CallTalk™ Radio Show

Women in Contact Center Leadership – The Power of Community | Guest: Valerie McSorley

Aug 28, 2024 5:27:11 PM |

CallTalk Radio Show, Call Center Training, Best Practices, women in leadership

This podcast focuses on how building and nurturing a strong community can empower women in leadership roles. Bruce and Valerie highlight the importance of collaboration, support networks, mentorship, and shared experiences in driving success and creating ...

Practice on AI, not Humans: How AI-Powered Simulation Training Empowers Your Human Agents to Succeed | Guest: David Lawson

Jun 24, 2024 6:28:36 PM |

Agent Development, CallTalk Radio Show, Call Center Training, Best Practices, Agent Engagement, AI, A.I.

The ability of AI to empower, not replace, humans is often lost in the sensational stories about AI’s impact on call centers. In this podcast we explore how conversational and generative AI are being utilized across industries to exponentially scale ...

How to Turn Rookie Contact Center Hires into All-Stars | Guest: Adam Levin

Apr 9, 2024 3:54:48 PM |

Agent Development, CallTalk Radio Show, Best Practices, Agent Engagement, Remote Work

Many contact center leaders struggle to get new hires up to speed, and AI will continue forcing human agents to tackle increasingly difficult sales and support scenarios. Adam Levin joins us today to discuss how to empower workers around the globe with new ...

Getting Really Good at WFH and Hybrid Work | Guest: Michele Rowan

Mar 26, 2024 12:24:15 PM |

CallTalk Radio Show, Workforce Management, Best Practices, Customer Feedback, Work Environment, Remote Work

Remote and hybrid work are not new to contact centers, but getting really good at it on scale and for the long haul, is quite new. How are organizations retaining the best talent once hired, and how are they bringing people into culture folds quickly, while ...

Replacing Surveys with the Sentiment Arc: What I learned from analyzing 29,000 calls! | Guest: Jeff Toister

Feb 26, 2024 7:19:20 PM |

CallTalk Radio Show, Best Practices, Customer Feedback, Surveys, QA, A.I.

Customer service surveys are no longer effective. Response rates are low, customers are tired of endless requests, and it’s becoming more difficult to get actionable data. A new technique called sentiment analysis analyzes the conversations you’re already ...

Getting the Most out of AI and Automation for Quality Assurance in Contact Centers | Guest: Chad Tatton

Jan 24, 2024 9:24:30 AM |

CallTalk Radio Show, Quality Assurance, Best Practices, Delivering Quality, AI, QA, A.I.

Chad Tatton brings tremendous experience in using quality assurance to improve customer satisfaction, efficiency, effectiveness, time to proficiency, and sales in the contact center. During this conversation with host Bruce Belfiore, Chad will relay his ...

Generative AI Best Practices for your Contact Center Transformation | Guest: Jimmy Padia

Oct 27, 2023 9:58:50 AM |

CallTalk Radio Show, Best Practices, AI, A.I., CallTalk Season 14

This episode of CallTalk will focus on explaining the different types of Generative AI, as well as best practices to follow in selecting an LLM (Large Language Model). The discussion will help you understand what you should know, and helps you identify the ...

Everything You Wanted to Know About AI and Contact Centers, But Were Afraid to Ask | Guest: Mark Coudray

Apr 12, 2023 8:30:42 AM |

CallTalk Radio Show, Hiring, Marijuana in the Workplace, CallTalk Season 14

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Chat GPT are invading the minds of contact center managers around the world. But what will they mean for you and your operation? Join Bruce Belfiore and AI futurist Mark Coudray for a CallTalk episode that confronts AI and its ...

Hiring CSRs: Latest on Security Screening and Drug Testing | Guest: Christine Cunneen

Apr 5, 2023 9:43:50 AM |

CallTalk Radio Show, Hiring, Marijuana in the Workplace, CallTalk Season 14

With so much going on across all industries with regard to post-COVID screening and hiring - - along with changing laws tied to criminal justice reform, marijuana and employer liability - - industry expert Christine Cunneen provides a much-needed update on ...

