WASHINGTON, ASTD INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE AND EXIBITION, May 24
/PRNewswire/ -- As Alpine Access, Inc., the leading provider of outsourced
call center solutions using home-based agents, continues to establish the
'Virtual Call Center' as the next generation contact center model, it relies
on ePath Learning's online learning technology to train its 3,000 home-based
agents. While there is growing popularity of off-shore call centers, many
organizations are concerned with the ability to properly serve customers and
build productive, long-term relationships -- not the economic advantages
alone. At the forefront of the virtual call center and home-based agent
trend, Alpine Access and ePath Learning, a pioneer in the development of
browser-based Learning Content Management Systems (LCMS), have recognized and
addressed the critical need for agent training to enhance the customer contact
experience and capitalize on up-sell and cross-sell revenue opportunities.
When considering cost-cutting measures, organizations must think about the
value of customers before bottom-line savings, especially when it relates to
selling directly to consumers or relying on human interaction to assist with
inquiries. Although off-shore call centers are proving to be a financially
prudent method of customer service for specific types of non-interactive
queries, the virtual call center is becoming the next generation model that
enables an enhanced customer experience. Alpine Access trains and employs a
cadre of home-based agents that either assume or augment a client's customer
service staff. The virtual, or home-based agent, model allows Alpine Access
to attract more experienced and professionally mature agents that are better
equipped to address complex customer issues and exploit up-sell and cross-sell
opportunities. The virtual call center model has enabled Alpine Access to
lower attrition and raise agent loyalty to a level higher than traditional
brick and mortar call centers.
Training and routing calls to decentralized agents domestically, or even
overseas, is only one example of the way in which the Web is changing how call
centers operate. While the benefits of the virtual call center are clear, the
paradigm faced some initial challenges. Specifically, how to rapidly and
effectively train geographically dispersed independent agents, while testing
and validating their knowledge before putting them in front of customers.
ePath Learning's ASAP, one of the first eLearning solutions to combine the
power of a database management system with the global reach of the Internet,
enabled the Alpine Access training team to create and deploy courses and tests
to agents quickly, in some cases in as little as a few days.
"One-hundred percent of Alpine Access' training is done on a distance
learning basis, which in turn translates into measurable results and better
performance for clients," said Dudley Molina, President and CEO of ePath
Learning. "Agent training, one of the key issues to the success of the
virtual call center model, is rigorous and includes not only client products
and technology, but client culture and corporate procedures which are
necessary in preserving and growing the customer relationship ... in a way,
this is CRM at its best."
"ePath Learning's Web-based training tool allows us to effectively train
our agents, ultimately delivering a higher level of service to our clients
while utilizing an underserved U.S. based employee pool. We track class
schedules and progress, where learners are in the training process and
identify when our agents can go live in support of a client," said Jim Ball,
co-founder and chief architect of Alpine Access. "We did not want our
business model to be constrained by our IT systems. ePath Learning is so
flexible that we were easily able to integrate their technology with ours
allowing even greater synergies to be gained."
About ePath Learning
Drawing upon its deep experience and expertise within the custom
courseware development industry, ePath Learning stands alone as a single
source provider for affordable eLearning solutions. The Company's strategy is
to deliver the technology platform of convergence that is a unique blend of
LCMS architecture with critical LMS functionality, resulting in a solution
that delivers the best of both technologies via its browser-based,
easy-to-use, native ASP delivery model. The company's flagship product, ePath
Learning ASAP, is one of the first eLearning solutions to combine the power of
a database management system, the global reach of the Internet and the ease of
use of browser-based software. For more information, visit
http://www.epathlearning.com
About Alpine Access
Alpine Access, Inc. is the leading provider of outsourced call center
solutions through the exclusive use of home-based agents working over the
Internet. This next-generation model significantly increases revenue per call
offered, revenue per sale, rates of conversion and customer satisfaction.
Customers include multi-channel catalogue and national mass market retailers,
direct response TV marketers, and public sector agencies. Founded in 1998,
Alpine has 3,000 home-based agents nationwide and is among the fastest-growing
private companies in Colorado. For more information, visit
http://www.alpineaccess.com.
Media Contacts:
Chris McCoin or Richard Smith
McCoin & Smith Communications LLC, for ePath Learning
508-429-5988 (Chris) or 978-433-3304 (Rick)
chris@mccoinsmith.com or rick@mccoinsmith.com
Erin Shannon
Strategic Communications Group, Inc., for Alpine Access, Inc.
301-408-4500
eshannon@gotostrategic.com
SOURCE ePath Learning
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Related links:
http://www.epathlearning.com
http://www.alpineaccess.com
CONTACT:
Media - Chris McCoin, +1-508-429-5988,
chris@mccoinsmith.com, or Richard Smith, +1-978-433-3304,
rick@mccoinsmith.com, both of McCoin & Smith Communications LLC,
for ePath Learning; or Erin Shannon of Strategic Communications
Group, Inc., +1-301-408-4500, eshannon@gotostrategic.com, for
Alpine Access, Inc.
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