Call center hiring solutions provider FurstPerson has won a Frost & Sullivan 2009 North America Customer Value Enhancement Award in Contact Centers. The award is given annually to best-in-class companies based on growth, innovation and leadership.

Chicago-based FurstPerson sells pre-employment screening and skills assessment software that is delivered via the software-as-a-service model. The software helps companies with call centers hire the “right” employees -- with the goal of reducing agent turnover and improving new hire job performance.

FurstPerson claims that with its call center hiring solutions, companies can reduce 0-90 day attrition by 10 to 50 percent. What’s more, they can improve new hire performance by 5 to 20 percent.

The Frost & Sullivan (News - Alert) Award for Customer Value Enhancement recognizes companies that demonstrate excellence in implementing strategies that create value for their customers. Companies that win the award do more than simply deliver good customer service – they come up with new ways to improve customer retention and expand the customer base.

 

'FurstPerson's leadership and vision have stood out among its competitors for several reasons, including its higher visibility in the industry and its aggressive global efforts to automate the hiring process,' said Keith Dawson (News - Alert), principal analyst of Frost & Sullivan's North America contact center practice, in a release. 'The company has also successfully melded products based on new technology with a rigorous professional services practice. This has provided FurstPerson's clients with a sense that they are automating a process that is, within each client, unique.'

 

'Frost & Sullivan has a keen eye to global customer needs and trends in the contact center marketplace,' said Jeff Furst, president and chief executive officer. 'At FurstPerson, we regard agent hiring in contact centers as a core competency, where more effective hiring and overall center performance are inextricably linked. Our solutions provide feedback on critical key performance indicators (KPIs) that centers use to measure effectiveness – allowing managers to better identify the best individuals for the job, hire smarter and ultimately, deliver better customer service and sales. We're proud to be recognized by Frost & Sullivan for this prestigious distinction which validates the tremendous effort our employees make each day creating value for our clients.'

FurstPerson made news last week when it announced that it had entered into a licensing agreement with online hiring solutions provider Iscopia Software that enables the two companies to both re-sell and integrate their products.

 

Iscopia offers a broader set of online job screening applications and services geared for a wide range of industries. As a result of this agreement, Iscopia will be able to offer a contact center edition of its AQS software platform. What’s more, FurstPerson will be able to integrate “select” Iscopia technology into its platform.