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Contents

1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 3

2 Service Metrics ...................................................................................................................................... 5

2.1 Accessibility Metrics ...................................................................................................................... 5

2.1.1 Blockage ................................................................................................................................ 5

2.1.2 Hours of Operation ............................................................................................................... 5

2.1.3 Abandoned Calls ................................................................................................................... 5

2.2 Speed of Service ............................................................................................................................ 6

2.2.1 Response Level ...................................................................................................................... 6

2.2.2 Average Speed of Answer ..................................................................................................... 6

2.2.3 Longest Delay in Queue ........................................................................................................ 6

3 Quality Metrics ...................................................................................................................................... 7

3.1 Call‐Handling Quality .................................................................................................................... 7

3.1.1 Call Etiquette ......................................................................................................................... 7

3.1.2 Agent Knowledge .................................................................................................................. 7

3.1.3 Error Rates ............................................................................................................................ 7

3.1.4 Adherence to Call Scripts ...................................................................................................... 7

3.2 Call Resolution .............................................................................................................................. 8

3.2.1 First Call Resolution (FCR) ..................................................................................................... 8

3.2.2 Transfer Rates ....................................................................................................................... 9

3.2.3 Customer Satisfaction Levels ................................................................................................ 9

4 Performance Metrics .......................................................................................................................... 10

4.1 Call Handling ............................................................................................................................... 10

4.1.1 Average Handling Time ....................................................................................................... 10

4.1.2 After‐Call Work Time........................................................................................................... 10

4.1.3 On‐Hold Time ...................................................................................................................... 10

4.2 Resource Utilization .................................................................................................................... 11

4.2.1 Agent Occupancy ................................................................................................................ 11

4.2.2 Staff Shrinkage .................................................................................................................... 11

4.2.3 Schedule Efficiency ............................................................................................................. 11

4.2.4 Schedule Adherence ........................................................................................................... 12

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4.2.5 Availability ........................................................................................................................... 12

4.2.6 Forecast Accuracy ............................................................................................................... 12

4.3 Cost Efficiency ............................................................................................................................. 13

4.3.1 Conversion Rate .................................................................................................................. 13

4.3.2 Cost per Call ........................................................................................................................ 13

4.3.3 Right Party Connects (RPC) ................................................................................................. 13

5 Call Center Metrics as a Performance Measurement Tool ................................................................. 14

6 Reporting of Call Center Metrics ......................................................................................................... 15

6.1 What Constitutes a Good Report? .............................................................................................. 15

6.2 Real‐Time Reporting ................................................................................................................... 15

6.3 Performance Reporting ............................................................................................................... 16

7 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................... 17

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1 Introduction

As call centers evolve into contact centers, call centermetrics have also undergone a change inpriority. Today, metrics that measure customer satisfaction are more relevant than ones thatmeasureagentefficiency.Thisisnottosaythatagentefficiencyisnolongerimportant.Asuccessfulcallcentercanachieveafinebalancebetweenthevariousmetricsandprioritizetheminalignmentwiththevisionandmissionof theparentorganizationorclientcompanies. Inthispaper,wewilllook at the various call centermetrics, their definition and the ways in which a call center canachievethem.

While quantitative metrics are easy to measure and improve, qualitative metrics are equallyimportant forthesuccessofacallcenter. It isalsoimportanttofocusontherequirementsofthevariousstakeholdersinthebusiness–thecallers,theagents,theclients,andthebusinessowners.Themetricswillalsodifferbasedonwhetherthecallcenterisinboundoroutboundbased.

Itisimportanttotakeaholisticviewwhendecidingwhichmetricstotrack,assomeofthemmaylookgoodin isolation,butmayendupbeingcounter‐productive forthebusiness.Forexample, ifcost per call is tracked as a metric, then agents may be tempted to finish the call even beforesatisfactorily addressing the caller’s requirements. This in turn can negatively impact long termcustomerretentionfortheclientsandevenincreasethenumberofcustomercomplaints.

As business clients move away from a ‘cost center’ view of call centers to that of an integralcustomer service channel, severalmetrics suchas average call handling timehave gonedown inpriority.

