In today’s flatter, more global environment, price and product are no longer enough to keep the connected consumer loyal to a brand. New value has been placed on customer–facing initiatives like service, engagement, and experience. While the contact center has always been an important interface between companies and customers, it’s now more valuable than ever, as enterprises are competing on, and differentiating themselves by the customer experience they provide. An increasing number of multinational organizations are trying to ensure positive service experiences and strengthen customer engagement by launching multi-site support centers – literally to get closer to their customers. In this whitepaper we will show how one global automotive manufacturer successfully developed and deployed their multi-site contact center strategy with HP as their outsourced partner, and describe eight key recommendations for multi-site management success.

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WHITEPAPER
MASTER THE MULTI-SITE CONTACT CENTER:
A MANAGEMENT MODEL THAT WORKS
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MASTER THE MULTI-SITE CONTACT CENTER:
A MANAGEMENT MODEL THAT WORKS
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MASTER THE MULTI-SITE CONTACT CENTER:
A MANAGEMENT MODEL THAT WORKS
In today’s flatter, more global environment, price and product are no longer enough to keep the connected consumer
loyal to a brand. New value has been placed on customer–facing initiatives like service, engagement, and experience.
While the contact center has always been an important interface between companies and customers, it’s now
more valuable than ever, as enterprises are competing on, and differentiating themselves by the customer experience
they provide. An increasing number of multinational organizations are trying to ensure positive service experiences
and strengthen customer engagement by launching multi-site support centers – literally to get closer to their
customers.
The growth of support site locations has largely been organic, driven by the needs of a specific geography or
business unit. Companies have been investing as needed and often without a larger strategic integration plan,
focusing instead on meeting local demands. At a point, however, leaders realize that there are efficiencies to
be gained by standardizing operations and processes across multiple sites.
In addition to the more obvious customer-facing value of multiple support sites, there are also a number
of internal benefits:
• Global labor arbitrage has allowed the allocation of work across geographies
• Advances in technology have enabled cloud computing solutions, or “call centers in the cloud”,
which negate the need for expensive on-site infrastructure
• Distributed service models can optimize service to end-users by offering a platform that balances
native language communication with cultural, regulatory, and internal organizational requirements
As businesses work to coordinate and support multiple sites, they also encounter a number of significant challenges:
• Teams focus on localized delivery problems and often drift from a common process model
• Regional regulations drive site specialization, creating performance variation
• Various levels of expensive oversight are necessary to ensure work is performed as intended across sites
• Balancing client in-country field office prerogatives with central office efficiencies is difficult
• Orchestrating operational processes site-by-site becomes less effective with every new center addition
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Many brands are choosing to outsource the management of these contact centers, taking into consideration a
more effective process to hire quality staff, develop training curricula, conduct performance management, create
reports and build infrastructure, and navigate local labor laws, all while consistently providing high-performance
customer service. Leaders are finding that they can organize more quickly and efficiently by relying on partners who
specialize in this area.
In this whitepaper, we will show how one global automotive manufacturer successfully developed and deployed
their multi-site contact center strategy with HP as their outsourced partner, and describe the following eight key
recommendations for multi-site management success as developed by ICMI and HP:
1 CREATE AND INNOVATE THROUGH A STRATEGIC ROADMAP
2 FORMALIZE PROCESSES & CONDUCT BUSINESS MANAGEMENT REVIEWS
3 ESTABLISH SHARED SERVICES
4 BUILD A PROGRAM MANAGEMENT OFFICE
5 IMPLEMENT A PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
6 LINK BEST PRACTICES
7 OPTIMIZE REPORTING
8 CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVE & ENHANCE
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CASE STUDY
More than twenty years ago, a leading global automotive manufacturer began to grow their customer centers in
Europe. They gradually developed an array of local customer-service and dealer-support operations, each with its
own distinct processes and information systems to support them. As its business grew and more functions and
sites were added, there was a continuing requirement for integration of customer assistance, marketing assistance,
retailer assistance and technical assistance. Their success became overwhelming.
