Response (IVR)

and greeted with an appropriate project greeting. Using the Automatic

Call Distribution (ACD), the call is then transferred to the Customer

Service Associate. Optimum usage of technology enables us to monitor

every stage of interaction between the Customer Service Associate

and the customer.

The services offered include:

Sales Support Helpline

Customer Service Helpline

Technical Support

Complaint Recording and Handling Credit and Billing

Problems

Advertising Responses

Database Management

Tele-selling and Order taking

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Outbound Services:

Outbound calling is wherein the Customer Service Associates (CSA's)

make calls to any specified destination with pre-approved database

from the client. A report by the MIS personnel from the operations

department is sent to the client. A quality assurance team is attached

to operations to check the quality of the calls made by the CSA's

wherein his/her communication skills, product knowledge, etiquettes,

selling skills are judged. The feedback from the quality assurance team

is forwarded to the respective Team Leader for corrective measures so

that we do not deviate from the Service Level Agreements with the

client. The outbound services that we offer are:

Tele Marketing

Tele Research

Data Capture

Data Verification

Subscription Renewal

Debt Collection

Unique Characteristics:

1) Intangibility - This means that services provided by Call

Centers is not felt or seen. In case of Call Centers the services

provided by them are highly and mostly intangible e.g. voice

calls inbound and outbound services.

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To overcome this characteristic one has to concentrate on:

Visualization: This is very difficult to overcome in the

call center industry but it can advertise in various industry

journals which are popular with the type of clients that the call

centers are trying to target.

Association: Call centers basically target the

corporates yet, usually do not go in for this option.

Physical representations: This is one of the way

which call centers usually try to differentiate from others

based on their superior infrastructure, advantageous locations

and most importantly by the gamut of state of the arttechnology used by them.

Documentation and Facts and Figures: this is also

one of the important ways to overcome the intangibility factor

by publishing the statements of its success and profits.

2) Perishability: This is a significant constraint faced by the Call

Centers; even a single hour or day of inoperation may cause the

company to lose upon valuable revenue. Hence the co. should

follow a very cautious approach not to lose upon this aspect.

Ways of overcoming Perishability:

Proper management of demand and supply should

help the company to overcome the problem of perishability.

3) Variability: This is very important factor as it deals with the

difference in thinking of individuals. People need to be present

as both customers and providers in order to make the

transaction of the offerings possible. A thorough study of internal

and external customers needs to be done. The varied

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backgrounds of the customers may slow down the working of the

entire organization. Cultural differences play a major role in this

segment.

Ways to overcome variability:

Training for internal customers: requires

technically qualified manpower to maintain the backbone

and telecom infrastructure management skills. This global

internal network allows access to world wide staff and ability

to match languages, skills and resources. This is the first

step towards a global virtual call center. Training all the staff

of the call centers on the client's business, role of the call

center, nature of business, etc.

4) Inseperability: As the word suggests the service provider and

the customer can never be independent. Both the entities need

to be present in order to satisfy the transaction. If the call center

is not efficient in carrying out this activity, the whole objective

and the value of the service will be lost.

Ways to overcome inseperability:

Innovation in different methods of service

provisions: The latest version of call center is a Global

Intelligent Network. Call Centres have a centralized

database with advanced call handling facilities, managing a

typical end-to-end service. The network is spread across the

globe with local resources tapping it. This requires

technically qualified manpower to maintain the backbone

and telecom infrastructure management skills. This global

internal network allows access to worldwide staff and ability

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to match languages, skills and resources. This is the first

step towards a global virtual call centre.

Classification:

1) End User:The call center basically comes under the B2B gamut

of services. The call center or the provider is the Call Centre

and the client is the company who seeks to outsource the back

office.

2) Degree of Tangibility: It can be observed that services of call

centers can be classified as highly intangible because the service

is free from any product and it has got qualities of credence andreputation.

3) People based services: it includes both high contact and low

contact.