Callcentermetricsaretypicallydesignedtomeasureandimprovethequalityandperformanceinkeyareassuchasworkforcemanagement(metricsthatforecastthenumberofcalls,arrivingattheoptimal staff mix, creating staff rosters and so on), call quality management, technologyoptimization, financial management, and generating reports (about individual agents as well asclientwisereports).

Themainpurposeofdesigningcallcentermetricsistomakesurethatthecallcenterismeetingitsgoals and that each individual agent is achieving the true potential. Thus, defining call centermetricsisonlyoneofthestepsinalargerperformancemanagementprogram.Beforechoosingthemetricsthatyouwanttotrack,itisimportanttodefinethegoalsandobjectivesforthecallcenteratanoveralllevel(forareassuchastechnologyandfinance),ataclientlevel(forcallqualityaspects)andatanindividualagentlevel(forworkforcemanagement).Oncethegoalsaredefined,thenextstep is to have a mechanism to analyze trends using the metrics that are being tracked and aprocessinplacetoidentifyrootcausesofanyproblemsthatareobserved.Oncetherootcauseisidentified,thereshouldbeaneffectivemechanismtoaddresstheproblemandimbibeacultureofcontinuousimprovementinthecallcenter.

Allinputsforcallcentermetricscomeprimarilyfromthetechnologyandsoftwarebeingusedinthecallcenter.Itisimportanttohaveaclearideaofthekindofmetricsthatyouwouldliketotrackin

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yourcallcenter,priorto investingintechnology.Thiswillenableyoutoselectavendorwhowillprovidethelevelofreportingthatmakesiteasytotrackthekeymetricsrequired.TheAutomaticCall Distributor is the key technology that enables capturing call related information such asblockage,delaytimes,abandonratesandaveragehandletime.Theworkforcemanagementsystemallowscapturingagentrelatedmetricssuchasagentefficiency,occupancy,idletimeandsoon.TheInteractiveVoiceResponsesystemisanothersourceofinformation,whichhelpstocapturecallerrelatedinformationsuchasnumberofself‐servicetransactions,complexityofmenunavigation,etc.

Inadditiontoadirectanalysisofdatacollatedbythetechnologiesusedinthecallcenter,youmayalsoneedtoproactivelycollect informationfromcustomersthroughsurveystoanalyzecustomersatisfaction levels.Ananalysisofcallrecordingwillalsoprovidevaluablequalitativemetricsthatcan be used to improve agent performance by identifying training needs. Similarly, agentsatisfactioncanbemeasuredusingemployeesurveysforinsightintoimprovingworkingconditionsand reducing agent attrition. Ideally, the call center should ensure that an improvement inperformancemeasuresdonotcomeattheexpenseofagentsatisfaction.

Callcentermetricscanbebroadlyclassifiedintoservicemetrics,qualitymetrics,andperformancemetrics. In this paper,wewill look at the various classifications of call centermetrics in furtherdetail as well as ways to measure them. We will also look at how these metrics can becommunicated to the various stakeholders and how they can be effectively used to improve thequality,efficiency,andservicelevelsofthecallcenter.

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2 ServiceMetricsServicemetricsaredirectlylinkedtotheservicedeliveryinthecallcenter.Theycanbeclassifiedintwoways – the firstmeasures how easy it is for callers to reach the call center, and the secondmeasureshowfastserviceisdeliveredbythecallcenter.

2.1 AccessibilityMetrics

2.1.1 Blockage

Thisindicatestheefficiencyofthecallcenternetwork,bymeasuringthenumberofcallerswhogetabusysignalwhiletryingtoreachthecallcenter.Ahighvalueofblockagetypicallyindicatesthatthecallcenterdoesnothavesufficienttelephonelinestohandlethecallvolumes.

Trunk blockage data is typically obtained either from the ACD or from the carrier, in order toidentify the peak periodswhere callers received busy signalswhile attempting to reach the callcenter.

Agoodruleofthumbindesigningthecallcenteristoallowforsufficientlinessuchthatnotmorethan2%ofincomingcallsareblockedatanygivenpointintime.Theblockagegoalswillalsodifferbasedonthenatureofthecallcenter.Acaptivecallcenterservingamonopolisticindustry(oronewhere switching costs are high), can afford to have a higher blockage as callers will not haveanotheroptiontoobtainservicesandwillbereluctanttoswitchserviceprovidersduetothehighcostinvolved.Ontheotherhand,callcentersusedforassistingsalesinhighlycompetitivemarketssuch as car rentalsmay be designed to have excess capacity to ensure that no caller (and thuspotential revenue) is turned away. Emergency services such as hospitals may also have excesscapacitytoenablequickresponsetimes.

