Take five - Dean Hurst

Each month, Call Centre Helper talks on your behalf to a range of individuals from the world’s contact centres. This issue, we’ve interviewed Dean Hurst, operations director at the London-based call centre RSVP - a business which employs only actors and actresses

1) How have call centres changed since you started working in the industry?

In my experience, a call centre now needs to be a fully integral part of any company’s business plan and marketing strategy. The centre needs to be able to cope with all methods of communication and provide a fully integrated singular view of all contact and history with each and every caller.

Call centres must now be in ‘partnership’ with their clients - not simply a static supplier. Proactiveness and development of ideas is essential in order to compete in a tough and growing industry.

Even more importantly, call centres must provide excellent, intelligent staff who can meet the demands of complex queries. With so much adverse publicity, call centres must focus on the agents ahead of all else.

2) What do you think call centres will be like in ten years’ time?

The call centre world seems to go in cycles. The move to outsource overseas is now slowing down and is even being reversed. In addition, the use of complex interactive voice response (IVR) systems is much criticised by callers and more centres are cutting these out completely. Personally, I would hope this trend continues and the bad reputation of old becomes practically non-existent.

Other than that, I believe more integration with clients will continue and centres will be far more involved in strategic and marketing planning.

Technology, too, will be as ever important and will probably lead to far more electronic communication as opposed to actual talk.

3) What is the best aspect of your job?

The best aspect for me is to see projects from the initial client pitch right through to fruition. I am able to have a total overview of every client so have very diverse responsibilities on each. I take a very hands-on approach to my work and will be involved in everything from client relations to agent training sessions. I need to know as much about the product we are working with as I do about service level agreements and management processes. It’s about being able to step back and take a total overview as well as getting in and getting your hands dirty.

4) Based on your own experience, what advice would you give to those entering the workplace for the first time?

The one single thing would be to focus on your agents and to accept that no one really wants to be a call centre agent. Trying to force class-learnt motivational skills upon agents will have little effect as they will resent the feeling that, in your eyes, this is now their position in life.

A mutual understanding that you accept that they might aspire to greater things outside of the call centre world and, in return, that they will do their very best during working hours will produce a self-motivated agent rather than a resentful agent who will soon move on.

5) What book or professional course would you recommend to others?

Quite simply, none. What is more important is to have great leadership and a strong company ethos. Learning on the job from someone that is self-made and who has learnt through experience of life and business far outweighs paying thousands of pounds to sit through lectures listening to regurgitated ideas that often pigeonhole everybody and every call centre.

With this in mind, those entering the business should look at who is leading the company and their experience and ethos as this could affect your career greatly.