Share what you know with millions of people

Focus is the best place to turn what you know into remarkable content

×

Susan Leighton

Follow Following Unfollow

Project Manager, Citigroup

52 points

Over nine years in the financial services industry possessing direct experience in business analysis, business writing and copy editing. Also have broad experience with project management and quality analysis. Interested in contributing to the success of established companies as well as early-stage start ups. Creative approach toward getting results.

Oct. 9, 2011

Susan Leighton and 2 other people answered this question

What is the best way to calculate the calls per customer CPC?

This can be calculated by adding "pegs" or MIS markers in the IVR. If you want to monitor how many calls come into customer service, you would place the pegs at the beginning of the customer service module.
You could set it up so that the ... more

Customer Service

Call Center Metrics

Calls per Customer

Contact Centers

July 14, 2011

Susan Leighton and 2 other people answered this question

What do your clients mean by collaboration?

In my immediate world, collaboration means each area bringing it's skills to the table and offering suggestions on how to get a project off the ground. To me, this is collaboration in the purest sense of the word. Most of the clients I deal with ... more

Information Technology

July 14, 2011

Susan Leighton and 33 other people answered this question

What is driving employees to want to leave their jobs?

I am currently looking for a new position. Why? I can tell you honestly that I don't have a horrible boss. As a matter of fact, my supervisor is very supportive of my efforts to find employment in another department. In my case, job fit ... more

General Management

Human Resources

Succession Planning

July 14, 2011

Susan Leighton and 16 other people answered this question

Which trait would you prefer in a leader: authenticity or transparency?

I would have to go with an authentic leader. Someone who is genuine and actually cares about his or her employees. In today's world, it is too easy to become self absorbed and only concerned with appearances. It would be refreshing to find someone in ... more

General Management

Human Resources

July 5, 2011

Susan Leighton and 4 other people answered this question

How often do you update your social media profiles?

I agree with Chris. Even though I am currently employed, I update my LinkedIn profile religiously. If I receive an award, if I complete new training, I make sure that this is reflected in my profile. You should always be networking. more

July 5, 2011

Susan Leighton and 3 other people answered this question

If you don't cold call, how are you building your pipeline?

A friend of mine who is working on starting a business has decided to utilize social media instead of cold calling. He is planning on twitter to act as a virtual word of mouth. He is also partnering with an established entity in his chosen ... more

Referral Selling

July 5, 2011

Susan Leighton and 4 other people answered this question

What things should never be said in a job interview?

There are quite a few topics that a potential job candidate should not mention. First and foremost on this list is vacation time. If you are already going in with the expectation of taking time off, why would someone want to hire you? Another way ... more

Human Resources

Career Development

May 11, 2011

Susan Leighton and 4 other people answered this question

Reports vs Analysis

In my business, we use both static reporting and dynamic reporting. The dynamic reporting is used as a "coaching and monitoring" tool for customer service and collection agents. The static reporting is typically used for EOM stats and marketing purposes.
Real time stats though are ... more

Information Technology

Business Intelligence

Dashboard Development

May 11, 2011

Susan Leighton and 2 other people answered this question

Who should bear the burden of debit card transaction fees: retailers or banks?

Interesting. Banks will raise fees and stop issuing debit cards altogether if they incur the burden of debit card transaction fees. By legislating this, I guess the hope on Capitol Hill is that retailers will lower the prices, the economy would be stimulated, and all ... more

May 10, 2011

Susan Leighton and 18 other people answered this question

What's your next business PDA: Blackberry, iPhone 5, Android 3?

I love my Blackberry. However, I am looking into a Droid. Currently, my device sinks up with my email, etc, so I am never far away from anyone who wants to contact me. However, sometimes it is hard to obtain a connection. I am looking ... more

Information Technology

Consumerization

May 10, 2011

Susan Leighton and 6 other people answered this question

How important is the customer experience on a website?