2.1.2 HoursofOperation

Thenumberofcallsarrivingoutsidethenormaloperatinghoursofthecallcenteristhemetricthatisused todeterminewhether to extendoperations to another shift.Though there is no industrystandard for an acceptable level of calls lostduringnon‐operationalhours, one can always trackcaller‐ID information to checkwhether the callers choose to callbackduringnormaloperationalhours or whether the call is permanently lost. Ultimately, a cost‐benefit analysis needs to beperformedbeforeextendingorshorteningtheoperationalhoursofthecallcenter.

2.1.3 AbandonedCalls

Thismetricismeasuredasthenumberofcallsthatareabandonedbythecallerasapercentageofthetotal incomingcallsduringadefinedperiodoftime.ThisreportcanbeeasilygeneratedfromtheACDandisakeyindicatortocallpatternsandcallcenterperformance.However,whileacallcentercanattempttominimizethewaittimeinqueue,otherfactorssuchasthetolerancelevelsofthecallerandtheavailabilityofalternateservicechannelsalsoinfluencethismetric.Thismetricismorecriticalforcallcenterswithrevenuetargetsasalostcallinsuchascenariodirectlytranslatestolostrevenue.

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Ifabandonratesarehigherthanacceptablerates,acallcentermayconsiderhavingmoreservicesofferedthroughself‐serviceoptionssuchas IVR,providedthecustomerbase iscomfortablewithself‐service.

2.2 SpeedofService

Thespeedofservice inacallcentercanbemeasured inmultipleways.Metricssuchasresponselevels,averagespeedofanswer(ASA),andthemaximumwaittimeinqueuearegoodindicatorsofcallcenterservicelevels.

2.2.1 ResponseLevel

Responselevelsorservicelevelsisthepercentageofcallsthatareansweredwithinapre‐definedthreshold.Industrybenchmarkstypicallyhoveraround90%ofcallsansweredwithin20seconds.Dependingonthecriticalityofthecalls,callcentersmaydefinetheirowntargetservicelevelsandmeasure performance against it. While service levels may be defined as ‘X% of calls answeredwithin Y seconds’, a response time objective may also be defined to indicate the maximumallowable delay before a call is answered (for example, every call will be answered within 1minute). Response level is a fundamental measure of how accessible the call center is. Lowerservicelevelsoftenindicateanunderstaffingofthecallcenter.Whilemeasuringresponselevels,itisnecessarytomeasurehowconsistentlythecallcenterisabletoachievetheobjectivesatvarioustimesoftheday,includingduringpeakcallvolume.

Responselevels,arenotanindicatorofcallqualityorcustomersatisfaction,andareonlyanenablertoachievecustomersatisfactionbyconnectingthecallertoanagentinanefficientmanner.

2.2.2 AverageSpeedofAnswer

The average speed of answer for a given period is calculated as the average delay in answeringincoming calls for the period. It is a key metric that indicates staff availability and scheduleadherence of individual agents. While most call centers measure ASA on a daily basis, it isimportanttomeasureitinshorterlengths,suchasonanhourlybasistoidentifyASAduringpeakhours. Since incoming call volumeswould vary, a daily averagemay hide problems during peakhours, whichmay bemasked by better performance during non‐peak hours.Work schedules ofagentsneedtobeadjustedinsuchawaythatthenumberoftimestheASAgoalisnotmetduringthedayisminimized.

2.2.3 LongestDelayinQueue

The longest delay in queue (LDQ) is a real timemetric that is usually closelymonitored by callcenters to identify immediate changes in staff scheduling. LDQ is a ‘worst‐case’ indicator thatfunctions asanalertmechanism for real timemanagementof staffing. It isusuallynotusedas ahistorical performance indicator as the longest delay in queue can be a skewed measure. Forhistoricalperformancemeasurements,averagedelayinqueueisabettermetrictobeused.

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3 QualityMetrics

Qualitymetricsarethosethatmeasurethequalityofthecallcenterintermsoftheefficiencyofcallresolutionaswellastheactualcallhandlingprocess.