Bringing Texting to Life in your Call Center | Guest Gary Pudles

Mar 15, 2023 12:43:04 PM |

CallTalk Radio Show, Customer Service, CallTalk Season 14

Answering services have been around for 100 years. But times are changing, and today, customers want to text companies. Businesses are text-enabling their business lines every day. But often, they’re too busy to respond to customers themselves. Join Bruce ...

Future of Hiring: Innovative Approaches for Recruiting & Retaining Top Agents | Guest: Ravin Shah

Feb 6, 2023 6:52:31 PM |

CallTalk Radio Show, Customer Service, CallTalk Season 14

Hiring agents has become more difficult and managers are looking for new ideas and approaches to increase success. Join Bruce Belfiore as he interviews Ravin Shah about today's market for contact center agents - and how to win with top candidates using a ...

Maximizing the Human in the Call Center | Guest: Nicholas MacDonald

Jan 4, 2023 6:11:10 AM |

CallTalk Radio Show, Customer Service, CallTalk Season 14

Join Bruce Belfiore for the first CallTalk episode of 2023, with the theme "Maximizing the Human in the Call Center". He will be interviewing Nicholas MacDonald, director of Customer Experience at C-Lect Consulting. Nicholas will draw from a career in contact ...

How Great Frontline Support Creates Great Agents - "How To" Tips | Guest: Mark Brody

Oct 30, 2022 8:38:03 AM |

At-Home Agents, CallTalk Radio Show, Customer Service, CallTalk Season 13

Join Bruce Belfiore as he interviews industry veteran Mark Brody about getting your center "unstuck" by supporting your front line agents - - and making them stars. Providing the right technology, training and leadership, combined with dedication to ...

Mindfulness Experience: Moving from Toxic to Terrific by Intentionally Helping Staff to Reboot, Reset and Reframe | Guest: Keith Fiveson

Sep 29, 2022 8:34:38 PM |

At-Home Agents, CallTalk Radio Show, Customer Service, CallTalk Season 13

Join CallTalk as Keith Fiveson talks to Bruce Belfiore abou t boost ing your customer experience and employee engagement using leadership techniques he has developed over a lifetime of experience. Use these techniques to empower greater resilienc e and create ...

Managing Work-At-Home Agents | Guest: Marcia Presberry and Shannon Smith

Aug 31, 2022 8:58:26 PM |

At-Home Agents, CallTalk Radio Show, Customer Service, CallTalk Season 13

Managing work-at-home agents has moved from pandemic emergency mode to representing a long-term challenge for most contact center managers. This episode of CallTalk will focus on tips and best practices that you can use immediately to improve performance. ...

When YOU Need the Coaching - Managers Need Coaches to Succeed too | Guest: Mitchell Levy

Jul 15, 2022 10:09:26 AM |

At-Home Agents, CallTalk Radio Show, Customer Service, Customer Experience, Credibility, CallTalk Season 13

We have dedicated courses and CallTalk episodes on coaching for agents - an important topic indeed. However, contact center managers need coaching as well - - coaching that may go beyond the training curricula that are in the market. Tune in to this episode ...

Managing Contact Centers Takes Credibility: Hear how to build it best | Guest: Mitchell Levy

Nov 16, 2021 11:48:13 AM |

At-Home Agents, CallTalk Radio Show, Customer Service, Customer Experience, CallTalk Season12, Credibility

Global Credibility Expert, Mitchell Levy, is an evangelist for those who want to be seen as credible and win the war against those in what he calls "Dubious Nation". Mitchell, a TEDtalk veteran, has interviewed over 500 thought leaders from across the world ...

How to Guarantee an Amazing Customer Experience | Guest: Jeff Toister

Oct 12, 2021 11:17:31 AM |

At-Home Agents, CallTalk Radio Show, Customer Service, Customer Experience, CallTalk Season12

An experience guarantee goes beyond merely warrantying a product against defects. It encompasses the entire customer journey to promise an experience that never falls short of expectations. Customer loyalty skyrockets when people trust your brand, product, or ...