Low Intelligence, Low Customer Interaction

Data entry

Back office processing

Medical transcription

Insurance claims processing

Salary processing

Legal database

Content development

Call centers

Customer service

High Intelligence, High Customer Interaction

The key distinguishing features of IT enabled services are:

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Provided from a country different from where the products

are delivered

Use of telecommunication and data networks

4) Expertise: Call centers require technically qualified manpower

to maintain the backbone and telecom infrastructure

management skills. This global internal network allows access to

worldwide staff and ability to match languages, skills and

resources. This is the first step towards a global virtual call

center.

Marketing Mix:

1) PRODUCT: Quality Level is assessed as a significant parameter beat

intangibility and can be monitored in the following way:

Call monitoring sessions conducted for the Customer

Service Associates (CSA's) to ascertain and measure call quality.

Providing required feedback and coaching of CSA's to

enhance their capabilities.

Tape monitoring and digital recording of calls for further

reference and training purposes.

Quality Verification of each 'sale' achieved prior to

forwarding to the client.

Coordination with the Operations Team and filtering of

quality feedback to the CSA's.

Coordination with the Training Team for further training

and refresher modules for the CSA's.

Recording and maintaining quality reports and files of each

CSA for reference and performance analysis.

Designing Incentive plans to motivate CSA's with respect to

quality.

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2) PRICE: The costing of the call depends on the value of the

service provided by the call center. The international call centers

will be driven by a globalization, increased competition, customer

expectations and the fact that products are becoming more and

more commoditized with improvement in computing and database

management skills. The reason why international call centers are

coming to India is because of staff costs which are almost 65% of

total cost overseas, is about 50% or less in a country like India. It is

not so easy to shift because of lower staff costs. Lower staff costs

should be backed by a skill set which is language and cultural

specific. The other things that impact operations of an international

call center are real estate expenses and telecom expenses.

The typical cost of setting up a call center with 100 people is about

Rs.50mn. This will include premises, telecommunication

infrastructure, computing equipment, regulatory requirements

including DoT clearances. The DoT clearance ensures that the lines /

infrastructure will be used only for servicing overseas customers

and cannot be used for handling internal calls. In general, breaking

into a client account is the most difficult thing. A typical call center

contract lasts for 3-5 years.

3) PROMOTION: Call Centers being an outsourcing avenue for

businesses it can be seen that the major component of the P- mix

to be stressed upon is:

Personal selling in which the call center itself goes

to potential clients and negotiates contracts with them. This is

done through the call canters salespeople.

Advertising in industry based journals and web

portals, which play a significant role in arranging for negotiations

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and finalizing, contract between the Company and the Call

Center.

Public Relations includes news conferences, press

conferences, news releases, friendly interviews, etc.

4) PLACE: The advances made in telecom ensure that the person who

is handling the call can be anywhere, provided that communication

and interaction dimensions are handled properly. At times, call

centers are set up for internal use also, especially in conglomerate

where the demand of internal customers is very large.

Call centers can be of different types. A regional call center implies

that a center in America to handle America, Europe to handle Europe

and a center in South East Asia and Australia to handle Asia. This

enables some economies of scale but duplication of efforts can

minimize operational efficiency. The other option is to have a global

call center where all calls across the globe are handled. This results

in tremendous economies of scale, which is really cost effective.

Such a center cannot afford any downtime because of lack of back

up.

The latest version of call center is a global intelligent network. You

have a centralized database with advanced call handling facilities,

managing a typical end-to-end service. The network is spread across

the globe with local resources tapping it. This requires technically

qualified manpower to maintain the backbone and telecom

infrastructure management skills. This global internal network allows

access to worldwide staff and ability to match languages, skills and

resources. This is the first step towards a global virtual call center

5) PEOPLE: Managing a call center is not as easy as it appears

because it requires cultural sophistication. Customer interaction is

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Data Capture& Verification

AnnuitiesProcessing


required which means that the staff handling a call center should be

intelligent and sensitized to the needs of the customer. These

factors should be kept in mind before setting up a call center.

