The Definition of Insanity

As most of us know, the definition of insanity is very simple: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results each time. The contact center business has taught me that creativity and innovation are essential to staying relevant and ensuring success. Here are some reasons why:

The Importance of Creativity or Doing Things Differently

Creativity sits right up there alongside other more traditionally valued qualities like leadership and business acumen. Businesses that emphasize creativity in people, processes, and technology are able to set themselves apart from the competition as being unique, different, and interesting. This draws customers to them, including customers who may be willing to pay more for a unique or better experience. It also helps in attracting the best employees.

The Importance of Innovation or Creating Something New

Although both creativity and innovation are often used interchangeably, innovation can be viewed differently in that it is often about the creation of something new, such as new products, features, or software. Companies these days are increasingly understanding the importance of innovation as a quality that is crucial to sustaining the longevity of a business.

Amplifying Creativity and Innovation with the Guidance of Self-Assessments and Third Party Intervention

One way to gauge whether you are in need of creativity or innovation in your contact center business is to look at customer feedback. This feedback will often point to things that may need to be improved or are missing and need to be implemented.

Another way to assess how your business is stacking up is to look at what your competition is doing and will be rolling out. How do their people, processes, and technology compare to yours?

Also look at your level of growth and results. When you hit a wall for either, it may be time to switch things up. Stagnancy is not a desirable trait in a business.

Doing a self-audit can help you to catch issues before they get too big and to see what is working in your business and what may need to be improved. Here are some things to consider to make your audits as effective as possible:

Self-Auditing Your Business

• Take a step back periodically to reassess your business objectives and tweak them as needed.
• Be willing to go beyond your perceived limitations or barriers. It’s difficult to push the envelope when you are afraid to try.
• Learn new skills and participate in learning courses that can improve your knowledge and abilities.
• Have an active social life which involves you interacting with interesting people from different walks of life who can inspire you to new ideas and possibilities.
• Challenge yourself and your employees to come up with creative ways to cut costs and leverage growth and profitability.
• Reduce the need to control or micro-manage every aspect of your business. Give your employees goals and accountability and then trust them to achieve results by using their own unique or distinct approaches.
• Create an open door policy where team members know that they can come to you to share their ideas.
• Create diverse work teams which include team members that have various talents, backgrounds, and skills.
• Taking a break and looking at things from the outside can also help you see things differently. Mind maps are a good tool to use for this exercise.

Third Party Intervention

The importance of periodic third party intervention cannot be emphasized enough. They can help to confirm existing issues or bring light to new issues. It can be a very insightful experience to make use of third party consultants who can provide a very objective, unbiased, outside view on what’s working and what’s not within your business.

Resources are available at your disposal to make the necessary changes. It’s up to you to rise to the occasion and capitalize on opportunities to scale your business.

We invite you to take the 360° View Assessment of your organization and its contact centers. This assessment holistically and impartially evaluates your departments and operations from all vantage points, including your people, processes, and technology. Through this assessment, we will determine how we can leverage our experienced team and knowledge of industry best practices to optimize your current contact center environment. Let’s connect! Give me a call at (218)286–4006 or fill out a form for a free proposal here.