An Award Winning Culture
Incept’s most significant competitive advantage for many customers is a pay-for-performance pricing model in which Incept is only compensated for delivering the desired results for their client, be it a donor, sale, or retained customer. Simply put, Incept doesn’t succeed unless our clients succeed.
To accept this level of risk, we have to consistently recruit, train, and retain our employees better than our competitors. Our long-term success has been the result of a very intentional focus on developing a culture that rewards innovative ideas and fearless front-line leadership. This culture has led to numerous Top Workplace Awards, including being the highest rated company from Stark County for several years by Workplace Dynamics and the Plain Dealer as well as the Smart Culture Award by Smart Business in the last 2 years.
Our Why: Mission | Purpose | Values | Behaviors
Our culture is driven by our commitment to our purpose. Each and every day, we strive to build our clients, partners, and employees up into the best possible version of themselves.
Our Mission
To have productive conversations that drive meaningful results.
Our Purpose
To help you become the best version of yourself.
Our values
Integrity, Never Settle, Compassion, Everyone’s A Customer, Present, Tenacious
On top of our values, we also believe that defining the core behaviors of extraordinary people has helped to drive our extraordinary culture. The 33 behaviors describe the daily practices that make that culture come to life. They’re what set us apart from other companies and what guide us to becoming the best possible version of ourselves.
Culture Recognition
Our culture is very unique, especially for the industry we’re in. The contact center world isn’t typically known for being an attractive career move for most people but Incept has managed to change that perception for our employees.
Incept has been recognized by many external organizations for creating an engaging work environment. Many of these awards are based off of the opinions of our employees, which makes the recognition even sweeter.
Because of this great success, Incept has added over 100 jobs to the local economy in the last 10 years. Sixty-six percent of all new employees hired recently were the result of a referral from a current employee. Happy employees bring their friends, and that’s something we’ve credited to our investment in a strong company culture.
Employee Recruitment
Cause-based hiring
Our job advertisements are geared towards attracting individuals who are dedicated to providing exceptional results for our customers. We seek to find individuals who have a passion for the level of exceptional service we provide. Instead of looking for candidates that meet our minimum competency requirements, we look for candidates that align with our client’s causes – recruiting blood donors to save lives and helping small businesses save money and create jobs.
All applicants are required to take two assessments prior to being considered for an interview with Incept. Applicants are given a basic cognitive aptitude test that measures general skill and ability as it relates to entry level roles. Applicants also complete a sales aptitude test which we use to direct applicants to positions that are most likely to fit their skill set. Our interviews are behaviorally based and focus on an applicant’s tendencies and attitudes toward customer service, sales, conversational capacity and other factors found to be relevant to the role in question.
Agent Profile
All employees must be:
At least 18 years or older
Must have a high school diploma or GED equivalent
Must pass a background check
Incept’s front-line supervisor to TSR ratio is 1:12. This does not include Trainers, Quality Assurance or any Senior Management personnel.
Average tenure of employees who are currently employed: 2.8 years.
Employee Training
New hire training is typically completed in 2-3 weeks depending on the program of hire. We train in the shift that will typically be worked by the new hire.
Content of the New Hire training includes:
A cultural organizational overview
Review of corporate policies and procedures
An introduction to key Incept employees
Specific client content and training
Role playing with each individual client on the most likely call scenarios
Computer training
ongoing, non-client-specific training
Incept's process for ongoing, non-client-specific training includes 7 modules for agent development, which are broken into the following groupings:
Conversation control tactics - This module is focused on active listening skills, properly acknowledging customers, making statements that fit the conversation and then steering the conversation with skilled questions.
Customer complaint training - This module is focused on how to de-escalate a customer complaint – includes offering alternative solutions, how to properly document the situation and pass the information to the appropriate staff members and how to end the conversation as a positive customer experience.
Software training - These modules focus on the specific tips and tricks to use with several different in house and online software packages Incept incorporates into our calling campaigns.
Rebuttal training - This module focuses on when it’s appropriate to rebuttal as well as how to craft the perfect rebuttal to any customer objection.
Personalizing scripts - This module focuses how to deliver black and white scripts in a conversational approach. The module includes word choices, inflection, delivery, speed, pitch, paraphrasing and mirroring your customer.
Rapport training - This module focuses on finding common ground with your customer and using that common ground to build a foundation for building a successful relationship in that call.
Sales techniques - This module focuses on feature/benefit sales techniques, identifying decision makers, building rapport, avoiding assumptions, painting the picture, asking for the sale/trial closing and second requesting
Enhancement training is typically conducted by a combination of the training department, contact center operations and (ideally) the client. This occurs for all new product launches or campaign adjustments.
Performance improvement training for existing campaigns is conducted in scheduled one-on-ones with the individual agent and their direct manager in a Positive Coach Approach format in which they listen to a select number of the agent calls together and build an ongoing development plan based on what they hear and identify as strengths and opportunities for improvement.
Employee Retention
Incept promotes its culture through several rewards within the company to help spur our collaborative environment. A sampling of these activities are described below:
Performance Bonus
We provide a performance bonus that is based on weekly performance to specific key performance indicators, as determined by discussions with our clients. This alignment helps everyone work towards the same goal and once its achieved, everyone wins.
Employee of The Month
Each month we recognize an employee of the month as well as the most improved employee on our team. We do this in monthly public ceremonies so that the employee is recognized by all of their peers, which adds to creating an environment fueled by success and collaboration.
PTO Tickets
We award perfect attendance with paid-time-off tickets each month as well. Hard work and dedication deserves recognition and reward.
Incentives
We are big believers in recognizing hard work so that our people feel valued. Often times, we provide instant incentives like extra breaks, gift cards, vending machine coupons, client t-shirts and other client products, public recognition, supervisors taking the team's calls, and team incentives (e.g., catered lunches, games to be played in the rows, and public recognition). We make big bets on people early, and our incentives really help to create an environment that prove that behavior.
Quarterly Meeting
Each quarter we gather all of our management staff to review the previous quarter’s results. We recognize managers that have lived our company behaviors in ways that have set them apart from the rest of the group and even reward the group as a whole with a special team bonding event. In the past year we’ve gone to the Escape Room, rented a Rubber Ducks suite, and celebrated with a Casino Night.