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Forrester Research has issued its new Forrester Wave report on Customer Service Management

eGain receives #1 rating in "strategy" and top scores in "customer service" product capabilities, "architecture and platform," "product strategy," "corporate strategy," and "customer base" in the Forrester report.

Download your free copy of the Forrester Wave report on Customer Service Management today!

Hewitt Associates Announces Agreement to Acquire RealLife HR
Hewitt Associates Inc., a global human resources services company, has announced it is enhancing its portfolio of benefits outsourcing services and solutions for middle-market companies with the acquisition of RealLife HR, a provider of benefits management services. Under terms of the agreement, Hewitt will acquire RealLife HR, which delivers health and welfare benefits administration services via proprietary platform targeted at employers with fewer than 15,000 employees and/or retirees. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The transaction was expected to close at the end of August 2007.

Bluewolf and SuccessFactors Partner for Talent Management Solution
SuccessFactors Inc., a provider of on-demand performance and talent management solutions, and Bluewolf, an on-demand software consulting company, have announced an alliance where Bluewolf will offer customers consulting and implementation services to help businesses of all size from small to large enterprises measurably improve the performance of their most valuable resource – people. As an authorized SuccessFactors services partner, Bluewolf will combine its expertise in on-demand implementations with SuccessFactors’ Performance and Talent Management Suite to help businesses better manage their people and get the best return on investment from their workforce. Bluewolf is adding SuccessFactors to its on-demand application portfolio and establishing a Human Capital Management (HCM) practice area specifically tailored for implementing SuccessFactors.

MyCredentials for Job Seekers and HR Recruiters
With news that hourly earnings rose only $.06 this quarter, the timing is ideal for the announcement of a new career content portal, www.MyCreds.net, which offers users a highly personalized and highly advanced resource for showcasing all of a user’s important career content in one place. MyCredentials is a robust online career portal, offering users the tools to build their own career portfolio on the Web. Jobseekers create a dedicated website where they can post videos (such as a video introduction, video referrals from past employers, etc.), update and post their most recent skills and education, and manage their job seeking efforts – all of which makes sending a plain resume seem dated and obsolete.

Beazer Homes USA Selects Cornerstone OnDemand to Replace Existing LMSs
Cornerstone OnDemand Inc., a provider of integrated, on-demand talent management solutions and services, has announced that Beazer Homes USA, a national builder of single family homes, has selected Cornerstone OnDemand’s Talent Management Suite, starting with a deployment of Cornerstone Learning and Cornerstone Analytics, to support its ambitious employee training and development goals. Beazer Homes USA, with a domestic workforce of over 2,700 employees, required a scalable talent management solution that could be rapidly deployed, easily integrated with existing applications, and offer advanced analytics and metrics tools for management.

The Future of Global Contact Centers
The growing contact center market continues to proffer new revenue potential for vendors in emerging and established markets. However, as developed markets begin to mature, effectively enhancing the strategic identification and exploitation of opportunities will become a requisite core competency for successful growth sustainability, according to new research from Business Insight.

Some key findings from this report:

• Over 800,000 hosted AP's will exist globally by 2010.

• Contact center outsourcing deployments in mature vertical markets will rise from 0.87 to 1.25 million APs during the period 2006-12, although annual growth will fall by 8% in the same interval.

• Remote (virtual) workers represent a significant expansion in contact center functionality, despite only constituting a small percentage of APs, encompassing 354,000 workers in 2007.

• The Indian contact center market is suffering a decline in annual growth, falling by 30% between 2005 and 2009, due to the maturing market and increased competition from offshore locations.

• The public sector is the fastest growing global vertical market;

• APs in Central and Eastern Europe are set to grow by 71% to 308,800 between 2004 and 2009 with this growth driven by offshoring and outsourcing.

More...

Companies Can Improve Earnings Nearly 15% By Improving Talent Management Function
By excelling in talent management, the average Fortune 500 company can generate a nearly 15% improvement in Earnings Before Interest, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA), netting almost $400 million annually, according to new Book of Numbers research from The Hackett Group, a strategic advisory firm and an Answerthink company.

Certainly it makes intuitive sense that attracting, developing, and retaining a talented workforce can enhance a company's performance. But like many areas of HR, it's been exceptionally difficult to measure the real impact of improvements, says Hackett. The best companies treat employees the same way they treat their business lines, as something to be carefully analyzed and strategically developed in support of their business goals. They determine the skills, competencies, and experiences needed to run their company over the next few years, quantify the gap between their needs and their current resources, then acquire the expertise they need through a combination of staff development and hiring. As a result, they are more competitive in the marketplace, and this is reflected in improved earnings, says the group.

