Dimension Data Streamlines Data Collection Process for Annual Global Call Center Benchmarking Report
Using Inquisite's Web Survey Solution, Dimension Data Saves Time, Grows Response Rate and Reduces User Errors
The Challenge:
Because the benchmarking report study was extremely complex and required Dimension Data to survey respondents in such great depth - collecting accurate, detailed information from over 400 global call centers had become a long, difficult, and time consuming process. The survey contained over 155 questions and covered eight different areas of the call center business - ranging from customer management, operations, performance, strategy, financials, procedures, human resources and technology. Not only did data have to be collected from call center managers, but also from multiple departments within each company.
Dimension Data was working with a marketing research firm that had built a custom application for the Benchmarking Report, but it came with limitations and didn't meet all of the company's needs. The application was very cumbersome and became very difficult for Dimension Data to change and update questions throughout the years. It also lacked the ability to track respondents' progress through the survey and did not validate respondent's answers. Oftentimes, respondents had technical issues with the survey, which resulted in user errors and compromised the integrity of the data that was gathered.
"There are thousands of data components that can come together for even one survey, explained Cara Diemont, Marketing Director for Dimension Data's call center business. "We received a lot of complaints about the survey's ease of use. We weren't able to change and update survey questions on-demand. We wanted an expert survey tool that we could take in-house in order to have greater control and flexibility."
The Solution:
Dimension Data turned to Inquisite, a provider of Web-based survey and data collection applications that make it easy to collect, manage and analyze the feedback and perspectives of critical business audiences. Inquisite's Web Survey System gave Dimension Data the ability to quickly and easily build, deploy and conduct the sophisticated survey. Inquisite offered the following features and benefits not available with their previous solution:
- Respondent Tracking Portal: Inquisite's professional services team worked with Dimension Data to build a custom tracking tool that allowed Dimension Data to monitor survey completion. The portal also allowed call centers to assign responsibility to various departments for each of the business' categories, such as HR, IT and Finance.
- Simple WYSIWYG Interface: Inquisite's simple "What You See is What You Get" interface works similarly to a PowerPoint application and allows non-IT personnel to quickly load, change and update questions. Additionally, Inquisite's simple and powerful user interface makes taking surveys extremely easy.
- User Error Controls: Inquisite's built-in user error controls alert a user when the date being entered does not make sense.
"Because the survey is so long and difficult, it was very important to provide the most positive, simple and straight-forward user experience. We wanted a solution that had no hitches at all. We chose Inquisite because we wanted a survey that ran smoothly and allowed respondents to go back and forth as they figured out their answers and allowed them to navigate through in a very easy fashion."
The Outcome:
Because the Survey System allowed Dimension Data to update and make changes to the survey, the company was able to save four weeks building the survey.
Using Inquisite, Dimension Data had real-time visibility into constituents' progress of the survey. This allowed Dimension Data to follow up with the call centers by phone and email to see if they were having difficulty answering questions, which helped speed along the process and increase the number of respondents. Not only did the number of respondents increase by 11% overall, the completion rate also jumped up with more respondents completing the full survey.
Inquisite's tracking portal allowed call centers to allocate various sections of the survey to different managers throughout the company, making it easier for the data to be collected from the proper source and in a more continuous fashion.
"This feature has meant we are far more confident in the validity and reliability of the data we collected. Having respondents able to allocate survey sections to the most appropriate resource has reduced the risk that data is inaccurate or incomplete."
Another key benefit included the survey's simple user interface. Dimension Data had previously dealt with customers experiencing a range of technical issues. "In previous years, we've always had many technical issues and this year we had perhaps two or three technical issues from customers," Diemont explained. "Inquisite has markedly improved the survey process for us. Compared to our previous solution, building and deploying the "Global Contact Center Benchmarking Report" survey has been simple and easy," according to Diemont. "We expect to save months of time when we implement the survey next year."
About Dimension Data
Founded in 1983 and headquartered in South Africa, Dimension Data is a specialist IT services and solution provider that helps clients plan, build and support their IT infrastructures. As a leading provider of global call center solutions and consulting services, Dimension Data, publishes and sells an annual study of 400 global contact centers. Known as its "Global Contact Center Benchmarking Report," the study has become industry-renowned because it comprehensively investigates and reports on the day-to-day realities and issues faced by global contact centers around the world.