The manufacturer realized that a centralized approach to customer relationship management would not only
improve the quality of service the company offered; it would also reduce costs by introducing economies of scale.
They turned to HP for help developing a comprehensive customer-service platform for their entire European
operation, resulting in multi-site centers serving more than 25 countries and languages.
Together, HP and the automotive manufacturer worked to design a new model to optimize customer and dealer
support in Europe. The goal was to integrate people, processes, and technologies into a common delivery model
that delivered a consistent brand image across all markets. This was especially important as the program expanded
to support multiple languages and CRM programs. A major priority was ensuring that the new solution maintained
the manufacturer’s cultural synergy with consumers and retailers. It was imperative that customers never felt
that they were “outsourced”.
Within six months, the manufacturer and HP had built a virtual contact center model. They integrated all HP
and manufacturer sites into a single enterprise, unified by processes that accommodated regional differences and
languages. Under the Vendor Process Management Organization (VPMO), HP now manages all core functions across
the customer service provider platform, including training, quality, WFM and knowledge management for the 11
locations. The team also optimized support processes such as recruiting, training, transaction management,
invoicing and human resources through continuous process improvement methods to industry-best standards.
To complete the overall support structure, HP created the Dealer Assistance Center (DAC) and the Customer
Assistance Center (CAC). The former assists dealers with all aspects of their after-sales business and provides technical support and guidance on product-related issues. The latter ensures that the customer experience strengthens loyalty to the automotive brand
Dealer Assistance
Center (DAC)
Customer
Assistance
Center (CAC)
Vendor Process Management
Organization (VPMO)
Business Support division responsible for managing
the enterprises’ programs with ECCC.
Support Team
HR & Recruitment
Warranty
Electronic
Parts
Catalog
(EPC)
Resolutions
Training & Development
Social
Media
Workforce Management
Transaction Monitoring
Process Improvement
Inquiries
Knowledge Management
IT, Infrastructure & Telephony
Command Center & Real Time Operations
Parts &
Accessories
Data Analysis & Reporting
Technical
Executive Support
(EST)
Innovation
Project Management
Program Management Office
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RESULTS:
The virtual call center solution extended the manufacturer’s service coverage to enhance local customer service
operations. The implementation of service excellence strategies not only achieved targeted cost savings, but also
positioned the manufacturer to support expansion into the growing automotive markets of Eastern Europe. They
are utilizing HP’s “plug and play” features of the virtual contact center solution to seamlessly integrate new sites
and nameplates into the enterprise. Operational processes and technology have been designed to allow the
manufacturer to quickly ramp up its operations without ramping up its technology investment.
Today, customers in over 25
European nations receive firstlevel problem resolution through
virtual networked contact centers.
Each year, more than 2.6 million
inbound and outbound calls are
processed by 450 agents across
eight channels.
Customer satisfaction scores have
gone up by almost 50%, while the
top box improvement rose by a
full 22 points!
While this specific case study
showcases the success of an
automotive manufacturer, the
value can be achieved by any
brand or vertical through a
partnership with a trusted
multi-site BPO, like HP.
As mentioned earlier, many
organizations choose a partner
in order to leverage multi-site
processes, experience, and
expediency. Regardless if a
company outsources or not, HP
and ICMI recommend the following
eight key practices to ensure
success in the multi-site contact
center environment.
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1 CREATE AND INNOVATE THROUGH A STRATEGIC ROADMAP
Defining goals and targets is essential at the start of any initiative. Framed within a strategic roadmap – objectives
aligned against enterprise priorities have a greater chance of success. Multiple site goals might include improving
overall customer service; driving down operational costs, capturing, analyzing, and responding to insightful data,
growing market share, and remaining competitive against known and unknown brands.
Implementation teams must be in alignment with the strategic roadmap. It is equally important for a BPO
partner to understand them as well. HP’s experience supporting multiple automotive clients enables it to identify
industry mega trends that can be utilized in development of the strategic roadmap.
One example of trend analysis could come from customer experience data. In our automotive case example, HP
analyzed customer data to determine the reasons customers, dealers, and suppliers most commonly contact the
call center. They looked at how these calls could be anticipated and more efficiently handled, or better yet avoided
in the first place. They also looked at multiple methods to improve service.
