Smaller call centers
I manage a small inbound call center - under 25 agents. We take orders as well as upsell various general merchandise products (electronics, jewelry, coins). I know industry averages as far as average handle time, abandonment rate, call to order, etc. My challenge is that my call center is much smaller that the "industry average" and would like help calculating these avaerage metrics for call centers my size.

    Requires Free Membership to View

    Login

    When you register, you'll begin receiving targeted emails from my team of award-winning editorial writers on the latest customer relationship management (CRM)and call center technology issues today. Our goal is to keep you informed on the hottest issues facing this fast-changing industry.

    Hannah Smalltree, Editorial Director

    By submitting your registration information to SearchCRM.com you agree to receive email communications from TechTarget and TechTarget partners. We encourage you to read our Privacy Policy which contains important disclosures about how we collect and use your registration and other information. If you reside outside of the United States, by submitting this registration information you consent to having your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States. Your use of SearchCRM.com is governed by our Terms of Use. You may contact us at webmaster@TechTarget.com.

There are a number of resources for benchmarking and best practices, or industry averages. However, they do not generally categorize by size of center, but rather by vertical market. Most metrics should be independent of size, and depend more on the types of contacts you're handling. The metrics most affected by size are things like utilization or occupancy, as smaller groups are less efficient. Your best bet is to find some averages for your industry, and understand that some adjustments may be required based on your size. And keep in mind that your key performance indicators and targets should be driven by many factors such as your business strategy and goals, customers, budget, etc. Industry averages are one interesting input but shouldn't drive your targets or your assessment of your center.

This was first published in March 2004

Join the conversationComment

Share
Comments

    Results

    Contribute to the conversation

    All fields are required. Comments will appear at the bottom of the article.
    Back to top