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David Filwood

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Principal Consultant, TeleSoft Systems

766 points

David Filwood is the Founder & Principal Consultant with TeleSoft Systems - a Call Center Improvement Consultancy based in Vancouver, BC - that helps Contact Centers Find, Hire, Train & Keep Better Employees.

TeleSoft Systems is also the Publisher of S…P…A…S ...

David Filwood is the Founder & Principal Consultant with TeleSoft Systems - a Call Center Improvement Consultancy based in Vancouver, BC - that helps Contact Centers Find, Hire, Train & Keep Better Employees.

TeleSoft Systems is also the Publisher of S…P…A…S – Service Personnel Appraisal Software – a Suite of Call Center Agent Pre-Employment Screening Tools.

David has over 20 years of Call Center Management Consulting Experience with Government, Non-Profit and Diversified Business Contact Centers - analyzing Client Needs and deploying Cost-Effective Hiring Solutions that Maximize Recruitment - Enhance Screening and Hiring - Reduce Turnover - and Improve Agent Retention and Performance.

David has also written numerous Articles on Call Center Agent Hiring Best Practices - and often speaks at Call Center Industry Conferences.

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David Filwood and 33 other people answered this question

Nov. 17, 2011

Is communication competency a skill or an art?

My domain of expertise is the Call Center - where Communication Competency is considered a 'Soft Skill'.
There are jobs where having excellent speech isn’t crucial. A Contact Center isn’t one of them. A Call Center job demands that an Agent be able to communicate ... more

Human Resources

Information Technology

David Filwood and 8 other people answered this question

Oct. 27, 2011

Is outsourcing a one-way street?

According to Avaya’s “2010 Contact Center Consumer Index”: “there is a strong & growing correlation between a customer’s Call Center experience and their loyalty to a company or brand. A single poor Call Center experience results in a 47% chance that the customer will move ... more

Human Resources

Information Technology

David Filwood and 7 other people answered this question

Oct. 3, 2011

What are the benefits to setting up your own call centres vs offshore?

“False Economy” is defined as an action that saves money at the beginning - but which over a longer period of time results in more money being wasted than being saved.
On a “level playing field” – onshore Call Centers are financially competitive with offshore Call ... more

Customer Service

Information Technology

David Filwood and 14 other people answered this question

Sept. 26, 2011

POLL: Personality Tests should be used to evaluate candidates in the hiring process (Pick YES or NO)

From the perspective of hiring Call Center Agents – the answer is YES.
In a Study on “The Comparative Validities of a Variety of Predictors of Hourly Wage Jobs in Reducing Turnover in New Hires” the following Results were uncovered:
Interview -- 14% Predictive Ability
Reference ... more

Human Resources

Employee Assessment

David Filwood recommends this answer by Bob West

Aug. 14, 2011

POLL: Are you in favor of ending tax cuts for the wealthy as part of a deficit reduction program?

One of the reasons the question raises so many hackles is the way it's framed. Naturally, those who earn more than the national average, and small business owners who would qualify for higher taxes under such a proposal instinctively leap upon the jugular of anyone ... more

David Filwood and 7 other people answered this question

July 17, 2011

Is roleplaying an effective customer service training technique?

Role playing is one of the most effective Contact Center training methods. Role playing is "practicing working with an imaginary customer out loud”. Role playing allows a group of employees to act out telephone-based work scenarios. For example - you might train Telephone Sales Agents ... more

Customer Service

Human Resources

Contact Centers

David Filwood and 7 other people answered this question

July 6, 2011

Can empathy be scripted or can it only come naturally?

Speaking from a Contact Center perspective - if your employees already have the right mix of ‘Soft Skill’ (Personality/Job-Fit) traits & Communications Skills to begin with - and specific amounts of those traits – then Empathy Skills Training will prove valuable as a way to ... more

Customer Service

Emotional Intelligence

David Filwood and 4 other people answered this question

June 20, 2011

Hiring sales people... do I want those with big egos or those with big empathy?

From an Inside Sales/Telephone Sales perspective – ’Strong’ personalities with ‘Big Egos’ may actually hurt performance.
According to recent research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University, and Union College – being a ’Strong’ personality with a ‘Big Ego’ doesn’t have much to do ... more

Sales Management

David Filwood and 5 other people answered this question

May 15, 2011

What is the average cost of a bad hire?

Hiring the wrong Inside Sales Agent to begin with is the root cause of most performance issues. It’s also a significant drain on the Budget & Bottom Line, on Customer Satisfaction Ratings and on Sales Results. Every failed hire represents wasted dollars down the drain. ... more

Human Resources

David Filwood and 2 other people commented on this post

May 15, 2011

Why Really Smart People & ‘Strong’ Personalities can be a Bad Fit for most Contact Centers

@Fred. Thank you for sharing your insights regarding the importance of ‘Soft Skills’ for Call Center Agents.
It is the ‘Soft Skills’ that deliver value when it comes to the kind of service callers expect.
The Customer Service Representative (CSR) is your ambassador to your ... more

Customer Service

Call Center Agents

Call Center Management

David Filwood and 1 other person answered this question

April 17, 2011

What is a boiler room?

As a slang term for shady enterprises - the term "boiler room" dates back to the stock swindles of the 1920's - in the run-up to the Great Depression - and refers to the earliest of telephone scam artists – who worked out of the ... more

David Filwood and 4 other people answered this question

April 6, 2011

How do organisations go from talking about empowering their frontline agents to actually doing it?

