The International Customer Management Institute Opens Applications And Nominations For The 2013 ICMI Global Call Center Awards

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Jan. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Customer Management Institute (ICMI), is now accepting applications and nominations for its annual Global Call Center Awards. The nomination deadline is Friday, February 15, 2013.

New for 2013, ICMI has expanded and updated the number of categories, the criteria and the entry process to ensure a "best in industry" awards program that recognizes call center excellence in the following categories:

Best Small-to-Medium Call Center (75 agents or less)
Best Large Call Center (More than 75 agents)
Best Strategic Value to the Organization
Best Quality Assurance Program
Best Customer Experience Program
Best Use of Technology
Best Call Center Agent
Best Call Center Supervisor
Best Call Center Manager
Best Customer Service Business Leader

"Over the last ten years of offering these awards, we've received an increasingly larger interest and desire from the call center community to expand this program," said Marta Kelsey, ICMI's Marketing and Community Director. "We're thrilled to be responding directly to this interest with a vastly improved awards program and a first-ever dinner and celebration."

She continued, "The application process challenges organizations to take a deep look into their operations and performance on so many fundamental levels; the award truly creates an industry benchmark. Year after year, contact center managers and executives have expressed to us how effective this close examination of their operations proves to be, uncovering strengths and weaknesses they were unaware of. We at ICMI are excited to be an integral part of this process."

A selection committee comprised of experts from all facets of contact center operations - including specialists in technology, training and people management, workforce and resource management, and quality - will judge the nominations. Judges include industry luminaries such as; Shep Hyken, Chief Amazement Officer of Shepard Productions, Jim Middlebrook, Head of Contact Center Strategies and Operations for Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Mark Miller, Senior Director, JD Power and Associates and many more.

Nominations will be scored on how candidate call centers and professionals embrace and embody ICMI's principles of effective call center management, whether they create a positive work culture and a climate that fosters personal growth, and their track record for establishing and attaining challenging goals within their organization.

The awards will be presented at the first annual Awards Dinner and Celebration, taking place May 14, 2013, in Seattle, Washington during ACCE, ICMI's Global Conference and Expo. Finalists will receive a pass to attend ACCE, as well as a ticket to the Awards Dinner and Celebration. The winner from each category will take home a trophy, and later be interviewed on an event webinar, promoted in an ICMI press release, profiled in the industry-leading "Call Center Insider" newsletter and on icmi.com, and be permissioned to include the Global Call Center of the Year Award logo in print and online to further promote their honor to corporate executives and customers.

For more information on the ICMI Global Call Center Awards, visit icmi.com/GCCA, call 800.672.6177 (International: 001.719.268.0328) or email icmi@icmi.com.

About ICMI
The International Customer Management Institute (ICMI) is the leading global provider of comprehensive resources for customer management professionals – from frontline agents to executives – who wish to improve customer experiences and increase efficiencies at every level of the contact center. Since 1985, ICMI has helped more than 50,000 organizations in 167 countries through training, events, certification, consulting, and informational resources. ICMI's experienced and dedicated team of industry insiders, trainers, and consultants are committed to helping you raise the strategic value of your contact center, optimize your operations and improve your customer service. For more information, visit www.icmi.com.

ICMI is a part of UBM (www.ubm.com), a global live media and B2B communications, marketing service and data provider.

SOURCE The International Customer Management Institute (ICMI)