BT links Emirates call centres

British Telecom (BT) has signed a five-year contract with Emirates Airline to provide technology link-up for the carrier's global call centres, reports TMCnet.

The deal involves the connection of the carrier's contact centres in Dubai, Manchester, New York, Melbourne and Mumbai as well as nine town office locations to a single, globally-managed platform, the UK telecommunications firm said in a statement.

It would enable the airline to provide a number of new services to its passengers and agents, while lowering operating costs and improving efficiency, BT says.

Teleperformance, the UK contact centre and back office processing provider, has invested in a state-of-the-art mission control centre that has significantly increased productivity and reduced costs, according to sourcewire.

The £200 000 (R2.6 million) investment in the mission control centre allows activity to be centrally monitored in real-time across its nationwide network of six contact centres.

The technology puts together clusters of similar campaigns to allow a shared service solution, identifying the best agents, skills and time frame required.

A call centre operator has transformed itself from a company which throws away 60% of its waste to one that recycles 60% of its waste in just 12 months, according to nebusiness.

Middlesbrough-based Garlands Call Centres is now aiming to step up its environmentally-friendly drive by increasing that figure to 70% by the end of this year.

Garlands' environmental manager, Martyn Collins, says: "By the end of 2009, we hope to be recycling around 70% of our waste paper, plastics, cardboard and coffee vending cups.”