Are call center metrics changing to account for customer intelligence?

Are call center metrics changing to account for customer intelligence?

With the call center industry trying to understand more about a customer's reason for calling ("customer intelligence"), call handle time is getting longer. Are the metrics changing to account for the extended time required to truly elicit the call reason?

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Absolutely, and we think it's a good thing for the call center industry and profession! Call centers want to understand not just why their customers are calling, but who is calling, and what we can do for them or with them.

Many call centers – let's call them "enlightened centers" – are moving away from metrics about average handle time. With the proper metrics strategy, other indicators will show that relationships are being built and there is value in those relationships (e.g., average products per customer, revenue per call or customer, customer satisfaction). And as the call center gets more connected to other parts of the enterprise – marketing, product management, engineering, etc. – these areas can leverage the "customer intelligence" information generated out of the center to optimize products and services, and customer value. So "customer intelligence" or "business intelligence," "cross-selling" and "relationship building" are all buzzwords that have real traction in our market today and will continue to transform contact center measures of success.

This was first published in December 2006