When working with a call center, it is necessary, as in any other activity in companies, to have key indicators to measure the performance of the call center, these have been called Call Center Metrics , which are metrics to evaluate the performance of a call center, being careful to select only the necessary ones.
It should be noted that key performance indicators not only apply to call centers, they can be designed to evaluate performance in any area of the company, such as: purchasing, logistics, sales, customer service, production, maintenance, others. Most companies have indicators, which are used to determine if the actions carried out are generating the results that were initially planned.
A key performance indicator makes it possible to measure the performance level of a process, relating its value to a previously established objective and, in general, it is expressed in relative or percentage values.
Among the indicators that are recommended as Call Center Metrics , the following are mentioned:
Regarding the quality of service
Customer satisfaction – Customer satisfaction indicates how your agents performed in solving customer problems. This can be done in several ways. In Call Center Metrics , it represents a classic and consists of observing the percentage of customers who are happy, which is generally simple and easy to operate, but there is no universally recognized approach to measure Customer Satisfaction. It can be done through a wide range of methods, the most common being an IVR (Interactive Voice Response ) survey, post-call survey, or a follow-up email or chat survey.
This survey usually includes a question like, “How satisfied are you with our service today, on a scale of 1 to 10?” Then an average score is calculated from all the answers given.
While many newly discovered measures of customer success, loyalty, and emotionality have entered the industry, customer satisfaction remains a critical part of the Call Center Metrics suite . Why? Because it most likely helps provide a good indication of customer intentions, lifetime value, and customer churn, among other reasons.Service Level or Call SLA ( Service Level Agreement ): it is translated as a service level agreement.
This was one of the first Call Center Metrics produced by ACD (Automatic Call Distribution ) systems, or automatic call distribution. Determines the percentage of calls that are answered within a specified time. This is the only efficiency-based metric that qualifies it to be among the best. The average figure appears to be between 80% of calls answered in 20 seconds, while for calls expected to be made in 15 seconds, an average of 95% is estimated.
Its application is very important, since it allows calculating how many consultants are needed in the call center at any given time, to reduce waiting times for clients. It should be borne in mind that not necessarily, consultants have to be pressured to answer calls just to meet the level of service, it is better to use it as an operational measure, not as a quality measure.
Customer experience
First contact or first call resolution: Are you solving customer problems on the first call? Tracking the resolution of the first call ensures that you are satisfying the customer in the shortest time possible, without the need for any follow-up.
It is also known as “Best Contact Resolution” ‘, being a very common Call Center Metrics and analyzes how many times a customer needs to call to resolve a problem. It is also considered an excellent way to measure a problem from the customer’s perspective.
With this Call Center Metrics there is a problem, and that is that it is quite difficult to measure accurately, since it tends to be very subjective. For example, a repeat call could be about a different problem. The First Contact Resolution is known by its acronym in English FCR (First Contact Resolution).
Average wait time: with this indicator applied as Call Center Metrics , the time it takes for customers to connect with an agent to meet their needs is tracked.
Use of self-service: Often times, customers can solve their own problems without contacting an agent. Self-service usage tracks whether or not your customers are using self-service options, and may indicate that you may need to revisit their IVR settings.
Outbound dialing
Conversion Rate – Tracks the number of calls or connections that resulted in a positive result (sale, money raised, donation made, other).
Calls per hour: Are your agents making enough calls per hour? This metric can help you identify high-performing and low-performing agents.
Abandonment Rate: This Call Center Metrics determines how often outgoing calls connect to someone, but there is not really an agent available to take the call. There is a legal requirement in some countries, according to which call centers cannot be above a call abandonment rate higher than 3%, so staying under that number is critical. There is an outbound dialer called Personal Connection , which has the ability to reduce calls based on agent availability, making it much easier to stay within the legal limit.
Operational efficiency
Average Handling Time – Similar to Average Wait Time, it represents the total time a customer spends from the initial call (chat, email, or message), until their issue is resolved. For the calculation of this Call Center Metrics , any waiting time is included, as well as the time spent with an agent.
Call end time: After most calls, an agent should spend time entering notes or other tasks related to closing a problem, related to the customer. Call wrap-up time tracks the time it takes for agents to manage this piece.
Forecast Accuracy – For many call centers, there are regular peaks and troughs in customer inquiries. Being able to forecast calls correctly is critical to ensuring that you are not overstaffed or overstaffed at any given time. Forecast accuracy helps track whether you are correctly forecasting these periods.
and. cost
Cost per call: How much does each call cost to your contact center?
Agent attrition – Agent attrition is one of the biggest costs that contact centers have, so the follow-up agent attrition rate is important in reducing your expenses.
Truancy and Agent Truancy: Are your agents coming in for the shifts that are scheduled? Agent absenteeism is another huge cost to call centers, and may indicate a need to improve their workforce management. Absenteeism refers to when the agent is at his workplace but does not perform it, dedicating himself to other tasks.
When measuring performance, using Call Center Metrics , the most important thing is to compare the actual execution against the plan, defining the variations or deviations that, through due analysis, the corrective actions can be defined to achieve the desired objectives.