Hackett's research found a strong correlation between improved financial performance and top-quartile performance in four key talent management areas: strategic workforce planning, which involves identifying the skills critical to a company's operation and how those needs match up against those of the existing workforce; staffing services, including recruitment, staffing, and exit management; workforce development services such as training and career planning; and overall organizational effectiveness, including labor and employee relations, performance management, and organizational design and measurement.

Companies with top-quartile talent management outperformed typical companies across four standard financial metrics. They generated EBITDA of 16.2%, versus 14.1% for typical companies. This gap netted a typical Fortune 500 company (based on $19 billion revenue) an additional $399 million annually in improved EBITDA. On average, top talent management performers also generated $247 million annually via a 22% improvement in net profit margin, $992 million annually through a 49% improvement in return on assets, and $340 million annually via 27% improvement in return on equity.

Hackett's research also found that top performers in talent management operate very differently than their peers. They spend 6% less on HR overall than typical companies, driven by dramatically lower costs in key areas such as total rewards administration, payroll, and data management and also lower employee lifecycle costs. These savings enable them to invest more in talent management processes. Top performers in talent management are also 57% more likely than their peers to have a formal HR strategic plan in place, more than twice as likely to facilitate strategic workforce planning discussions with senior management, and 50% more likely to link their learning and development strategy to their company's strategic plan.
More...

U.S. Mobile Workers Using More Smartphones
iGR, a market strategy consultancy focused on the wireless and mobile communications industry, announced the general availability of the results of its 2007 survey of U.S. mobile workers.

In addition to being mobile, the survey respondents also had to use a smartphone and be able to identify the operating system on their device. Interestingly, more than half of the respondents use a RIM BlackBerry device; the majority of the remainder used Windows Mobile devices. And 30 percent said that they were using their first smartphone device.

The respondents engaged in a variety of activities on their smartphones. For example, 60 percent of the respondents said that they use less than 2,000 voice minutes per month. Only two percent of the respondents said that they do not use email on their smartphones and 50 percent said that they regularly need to view email attachments on their devices. Eighty-four percent of the respondents send/receive SMS, but 61 percent said that they do use an Instant Messaging application. Seventy percent of the respondents said that they are not using custom-developed applications on their smartphones. The most commonly used type of smartphone device security is the power-on password.

As compared to the results of similar surveys fielded in previous years, we have seen a significant uptake in the use of smartphones, says iGR. What is interesting, is the relatively new adoption – a sizeable percentage are using their first smartphone – as well as the consistency of the applications used: voice, email, some texting and productivity applications.”

The survey shows the potential for new applications and services but also shows that the market may not be ready for sophisticated new capabilities.
More...

Loyalty and Appreciation Strong Across U.S. Workforce
Corporate America is getting better at nurturing its workforce. That was the consensus this past Labor Day according to Adecco’s latest Workplace Insights Survey, which explored loyalty and appreciation of American workers. A majority of employees polled, 56 percent, said they feel very appreciated or appreciated, while 75 percent of employees stated they are loyal or very loyal to their employers.

The results of Labor Day research indicate that companies are improving retention efforts and showing employees they are appreciated and a valuable asset,” says Adecco. The response regarding employee loyalty was surprisingly strong, showing us that American workers are committed to their employers.

However, the survey did uncover a generation gap. It found that 21 percent of the oldest generation of workers, the "Silent Generation," age 65 plus, claim their company is not at all loyal to them versus thirteen percent of "Generation X", ages 30-42.

The Labor Day survey also explored top concerns of American workers today. Interestingly, 20 percent of respondents said they are not currently worried about anything having to do with their job. For the other 80 percent who do have work-related concerns, the top three cited were: work-life balance, a stagnant paycheck and the rising cost of healthcare. Outlined below are several ways Adecco recommends workers can manage these concerns:

Position yourself for a raise in ‘08

• Gain clarity on what you need to accomplish. Have a conversation with your manager during your next performance review or other professional development meeting and ask for their feedback on how you are performing, if they think it’s realistic that you will be receiving a raise in 2008 and what you need to do to position yourself for an increase.

• Showcase your accomplishments. Don’t boast, but showcase projects and assignments that you have contributed to that are successful. Perhaps you created a more efficient process for doing something, secured a new line of revenue or really helped someone on your team develop in a particular area. Make sure these achievements are recognized, but in a tactful and professional way that demonstrates the value you contributed to your employer’s business.

• Do your research. You should know what your peers are making in your field and market. The Adecco Salary Guide is a great resource for understanding salary ranges for all types of professions.

Find more work-life balance

• Start with “small wins”. What are the two or three things you wish you could do if you had more time and balance? Is it going to the gym? Having dinner with your family at a decent hour? Going for a run in the park in the morning, or just having a few hours to read a book? Whatever it is, pick two or three of those things to start with and schedule them as you would schedule a work meeting on your work and personal calendar. Then, stick to those appointments. Unless it is a major conflict, schedule some of your work around your life appointments. This will help create balance and give you more focus and control on the non-work activities that are important to you.

