The Beryl Companies Reinvents Call Center, Shatters Old Paradigm
The Beryl Companies Reinvents Call Center, Shatters Old Paradigm
(DALLAS, TX) Long regarded as an industry with low morale, high employee turnover and less-than-ideal working conditions, call centers have shouldered an unflattering reputation with both consumers and workers for decades. It should open more than a few eyes that one call center has discarded all this historical baggage to be consistently honored among the best places to work in America while repeatedly shattering the benchmark for employee retention and customer satisfaction.
The Beryl Companies, a healthcare-exclusive call center in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, has effectively annihilated the old call center paradigm by creating an environment that puts employees first and consistently asks “why not?” From high ceilings to brightly colored walls to the laughter routinely heard among employees, Beryl has essentially reinvented the call center experience and, with it, the way people think about their industry.
“Visitors feel the positive energy from the moment they walk through our doors,” said Paul Spiegelman, Beryl founder, CEO and author of Why Is Everyone Smiling? The Secret Behind Passion, Productivity and Profit. “Our unique culture permeates everything we do, and it’s clearly one of the reasons hundreds of companies have chosen us to be their partner. They know that satisfied employees will represent their organization well and will handle every interaction with their customers with exceptional care.”
Spiegelman’s Circle of GrowthSM conviction is at the core of Beryl’s success. According to Spiegelman, employees who feel respected and appreciated provide better customer service, which results in higher customer loyalty and drives profits into the business. A portion of those profits is reinvested back into the employees, which closes the circle. The proof is in the numbers. In an industry where client turnover is the norm, Beryl’s whole-new-call-center concept boasts an unheard of 95 percent client retention rate year after year.
Over the years, Beryl has received numerous “best places to work” awards – nationally, statewide and locally. The Society for Human Resource Management named Beryl the number two medium-sized company to work for in America. Modern Healthcare recently included Beryl as one of 100 best places to work in healthcare. Beryl has been selected repeatedly as one of the best places to work in Texas by the Texas Association of Business and a top place to work in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex by the Dallas Business Journal.
With a reputation contrary to what is expected of a call center, Beryl receives hundreds of resumes but hires only those that “fit” their unique culture. “Compassion is one of the most important qualities a candidate can bring to Beryl,” said Andrew Pryor, vice president of human resources. Hiring the right people – what Beryl calls “hiring for the heart” – contributes to Beryl’s low turnover rate, which is 400 percent below the industry average. Encouraged by friends who have bought into the Beryl culture, some prospective employees actually have to wait their turn for an opening at the company. And once in, they need to survive a rigorous multi-week orientation to see if they can make the cut.
Unlike the traditional call center, Beryl’s call advisors do a lot more than answer phones or place outbound calls. They help healthcare organizations grow revenue and build lasting customer relationships through a series of specially designed pre- and post-visit hospital services. And, based on two decades of success and interacting with more than five million customers annually, Beryl created The Beryl Institute, which uses webinars, speaking engagements and white papers to provide data and “best practices” focused on improving the patient experience.
Beryl’s innovation comes from a history of questioning why things have to continue to be done as they traditionally have been done. They even shun the term “call center” because of all it conjures up in people’s minds. “The label ‘call center’ allows others to have some idea of the services we provide, so I understand its usage,” said Spiegelman. “At the same time, it is sadly misleading because I like to think of Beryl as creating a whole new product category that will be what businesses need and customers want in the 21st century.”
About Beryl
Beryl, the nation’s leading healthcare-exclusive call center, helps organizations grow revenue and build lasting customer relationships by connecting people to healthcare. As a top provider of outsourced telephone and Web-based communications, Beryl delivers 24/7 exemplary customer service during more than five million interactions annually. Since 1985, hundreds of healthcare organizations have relied on Beryl for best-practices insight and data they can use to make more informed decisions about customer acquisition and retention. For more information about Beryl and its educational arm, The Beryl Institute, visit www.beryl.net.
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