Some tips for empowering frontline Agents:
1. Don’t ship your Call Center jobs overseas.
Just ask your friends & neighbors to describe their experiences dealing with a company that has shipped their Call Center work overseas. The vast majority will tell you that they generally have ... more

Customer Service

Contact Center Agents

Contact Centers

David Filwood and 3 other people answered this question

March 16, 2011

What tactics can be employed to try to reduce employee turnover in contact centers?

If you want to quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively hire Top Performing Contact Center Agents – those who will meet or exceed your expectations – those who have the Personality/Job-Fit/Temperament Factors for the job – and the ‘Telephone Personality’, Intellect & ‘Verbal Artistry’ to credibly represent ... more

Customer Service

Contact Centers

Employee Turnover

David Filwood and 11 other people answered this question

March 15, 2011

Does tone and pitch of voice help reps get through gatekeepers?

Thanks for your positive feedback Kathleen – and I strongly agree with your statement: “The importance some businesses place on the quality of the people who represent them over the phone has diminished.”
If you want to quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively hire Top Performing Inside Sales ... more

David Filwood and 4 other people answered this question

March 15, 2011

What are your tips for transitioning to an outsourced help desk solution?

Should you choose to outsource your Help Desk - you can find a directory of domestic (USA/Canada) Call Center Service Providers at http://www.camx.ca/call-center/info-319-current-members_ang.cfm?envoyerRecher...
But before you consider sending your Help Desk work overseas - just ask your friends & neighbors about their Call Center experiences. ... more

Customer Service

General Management

Information Technology

David Filwood and 7 other people answered this question

March 14, 2011

What are the biggest tips you have for companies looking to avoid 'bad hires?'

When it comes to Call Center hiring - in a Study on “The Comparative Validities of a Variety of Predictors of Hourly Wage Jobs in Reducing Turnover in New Hires” the following Results were uncovered:
Interview -- 14% Predictive Ability
Reference Checking -- 26% Predictive ... more

Human Resources

Hiring Mistakes

David Filwood and 9 other people answered this question

March 7, 2011

What are the top features that no contact center should be without?

I’m sure you’re going to receive all sorts of Hardware/Software advice for what you ‘must have’ in your Contact Center – just don’t lose sight of the fact that fundamentally it’s all about the quality of the ‘Humanware’ you deploy to begin with.
While most everyone ... more

Customer Service

Information Technology

Contact Centers

David Filwood and 1 other person answered this question

Feb. 18, 2011

What is typical employee turnover rate (%/yr) for a discrete revenue generating Inside Sales team?

There are different types of Turnover within an Inside Sales Call Center environment.
There is ‘Good Turnover’ – such as an Internal Promotion or Department Transfer. ‘Good Turnover’ typically represents about 10% of an Inside Sales Call Center’s Annual Turnover Rate.
There is ‘Involuntary Turnover’ – such ... more

David Filwood and 6 other people answered this question

Feb. 18, 2011

What are the major differences between managing inside sales reps versus outside sales reps?

There are profound differences between Inside Sales/Telephone Sales and Outside Sales. Viewing these positions as identical - and therefore attempting to hire, train, develop & manage them in the exact same way is a huge mistake.
The differences between Inside Sales/TeleSales and Outside Sales include: ... more

Sales Management

David Filwood and 5 other people answered this question

Feb. 14, 2011

In regards to contact centers, what is a "blended agent"?

It would certainly appear that the TeleServices Sector of the Call Center Industry defines a “Blended” or “Shared” Agent as someone who answers calls on behalf of more than one department/company/industry – or who works across multiple channels (live calls/electronic tickets/chats/etc.).
However - for the vast ... more

Customer Service

Contact Centers

David Filwood and 5 other people answered this question

Feb. 10, 2011

What do you consider to be "good" telemarketing skills?

While most everyone can use a telephone - not everyone is cut out to work in a Call Center environment. Someone may have “The Right Stuff” to deliver great Customer Service & Support – it doesn’t necessarily follow that the same individual is also a ... more

Telemarketing Reps

David Filwood and 11 other people answered this question

Feb. 2, 2011

How to get my CSR's be more compassionate?

If you want to make sure that your Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) have a Customer Facing Attitude - and that they are capable of being ‘more compassionate’ - I would suggest that you first invest in ensuring that you are hiring the right people.
After all ... more

Customer Service

Coaching & Training

Customer Loyalty

Training Techniques

David Filwood answered this question

Jan. 27, 2011

what is the average turnover for a call center in the first 30 days

Since 2007 - this recession has reduced Call Center Turnover by 1/3 – but that still means that the Average Annual Turnover Rate for the US Call Center Industry is 27%.
Turnover within the first 30 days of employment is described as “Quick Quit”/”Fast Fire” Turnover ... more

Customer Service

Human Resources

Contact Center Agents

David Filwood and 5 other people answered this question

Jan. 25, 2011

Contact Center Best Practices: What are your 3 tips for determining contact center KPIs?

The “Most Important” Call Center Metrics for you will depend on the primary focus of your specific Contact Center.
If your primary focus is on Cost Containment – and if you operate your Call Center as a “Cost Center” - then Average Speed of Answer (ASA), ... more

Customer Service

Contact Center Performance Management

Contact Centers

Following 15 Topics

Call Center Agents

Call Center Management

Call Center Recruiting

Contact Center Agents

Contact Center Technologies

Contact Centers

Customer Service

Emotional Intelligence

Human Resource and General Management

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Information Technology

Telesales Agents

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