Information contained in this news release is current as of the date of the press announcement, but may be subject to change without prior notice.
July 17, 2012
- Activity-level during breaks influenced order volume -
Tokyo, July 17, 2012 - Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE:6501, “Hitachi”) and MOSHI MOSHI HOTLINE, Inc., today announced that after measuring the behavior of telemarketers in call centers over a one-month period, and analyzing the data, a correlation was found between sales performance over the phone and the activity level*1 during breaks in the workplace. To confirm these findings, a similar analysis was conducted with teams of telemarketers from the same age group in which higher workplace activity levels might be expected. The result showed that not only was there a higher level of workplace activity, but also a 13% increase in the volume of orders received. These results indicate that by analyzing employee behavioral data in conjunction with management and business data, factors affecting the performance of firms can be identified and could suggest new strategies to boost business performance.
Using the “Business Microscope”*2 behavior measurement system, Hitachi has measured human behavior over a million days and accumulated a big data set consisting of over ten trillion data items, for development of technologies to analyze human behavioral data. Employing wearable sensor badges with embedded infrared sensors and accelerometer sensor, the “sociometric” badge captures for analysis a wide range of data such as who met whom, when, for how long, and a host of other physical activities. To illustrate the practical benefits of the system, Hitachi has worked together with customers and partners to identify factors affecting business performance, and applied that knowledge to enhancing the performance of the firms. For example, in this collaborative project with MOSHI MOSHI HOTLINE, Inc., the Business Microscope was successfully applied in identifying a key factor affecting the number of phone orders received by telemarketers at call centers. The experimental trial revealed a causal relationship between number of orders received and the activity level in the workplace during breaks, and this connection was used to actually boost the performance of the call centers. Details of the analysis are as given below.
MOSHI MOSHI HOTLINE and Hitachi will continue to explore the relationship between call center performance and human behavior. Further, Hitachi will, together with customers and partners from various business sectors, continue the comprehensive analysis of vast behavior-related big data sets measured by Business Microscope coupled with more conventional management and business environment data to promote performance-enhancing consulting services and IT business solutions.
MOSHI MOSHI HOTLINE INC (MHL) is a leading BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) service company established in 1987. The MHL group conducts BPO services related to customer contact points such as call center, back office, field sales support and Web marketing, with more than 20,000 employees in over 20 BPO centers across Japan, for clients in various industries including telecommunications, broadcasting, finance and public services.
Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 320,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2011 (ended March 31, 2012) consolidated revenues totaled 9,665 billion yen ($117.8 billion). Hitachi is focusing more than ever on the Social Innovation Business, which includes information and telecommunication systems, power systems, industrial, transportation and urban development systems, as well as the sophisticated materials and key devices that support them.
For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com.