Callqualitymetricsareoftenqualitativeinnatureandareassessedbyrecordingagentinteractionsandanalyzingthematalaterstageagainstpre‐definedassessmentcriteria.Themeasurementcanbemade quantifiable by assigningweights and scores for each criterion and thus arriving at anoverallcallrating.Someoftheparametersusedforassessingcallqualityincludeadherencetothecallscript,courteousgreetingsandconclusion,abilitytoofferfirstcallresolution,offeringaccuratedatatothecaller,ensuringaccuracyinpost‐calldataentryandsoon. Inthenextsection,wewilllookatsomeoftheparametersinmoredetail.

3.1 Call‐HandlingQuality

Thequalityofthecallhandlingprocess isevaluatedbasedonfactorssuchascalletiquette,agentknowledge,errorrates,andadherencetocallscripts.

3.1.1 CallEtiquette

While it is difficult to quantify call etiquette, it is a key parameter that influences the caller’sperception of call quality. Typically, call centers record and evaluate agent calls and identifytrainingneedsforagentswhoconsistentlyfailtohandlecallswiththerightcommunicationskills.Thisisespeciallyimportantincasesofdifficultcallsfromiratecustomers.

3.1.2 AgentKnowledge

Howwell the call can be handled by an agent is also dependent on the agent’s level of productknowledge. Agent knowledge can help to improve call center FCR rates. Knowledge is typicallymeasuredby thenumberof callswhere theagentswereable toanswer thecustomerqueriesorresolvethecustomerproblemssatisfactorily.

3.1.3 ErrorRates

Thismetric is typicallymeasured as the amount of rework associatedwith correctionsof errorsthatoccurduringcalls.Thesearemonitoredatanoverallcallcenterlevelaswellasatanindividualagentlevel.Highreworkratesatthecallcenterlevelpointtotheneedforchangingthecallscriptsortheworkflows,whereasunacceptablereworkratesatanagentlevelareanindicatorofskillgapsandtrainingneeds.

3.1.4 AdherencetoCallScripts

Oneofthewaysinwhichcallcenterscanensureuniformcallquality isbyhavingclearlydefinedscriptsandprocessworkflowsforthetypicalqueriesthatarereceived.Adherencetocallscriptsisnecessary to ensure that the caller receives a consistent experience regardless of which agent

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attendstothecall.Adherencetocallscriptscanbemeasuredbyevaluatingcallrecordingsagainstastandardchecklist.

3.2 CallResolution

Thereare twometrics thatare typicallyassociatedwithcall resolution– first call resolutionandtransferrates.

3.2.1 FirstCallResolution(FCR)

FCR is a common metric used to measure the ability of the call center to manage customerproblems.FCRisthepercentageofcustomercallsthatareresolvedduringtheveryfirstcall.FCRrates can be measured by type of call as well as by time of the day. It is also measured at anindividualagentleveltoidentifyperformance.

Studies have shown that among call center metrics, FCR has the highest impact on customersatisfaction and that every percentage increase in FCR rates is accompanied by a correspondingincrease in customer satisfaction levels. Other benefits of having a high FCR rate include lowoperatingcosts,improvedrevenues,andhigheragentsatisfactionlevels.ThisisbecausewhenFCRratesarehigh,customersarelesslikelytodeflecttocompetitorsandthenumberofiratecustomercallscomesdown,thusreducingagents’stresslevels.

AdropinFCRratescanindicateagents’potentialskillgaps.Itcouldalsohappenifagentsarenotempoweredtomakedecisionsontheirownwhenhandlingcustomerrequests.Ananalysisofthenatureofrequeststhatrequiremultiplecalls forresolutionwouldhelpto identifyways inwhichFCRratescanbeimproved.

The biggest problem with this metric is that it is difficult to track and measure, often because‘resolution’isnoteasytodefine.SomeofthewaysinwhichFCRcanbemeasuredaregivenbelow:

1. Measurethenumberofcallersthatcallbackwithinaspecifiedtime,sayaweek.

2. Monitorthecallsandverifyiftheagentwasabletosatisfactorilyhandlethequery/requestofthecaller.

3. Useapost‐callcustomersurvey.

Mostcallcentersconsideracallas‘resolved’iftheagentdidnothavetotransferthecallorhavetoperform some post‐callwork to complete the call requirements. However, the best judge of callresolutionisthecustomerhimself,andthebestwaytomeasureFCRisthroughashortsurveytoobtaincustomerfeedbackimmediatelyafterthecalliscompleted.