Engage your manager

• In today’s work world, more and more organizations understand the value of being flexible with their workforce. If you’re seeking less time at work and more time in your personal life, discuss options with your employer. They may just surprise you with a plan that works for you. However, you must remember that flexibility comes with a price. Working an abbreviated schedule may also mean an abbreviated paycheck, or more time working during non- traditional work hours.

Manage personal healthcare costs with preventative measures

• Exercise. You don’t have to be a gym heavy-weight to keep your healthcare costs down. A 30-minute walk everyday can help you avoid obesity and other major health risks, in turn keeping you out of the doctor’s office and hospital.

• Eat well. Do you need that donut? Your sixth cup of coffee with three sugars? Or could you have an apple and a glass of water instead? Simple choices we make everyday can help keep us healthy and healthcare costs down. We may not think about it this way in our everyday lives, but these simple decisions such as taking the stairs vs., the elevator and choosing fruit over cookies do help keep our healthcare costs down as a nation and as individuals.

"Strategies for Service Excellence"
Las Vegas, NV, November 5-7, 2007

Join us in Las Vegas for the Services Industry Summit - "Strategies for Service Excellence", at the Paris Hotel, Las Vegas, NV, November 5-7, 2007. Network with industry leaders, who will share their strategies for delivering world-class service and support. Presentation topics include Service Excellence by Design, Mergers and Acquisitions - Strategies for Successful Integration, Strategies for Managing Staff Performance, Service Excellence and the Trusted Advisor, and more.

Don't miss this event! Click here for details.

IT Job Swapping at FedEx for Fun and Profit
As managing director of shipment data capture at FedEx, Martha Carr had plenty of challenges and ample professional fulfillment. But she wanted new perspectives, more exposure and bigger opportunities. “I felt like I needed an external U.S. experience,” Carr says. Although international positions don’t come up often, Carr’s bosses gave her the experience she was looking for: They let her temporarily swap jobs with Roger Van Beeck, FedEx Express Corp.’s Brussels-based director of application and architecture for Europe and Africa. “It was the best learning experience I had,” Carr says.
Full Article...

Performance Management Strategies
Do you have the responsibility for supervising the work of others? If so, you know that employees don't always do what you want them to do. On the one hand, they act as if they are competent professionals. On the other, they procrastinate, miss deadlines, and wait for instructions. They blame others when their work is unsuccessful. And worst of all, employees become defensive when you try to coach them to perform excellent, goal-accomplishing work. So, what's a supervisor to do? Performance management is your answer.
Full Article...

Immigration Bill Could Force Employers To Verify Employee Eligibility With Web-Based System
In the immigration reform bill being hammered out in Congress, one proposal that's not getting a lot of attention from employers yet -- but will if the bill passes -- is a requirement that employers use an electronic system to verify the work eligibility of prospective workers. The Dept. of Homeland Security has been piloting an electronic employment eligibility verification system for several years, and its use could become mandatory.
Full Article...

What Is the Moral Responsibility of a Business Leader?
 There is no question that the current climate has prompted many more companies to tackle ethics issues. Many are making a set of moral values a part of their corporate cultures. And some forward-looking companies are providing ethics training to managers and workers. While company-wide ethics awareness is a wonderful thing, the recent information about the online persona assumed by Whole Foods CEO John Mackey reminds us that the moral center of every company lies within its leaders. Those leaders are and should be held to higher standards of ethics and morality — because they are leaders
Full Article...

Create a Good Salesperson
One common misconception is that good salespeople are born, not made, which is simply not the case. Of course, some people are better at selling than others — watching people failing as well as succeeding is why we all tune into The Apprentice — but even those with aptitude will benefit from training and development. But all too often the training provided is wasted.
Full Article...

Do employees hate their managers? Many do, says this research-based book, which describes 30 reasons for employee attitudes ranging from indifference to outright hatred of management. The author offers solutions, not just a litany of problems. He also describes some of the underlying psychological reasons for employee discontent (for example, equity theory, which explains why people react as they do to perceived unfairness). Material is based on Katcher's proprietary research in 65 organizations and surveys of more than 50,000 employees.

White Paper: Using Web-based Support Tools to Improve Customer Service
This informative white paper examines the latest trends and technologies in using Web-based support tools to improve customer service.
Get your copy today!

Multichannel Service & Support Survey of Executives: Report of Findings
Supportindustry.com and eGain Communications Corp. recently conducted a survey of contact center, helpdesk and customer service managers and executives, focusing on multichannel customer service and support -- its importance, the current state of their multichannel capabilities and challenges in implementing and managing it.

To get a complimentary copy of the report, click here: http://www.supportindustry.com/research.htm

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