The reason why call centers have become extremely popular in

India is because of our English speaking and communication skills.

This advantage offsets higher telecom access charges. The

government is looking to solve this problem by giving substantial

discounts to companies who generate foreign exchange using IT

enabled services.

TOTAL PRODUCT CONCEPT:

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Online & BillingProblems


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TeleMarketing

Lead

Generation

&

Follow Up

Consultation

SubscriptionRenewal

Help DeskServices

Benefit

Administration

Client Account

Management


Service Quality:

Quality and customer service have been identified as critical strategic

issues in the 1990s for both public and private sector organizations.

Not much has changed in the current decade. In the private sector,

customer satisfaction and loyalty are secured through high quality

products and services. They provide value for money for the consumer

and are seen as being essential for the long-term survival and success

of the call centre. Public sector organizations are not immune to

pressure to improve customer service on a continuous basis. Some of

these pressures arise internally from a genuine desire to improve

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SalesSupport

24 hour

Services

TechnicalSupport

Web Chat&

Call Back

DebtCollection

e-CRM

Claimsprocessing

ProcessOutsourcing &

CustomerServiceHelpline


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quality of services provided to communities, others are imposed

through corporate initiatives like customer charters or through and

increase in consumer activism. It is recognized that public sector

organizations face more difficulties than those in the private sector in

their efforts to improve customer service. A customers satisfaction

with individual service encounters, affects the customers

dis/satisfaction with the overall service experience.

Servqual:

The servqual approach to the measurement of service quality has

attracted considerable attention since it was first introduced byParasuraman et al. in 1985 and further developed by them in 1998

(Donnelly and Dalrymple, 1996). The approach starts from the

assumption that the level of service quality experienced by customers

is critically determined by the gap between their expectations of the

service and their perceptions of what they actually receive from a

specific service provider. The servqual model proposes five

dimensions upon which customers evaluate service quality.These are:

Tangibles the appearance of the physical facilities and materials

related to the service

Reliability the ability to perform the service accurately and

dependably

Responsiveness the willingness to help customers and provide

prompt service

Assurance the competence of the system and its security, credibility

and courtesy

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Empathy the ease of access, approachability and effort taken to

understand customers requirements

Portability of Servqual:

Only some of the 5 dimensions of service quality are applicable in a

call center. As a customer never comes into contact with the physical

appearance of a call centre, the area covered by the Tangibles criteria

does not apply. From the customer perspective there is little tangible

about a call center service encounter. Given the method of delivery,

via the telephone, and hence the absence of visual cues the only way

of transmitting any of the dimensions of service quality is through theCSAs voice. The CSAs voice therefore, is extremely important in any

encounter. Reliability from the customers perception is difficult to

assess for an individual service encounter. It is not possible for the

customer to fully evaluate whether the CSA has performed dependably

and accurately. This can only be evaluated on subsequent use of the

service. The other criteria; Responsiveness, Assurance and Empathy

are all transmitted via the CSAs voice and are dependent on the CSAs

ability to communicate. Tone and language (how they deliver) and

content (what they deliver) are the critical dimensions.

Call Monitoring Instrument:

The call-monitoring instrument is a predetermined checklist of criteria

used to assess a CSAs call with a customer. The instrument contains

two sections; relating to Call Handling and Technical skills. Bothsections contain pass or fail criteria, either they are present or they are

absent. For example, was the client greeted and acknowledged Hello

my name is...., How may I help you?, and closed, Thank you for your

call, goodbye. Another example would be Were the privacy guidelines

observed? The instrument also contains criteria that address the

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degree to which the CSA knows how to use the technology. This

measures the CSAs detailed knowledge of information and systems.

There are also numerous criteria covering how the CSA behaved

towards the customer. These behavioral criteria involve judgments

made by the call center coach. Further criteria cover how the CSA

represented the organization. Coaches monitor CSA calls and award

passes or fails based on the call monitoring criteria, as well as

highlighting areas for improvement.

