We live in an information intensive world. In today’s business environments, almost all tasks generate some form of data. Although the analysis of this data is vital to an organization, many companies have a difficult time figuring out which data is the most important to consider when making decisions on how to run their business more efficiently. If you are new to collecting and analyzing data metrics for your contact center, this blog will help you decide which measurements to focus on for data-driven results.
First Call Resolution (FCR)
A study conducted by the Service Quality Measurement Group revealed that organizations experience a direct correlation between First Call Resolution (FCR) metrics and customer satisfaction. According to the study, for every 1% improvement in FCR, there is typically a corresponding 1% improvement in customer satisfaction. The study also highlighted that contact centers with the highest-rated customer service had an average FCR of 86%, while contact centers with medium customer service expectations had an average FCR of 67%. These findings emphasize the importance of focusing on FCR as a key metric for delivering exceptional customer service.
In addition to improving customer service, a high FCR can also improve your organization with:
- Lower Operating Costs – If customers are happy with the resolution of their call, they will usually be repeat callers, which reduce the cost of call backs.
- Reduced Risk of Losing Revenue – Service Quality Measurement found that if a caller’s issue is resolved in the first call there is only a 3% chance of them researching your competitors, compared to a 38% if the issue isn’t resolved in the first call.
- Higher Satisfaction of Job for Employees – Repeat callers from customers who are often frustrated puts stress on employees, which can negatively impact overall morale and/or increase the turnover rate of your organization.
Service Level and Response Time
A service level is usually defined as the number of contacts answered in a specific amount of time. For example, 85% of calls are answered within 15 seconds. This measurement is essential to contact center because it can tell you how to better handle different resources in order to achieve the results your organization is looking for. It also tells contact center supervisors how quickly customers are getting connected to an agent
Although it is critical to pay attention to this metric, management should not solely focus on this number, because even if contact centers are meetings objectives, the customers’ questions may not be fully resolved, which can lead to a poor customer experience.
Schedule
The measurement of contact center agents’ schedule is defined as how much time during an agent’s shift that he or she is logged in and taking calls or at least making themselves available to do so. The benchmark percentage for most contact centers is being available on the schedule for around 85% of the time.
In addition to the time spent on the phone, the schedule time also includes time agents need for after call work – including updating data or taking after call notes. An agent’s time for breaks, lunch, meetings or training is not usually included in the schedule adherence.
Similar to service level and response time, management should not spend all of their focus on this metric because agents can often neglect customers by trying to keep their calls shorter.
In order to prevent this from happening, contact center managers can:
- Provide real-time statistics to agents with training for full understanding
- Develop priorities for agents’ tasks
- Ensure agents are educated in resource planning
Customer Satisfaction
Lastly, customer satisfaction is one of, if not the most important metric every contact center should pay attention to. Luckily, advanced survey software can be purchased or built to alert contact center managers if an abnormally low rating is input from a customer. Often times, this can link the survey to the customer’s information and their recorded call, for management to fully understand the situation. This allows managers to quickly contact the customer and