To maximize the value of the strategic roadmap, it must be actively used and changed when necessary. The
aforementioned auto manufacturer brought together their own established business units - training, quality,
knowledge management, workforce management, and reporting groups to share best practices with HP across all
brands, countries, and languages. This ‘lower level’ governance strategy enables leaders to manage opportunities
across the broader organization in a scalable way; they are not required to be present at every site yet each site is in
alignment with the strategic roadmap.
2 FORMALIZE PROCESSES & CONDUCT BUSINESS MANAGEMENT REVIEWS
Formalize Processes
When working with a BPO, ICMI and HP’s BPO Solution Integrator, Tim Szymanski recommends manufacturers take
the following steps to formalize processes and ensure expectations are well understood:
• Have clearly defined requirements
• Write an RFP document based on those requirements
• Develop an evaluation criteria document
• Release a vendor qualifications questionnaire
• Create a site assessment template to ensure everyone is in agreement around success measurements
As these steps conclude, work can begin on a Statement of Work and Terms and Conditions. A formal “yes or no”
Terms and Conditions review is recommended to ensure alignment with the selected vendor. Follow this activity
with a contract and a post-implementation audit guide. The post-implementation audit is critical as a means to
communicate whether the work is being performed as intended and results are truly being achieved.
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Conduct Business Management Reviews
A business review (quarterly is often best) is a key opportunity for a business and its BPO to review and discuss
performance, concerns and future direction. Each review should accomplish the following three goals:
1. Collaborate – as opposed to making direct demands, and come to a shared agreement through discussion
and partnership on all challenges and improvements
2. Communicate honestly and fully – present both achievements and concerns in an open, respectful manner
3. Leave with action - agree on a future communication plan, dates and responsibilities, resolution touch points,
and tangible and achievable goals
ICMI and HP have not found it necessary for a business review to be conducted at each site, but a review of each
site should be completed and at some point, there should be plans to travel to each location. At the very least,
it is recommended that representatives from each location be available for the review through virtual means.
3 ESTABLISH SHARED SERVICES
A shared services organization helps ensure that work is performed consistently across sites and leadership
teams. Most contact center shared services include workforce management (WFM), quality and transaction
monitoring, training, recruiting, and human resources. A BPO organization provides this extensive network of
personal, process and infrastructure
to a client, thus alleviating the brand’s
need for this investment.
The WFM group is responsible for
forecasting demand, staffing, and
scheduling of resources. In the case
of the automotive client, HP forecasts
demand through more than 30 volume
streams up to 12 months in advance
at the monthly and daily levels. This
allows for flexibility and workload
balancing across all tiers and teams.
They align resources to achieve KPIs,
allocate the right resource to the right
contact type, schedule training to
meet various SLAs, and optimize staff
use in accordance with country labor
laws. WFM also reduces staff attrition,
retaining staff knowledge for a better
customer experience while avoiding
turnover costs.
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The Quality and Transaction Monitoring team develops effective transaction monitoring tools, gathers and
analyzes data to identify process and product level improvements, and ensures quality standards are consistently
met. This team works across all channels, which simplifies training modules, team meetings, processes and quality feedback sessions. Monthly ‘Calibration Sessions’ with key clients and sites, are held to maintain consistency
and encourage compliance. To accommodate multiple sites, they use virtual rooms, share points, and conference
calls. All employees also have access to a single knowledge database that contains all processes and updates.
The Training team works to provide a repeatable training experience across all site employees in a measureable
way. In the automotive shared service training group, training is delivered through the three methods below:
INSTRUCTOR
VIRTUAL
COMPUTER
• Primary delivery method
• Secondary delivery method
• For informational and mandatory training
• Maximum group induction
• Encourages group interaction
and participation
• Minimizes need for facilities and instructors
• Used for induction, soft skills and
complex training modules
• For remote workers
• Flexible WFM schedules
• Learning methodology aligned with
latest training techniques
• Low cost
• Low cost
A shared service training team ensures a streamlined approach to the challenges inherent in multi-site people
management: language barriers; cultural differences; and process, product and, procedural differences within
each country such as warranty guidelines, products, and marketing offers.