Management Challenges in an At-Home Work Environment | Guest: Robert Kobek

Sep 28, 2021 10:42:52 PM |

At-Home Agents, CallTalk Radio Show, Remote Work, CallTalk Season12

The pandemic has intensified many of the challenges facing contact center managers. Join Bruce Belfiore as he interviews Bob Kobek of Mobius SVP for a lively episode of CallTalk centered on issues of worker recruitment and attrition and other remote ...

How Text Messages Can Help Generate, Nurture and Convert Leads | Guest: Todd Fisher

Aug 18, 2021 9:07:15 AM |

CallTalk Radio Show, CallTalk Season12, text messages, leads

SMS Text communications are becoming essential to customer contact - both for service questions and for marketing. Join us as Bruce talks to text expert Todd Fisher, CEO of CallTrackingMetrics about ways text can enhance your multi-channel approach to ...

Service Level Solutions: Stories of Success with Targeted Process Improvement | Guest: Patrick Ebrahimian

Jul 29, 2021 9:48:24 AM |

CallTalk Radio Show, Service Level, Optimizing Call Center, CallTalk Season12, SLA

Join us for a conversation with industry practitioner Patrick Ebrahimian on the processes that impact access and availability of contact center agents. He shares proven ways to improve service levels and the customer experience using creative lean ...

Key Takeaways on Hiring Insights in 2021 | Guest: Christine Cunneen

Jun 16, 2021 7:21:28 AM |

CallTalk Radio Show, Hiring, Marijuana in the Workplace, CallTalk Season12

Leveraging Workforce Management Best Practices to Optimize Your Contact Center | Guest: Matthew Duncan

May 24, 2021 8:40:46 PM |

CallTalk Radio Show, Workforce Management, WFM, CallTalk Season12

Efficient agents not only make the contact center run smoother, but they create a better experience for your customers. We sat down with Matt Duncan from CommunityWFM to discuss how leveraging some of the best practices in workforce management improves agent ...

The Surprising Value of Accurate Language Screening in Contact Centers | Guest: Brigham Tomco

Mar 29, 2021 9:26:51 AM |

CallTalk Radio Show, Agent Turnover, Employee Training, agent training, CallTalk Season12

Screening agents for hire, particularly in "virtual" mode, is not easy. Many centers find they are missing pieces, which leads to inefficient processes, higher turnover and lower customer satisfaction. One important component is language proficiency, whether ...

Silver Lining to the Covid-19 Cloud: Accommodations for Disabilities | Guest: Kate Brouse

Feb 8, 2021 2:35:27 PM |

CallTalk Radio Show, CallTalk Season12, Work From home

Covid-19 has had a terrible impact on people and economies around the globe. But it has facilitated accommodation of at-home work for the disability community. Guest Kate Brouse of nonprofit NTI helps disabled Americans and veterans open employment doors. She ...

Knowledge Management in the Contact Center | Guest: Burgoyne Hughes

Jan 5, 2021 12:56:55 PM |

CallTalk Radio Show, Knowledge Management, Metrics, CallTalk Season12

Knowledge management is foundational the effectiveness of the modern contact center. Metrics from cost per contact and handle time require agents to rapidly find the information they need, and customer satisfaction demands that agents have complete and ...

How 2021 Looks for Contact Centers? | Guest: Steve Bederman

Dec 8, 2020 9:52:01 AM |

CallTalk Radio Show, CallTalk Season 11

The contact center world has been pushed ahead 4 to 5 years in 1 year in terms of technology, because of COVID. The rate of adoption of existing tech just exploded. What’s next? What does 2021 bring? The contact center world has been pushed ahead 4 to 5 years ...

Digital CX in the Utilities Sector | Guest: Cary Cusumano and Sarah Simon

Nov 10, 2020 2:38:10 PM |

CallTalk Radio Show, Recruiting, Hiring, Work Environment, training, CallTalk Season 11, Remote Work

Digital CX is meant to provide a more effortless customer experience across multiple engagement channels. As the channels customers can use to interact with us multiply, customers demand a personalized, consistently positive customer experience as they ...