Any time a customer or customers complain, any reasonable business owner is going to take heed. After all, if it weren't for the customers, the business wouldn't exist. Websites are an integral part of marketing and keeping a company in the consumer forefront. If complaints ... more

Customer Service

Customer Experience

User Experience

May 2, 2011

Susan Leighton and 1 other person answered this question

Would you hire Donald Trump if you had an opening for a salesperson in your company?

I believe that the bravado that the public sees from Mr. Trump is just that. He has a persona that the American public is familiar with and he will play to that persona in order to achieve his goal (which would be top ratings for ... more

Human Resource Jobs

Sales & Marketing

Sales Management Coaching and Training

April 24, 2011

Susan Leighton and 9 other people answered this question

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

1. Competent customer service agents-well trained, etc.
2. Inbound/Outbound Dialer (Davox, etc)
3. Workforce Management-measure agent perfomance, KPI's
4. Email/Communicator
5. E-Talk or other call monitoring system so that managers can give agents constant feedback on their technique
6. Center View-so that managers can monitor who is on the phone ... more

Customer Service

Information Technology

Contact Centers

April 19, 2011

Susan Leighton and 4 other people answered this question

Do You Train Your Sales and Customer Service Teams on both Product and Selling Techniques or Product

I believe in order to be successful, companies should train their sales and customer service staffs on both the product and selling techniques.
It's obvious why there should be training on the product or products that your company is offering. Employees can't sell a product or ... more

Customer Service

Human Resources

April 18, 2011

Susan Leighton and 21 other people answered this question

Can the culture of a company be dictated by top level management?

I do not think that top level management can "dictate" a corporate culture. However, they can institute principals of operation. This is what my company did in the 1st quarter of this year. All of us went through training to understand why this initiative was ... more

Customer Service

Company Culture

Talent Management

April 15, 2011

Susan Leighton and 8 other people answered this question

Which car is the most fuel efficient?

In terms of brand new cars, I like the Hyundai Sonata. The 2011 2.0T is 22 city/33 highway and will go from 0-60 in about 6 seconds. Not too shabby! And I like the looks of it. more

Automotive Industry

April 15, 2011

Susan Leighton and 5 other people answered this question

What Are The Key Steps To Client Retention?

The key to retaining a client starts from the moment you engage them. If you are in sales, it is how they were treated from the moment of introduction. If you are in finance, it is how they were treated from the moment the loan ... more

Customer Service

Customer Retention

April 14, 2011

Susan Leighton and 5 other people answered this question

What strategies are being employed by companies to NOT overwhelm their employees with change?

Recently, the company I work for amended their principles of operation. In order to not impact us (employees), corporate wide training was engaged and we were educated on why the principles changed. Understanding the why behind the shift in thinking was half the battle. Through ... more

General Management

Information Technology

Cloud Computing

April 14, 2011

Susan Leighton and 8 other people answered this question

How do you handle a difficult customer without losing the project?

This is a particularly delicate question, especially if all of your customers are internal! Routinely, the group that I am in will be tasked with a project from a demanding partner. Sometimes, the business request will not provide a good experience for the customer. If ... more

Human Resources

April 13, 2011

Susan Leighton and 19 other people answered this question

What is the highest price you'd pay for gas before switching to alternate modes of transportation?

My commute is rather lengthy. I also work in another state. Unfortunately, where I am located, there is no alternate mode of transportation. Right now, gas prices are 3.90 for my area. If gas were to rise above 5.00, I would have to discuss working ... more

April 12, 2011

Susan Leighton and 12 other people answered this question

If you were teaching a class of future managers, what would your top "pit-falls to avoid" be?

New managers (especially if they were promoted from an individual contributor position) sometimes fall into the "I'm your friend" trap. If you happen to obtain a promotion and you are managing individuals that used to be your peers, you have got to learn to distance ... more

General Management

Human Resources

Operations Managment

April 12, 2011

Susan Leighton and 4 other people answered this question

Does your IT department create an 'experience'?