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3.2.2 TransferRates

Transferratesmeasurethepercentageofcallsthataretransferredtoanotheragentforresolution.Thismetricisakeyindicatorofproblemsinroutingstrategies(suchasskills‐basedrouting)aswellasindividualagentperformance.

3.2.3 CustomerSatisfactionLevels

IncallcenterswithIVRsystems,apost‐callsurveyoncallersatisfactionmaybeusedtomeasurecustomer satisfaction. Some call centersmay also opt for detailed customer surveys tomeasuresatisfaction levels with the call center experience and identify areas of improvement. Whilecustomersurveysareoftencarriedoutbyclients, itwouldbeagoodideaforcallcenterstonotecallersatisfactionlevelsaswell.

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4 PerformanceMetrics

Performancemetricsareanindicatorofcallcenterefficiencylevels includingareassuchasagentutilizationandcostcontrol.

4.1 CallHandling

Thereareseveralmetricsthatmeasuretheefficiencyofcallhandlinginacallcenter.

4.1.1 AverageHandlingTime

AverageHandlingTimeorAHTisthetotaltimetakentohandleacallincludingthewaittime,thecall time, and theagent timespentonafter‐callwork suchasdocumentation.Themainproblemwiththismetricisthatitonlymeasuresthecallcenterandagentefficiencyanddoesnottakeintoaccountthecaller’sperspective.Since,thefocusisnotonthecalloutcome,anunduefocusonthismetricmaycauseagentstoworktowardsclosingthecallquicklyratherthanaimforcallerdelight.

AHTisusedasaninputfordeterminingthestaffingrequirementsforthecallcenter.Ideally,AHTshouldbemeasuredatdifferent timesof thedayaswellasondifferentdays inorder to identifypeak loads and variations in incoming call patterns. This will enable the call center to hireadditionaltemporarystaffonlyduringpeakperiodsratherthanhaveexcesspermanentstaff.

Averagehandlingtimemayincrease ifagentsareempoweredtomakedecisions inanattempttoimproveFCRandthismaynotnecessarilybeabadthing.Forexample,ifacallerisrequestingafeewaiver, and the agent is empowered to authorize it, the additional time spent on the call canbejustified by the time saved in paperwork later as well as the increased customer satisfactiongeneratedfollowingprompthandlingoftheirrequest.Therefore,whilemeasuringAHT,itisbettertoaimforconsistencyacrossagentsforsimilarcalls,ratherthanaimforalowfigure.

This is a classic call center metric, which continues to remain a key focus area, despite itslimitations.

4.1.2 After‐CallWorkTime

AfterCallWorkTime(ACW)isasubsetoftheAHTandmeasuresthetimethattheagentspendsinpostcallpaperworkbeforebeingavailabletohandlethenextcall.Thismetriccanbeeasilytrackedthrough ACD reports. Regular measurement of ACW at the overall call center level will help toarrive at benchmarks against which individual agent’s performance can be evaluated. Whiledeterminingbenchmarks,itisbesttotakeanaveragevalueafterdiscountingfortheoutliers(highperformersand lowperformers).Benchmarksshouldbearrivedat fordifferentkindsofcalls,astheACWrequirementswouldvarydependingonthenatureofthecall.

4.1.3 On‐HoldTime

On‐hold time is theamountof time thatacaller iskeptonholdduring thecall.Theaimofacallcentershouldbetominimizethelengthoftimethatacalleriskeptonholdaswellastoreducethe

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numberoftimesthatthecallerisplacedonhold.Atacallcenterlevel,iftheaverageon‐holdtimeishigh,thenitmightindicatethatthesupportsystems(suchasITsoftware)areslowtoretrievetheinformationrequiredby theagents.Ontheotherhand,whenusedatan individualagent level, itcanbeagoodmeasureofknowledgelevels.

