latest call handling & answering news

Are you looking to set up a call centre and have your contact centre open 24/7/365? Then, we have the perfect solution for your needs! We are a UK based contact centre and we have been operating for more than 10 years helping our clients to handle their important calls; be it inbound or outbound calls. Our staff is trained to deal with all kinds of calls and our contact centre thrives on a friendly and team-focussed culture where colleagues work together assisting and encouraging each other. Give us a call today 0800 088 7878 or click here to request a quote.

We can all agree that consumers today are more demanding than a decade ago. They know exactly what they want and get it when they want it. So, is customer service still important when it comes to brand loyalty? Do they care about customer experience if they absolutely love the product and will always get that product?  According to the Institute of Customer Service (ICS) UK companies fear losing 10% of their customer base over the coming years, at a cost of almost two and quarter billion pounds.

Looking at these predicted numbers we can all agree that we need to invest in contact centres if we want to come out alive. What companies also must consider is trends in customer services and the behaviour of the consumer. Looking at future trends, Customer Contact Association (CCA) have recently published a study in which they point out that the consumers will increasingly use the social channels in order to make complaints but they will continue call to make a purchase.  So, a good advice would be, start investing in call centres – it seems that they are going to boost your bottom line.

In a busy call centre it is crucial to constantly motivate your employees. As a call centre manager, do you know what stimulates your agents? We all know that it is important to build a recognised and rewarded environment where agents feel encouraged and supported.  But how does it work in real life?

It is fair to say that the call centre environment has over the years become more and more complex with the implementation of multichannel communication options and Internet-based applications processes which leads to hours of frustration, training and support. It is important to point out that the performance of the contact centre agent is crucial to the success of the call centre. However, we are all different - and what motivates us is also going to be different. So, what motivates call centre agents? It is quite simple - ask them! And then create personalised retention plans.

It has been a lot of talk recently about how customer service has moved away from the traditional 9-5 approach to a 24/7 real-time multi-channel operation. In this day and age consumers are active ‘round-the-clock’ looking for answers to their problems, shopping or calling to make claims.  To keep up with the consumers, companies have no choice but to optimise their customer services and call centres in order to provide the best service possible.   

Where to begin?  It is important to start with inbound calling as it is the corner stone of your business. We all know - if you handle calls badly, it can waste resources, alienate customers and fail to deliver results but most importantly damage the brand. Here at Ansaback we can help you by answering the calls for you. We are a 24/7/365 UK based call centre and we pride ourselves on unrivalled customer service which has earned us the reputation as one of the leading business contact centres for answering calls! Click here to contact us

Have you had a chance to read The Times this Saturday and “50 Reasons to Love Call Centres Report”? Admittedly, Programme Director Simon Thorpe introduced the publication brilliantly by looking at public opinions versus the reality.

Simon Thorpe mentions that the public opinions of call centres are so low that no-one even raised an eyebrow when a well-established insurance company described call centre employees as brainless chickens. However Thorpe also points out that research shows that more than a third of call centre workers are educated to university level. Most importantly, many workers in call centres actually like their job. Which leads to the next question – what’s not to enjoy?

The fact is that people in contact centres are helping other people. The majority of call centre workers enjoy making customers lives easier and provide the support and help that they need. Thorpe continues “And this dedication and enjoyment of their work shines through to the customer of these well-known brands. So much so that the average performance score given to these centres by genuine customers was 87 per cent.” 

It's been a busy year at the Ansaback contact centre office, with our ‘green’ team working nonstop to find and implement new environmentally friendly initiatives within our 24/7 UK call centre.

Throughout the year we have been working closely with The Carbon Trust project to develop our corporate green image, and we thought it was worth highlighting what we have been working on in 2010 as we help build the world build a more sustainable future.

Greening our air conditioning
In November work was finally completed on our new eco friendly air conditioning unit. The new system has replaced our historic unit and has been designed to use less energy. This has given us flexibility to reduce our carbon emissions as a 24/7, 365 organisation.

Bike to work scheme
At the start of the year employees at Ansaback saw witness to the introduction of our bike to work scheme, which promotes our staff members to bike to work where ever possible – encouraging a healthier and greener way to commute to and from the office.

