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September 2008 | Volume 27 / Number 4
On The Line

Los Angeles Is Setting a Terrible Precedent

By Tim Searcy

As many of you know, the American Teleservices Association is creating the first self regulatory organization for our industry that will incorporate audits and certification. The ATA represents the call centers, trainers, consultants, and equipment suppliers that initiate, facilitate, and generate telephone, Internet, and email sales, service, and support. Call centers offer traditional and interactive services that support the e-commerce revolution, provide specialized customer service for Fortune 500 companies, and generate annual sales of more than $500 billion.

From our original work on the concept of an SRO (Self-Regulatory Organization), we have been focused on creating a long term partnership with the bodies that regulate our industry. In particular, we want to become part of the overall solution for remediation in appropriate cases for the FTC (News - Alert), FCC, and ultimately the States. For this reason, we involved the FTC and the FCC very early in the SRO design process to make certain we were in line with their thinking as well as that of our members.





After meeting with these agencies three years ago, it became clear that the ATA-SRO will only be credible and effective if it meets the following goals:

• It must be independent, both in perception and reality, from the entities it purports to regulate. For this reason, we have gathered feedback from our members as well as created a steering committee for the design of the tools and standards. Separately, we have begun the process to train and certify third party auditors to do the actual audit work.

• It should enforce standards that are meaningful and accepted. The ATA has primarily focused on federal and state law as the source for the standards. This may seem straightforward. Unfortunately, many of the regulations are not clear, and we have had to scour the public record and the best interpretations of sometimes conflicting signals to publish one standard for companies to follow. We accomplished this goal earlier this year, and standards are now a matter of public record on our website at www.ataconnect.org.

• It should be recognized as legitimate and relevant by the call-center industry and by its regulators – the FTC, the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC (News - Alert)"), state attorneys general, and state public utility commissions. The ATA has now entered into one of the most difficult stages of a new concept, which is adoption. The ATA and its board of directors are actively working with Fortune 500 companies and outsourcer partners to move quickly to gain widespread acceptance. Feedback from the regulators at three recent ATA events cannot be better. The FTC (News - Alert) and FCC are clearly anxious to see this system work and then are willing to consider how we can be part of their overall enforcement. So what is the SRO doing? The SRO in addition to creating the standards and all the necessary training and tests, has a very clear mandate from the board of the ATA:

• Set standards for call centers, based on existing laws;

• Audit call center compliance with standards, and provide accreditation;

• Enforce ongoing compliance of call centers through periodic review, audits, and, where appropriate, removal of accreditation.

We are very fortunate to have partnered with the Taylor Institute at the University of Akron. The Institute will be the "home" of the ATA-SRO, and classes for auditors are already filling up for our September and October programs. ATA’s chief counsel, Mitch Roth of Williams Mullen has created the curriculum, and with the help of the University created a test battery for the new auditors. This is an exciting time, and we are hopeful to have the first audits completed and be able to award the ATA-SRO accreditation seal at our Annual Convention in San Antonio, in October.

The SRO is well on its way, but its ultimate success will be measured by the peace of mind it gives regulators about our ability to keep our own house in order. If the teleservices industry can become effective at regulating itself, the governing bodies will be less obligated to increase the regulations on us. To make this happen, we need industry leaders to insist on accreditation as a means of determining suitability for new vendor partners. Additionally, vendor partners engaged in outsourcing in the short run will able to establish a competitive advantage by being accredited.

Tim Searcy serves as the CEO of the American Teleservices Association (ATA).

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