4.2 ResourceUtilization

4.2.1 AgentOccupancy

Agent occupancy is the ratio of time that an agent is attending calls or doing after call workcomparedtotheidletime.Itiscalculatedasloggedhoursdividedbythetotalavailablehoursandisanindicatorofhoweffectivelythecallcenterisabletoscheduleitsstaff.Theaimistoachievetherightbalancebetweentoomuchidletimeononehandandoverworkedstaffontheother.Typically,duetoeconomiesofscale,agentoccupancylevelsarehigherinhighvolumecallcentersratherthanentry‐level call centers, even though theymayhave the same service level targets.Typically, callcenters aim to achieve around 85% occupancy rates as any higher occupancy ratesmay lead toagentburnoutandhighlevelsofattrition.Whilesmallcentersmaystruggleto improvetheagentoccupancylevels,largercenterswithhighcallvolumesneedtoproactivelyincreasetheirnumberofagentsinordertokeepoccupancylevelsbelowanacceptablelevel.

4.2.2 StaffShrinkage

Staff shrinkage is the metric that measures agents’ non‐productive time, typically spent ontrainings, paid leave, coffee‐breaks and so on. It is an important metric to track for effectivescheduling of the agents so that SLAs on othermetrics can bemet consistently.While a certainamount of shrinkage is acceptable and even necessary for the call center’s performance, it isimportanttotrackandcontrolotherunexplainedshrinkagetimesuchastimeoffthephoneapartfromdesignatedcoffeeandmealbreaksduringworkhours.There isnostandardbenchmark forshrinkage levels as it differs from call center to call center based on the time they earmark foractivitiessuchastrainings,meetingsetc.

4.2.3 ScheduleEfficiency

Call centerworkforcemanagement isascience in itselfandoneof thecrucialmeasuresofstaff’ssuccessintermsofschedulingefficiency.Thismeasuresthenumberof‘excess’or‘less’staffthatacenterhas atperiodic intervalsof say, half anhour.The schedule efficiency report caneitherbegeneratedautomaticallybytheworkforcemanagementsystemormanuallycalculatedbasedontheactualnumberofstaffavailableascomparedtotheidealnumberneededtohandletheactualcallvolumes.Aslongasnetstaffingiswithinanacceptablerangeformostintervalsthenitindicatesarobust schedule design. Small call centers will have a smaller acceptable range (+/‐ one agent)whereasalargecentermaybecomfortablewithahighervariability.Becausepeaksandtroughsincallvolumemaybenettedoffduringthedayandpresentalessrealisticpicture,itisimportantnottomeasurethismetricasadailyaverage.

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4.2.4 ScheduleAdherence

Scheduleadherencecanbemeasuredeitherastotalhoursworkedagainsttotalhoursplannedfortheday, or as the exact hoursworkedasplanned.The latter is amore stringentmeasure, but isnecessarytoensurethatthevariablecallvolumesarehandledeffectively.Itisalsoanindicatoroftheagent’sperformanceasthismetriccanbelargelycontrolledbytheagenthimself.Typically,callcentersaimtoachievearound90‐95%ofscheduleadherencefortheiragents,whichtranslatestoroughly3to6minutesoffreetimeperhourofschedule.

Schedule adherence typically consists of time spent on calls as well as after‐call work. It alsoincludescallbacksandidletimespentwaitingforcallstoarrive.However,trainings,lunchbreaksetc. are not considered while measuring adherence levels because the agent is generally notscheduledforworkduringassignedbreaks.

Inrecenttimes,thismetrichasgainedmoreprominenceascallcentersattempttofocusonagentcontrolledmetricsrather than trying todriveupmetricssuchasaveragecallhandling timeoverwhichtheagentsmaynotalwayshavemuchcontrol.Infact,byfocusingonthismetric,callcentershavebeenabletodriveupothertraditionalproductivitymeasuressuchasAHT.Thereareseveralways inwhichscheduleadherencecanbe improvedwithoutmakingtheagents feel that theyarebeingmicro‐managed. Some of these include training agents on how schedule adherence affectsother significant productivity metrics, providing real‐time data to agents so that they can self‐controltheiradherencelevels,educatingagentsonhowschedulesarearrivedatandfinallyalsobyproviding agents the team average figures, so that they can rate themselves and improveperformance.