CX + EX = Success | Guest: Robert Kobek

Oct 13, 2020 8:12:36 AM |

CallTalk Radio Show, Recruiting, Hiring, Work Environment, training, CallTalk Season 11, Remote Work

If you are measuring your customer experience and not measuring your employee experience you are missing a great opportunity to discover the gaps in critical issues like customer loyalty and employee loyalty. As the saying goes, if you don’t measure, you ...

Emerging Best Practices for Recruiting and Training in the "New Normal" | Guest: Pam Roddy

Sep 23, 2020 10:40:45 AM |

CallTalk Radio Show, Recruiting, Hiring, Work Environment, training, CallTalk Season 11, Remote Work

Recruitment, Hiring and Training techniques during the Pandemic- the traditional models of in person recruitment and training are not feasible during COVID pandemic how can you successfully hire and train CSR in a street to seat manner

Pivoting from Office to Remote – Making it Work | Guest: Fabrice Martin

Aug 4, 2020 12:02:06 PM |

CallTalk Radio Show, Work Environment, CallTalk Season 11, Remote Work

Shifting to remote call centers due to COVID-19 is not simply flipping a switch. Plus, for those who decide to remain remote, the challenge of providing superior customer experiences on a consistent, long-term basis is often daunting. Industry expert Fabrice ...

Customer Experience & Your Company’s Human Brand in 2020 | Guest: Craig Binkley

Jul 15, 2020 1:09:28 PM |

CallTalk Radio Show, Technology, CallTalk Season 11, Human Brand

2020 has created an intense focus for companies to reconsider their relationship with customers and how they serve them. The vision and promise of good Customer Experience often talks about creating“wows” with customers at scale. Yet many of the tech stack ...

Contact Center Technology: Embrace It – Leverage It – Promote It! | Guest: Angie Luckey-Succes

Jun 16, 2020 9:52:13 AM |

CallTalk Radio Show, Technology, Impact of Technology Contact Center Performance, CallTalk Season 11

Are you implementing new contact center technology? Join us as we discuss tips and benefits on how to embrace the technology to transform the customer, employee and business experience by leveraging it within and beyond your department while promoting the ...

How A.I. is Transforming Contact Centers & Saving You Money | Guest: Tim McLain

May 6, 2020 11:26:02 AM |

CallTalk Radio Show, CallTalk Season 11, A.I., Artificial Intelligence

Are you struggling with scaling cll capacity in this time of pandemic? Could you leverage artificial intelligence to make your calls smarter? This episode of CallTalk will provide tips and insights on how to properly assess AI for your center's needs, keep ...

Busting the Barriers to Success:  Your Center and Back Office Functions | Guest: Nancy Munro

Apr 13, 2020 10:24:04 PM |

CallTalk Radio Show, agent training, CallTalk Season 11, Back Office

This episode of CallTalk(TM) focuses on improving performance by breaking down the barriers between Contact Centers and back office functions. Our guest will share how superior communication and coordination with colleagues in other parts of the enterprise ...

MANAGING WITH COVID-19 | BenchmarkPortal's Virtual Town Hall

Apr 3, 2020 12:55:46 PM |

At-Home Agents, Virtual Agents, Coronavirus

Air date: April 3rd, 2020

Let’s Clear the Smoke: Drug Testing and Background Screening During the COVID-19 Pandemic | Guest: Christine Cunneen

Mar 10, 2020 9:27:13 PM |

CallTalk Radio Show, Marijuana in the Workplace, CallTalk Season 11, Background Test, Drug Testing

Join Christine Cunneen , CEO of Hire Image, a nationally accredited background screening company, as she shares helpful information about the latest drug testing and background screening trends facing call centers. Christine provides her particular insight on ...

SPECIAL CALLTALK: Coronavirus & Contact Center Management | Guest: Dr. Charles Fenzi

Mar 10, 2020 9:12:20 PM |

CallTalk Radio Show, CallTalk Season 11, Coronavirus

Guest Dr. Charles Fenzi and our host, Bruce Belfiore, author of Coronavirus and your Call Center: Don’t Panic – Plan and Prepare, which focuses on how to show true management leadership in the face of this crisis. This special episode of CallTalk™ is ...