I work in a specialized area which is a blend of business and IT. My group provides the IVR experience. Since we are focusing on creating a positive customer experience (internal and external)we employ surveys and actually pay attention to the feedback. This results in ... more

Customer Service

Information Technology

Customer Satisfaction

Customer Service Best Practices

April 12, 2011

Susan Leighton answered this question

How do you use social media in your contact center?

My current company created their own internal site on Sharepoint. It is a huge community (similar to Facebook but more professional) where employees in different sites can read executive blogs, ask questions and communicate with not only senior management but peers. One special feature is ... more

Customer Service

Information Technology

Cloud Computing

April 11, 2011

Susan Leighton and 18 other people answered this question

what are the top 5 questions to ask employees in a performance review at a small company?

If I were to have my own business, I would probably incorporate some form of self evaluation. For example, I would give each employee goals for the individual quarters. I would also task them with creating 1 or 2 goals for their career growth.
Approximately, ... more

Human Resources

Performance Review

April 11, 2011

Susan Leighton and 25 other people answered this question

Do you really read electronic newsletters that hit your inbox?

I only subscribe to newsletters that are pertinent to my business or any personal interests that I have. By limiting the amount that come in to my inbox, I am able to read every newsletter that I receive.
By implementing this practice, I am able ... more

March 3, 2011

Susan Leighton and 23 other people answered this question

What are your tips for effectively working from home?

I have actually found that productivity can be achieved while working from home. Yes, as mentioned by everyone before me, it is critical that you should have an office area with a door.
Make sure that you are accessible either through IM or telephone be ... more

General Management

Stay at Home Mom

Work from Home Business

March 3, 2011

Susan Leighton and 3 other people answered this question

What are some tips for getting your contact center ready for a technology change?

Having been involved in a major technological upgrade project in the past, I will say that it is crtical to involve the business line that is being affected by the change at every step in the process. This can be achieved either through informational emails, ... more

Customer Service

Contact Center Solutions

Contact Center Techonology

Feb. 28, 2011

Susan Leighton and 5 other people answered this question

Are your customers controlling your reputation?

Yes, customers to a certain extent do control a corporation or a business' reputation. However, ultimately a successful business will take charge and work WITH their customers to build a reputation. It is only when that partnership is created can a mutual respect and trust ... more

Customer Service

Customer Expereince

Feb. 25, 2011

Susan Leighton and 3 other people answered this question

Will a cheaper iPhone version cause the iPhone to lose its "premium" luster?

Unfortunately, there are people who buy iPhones not for their features or apps but for the status of owning an iPhone. The only thing that releasing a cheaper iPhone would do is drive Apple's sales even higher because then the product is accessible to people ... more

Information Technology

Feb. 25, 2011

Susan Leighton and 14 other people answered this question

Do you think Twitter should/will remove the 140 character limitation on tweets

I agree with Brock's response. If you eliminate the 140 character feature, then you might as well just create a blog. The purpose of Twitter is brevity. more

Following 3 Topics

Contact Center Technologies

Customer Service

Information Technology

Following 0 People

Followed by 8 People

Knowledgeable in 28 Topics

Customer Service

#211 of 785

#71 of 194

General Management

#445 of 1194

#605 of 1456

Human Resources

#533 of 1481

#7 of 23

Social Customer Care

#24 of 27

#32 of 43

#81 of 108

Cloud Computing

#256 of 462

#282 of 466

Talent Management

#332 of 470

#284 of 508

#522 of 749

Contact Center Solutions

#20 of 24

#1873 of 2156

Information Technology

#1895 of 2263

Consumerization

#16 of 20

#39 of 45

#68 of 72

Mobile Wireless

#100 of 107

#117 of 131

#434 of 443

Contact Center Technologies

#25 of 27

#55 of 60

#97 of 99

#115 of 115

Contact Centers

#176 of 206