Purdue University’s Benchmark Portal
Dr Jon Anton, who leads Purdue University’s Center for Customer Driven Quality, conducted an IBM sponsored research study to create a strong reference database for customer contact centers in the US. This research was highly successful and is in its seventh year of data collection. It has 100 data points covering 56 KPIs in eight categories. The scope includes performance measures, costs, caller satisfaction, HR, processes and knowledge, outsourcing, facilities and design. The benchmarking services are now commercially available to contact centers in the US and India at a very low price point and the research group boasts of information of more than 6,000 contact centers across the US. These include several Fortune 500 organizations that use this in addition to certification. Researchers leverage the findings to study evolution of customer relationship management as contact centers become mission-critical for businesses that want to capture and understand the ‘million moments of truth’ experientially gained through intense customer interactions.

COPC
A US-based company which provides certification, benchmarking, training and performance improvement services which has found acceptability and respectability of call centers in India. Its area of expertise include following:

• Audits organizations for compliance to the COPC-2000 Standard

• Conducts benchmark reviews of call centers and fulfillment centers, using the Standard as the organizing methodology for the data collected during the course of the review

• Consults with call centers and fulfillment centers on operational performance improvement

• Consults with purchasers of call center and fulfillment services on strategic alternatives for outsourcing, including how best to select and manage suppliers

• Provides industry-wide forums, such as conferences, workshops, and facilitated user groups, to foster an atmosphere supportive of high levels of customer service