Living Wage vs. Market Wage: Pros, Cons, Whys and Hows for Contact Center Managers | Guest: Mike Dershowitz

Feb 20, 2020 10:29:54 AM |

CallTalk Radio Show, Compensation Strategies, Agent Turnover, Employee Morale, Market Wage, CallTalk Season 11, Living Wage

Join Bruce Belfiore as he talks with Mike Dershowitz about the market and corporate forces that push us to offer compensation based on market conditions, and about the human and political elements that push toward offering “living wage” compensation. Mike ...

Hidden Obstacles to Outstanding Contact Center Service | Guest: Jeff Toister

Oct 17, 2019 12:28:32 PM |

CallTalk Radio Show, Customer Service, CallTalk Season 10, Agent Performance

Are you endlessly trying to get agents to improve their customer service? There might be a culprit you’ve never considered. Discover hidden and counterintuitive obstacles that hurt agent performance. Are you endlessly trying to get agents to improve their ...

Agent Performance and Quality Training | Guest: Nancy Munro

Jul 25, 2019 12:43:37 PM |

CallTalk Radio Show, Agent Engagement, agent training, CallTalk Season 10, Agent Performance

Does your contact center struggle with getting agents floor ready – you won’t want to miss this episode! Ever have a bad experience with a contact center agent? Why do you think this happened? One answer may be poor training or poor coaching – either way ...

Incentives, Gamification and Engagement | Guest: Elijah Cox

Jun 11, 2019 11:02:15 AM |

CallTalk Radio Show, Incentive Plans, Employee Incentives, Employee Engagement, Gamification, Agent Engagement, CallTalk Season 10

If you understand the science and principles of Engagement, Gamification, and Incentives, you have the power to change an organization. You can improve morale, increase tenure, see metric improvements of up to 40%, all of which promotes a healthy organization ...

Contact Center Associations: Leveraging Information and Networking | Guest: Stuart Discount

May 21, 2019 8:21:57 AM |

CallTalk Radio Show, CallTalk Season 10

Are you a member of a contact center industry association? If not, are you thinking about it? This episode of CallTalk will tell you what to look for and how to get the most from your membership.Contact center industry associations can contribute a lot to the ...

Conversational Virtual Agents: Advantages and Caveats | Guest: Livio Pugliese

Apr 8, 2019 5:17:07 PM |

CallTalk Radio Show, Bots, CallTalk Season 10

"Conversational Virtual Agent (sometimes known as chatbots) are all the rage. There has been an explosion, with easily accessed and low-priced conversational frameworks from the likes of Amazon and Google. However, while it’s easy to put together a bad ...

Customer Care in a “Transhuman Era” | Guest: Garrison Macri

Mar 19, 2019 9:58:38 AM |

CallTalk Radio Show, CallTalk Season 10, Transhuman Era, Customer Care

Technology is impacting every aspect of our lives from home shopping, home deliveries, video streaming, voice activated home hubs, to kids paying to watch their favorite gamers … well play Video Games. Technology developments in the Customer Care world are ...

Drama, The Poison of Customer Service | Guest: Eric Berg

Feb 5, 2019 2:05:09 PM |

CallTalk Radio Show, CallTalk Season 10, employee satisfaction, agent retention, Drama

The Call Center industry can be full of drama that can be a poison to the customer experience, employee satisfaction, agent retention and your overall center performance. In this episode, we will learn how to identify different types of drama and discuss ...

Changing the Way Collection Agencies are Viewed by being Ridiculously Nice! | Guest: Kenlyn T. Gretz

Jan 22, 2019 9:56:19 AM |

CallTalk Radio Show, CallTalk Season 10, Collections

Has the collections industry taken a few black eyes through the years? Yet, your specific company was not at fault? Does your company get “stereotyped” unfairly Our guest today, owns a collection agency that is intent on changing the way collection agencies ...

Turning Your Contact Center into a Profit Center by Leveraging Chat | Guest: Tony Medrano

Dec 21, 2018 10:23:00 AM |

CallTalk Radio Show, CallTalk, Millenials, CallTalk Season 9, Chat, Profit Center

Contact centers are under increasing pressure to become profit centers and leverage new channels of engaging customers. Live chat is growing in use--especially among millennial customers--and chat communications can be optimized using machine learning in ...