High-quality trainees are selected through well-defined recruiting and selection practices. Recruiting staff establish
the minimum skills for all key customer-related jobs, profile candidate requirements, prepare an applicant to start
working, and provide guidelines for skills development, supervisor attention, and management of employees.
Finally, the Human Resources group works to manage new, existing, and departing employees to identify any
organizational challenges impacted by staffing. They provide support to employees at all levels and have
developed a retention program to manage attrition.
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4 BUILD A PROGRAM MANAGEMENT OFFICE (PMO)
HP has created a PMO to establish effective invoicing practices and maintain centralized operating practices.
The PMO has main oversight for:
• Contract compliance
• Compliance and audits
• Data security
• Records management
• Voice of the Workforce
• Continuous improvement
• HR management • Data privacy regulations
In our case study, much of this work is complex as it involves multiple currencies and country nuances, so
centralizing these efforts makes sense. For example, predicting Applied System Hours and then converting them
into a financial forecast based on local currencies and rates can prove much more difficult. The PMO assets are utilized
by all segments of the shared services organization to best leverage cross-site labor and financial benefits.
5 IMPLEMENT A PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Those with experience implementing performance management systems say it is imperative that a ‘standard’
performance structure be established. Teams must have a “true north” to align with – a goal that goes beyond
service level agreements that enables organizations to embrace site diversity while delivering consistent results.
Whereas single sites can be influenced by local cultures and needs, multi-site operations require common
languages and frameworks that establish key approaches, processes, and common metrics.
HP and ICMI recommend managing individual site performance and compliance through annual management
reviews. Conducted by independent auditors, these reviews should identify inconsistencies within and between
sites. Szymanski noted that, “each site wants to excel, adding dynamics that are healthy. Local initiative also
introduces an urge to expand and flex. The trick is to allow a site to mature, but to also reinforce and nurture
a common trajectory for all sites across a program.”
In an effort to minimize variability, HP follows the Customer Operations Performance Center (COPC) family of
standards. Through adherence to COPC, HP limits ‘fire-fighting’ moments, paving the way for smoother
communications between local and enterprise level leadership for their multi-site customer center clients. This
operational framework lends itself to repeatable, successful processes that include helping leadership
communicate about issues and more easily allocate staff and manage volume between sites, while establishing
standards at the individual site and enterprise levels.
For the automotive company featured previously, a consistent performance management system was critical in
the improvements to CSAT metrics. Training, recruitment, knowledge management, and transaction monitoring
are all highly tuned to drivers of client satisfaction. In some cases, acting as a neutral partner organization, HP has
been able to diplomatically mitigate some of the growing pains their clients experience when expanding to new
regions or countries in small regional offices and provide seamless customer service.
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6 LINK BEST PRACTICES
Alignment with the manufacturer’s strategic direction enables consistent results. Through a centralized approach
to multi-site management, good practices can be shared; this promotes consistency across all locations. With
consistency comes confidence in processes, the ability to quickly observe variances from the norm and correct as
appropriate. The vendor must ensure data validity and level of service provided. ICMI and HP have found the
following three key practices to be of greatest importance to effectively managing multiple sites:
Communication
Executive leaders require clear and meaningful communication - despite site diversity in roles, nationalities,
languages and cultures. A variety of methods can used to make communication effective - from bulletins and
newsletters to formal meetings, workshops, and town halls. Structured and unstructured forums are useful for
the sites to talk and share ideas, issues, resolutions etc. A few checkpoints are usually necessary to ensure policy
is adhered to as part of the solutions.
Measurement and analysis
By having measures in place and performing data analysis, outlier data can be identified and investigated.
This can result in corrective action or possibly trigger changes in the non-outlying teams. The ability and skills
to perform this sometimes sophisticated analysis is growing more essential to delivering excellent service in
an ever-changing landscape.