4.2.5 Availability

Availabilityisthepercentageoftimethatagentsareavailabletohandlecalls.However,individualscheduleadherencecaninfluenceoverallavailabilitylevels.Itisalsoinfluencedbyfactorssuchastime spent on other routine office activities such as documentation and research. Availability isusuallymeasuredatanoverall call center level, though it canalsobemeasuredat the individualandteamlevelasameasureofperformance.

4.2.6 ForecastAccuracy

Thisisanimportantmetrictotrackforworkforceplanninginthecallcenter.Forecastaccuracyisfrequentlymeasuredasthevariancebetweenthenumberofcallsreceivedinthecallcenterandthenumberofcallarrivalsforecastedforagivenperiodoftime.Underestimatingthecallvolumecanresult in understaffing and consequent problems such as long wait times for customers, lowcustomer satisfaction levels, overworked and burnt‐out agents and even extended call handlingtimeduetotheadditionaltimespendonpacifyinganiratecustomerwhohasspentalongtimeinthe queue. On the other hand, if call volumes are overestimated it can lead to additional costsincurredduetooverstaffingaswellasadditionalinfrastructurecosts.

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Itisadvisabletomeasureforecastaccuracyathalfhourorhourlyintervalsbecausetakingadailyorweeklyaveragemaynotgiveaclearpictureduetonettingoffpositiveandnegativevariances.

4.3 CostEfficiency

4.3.1 ConversionRate

Thismetricistypicallyusedinoutboundcallcentersorininboundcallcentersthathaveasalesorrevenuetarget.Itisusuallymeasuredasthepercentageofcallsthatresultinaclosedsale.

4.3.2 CostperCall

Thismetriccanbemeasuredeitherassalarycostsincurredpercallorcanincludeaportionoftheoverheadcostssuchasthesoftwareandnetworkcosts.Althoughit is idealtohaveafullyloadedcostpercallbyapportioningallcostsincurredbythecallcentertothecallshandled,itmaynotbeeasytoarriveat.Costpercallisagoodmetrictotrackhowwellthecallcenterresourcesarebeingutilized and to measure the return on investment for the center’s operations as a whole. Foroutboundcall centerswitha revenue target, it is agood idea tomeasure the revenuepercall aswell.

4.3.3 RightPartyConnects(RPC)

This is ametric relevant for outbound call centers. Itmeasures the percentage of dial‐outs thatmanagetogetthroughtotherightperson.Thismetriccanbeimprovedwiththeuseofautomateddialers,updatingthetelephonenumberlist,andchoosingtherighttimetocall.Forexample,ifthetargetcustomergroupincludesworkingprofessionals,non‐officehoursmaybethebesttimetocallthem.

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5 CallCenterMetricsasaPerformanceMeasurementTool

Call centermetrics canbe effectivelyused as a performancemeasurement tool, both for the callcenter as awhole and for individual agents.Whiledesigningagents’ performancemeasures, it isimportanttohaveamixofbothquantitativeandqualitativemetrics.

Someof thecommonquantitativeperformancemeasuresused forcall centeragents include firstcall resolution rates, transfer rates, average handle time, on‐hold time, schedule adherence andafter‐call work time. Qualitative measures include telephone etiquette, communication skills,productknowledge,adherencetocallscriptsandproperclosureofcalls.Qualitativemeasuresareoftenignoredbycallcenters,butareacrucialpartofcustomersatisfaction.Forexample,researchhasproved that ifacallerdidnotobtaina firstcall resolution,he isstill likely torate thecall assatisfactoryifotherqualitativeaspectsofthecallwerehandledproperlybytheagent.

Thefirststepintheperformancemanagementprocessistodefineperformancegoals.Thiscouldbein the form of targets measured against each metric that is being tracked at an agent level.Qualitative measures can also be included as part of the goals, and deviations from expectedbehaviorcanbemeasuredusinganalysisofcallrecordings.

Oncethegoalsareset,itisagoodideatoinformtheagentabouthowwellheorsheisperformingonaday‐to‐daybasis.The team leadershouldalsobe informedso that coursecorrectioncanbemadeonanearreal‐timebasis.

Having ameasurable set of goals based on the overall objectives of the call center has the twinbenefitofmaking theprocess fairandobjective to theagentwhilealigningperformancegoals tothatofthecallcenterasawhole.

