In January 2016, Correction Enterprises’ staff began preparing to launch a state-of-the-art telemarketing operation to support sales and marketing efforts. Christie Adams, Marketing Coordinator for Correction Enterprises, started working through logistics plans, technology design and operations development for what would become known as the Inmate Call Center (ICC). A small conference room, located in NCCE Administration on Yonkers Road in Raleigh, was converted into a workable space and was upfitted with surveillance, phones and computer equipment. In late August 2016, the ICC was operational.
True to NCCE’s mission to provide inmates with marketable job skills and transitional opportunities, the ICC is staffed with three female offenders from the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women (NCCIW) in Raleigh. Offenders hired to work in the ICC receive both computer skills training and customer service training. Through training provided by NCCE staff and day-to-day management from Adams, ICC staff focus in the following areas: generating sales leads and making direct sales to impact annual revenue; maintaining and growing customer database records; conducting market research specific to products and what customers buy and might buy in the future; gathering customer feedback to ensure we are meeting the expectations of customers; and, providing customer support that includes tracking order status and answering customer questions. Adams shares, “Ultimately, with every marketing campaign we execute, we want to establish a pleasant and positive rapport with the customer. We are building relationships. Through each interaction with customers, we are fostering partnerships that will grow results not only in revenue but also in our mission to transform lives in the state of North Carolina.”
Between August 2016 and early June 2017, the ICC handled 13,553 calls spanning every customer group eligible to purchase from Correction Enterprises. From government employees and retirees to 501c3 non-profit organizations and general contractors working on public contracts, marketing staff and the ICC team executed more than 24 marketing campaigns that resulted in 427 sales leads and more than $200,000 in revenue.
In addition to the success garnered for Correction Enterprises and DPS, the real diamond coming out of the ICC are trained offenders, who leave the program in a better place than when they arrived. Offenders employed in the ICC are well-trained in contact center technology, customer service and administrative functions, making each offender who successfully completes the program a great hire and fit in any contact center operation, anywhere.
Ideally, offenders are employed in the ICC for at least twelve months. Through ongoing training and development as well as through performance evaluations and assessments, ICC employees are preparing for growth into greater roles and responsibilities, whether those roles are associated with work-release employment opportunities or post-release employment opportunities. Based on growth goals identified in the Correction Enterprises 2017-2020 Strategic Plan, the ICC will add two offender positions, increasing staff from three call agents to five. Based on year-one performance, revenue growth holds great potential in year two. “As partnerships and results grow, so grows the expectation for greater results. We are prepared to meet growth goals and to take customer partnerships to a whole new level in year two of the ICC,” says Adams.