Servqual and Service Encounter at the Call

Centres:

There is very little tangible about a call centre service encounter. How

tangible is a voice? In the absence of face-to-face contact the role of

the CSA and the voice of the CSA is extremely important in a call

centre service encounter because it is the tool of delivery, and voice

contact is all the customer experiences. Given the absence of visual

cues, the only way of transmitting any of the servqual dimensions is

through the CSAs voice. The nature of the service also means that theEmpathy dimension, including communication and understanding

customer interaction is difficult and dependent on the CSAs skills.

Customers assurance that their service transaction has been

completed to meet their needs is dependent on the CSAs knowledge of

the call centre's products and services, and the CSA taking a positive

ownership of the encounter relationship with the customer. The

customers assurance dimension expectations are largely met by the

organizations call centre public image. It is easy for the customer to

determine whether they were dealt with courteously, by the language

and tone the CSA uses. The reliability dimension is difficult to assess

for an individual service encounter, and is only achieved with the next

transaction the customer has with the call centre. This can be

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confirmed with retrieval of records including observations and

completion of appropriate actions.

If servqual is an instrument that measures service quality, then the

challenge for a CSA is to satisfy all the dimensions in the SQ

instrument using only one medium; their voice. Servqual was originally

purported to be applicable to all service environments, the absence of

tangible dimensions, in the call centre service encounter, suggests that

this may not be the case. As a result of the non-tangible nature of the

service encounter the call centers call monitoring instrument does not

address tangibles. It focuses on the assurance, empathy, reliability and

responsiveness dimensions. Many of the call centers call monitoringinstrument criteria are interdependent and have relevance to more

than one of the servqual dimensions of quality. For example, clarifying

and confirming the customers query and the use of probing questions

to ascertain all the relevant query facts relates to both the empathy

and assurance dimensions. Providing correct and current information,

and updating the internal systems to reflect the encounter relate to the

reliability dimension. It would appear that due to the absence of the

physical facilities and material related to the service (tangibles) a high

emphasis is placed on assuring the customer of the systems security

and credibility (assurance), and hence the ability to deliver the service

reliably.

One of the major issues confronting the call centre is in its effort to

deliver quality to its customer through coaching whether the judgment

of the coach is, or would be consistent with the judgment of the

customer. In effect when the coach is coaching the CSA he/she is

acting in the role of the customer. If the coachs judgment or

evaluation of the service is not consistent with that of the customer

then the call centers idea of what a quality service is in their context is

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different from that of the customer. In the servqual model this is called

GAP 1 and describes the difference between managements perception

(of what the customer wants) and customers (actual) expectations.

GLOBAL RESPONDEZ

About The Company:

Global Respondez Inc. is an off-sourcing (offshore outsourcing)

solutions company with its core focus on providing offshore

outsourcing advisory services to its clients. With a deep-rooted insight

into offshore business markets and the experience of successfullytransitioning several projects on behalf of its US based clients, Global

Respondez is uniquely positioned in this space. It functions through a

team of dynamic consultants, each of whom has rich experience of the

offshore market along with a keen understanding of American business

practices and requirements.

This company is a fully integrated Contact Center. A Company with an

attitude that not just cuts across geographical boundaries by

responding to a call, but adds to that human touch which delights the

customer. Led by a team of experienced, service-oriented, dynamic

professionals from various walks of the industry, Global Respondez is a

one-stop solution for multi-channel integrated services.

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Global Respondez operates with a capacity of 250 seats on a multi shift

basis, 24x7, state-of-the-art, multi channel integrated contact center

located in Mumbai, India.

Vision:

Global Respondez associates with customers worldwide to migrate

their Business Processes to India. We are committed to customer

delight through our dedicated services, organization values, quality

improvement and latest technology.

