Effective Budgeting… In Any Kind of Economy

If you're reevaluating projections and funding, you're not alone. Economic conditions are forcing many organizations to revisit and revise assumptions, and those leading call centers are assessing the impact of changing workloads, customers and resource requirements.

As we’ve watched the budgeting process play out in different organizations – and have observed how some seem to consistently get the funding they need – some important lessons have emerged:

Focus on results. Improved sales, higher levels of customer satisfaction and retention, streamlined costs, contributions to research and development – these are examples of results. Handling N calls, achieving 93% first call resolution or hitting service level targets are NOT results decision makers are looking for – they are important, sure, but are operational enablers.

Base your budgets on a clear strategy. By defining who your customers are, when and how they desire to reach you, the means by which you will identify, route, handle, and track those contacts, and how you will leverage the information that comes from them, your customer access strategy should be the principle blueprint for the budget. Without this foundation, budgetary decisions are likely to head off in many directions.

Ensure the budgeting process is open and candid. Be realistic about changes in the eternal environment, and completely transparent – in terms of the good, bad, and ugly – about how well the call center has been meeting its objectives in the recent past.

Leverage the resource planning you are already doing. In well-run call centers, forecasting, staffing, scheduling and cost-analysis are ongoing responsibilities. These activities should take much of the work out of the budget process, because the budget should ultimately be based on the same workload predictions.

View the budget as a process, not just a plan or document. I've seen managers spend many hours putting the detail together, only to have their priorities swept away or diluted in a matter of minutes in financial planning discussions. I've also seen powerful budgetary agreements happen over an informal lunch. It's the effectiveness of your case that matters most.

Sure, budgeting requires some number crunching and analysis… but spend at least as much time opening channels of communication and educating decision makers. That makes all the difference.

As former President/CEO of ICMI, Brad led the firm to international recognition and an eventual sale to Think Services. He now serves as a Senior Advisor to ICMI/Think Services and delivers keynotes and consulting around the world. Brad is author/editor of eight books, including Call Center Management on Fast Forward, which received an Amazon.com best-selling award. He can be reached at bcleveland@think-services.com.