CARA Program Supports Disabled and Special Needs Workers

CCNG, working with UCN and Working Solutions want to introduce CARA (Corporate America Recognizing Abilities), an exciting new initiative we believe CCNG membership will embrace. The CARA initiative is a unique new program to develop and support at-home agents and successfully employ disabled veterans and special-needs workers, such as military spouses and 24/7 caregivers. CCNG is reaching out to CCNG Members everywhere to carry the message of this initiative through local and regional meetings and member-to-member communication programs. By sharing information and experiences on the implementation and impact of the program we hope to increase the adoption of CARA and support for this unique and talented group of workers.

CARA Program Highlights:

A 90-day pilot program, designed to introduce contact centers to the experience of hiring and managing disabled and special-needs workers as at-home workers. CORA, LLC will place, mentor and coach up to 20 special needs workers per participating company. During the 90-day pilot program, CORA will apply mentoring methods and techniques that have delivered a 95% success rate in the past. During this pilot, the workers will be employed as CORA contract workers.

UCN will provide up to 20 seats of its hosted contact handling and agent performance management services for free during the 90-day pilot. (All telecom usage will be billable during the pilot.) At the end of 90 day pilot, you have the option of hiring one or more of the workers fulltime, contracting directly with the workers or discontinuing the relationship with any or all of the workers. At the end of 90-days, you may convert one or more of your inContact® seats to a normal contract rate.

For more information on the CARA Program please contact UCN, 1-888-UCN-0002. 

About CORA, LLC

Ilene Morris-Sambur is CEO and Founder of CORA, LLC. – Creating Opportunities by Recognizing Abilities. She is the recipient of the Secretary of Labor’s 2006 New Freedom Initiative Award, which annually recognizes non-profits, small businesses, corporations and individuals from a cross-section of industries that have demonstrated exemplary and innovative efforts to enhance the employment of people with disabilities.

The company’s mission is to identify telework opportunities and train, supervise and mentor severely wounded Veterans, individuals with disabilities, military spouses and 24/7 caretakers to increase work@home success ratios for long-term employment. This program provides corporations with comparative savings to offshore outsourcing, as well as superior customer service and high retention potential.

CORA capabilities include:

• Customized Training – Cora provides online, interactive training and mentoring programs. Cora’s customized training for specific job functions has successfully improved productivity and profits for hundreds companies.
• Experience – CORA is staffed by experienced management consultants who are exceptionally knowledgeable about business process reengineering techniques, training and supervision. High caliber professionals with superior skill sets are developed through extensive training programs and continuous evaluation.
• Proactive = Preventive - CORA provides the technical and emotional support required for your clients to succeed at telework positions. Our innovative Team Leader mentoring increases confidence, productivity and self-sufficiency. “Like” candidates bond online and help to support each other.
• Business Partner Alliance – Initial candidate assessments conducted by Virginia Commonwealth University, Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Workplace Supports - CARF Apprenticeship program sponsored by Employment and Training Administration.

CORA’s own Telework Call Center ensures the proper supervision and mentoring, which increases the success of our at-home workers.

CORA, LLC.
541 Berkshire Valley Road
Wharton, NJ 07885
800.571.2397
www.CORAworks.com

CCNG and TechTarget Announce Strategic Editorial Partnership: Launch of Online Call Center Information Center

Dallas, Texas and Needham, Massachusetts– May 29, 2006 – Leading call center member organization (CCNG), and Information-technology (IT) media company TechTarget  announced today the formation of a strategic partnership to expand TechTarget’s highly targeted approach to the call center market.  Working together toward this common goal, the two companies will combine their strengths and market knowledge to create a powerful micro-site that addresses the specific needs of the call center audience.

Launched on SearchCRM.com on March 24, 2006, the Call Center Info Center provides original editorial coverage of industry news, best practice insight and advice, call center case studies and success stories, announcements of local call center networking meetings, and online web seminar events.

The Call Center Info Center showcases a variety of editorial resources designed to assist call center leaders and managers in conquering their daily challenges -- from people to processes to technology. The Info Center presents best practice perspective and advice by tapping into CCNG’s unique online Body of Knowledge and respected industry consultants: Lori Bocklund, President of Strategic Contact, Inc. and Donna Fluss, Principal of DMG Consulting. The Info Center also offers exclusive articles that delve into market trends (such as incorporating business intelligence and analytics into the call center) and research.

Quote from David Hadobas, President, CCNG:
“We’re very pleased to have the opportunity to work with a leader in integrated media publishing like TechTarget on the new Call Center Info Center. They clearly recognize the unique information requirements of professionals who support the call center. TechTarget offers a wealth of editorial and information assets we can leverage to extend the voice of the call center industry. We’re pleased they have chosen CCNG as the partner to provide the industry perspective and subject matter expertise to deliver this unique new service.”

Quote from Mike Wallace, Vice President and Group Publisher, TechTarget, Inc.:
“Working with CCNG to create the Call Center Info Center is a natural extension of our experience with the call center market. TechTarget has predominantly had an online focus with regard to the call center audience but by joining forces with market leader CCNG we are tapping into their local and regional networking expertise.  We are very excited about this partnership and are looking forward to working with CCNG to achieve continued success in the call center market.”

About CCNG

Call Center Network Group (CCNG) is the number one industry advocate for call center managers -- providing programs on a local, regional, national and virtual basis. CCNG was incorporated in 1994 and has a unique focus of providing educational information and face-to-face networking through a membership organization. CCNG members are motivated call center management and industry professionals dedicated to the exchange of working knowledge and best practice strategies for the advancement of call center operations and call center professionals. CCNG offers membership at the individual and corporate level. www.ccng.com.

About TechTarget

TechTarget publishes integrated media that enable information-technology (IT) marketers to reach targeted communities of IT professionals and executives in all phases of the technology purchase process. Through its ROI-focused media and events and results-driven lead-generation and lead-management services, TechTarget helps marketers generate qualified sales leads, shorten sales cycles and grow revenues. More than four million enterprise IT professionals rely on TechTarget media for the expert and peer advice, vendor-independent analysis of news and events, and strategic insight that helps them solve tough IT challenges and select the best IT products and services. TechTarget has won dozens of awards for its innovation, industry leadership, and editorial excellence. More than 2,500 advertisers, including the leading IT companies in the world—among them, IBM, Microsoft, HP, Cisco, Oracle, Sun Microsystems, and Intel—use TechTarget’s highly effective media to reach the most qualified IT buyers and executives. More information about TechTarget is available at www.techtarget.com

For more information contact: Lon Hendrickson, lhendrickson@ccng.com, 303-459-7754