Service Capabilities:

Global Respondezsnetwork of offshore service providers specialize in

service offerings in the following areas:

Inbound Services

Customer Support

Tele-sales and Order Booking

Helpdesk Services

Product and Information Requests

Outbound Services

Tele-sales

Appointment Setting

Data Cleansing

Tele-Research

Debt Collection

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Web and E-mail

E-mail Support

Web Chat and Collaborative Browsing

Fax Processing

Business Process Outsourcing:

Business Process Outsourcing is an integral part of the focus at Global

Respondez. The company has the efficiencies to operate as a 'Virtual

Back Office' for its clients. The services offered in this area include:

Medical Billing

Setting up Information Link with the US Based Medical

Billing Company / Doctor

Receiving Information on a daily basis Generation of Bill within the committed period of 24 hours

Submission of Bills - both Electronic & Paper

Co-ordination with the Insurance Company

Co-ordination with the Patient / Doctor

Payment Collection & Cash Application

MIS Reporting to the Billing Company / Doctor

Consultancy Services (Capitation, Enrollment, Managed

Care Analysis).

Insurance Claim Adjudication (Healthcare)

Claims Processing

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Batching, Inventory Control, Claims Tracking & Entry

Claims Adjudication & Capture of Authorization Data

Creation of EOBs, Payment Posting &mp; Re-conciliation

Customer Services

Telephone and E-mail Services for Provider Enquiry

Direct and Telephone Reporting

File Maintenance

Status & Membership Files

Claims History & Authorizations Fee Schedules and Capitation Rosters

Information Services

Maintenance of necessary systems

Support Interfaces and Networks

Back ups and Recovery for all Computer Operations

Reporting

Reporting of Volumes, Inventory and Turnaround Time

Capitation Claims Reports and Lag Analysis

Monthly Reports on Processing Activity

Specialty wise Reporting

Documentation of Policies and Procedures

Facilities:

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Global Respondez has an excellent international quality infrastructure

and their strength lies in their tie-ups with leading Telecom and

Networking Solution Providers in India who keep them updated on the

latest technologies. A totally dedicated and motivated group, they are

proud of being capable of delivering the best.

Infrastructure:

Located in Mumbai, one of the major centers of the business world,

Global Respondez takes pride in its state-of-the-art technical

infrastructure, easy scalability and proven methodology which makes it

a Call Center par excellence.

The facility on level II is designed for integrated internet and voice-

based support as per best international practices. The unique modular

design of the workspace and dedicated infrastructure enables the call

centre to provide specifically demarcated space for each of our clients

as also for our key functions like Human Resources, Learning and

Development, Operations, Administration and Quality Control. Global

Respondez with 250 seats, 24x7 capacity is a one-stop solution for

multi-channel integrated services. This facility has a well-equipped

recreation area and a cafeteria for all the employees.

The facility is well protected by round-the-clock security guard

protection, closed circuit security cameras, swipe card access to the

various sections of the facility, well-defined fire exits and advanced

fire-protection systems. It has a dedicated BSES Power Supply with

American Power Corporation UPS and Powering diesel generators for a

100% power backup.

Global Respondez have the scalability to set up our second facility on

level I that will accommodate 300 CSA's on a multi-shift basis.

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Leading Telecom and Networking Solution Providers in India, provide

the latest technological infrastructure, which enhances the growth of

the Company. The company believe that learning and development go

together, need based training is an integral part of our growth plans.

The Customer Service Associates at Global Respondez are highly

motivated with excellent interpersonal and analytical abilities; web-

savvy, English speaking graduates with outstanding communication

skills, all working towards providing an exceptional interaction

experience to our customers.

Technology:

Global Respondez has deployed some of world's finest technologies for

offering superlative call center services. The technologies that have

been selected have been duly verified and testified for call center

performance. The following points elaborate on our technology

capabilities:

Associate companies are leading Telecom and Networkingsolution providers in India.

PBX - Meridian switch from Nortel Networks

Symposium Call Center software from Nortel Networks.

Predictive Dialer and CTI from Divine (Melita from E-share).

Bandwidth Managers from NewBridge (Alcatel) in

redundant configuration.

Routers and Data Switches from Cisco with built in

redundancies.