Workforce Management: New Insights From a Seasoned Veteran | Guest: Rick Seeley

Nov 12, 2018 1:43:30 PM |

CallTalk Radio Show, Workforce Management, Work Environment, CallTalk, CallTalk Season 9, WFM

Workforce Management is both science and art. Hear the voice of experience as Rick Lee, Workforce Manager for Convergys, is interviewed by host Bruce Belfiore on his WFM best practices tips. Practitioners who are looking for a deeper level of WFM insight ...

Highlights from Call Center Campus

Oct 23, 2018 12:33:20 PM |

CallTalk Radio Show, CallTalk, CallTalk Season 9, AI, Bots, RPA

Digital Workforce, Keeping Automation Real | Guest: Martijn Zuiderbaan

Sep 11, 2018 1:04:08 PM |

CallTalk Radio Show, Workforce Management, CallTalk, CallTalk Season 9, AI, Bots, RPA, WFM

Nowadays you hear a lot of companies who are doing ‘something’ with Automation (RPA) or Artificial Intelligence (AI), however, what is the real story behind it, is it truly as easy as the vendors pitch it or does it require effort?

The Power of an Effective Feedback Loop | Guest: Dan Handy

Aug 6, 2018 5:01:14 PM |

CallTalk Radio Show, Customer Feedback, CallTalk, CallTalk Season 9, Feedback Loop

Information feedback is the lifeblood of continuous improvement for contact centers. However, most centers don't employ a structured approach to originating, processing and acting on feedback. In this session, guest Pam Wilson explains the 4 stages required ...

Fair Trade Outsourcing: Sustainable, Ethical and Profitable | Guest: Mike Dershowitz

Jul 6, 2018 8:08:34 AM |

CallTalk Radio Show, Outsourcing, CallTalk, CallTalk Season 9

Join Bruce Belfiore and Mike Dershowitz, CEO and Managing Director of Rethink Staffing, as they discuss a novel approach to managing call centers for outperforming results and creating social and economic impact at the same time. Mike shares his philosophy ...

Marijuana in the Workplace | Guest: Christine Cunneen

Jun 5, 2018 9:01:13 AM |

CallTalk Radio Show, CallTalk, CallTalk Season 9

Legal cannabis is becoming a reality, in one form or another, across the country. It brings with it numerous issues, both legal and practical, which managers should know about (there's no hiding from this one!). Christine Cunneen is an expert and speaker on ...

The Knowledge Loop: Improve Your Products and Customer Experience by Leveraging Front Line Agents | Guest: Dr. Fred Van Bennekom

May 8, 2018 9:27:54 AM |

CallTalk Radio Show, CallTalk, CallTalk Season 9, Knowledge Loop

How contact centers can leverage agent knowledge to improve the products they support. Design for improved Customer Experience while sharing valuable input with other departments: marketing, product development and sales. Information gathering, analysis and ...

Thought Leadership in the Contact Center: You Can Do It! | Guest: Mitchell Levy

Apr 5, 2018 1:02:51 PM |

CallTalk Radio Show, CallTalk, CallTalk Season 9, Thought Leadership

Join CallTalk host Bruce Belfiore as he talks with author and speaker Mitchell Levy about ways to bring thought leadership into your life and your organization. Hear the tips he shared with his Ted Talk audience about listening, hearing, connecting and ...

Contact Center Work and Life Balance | Guest: Sean Vierling

Mar 12, 2018 5:26:01 PM |

CallTalk Radio Show, Balancing Life and Work, Customer Service, CallTalk, CallTalk Season 9

Lets face it, finding the right work-life balance in a contact center isn't easy. It takes guts to make changes in your center that allow agents to balance their personal life with the company's needs. Unfortunately for contact centers, ignoring an agent's ...

CallTalk™ Radio Show Archive

Join the Largest Community of Contact Center Professionals

Join the Largest Community of Contact Center Professionals

Articles & News

Improve Your Center

Compare Your Center

Excel With Training

Support & Tools