Call center performance metrics to use when starting a new center

Digg This!     StumbleUpon     Del.icio.us

RELATED CONTENT Call center software and metrics How to conduct successful IVR surveys Does hot seating in the call center affect agent morale? What custom WFM reports should we have developed for our new system? Call center benchmarks for a small call center Forecasting call volume for a customer service call center Nine necessary call center functions and technology for inbound call centers What is an acceptable amount of call center break time? Tips for calculating maximum occupancy in the call center Developing a call center metrics strategy to reward call center agent performance Using call center quality metrics to measure email, chat and phone interactions Call center software Building a business case for self-service Workforce management software product directory The executive's guide to contact center technology planning FAQ: Making call center technology decisions Using click-to-call vs. click-to-chat software Call center video: PlumChoice uses Aspect workforce management system Speech analytics software product directory Evaluating VoIP for your call center The VoIP call center technology quiz Call center workforce management software the choice for PlumChoice Call center software Research Metrics strategy and review What metrics best measure call center efficiency? The Executive Guide to Call Center Metrics Build a call center strategy using best practices for call center metrics Are call center metrics changing to account for customer intelligence? Call center metrics FAQ

RELATED GLOSSARY TERMS Terms from Whatis.com − the technology online dictionary abandoned call  (SearchCRM.com) call center agent  (SearchCRM.com) cross-media queuing  (SearchCRM.com) Erlang B  (SearchCRM.com) Erlang C  (SearchCRM.com) inbound call  (SearchCRM.com) off-peak  (SearchCRM.com) outbound call  (SearchCRM.com) screen pop  (WhatIs.com) skill-based routing  (SearchCRM.com)

RELATED RESOURCES 2020software.com, trial software downloads for accounting software, ERP software, CRM software and business software systems Search Bitpipe.com for the latest white papers and business webcasts Whatis.com, the online computer dictionary

Metrics strategy is a very important part of operating a center. Ideally, you should align call center performance metrics with your business goals (i.e., they will differ if you are focused on low cost vs. revenue generation, or driving customer service excellence), and create a balanced view across key areas such as productivity/efficiency, quality, customer experience, financial and employee experience. Of course which metrics you can readily define and gather depend to a degree on the technology you put in place, the processes you have, and the support staff and time you have. I will give you a "best practices" view but recognize that you may need to ramp up over time as you secure more resources.

I suggest the list of metrics that you set targets for and manage to include:

• Service level -- X% of calls answered in Y seconds
• Adherence -- make sure agents are working when they're supposed to be working
• Quality -- monitor X (five-10) calls per month per agent and score on a quality scorecard
• Customer satisfaction -- survey your customers somehow - via phone, email, mail cards
• Employee satisfaction -- there are some simple ways to measure employee satisfaction routinely, such as intranet sites with quick little surveys
• Cost per contact or other financial measure
• IVR self service rate, if appropriate

• Call volume (offered and handled)
• Talk time and wrap-up time (handle time)
• Utilization
• Forecasted versus actual calls
• Abandon rate
• Turnover
• First call resolution (FCR) rate (if you can find a way to measure it effectively)