The CIAC Certification industry credential that set the benchmark for excellence in call center leadership and management is now available for customer representatives worldwide.

The Call Center Industry Advisory Council (CIAC) has joined with UK-based Qcoach.com to create the International Customer Representative Certification Program.  Designed for the worldwide call center community, this web-based program provides state-of-the-art training and high-stakes, industry certification that equips representatives with the knowledge, skills and confidence to deliver superior service to every customer, every time.  The program’s 20 dynamic training modules span three levels of competence for customer representatives from new-hire to senior.  Representatives engage in real-world, interactive learning guided by expert, one-on-one coaching.   Learning is self-paced and delivered in 'bite-size' chunks to accommodate a variety of training needs and time schedules --- representatives can train during downtime; in structured training sessions; or on their own time.   Built-in testing measures retention of learning at each job level and identifies competency gaps, empowering representatives to take an active role in managing their professional development. The final 70-question certification assessment formally validates achievement of the knowledge, skills and behaviors most important to a representative's job success, and is the vehicle to attain the CIAC-Certified Customer Representative credential.  This program truly is the first-of-its-kind.  (Read/Download the Program Methodology.)

PILOT LAUNCH - REGISTER YOUR CENTER TO PARTICIPATE

In preparation for the upcoming release of the International Customer Representative Certification Program, CIAC is conducting a special pilot launch to collect user feedback and final validation results. The pilot will be conducted August through November 2008 with enrolled representatives from call centers across the world.   Total representative enrollment must be restricted to a manageable sample size, so a set number of centers will be allowed to participate.

For the opportunity to be one of the first to experience this new certification program, and upon successful completion, one of the first to have industry-certified representatives, complete and submit the Pilot Participant Form  to register your call center.   DON'T DELAY:  This is a time-senstitive opportunity.  CIAC will notify you by email to confirm your center’s participation in the pilot group.  

CIAC's objective is to establish a pilot (test) group of broadly-representative call centers (i.e., all sizes, business and industry types) that each enroll a sample group of their representative workforce in the certification program.  Selection criteria for sample group representatives are:

·          a range of skill/performance levels; i.e., different competency levels

·          a range of job experience; a minimum of six months in the job role is required for the pilot

·          agreement and ability to participate in and complete the program

Pilot centers pay only US $199 per enrolled representative for the complete International Customer Representative Certification Program, which includes a certificate award to each representative upon successful completion. This special discounted price is available only for the pilot.   

In order for CIAC to achieve statistically valid results from the pilot, a minimum enrollment of ten (10) representatives is required to participate.   The following table indicates the recommended sample group enrollment based on  call center size:

Call Center Size	Sample  Enrollment	Pilot Fee - USD
10 - 75 representatives	10 representatives	$ 1990
76 - 50 representatives	30 representatives	$ 5970
251 - 500 representatives	50 representatives	$ 9950
500 + representatives	100 representatives	$19,900
per site		training + certification

Four months is allowed for pilot program participants to complete training and certification testing. This timeline includes for any necessary retakes of the certification assessment for participants who do not achieve the required 80% pass score.  The e-learning/training course is 60-hours in length, which if undertaken non-stop would equate to approximately four weeks. This is given only for perspective purposes however, as CIAC does not recommend this approach.  More meaningful learning is experienced when training is spread over a period of time as this allows for representatives to fully comprehend and reflect on the subject matter, which significantly deepens and reinforces learning.  Since learning is self-paced, training can be undertaken and completed on a time basis most suitable for the representative and call center schedule.  The CIAC Certification assessment is completed after Level 3 training is concluded and must be administered by a proctor.  CIAC will coordinate proctor arrangements for onsite certification testing.  Representatives not achieving the required 80% pass score for certification will be offered remedial support and allowed one free retake of the assessment.

The International Customer Representative Certification Program is delivered on the Qcoach.com hosted and fully managed platform and requires no installation of hardware or software ( except for Windows Media Player  Version 9 or above which is provided).  Full program and technical support will be provided by CIAC and Qcoach.com during the pilot term to ensure problem-free execution.

How To Participate In The Pilot – Complete and submit the Pilot Participant Form  to register your center. 

What Next – CIAC will review your submission and confirm your participation by email notification.  A set of  Pilot documents will be provided to confirmed participants containing detailed instructions for enrolling  sample representatives and step-by-step program guidelines for all involved parties.  At this time you will also be invoiced for the Pilot Fee based on your sample group enrollment indicated on your Pilot Participant Form .

PILOT CENTER BENEFITS

In addition to being one of the first call centers to experience this revolutionary, new certification program, and upon successful completion, one of the first to have industry-certified representatives, pilot centers will enjoy the following additional benefits: 

Global Pilot Benchmarking Study - Prior to the start of training, enrolled representatives will complete an online pre-assessment to measure their starting level competency. A post-assessment will be administered upon completion of the program and the results of the two compared in order to gauge changes in performance parameters.  The Global Pilot Benchmarking Study will be constructed from the cumulative pre and post assessment data and made available to all pilot centers, free of charge. This exclusive, industry-first report will track the change in individual and group representative performance resulting from participation in the International Customer Representative Certification Program.  It will also benchmark the performance of all enrolled representatives by country, industry sector, call center size and business type.  NOTE: Unless specifically requested not to be identified, pilot centers will be named in the study report; however, all company-specific program data will be maintained strictly confidential.