Servers from Compaq in redundant configuration. Software

from Microsoft, Talisma.

Call recording solutions based on Intel's Dialogic platform.

Redundant Local Area Network Certified by Avaya.

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Desktops from Compaq.

Software from Microsoft.

UPS from American Power Corporation.

International Private Leased Circuit on submarine Fiber

Cable Atlantic SEMEWE3.

Carriers MCI WorldCom and VSNL .

Data Leased Line with ISDN backup for Internet

Connectivity.

Plan for IPLC redundancy through the Pacific on SAFE.

Operations and Strategic Actions:

With the mushrooming call centres in India Respondez have come up

with a satisfaction strategy to improve productivity as well as customer

satisfaction.

The Satisfaction Strategy before Calls

At the beginning of any project, a project manager is identified and

sent to the client to understand the business needs. A script is

prepared in the lines of the product / domain knowledge obtained from

the client. After the approval from the client's end, it is further passed

on to the CSA along with full product knowledge.

Test Calling

Once the script is decided upon there is an in-house test on the

product. Objection handlers and FAQ's are handed over to the agents

for effective result oriented calling to the customers. Mock calls are

taken before the CSA go live. It is only after satisfactory mocks will any

agent go live on calls.

Call Monitoring - During Calls

The quality department monitors the calls being made. These calls are

further verified and cross checked by the team leaders. The team

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leaders do a thorough floor monitoring by sitting along with the agents.

Remote call barging is done by the team leaders without the agent's

knowledge. These checks are carried out so that the training needs for

the agents can be identified.

Call Analysis

At the end of every call it is analyzed to understand the response to

the calls made. This would help in restructuring the sales strategy, if

required. This also helps in identifying the skill sets of the agent.

Training:

Global Respondez is a staunch believer in the importance of training,learning and benchmarking for achievement of outstanding quality

standards. Training inputs are imparted to every CSA on an ongoing

basis to maintain enhanced performance levels and individual growth.

Since Learning and development is a continuous process meticulous

attention is paid to the requirements of the candidates in terms of

knowledge, skills and attitude. The following programs and workshop

are mandatory for all Associates joining our call center:

Selling skills

Listening Skills

Telephone etiquettes

Customer relationship management

Accent Neutralization

Team Building

Time Management

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Quality Assurance:

Global Respondez believe that Quality is to be better than the best; it is

the enhancement of the inner self, which leads to the highest

possible growth. The mission of the Quality Assurance (QA) team is

to enhance and extend current quality practices, and to educate by

sharing its learnings and perceptions.

The role of the Quality Assurance (QA) team at Global Respondez is to

provide assistance and give ongoing feedback to the associate

regarding their individual performance while processing calls.

Feedback includes appreciation on strong areas of performance as

well as guidance to improve areas of concern.

The Quality Assurance team plays a key role in the operations through

the following functions:

Call monitoring sessions conducted for the Customer

Service Associates (CSA's) to ascertain and measure call quality

Providing required feedback and coaching of CSA's toenhance their capabilities

Tape monitoring and digital recording of calls for further

reference and training purposes

Quality Verification of each 'sale' achieved prior to

forwarding to the client

Coordination with the Operations Team and filtering of

quality feedback to the CSA's

Coordination with the Training Team for further training

and refresher modules for the CSA's

Recording and maintaining quality reports and files of each

CSA for reference and performance analysis

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Designing Incentive plans to motivate CSA's with respect to

quality

Quality Process:

The Quality Assurance Agent (QAA) monitors the calls on the basis of

the parameters laid down in conjunction with the client apart from the

soft skills, selling skills and other mandatory requirements. The

following are the basic procedures followed:

Each CSA is monitored at least thrice a week. Every QAA is

dedicated to one team or fixed number of CSA's. These CSA's are

monitored at least thrice a week. Depending on the earlier

weekly scores the agent will CSA's are prioritized for call

monitoring sessions.

Each CSA is provided feedback at least twice a week Every QAA

has to make sure that agents in t

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