In the modern call center, managers need tangible, real-time data to steer their operations in the right direction. Only through continuous refinement and improvement can agents reach peak performance and supervisors achieve the goals they set forth with other decision-makers. According to a blog article from Genroe, 80 percent of businesses have strengthened their call center campaigns by leveraging analytics and reporting techniques. Through the use of call recording technology and aligned metrics, this approach is well within reach.
However, even the most talented call center strategists need to identify which performance indicators best reflect their priorities as a brand, and each operation will have a different set of objectives. To help decision-makers set themselves on track for their own definitions of success, here are five call center metrics that will be essential to steady improvement and ROI.
“Recording promotes well-trained agents and smart workforce management.”
1. First call resolution: Widely considered to be the king of call center metrics, FCR is the pinnacle of efficiency and customer satisfaction. Callers who can confidently reach out to their favorite brands and have their issues solved on the first interaction are much more likely to return for another purchase, making FCR a key measurement of overall call center effectiveness. If a company can boast a high percentage of first-contact success, it’s likely that its call center is operating at the best of its ability, with well-trained agents and smart workforce management practices.
Of course, impressive FCR rates don’t come easy in this complex and competitive e-commerce environment, and brands must constantly be optimizing their call centers to ensure that they are solving problems on the first pass. Organizations should consider employing call recording solutions to identify common sticking points in customer interaction and develop targeted initiatives that address these shortcomings. Once agents have the knowledge and skills to provide consistent FCR, a brand will surely see its results skyrocket.
2. Average handle time: The longer a customer spends on the phone with a service representative, the more likely they are to become disgruntled or dissatisfied with their overall experience. Therefore, it’s important that call center leaders incorporate an average handle time metric into their reporting profiles, as this will give them an idea of which agents are struggling to accelerate resolutions and who exceeds expectations. Ignoring this performance indicator could mean that a call center develops a reputation for drawn-out interactions, which is nothing to be proud of.
Even with a solid understanding of this metric, however, supervisors need to take action in order to see improvements. This means utilizing call recording technologies to see exactly how these conversations are progressing and where agents can speed up their interactions for more satisfactory service. As a blog article from Talk Desk pointed out, there are other approaches that stem from the use of these tools, but ultimately, the foundation for success is built with strong call recording systems.
“The average handle time can be decreased by thoroughly training agents, ensuring that the call is routed to the most appropriate agent using skills based routing, using call center software that integrates with helpdesks and CRMs and continuously monitoring for agent inefficiencies,” explained Talk Desk blog contributor Shauna Geraghty.
The world’s best call centers rely on analytics and reporting to point them toward improvement.3. Forecast accuracy: Every call center features some level of specialization within the workforce, as certain agents have higher levels of experience or expertise in a particular area or interaction type. With this in mind, it’s important for supervisors to take full advantage of these different experts within their arsenals, and this requires strong forecasting capabilities to properly allocate calls to the right recipients. After all, if calls are not sent to the right representatives for the job, a call center may be missing out on customer satisfaction and overall ROI opportunities.
In order to more accurately forecast customer needs and align them with the proper agent support systems, managers can turn to call recording to identify the specific strengths and weaknesses of their workforce. This not only helps them set up their call centers for more reliable workflows, but it also lets them develop training programs that target the shortcomings of certain staff members.
4. After-call work time: Once an interaction with a customer has come to an end, agents are often tied down with administrative tasks before they can move on to the next call. While some data entry is necessary, a call center with a high average after-call work time may not be operating at its peak potential, especially if agents struggle with a non-intuitive user interface. Call accounting solutions streamline much of this process to make for a more intuitive experience, allowing agents to quickly get back to work.
With these strategies and solutions in mind, call center managers will have what they need to properly assess and improve their operations on a continuous basis.