Advanced reporting capabilities that centralize data from multiple sources help measurement and analysis. It’s
important to collect structured and unstructured data from both the manufacturer and vendor environments
into a single “source of truth.” Consolidating data from social media, the case management system and other
sources greatly aids analysis and interpretation.
People care
High quality training programs, comprehensive personal development opportunities and effective human
resource practices are all essential to retain and attract the best talent. The people who answer end-user queries
are crucial to success. Providing a professional, caring, developmental environment in which people feel valued
and able to progress is key in ensuring a happy workforce. In our case study, HP and the automotive manufacturer
created several recognition initiatives – from site breakfasts, account competitions (Harlem Shake), awards, and
more to maintain workforce morale and improve productivity levels.
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7 OPTIMIZE REPORTING
Leading organizations review daily reports on the performance of each site. Key indicators include call volumes,
abandon rates, numbers of active cases, and the level of correspondence arriving in the system. QA data also
provides insight into how teams, countries, and business functions are performing and affecting CSAT measurements.
Senior leaders are able to utilize this information to stay aware of performance without having to travel to each
location. Issues and concerns are identified, resolution plans created, and escalation paths designed where
necessary. Good reporting makes it possible to link overall CSAT scores back to the team of agents who served
each case. It will also extend across channels.
Finally, organizations must move beyond reactionary decision making. Reporting that analyzes performance over
time is critical. Look for true trends that require corrective action for sustained improvement.
8 CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVE & ENHANCE
Commitment to excellence and improvement is what ultimately separates a leader from the pack. Companies
use various different mechanisms to ensure they can improve and innovate in the right directions. HP and ICMI
recommend fully leveraging knowledge management databases, CRM systems, and Six Sigma analysis to identify
opportunities for growth. Most improvement possibilities will surface in the areas of quality, performance
management, skills development, knowledge management, and case management.
HP and ICMI have noted that it’s a good idea to frequently revisit people, process, and technology decisions.
For the auto manufacturer, HP states that they are continuously monitoring and analyzing trends. They hold
performance reviews twice a year, and monthly quality evaluations and calibrations. In addition, there are weekly
staff meetings to discuss how they can operationalize improvements or address concerns, and resource meetings
every other week to review volume forecasts and discuss necessary staff changes.
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IN CONCLUSION
“Managing across sites is complex and continually evolving,” says Magda Llagostera, the European Project Manager
for HP Enterprise Services. “The totality of processes which connect the different customer service elements must be
fluid, agile, integrated, transparent and connected.” As organizations recognize that true differentiation lies through
positive customer service and support experiences, ICMI expects that more companies will be standardizing their
multi-site approach. While organic site growth has helped serve local needs, customers and businesses find many
benefits in the creation of consistent, best-in-class processes. The eight recommendations above should assist
in the multi-site integration strategy, and certainly help if one selects a BPO as a partner in the endeavor.
“Ultimately, there is only one thing that really matters with multi-site management,” continues Llagostera.
“One must deliver an effortless customer experience across all sites.”
About ICMI
The International Customer Management Institute (ICMI), is the leading global provider
of comprehensive resources for customer management professionals—from frontline
agents to executives—who wish to improve contact center operations, empower contact
center employees and enhance customer loyalty. ICMI’s experienced and dedicated team
of industry insiders, analysts and consultants are committed to providing uncompromised
objectivity and results-oriented vision through the organization’s respected lineup of
professional services including training and certification, consulting, events and informational
resources. Founded in 1985, ICMI continues to serve as one of the most established and
respected organizations in the call center industry.
About HP
HP is a world leader in business process outsourcing (BPO), with 45,000 professionals
serving more than 300 enterprise and government clients and nearly 700 small/medium
businesses in 26 countries. We provide strategy, solutions, services, and products
designed to solve complex business issues and achieve better business results. Our
comprehensive portfolio includes a variety of industry-tailored business services,
including finance & accounting, business analytics, customer engagement management
and HR / Payroll services. Supplemented by applications and IT experience and in-depth,
industry-specific knowledge our BPO services provide business-focused solutions
tailored to client’s strategic goals.
HP helps organizations increase operational agility through process standardization,
visibility and timely access into the ever-increasing store of enterprise data.
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