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6 ReportingofCallCenterMetrics

Havingawell‐definedreportingmechanismforcallcentermetricsisessentialtocommunicatethecall center’s performance to all the stakeholders in a timelymanner. This allows agents and callcentermanagementtoidentifyareasofimprovementandtakecorrectiveaction.

Oneofthekeyelementsofagoodreportingmechanismistoprovidesufficientinformationagainsteach metric to identify the root cause of the problem. Call center metrics reports should aidmanagementindecision‐makingandcoursecorrectionbyprovidingacomprehensiveviewofthestrengthsandweaknessesofthevariouselementssuchaspeople,process,andtechnology.

A reporting strategy should be developedwhich defines the nature of information that shall bemadeavailabletoeachlevel(agent,teamleads,seniormanagement,andclients),thefrequencyofreporting,andthemodeofcommunicationetc.Forexample,nearreal‐timereportsmaybemadeavailableonagiantLEDscreeninthecallcenter itself,whereasdailyreportsmaybee‐mailedtoseniormanagement. Client reportsmay be in the form of a presentationmade on amonthly orquarterlybasisandwouldneedtoincludetrenddatatoshowcaseimprovementsachieved.

6.1 WhatConstitutesaGoodReport?

Agoodreportcanactasapowerfultooltodriveoperationalandfinancialimprovementsinthecallcenter.Forthis,itisimperativethattheinformationinthereportisrelevanttotheaudiencewithwhomit isshared, isaccurate,and isreceivedonatimelybasis.Often,agent‐related informationneeds to be made available in a real‐time for supervisors to be able to intervene with coursecorrectionspromptly.

The frequency aswell as level of detail of reporting alsodependson the audienceof the report.Summaryreportsmeantforclientsareoftengeneratedlessfrequentlythandailydetailedreportsgeneratedforteamleadsandagentsthemselves.Typically,asreportinglevelsgoup,thegranularityofdetailcomesdown.Atthetopmostlevel,onlysummarydataandtrendanalysisarerelevantandifthereisaninterestingpatternnotedinthetrendanalysis,thenseniormanagementmayrequestmoredetailspertainingtothedatapointbeinganalyzed.

6.2 Real‐TimeReporting

RealtimereportsinacallcenterareusuallybasedondataavailableintheACDortheworkforcemanagement tools. These are usually displayed in a wall‐mounted screen or on the agents’desktops. Themetrics that are typically tracked on a real‐time basis include number of calls inqueue, agents who are idle, wait‐time of callers in the queue and so on. Supervisors use thesemetricstomanagecallcenteroperationssothattheServiceLevelAgreements(SLAs)withclientsaremet.MostcallcentershavefinancialpenaltyclausesattachedtotheiragreementswithclientsfordefaultingonSLAsandtherefore,successfulcallcenteroperationsdemandreal‐timetrackingofkeymetrics.

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6.3 PerformanceReporting

Oneofthewaysinwhichcallcentermetricscanbemademoremeaningfulistoalignthemtotheorganization’sgoalsand thendivide them intogoals for thebusinessunits, clientaccount teams,andultimatelyindividualagents.Oncetargetsaredefinedforeachlevel,themetricscanbetrackedand reported for performance management purposes as well. While goal setting is a top‐downprocessstartingattheorganizationlevelandculminatingattheagentlevel,performancereportingis typically a bottom‐up process which starts by measuring the level of achievement at theindividualagentlevelandrollingituptoarriveatteamlevelandorganizationwidereports.

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7 Conclusion

Callcentermetricsplayakeyroleinthequalityframeworkofacallcenter.Themetricsthatacallcenterchoosestomeasure,report,andoptimizehaveanimpactoncallcenter’scustomerservicelevelsinadditiontoitsoperationalprofitabilityandbusinessgrowth.However,thedaysofviewingacallcenterasacostcenterandfocusingpurelyonproductivitymeasuresarelongover.Today,callcentersareevolvingasaprimaryservicechannelforcustomersandtheaimistosatisfyandretaincustomers through superior service. Achieving the right balance between the various metricsensuresthatthecallcenterisabletoachievehighcallersatisfactionlevelswhilestillmaintainingacost effective and high performing businessmodel where agents aremotivated to achieve peakperformance.

call center metrics - specialty answering service | call ... center metrics are typically designed...

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