How to Know Which Call Center Metrics are Worth Your Time

July, 25 2019 3:29 pm

What are the most important call center metrics for your facility to keep track of?

This is a question that would have a varying answer depending on who you asked, when, and what industry they were part of. However, there are several metrics that are crucial regardless of which companies your center partners with or what type of business you do. Here’s a little more information on which are the most important - and which you should prioritize in your own facility.

The Importance of Call Center Metrics

Why are call center metrics important to track in the first place? Because they are easily understandable pieces of information that your team can use to improve performance - and with the right technology, they’re right there waiting for you to access and use. It’s your data - why wouldn’t your team want to make use of it to better your approach to business in the future?

First Call Resolution

First call resolution is the top metric your inbound contact center should focus on. When a consumer calls, their concern should be addressed the first time. Nothing tanks customer satisfaction ratings like having to make contact multiple times for the same question or concern, so ensuring that your callers have their voices heard and their questions answered on the first attempt is the best way to keep this from happening.

This can be a balancing act, since resolving issues on the first call can mean longer conversations or transfers to other agents becoming necessary. However, these drawbacks can typically be overlooked when it comes to delivering a positive outcome to your consumer. Ultimately, you should shoot for 100% first call resolution.

Wait and Response Times

Perhaps one of the most important metrics to track in your contact center is the wait and response times your callers are encountering. Nobody likes to wait, and your consumers are often already tense from the questions or concerns they are calling to address.

There are many types of technology available for today’s contact centers that make it easy to expedite wait times and speed up response times. From automatic distribution software to callback queues, today’s breakthroughs make it simpler for your team to handle more calls with less wait time - and keep customers from lingering on hold for ages.

Consumer Satisfaction

Almost all other call center metrics contribute to this one. When you run your business well, your consumers will be happy. Keeping response times fast, consumer stress low, and service levels high will provide the kind of experience that will please your callers and make them feel valued and heard.

No other metric builds your business quite like high customer satisfaction. After all, a business must turn a profit to survive, but without happy consumers, there is no one to serve - and no reason for the business to continue to exist. Keeping customers happy is the key to keeping your business alive and thriving.

Customer Effort

When it comes to important call center metrics, few people think of customer effort right away. However, those who work in the contact center industry understand just how important this metric truly is.

What is customer effort? In plain terms, it is the answer to the question, “How much effort does your consumer have to put forth in order to have their questions or concerns addressed by your agent?” The level of customer effort should be kept to a minimum. Consumers like to have a stress-free, effortless exchange with customer service representatives, so when you can present them with this kind of experience, you’re more likely to provide them with the kind of experience they want.

Agent Schedule Adherence

How much of their scheduled work time does each of your agents actually spend working? This is a factor that greatly impacts both productivity and efficiency. It also indicates how focused your employees are on the tasks to which they are assigned and how conducive your contact center is to keeping agents on task.

It is important to note that adherence to a schedule should always make room for breaks and other allowances to get an accurate reading on how well employees are making use of their time. By failing to make allowances for breaks, percentages will routinely be much lower than they otherwise would be - and inaccurately so. By neglecting to accurately note tardiness or absenteeism - both major problems in many call centers - these metrics will also be drastically skewed. Remember, every minute counts in the contact center, so every minute on the clock should be accurately recorded.

Forecast Accuracy

The importance of forecast accuracy is underlined by the fact that it helps businesses to improve future forecasts and make necessary adjustments as necessary. Weighing the ultimate accuracy of your forecast against your projections helps in the creation of upcoming predictions and in understanding your company’s operations better.

The accuracy of a forecast is typically measured in percentages. If you’re projected to be capable of handling 90 calls in an hour per agent, but your staff actually end up fielding around 100 calls per hour, your projections were off by ten percent. Most companies experience very small deviations from their forecasts, with outliers that are more drastic which are impacted by outside factors such as unexpected call traffic, seasonal elements, and more. All of this information can help you and your team better prepare for serving your callers in the future.

Once you have an idea of what call center metrics are most valuable to your business when it comes to tracking and analyzation, it’s time to outfit your operation with the best tools to do exactly that. At ChaseData, we have what you need to create the perfect system for keeping tabs on the metrics that matter to you and your team. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help!

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