Share cars not cakes
In the summer of 2010, Ansaback signed up to the Suffolk car share scheme; an ideal solution to helping reduce our carbon footprint, whilst also helping our staff to save money and encouraging them to meet new people.

As Ansaback head into the New Year, we are looking forward to continuing our green initiatives and have many ideas in the pipeline as to how we can reduce our carbon footprint.

This is a 120 mile bike ride, overnight from Hackney in London, to Dunwich on the Suffolk coast.

Christian Pawsey, Commercial Director of Ansaback contact centre, Ipswich took part in the Dunwich Dynamo on Saturday 24th July – Sunday 25th July.

Christain said 'It sounds extreme, but is an experience never to be forgotten. Bikes on the train from Ipswich to Liverpool St and then a short cycle to the start point by a park in Hackney. There were 1,400 cyclists at the start, wearing all manner of brightly coloured cycle clothing so it must have looked quite strange.. We were told it wasn’t a race and the organisation was relaxed as some cyclists drank a beer or two in preparation and the photocopied instructions were handed out. Bikes started drifting off North from around 8pm and we started soon after.

As soon as we thought there would be enough ahead to show us the way. And that is how it turned out; we followed each other out of congested, dirty and noisy London streets, over the M25 and into Essex as it grew darker. Lights on in Epping Forrest and we joined the endless stream of flashing red cycle lights as it got darker. I can’t remember all the villages and towns but through the Essex night and places like Finchingfield and Sible Headingham, (a nice village hall open for tea and sandwiches around half way) before Sudbury on the Suffolk border and onto Needham Market, Framlingham and finally, sign posts for Dunwich.

We arrived some time before 5am, a little weary but surprisingly fresh. The queue for breakfast was already getting longer as groups of new finishers joined the growing crowds. I’ve had many English breakfasts, but few so well-deserved as this and several cups of tea later we took a short walk on the beach before driving home to catch up on our sleep! We had left our car there on Saturday but many London cyclists were swimming in the sea whilst waiting for trucks and buses to take them and their bikes home. I thought the cycle ride was enough, but already looking forward to a repeat performance next year'.

On Saturday 20th February, at 8.43 a.m, Ansaback call centre passed yet another milestone in its 12 year history. Call centre agent Karen Porter took Ansabacks 12,000,000th inbound call, winning herself a Debenhams voucher. It's an exciting time in the call centre when an important milestone is nearing, with all agents wanting to take that all important call. Ansaback awards prizes and fun activities for the call centre agents to mark the celebration of another great milestone.

Ansaback continues to go from strength to strength and we look forward to announcing the 13,000,000th call very soon! Sharon Ball, Operations Director added "This is great news and as we continue to increase our daily averages for calls answered, these milestones come round quicker and quicker each time!"

Ansaback has held the 'Investors In People' accreditation for the past 3 years and continue to adhere to the standards required. A productive and efficient working environment is key to this to achieve continuous business improvement. We know that our staff play a fundamental role to our success and we strive to ensure that they are recognised for their hard work and effort. This includes opportunities to progress and further their careers here at Ansaback.

A recent survey demonstrated that 73% of vacancies and 81% of promoted posts are filled internally demonstrating that we really do invest in our people. A prime example of this is Sharon Ball, who is our Operations Director. Sharon began her career at Ansaback as a call handling agent, she actually took the very first call in our call centre almost 12 years ago!

The RSPCA "Biggest Animal Rescue Ever" campaign (the Donation Line), has been awarded GOLD in the Direct Marketing Association Awards for Best Business Performance or Improvement. The RSPCAs creative and media agencies won the award for their design, promotion and targeting performance, however Ansaback call centre are a big part of making this work for the RSPCA by ensuring that not only do we pick-up every call that is generated by the advertising, but more importantly that the supporters receive an excellent first impression of the charity, improving campaign results dramatically.

Ansaback call centre agents really enjoy handling the RSPCA calls as they appreciate it is for a such worthy cause and every donation really does make a difference.