Contact centers still play a key role in delivering customer service and consumers continue to show a preference to interacting with a live person. A survey from last year (Fit Small Business) suggested that 30% of customers were more comfortable purchasing high ticket items over the phone and the majority of consumers still look for telephone contacts when needing support for a product and service. The nature of contact centers positions them as a data driven aspect of business and managing results is essential to meeting efficiency and productivity goals as well as delivering exceptional customer experiences. Technology can track a vast array of metrics and statistics in a call center and there are core numbers that call center managers can focus on to elevate and maintain high performance.
Average Call Handle Time (ACHT or AHT)
For contact centers, time is a valuable commodity and has an immense impact on how efficient and productive the team is. Average Call Handle Time is an individual metric that indicates how long it takes for an agent to complete a call. Every call scenario will have its own standard for call time but ACHT should be consistent among the team and consistent among call types. The individual nature of the metric creates opportunities for development when ACHT is longer than the norm. The goal for agents should be to complete the call successfully as quickly as possible so that another customer can be handled that much faster. Call quality and standards should not be sacrificed for improving ACHT but a balance between both is the ideal solution.
First Contact Resolution Rate (FCRR)
Brands use contact centers for both revenue generation and as a customer support channel and consumer expectations for satisfaction during an interaction is very high in the post-pandemic business world. High performing agents will strive to complete the call fully during the first interaction. This is known as the First Contact Resolution Rate and is an excellent measurement on the agent’s ability to solve customer concerns on the first go. Whether its a sales type call, inquiry or product support concern, solving the customer’s request on first interaction will:
- Increase efficiency and reduce cost per call
- Drive brand reputation and loyalty
The key to high FCRR is ensuring agents are well trained in company processes and have resources available to them to answer inquiries and solve concerns during that initial engagement. A high FCRR is a critical KPI and must be monitored and addressed on a more consistent basis to maintain productivity, efficiency and brand reputation.
Customer Satisfaction Surveys (CSS)
Is there an opportunity for customers to leave feedback after a call? Brands that offer ways for customers to review and rate service can see reputational benefits as well as important data regarding quality levels. Customer Satisfaction Surveys can give important insights on the quality of customer service coming from the individual agent and are an essential part of the interaction. Providing a short survey, either by multiple choice or scale type ratings, right after the interaction gives the customer a chance to share their thoughts just as the call is fresh in their minds. Surveys sent out via email or SMS may get more and faster responses but a 1 question survey directly from the agent before ending the call may have the most impact on collecting customer satisfaction data.
The Bottom Line
Contact centers are still very much important tools for solving customer issues and generating revenue for businesses. Maximizing output and efficiency is critical and multi-person teams must be managed effectively through data and results analysis. While many metrics are measurable in contact centers, there are KPIs that standout as priorities when analyzing the business. Monitoring of these statistics and ‘righting the ship’ when challenges appear should be priorities for contact center leadership and a strategy for examining KPIs should be well defined and consistent in implementation. Communicating KPI results to individuals and prioding feedback and solutions for improvement are also a critical part of the loop and should be part of any metric or statistical evaluation. Customer facing businesses depend on those customers to generate revenue and the performance of individuals and the team overall is of paramount importance to ensure the highest level of customer experience and maximization of each customer interaction.