How to optimize call center performance ?

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You work in a call center and you want to measure or improve your performance and that of your department? You are in the right place! We present you the key performance indicators by detailing them …

A quick reminder : The call center can often be associated or even confused with customer service. However, the two are quite different.

The call center is a department in a company that is in charge of making or receiving telephone calls. It includes a set of resources to carry out these activities : human, technological and material resources. It is both the team that handles customer calls and the infrastructure that enables these calls to be processed. A call center works for various types of companies. The activities that are carried out there are very diversified.

To choose the good criteria of evaluation according to the fixed objectives and the size of the company is essential. In general, the objectives of the Contact Center must be aligned with those of the company and combine three components: productivity, management and human relations, (and obviously the quality perceived by the customers).

Therefore, it is important to promote the following KPIs :

1. Measuring productivity of the call center 📈

Rate of employee in contact with the public

The rate of employees in contact with the public measures the proportion of customer service employees in direct contact with customer complaints.

A high rate is generally a sign of a healthy organization, while a low rate may lead you to look for areas of improvement (limiting administrative or secretarial tasks for example).

Number of incoming calls per operator per month

By tracking the number of inbound calls handled each month by each operator, you will have a better idea of your agents' performance.

In addition to the possibility of comparing operators with each other, an abnormally low average rate can be a sign of a lack of resources, and conversely a waste.

2. Measuring the level of service of the call center 🤝🏼

Delay before picking up the phone

Average time to answer the phone, measured in seconds or minutes, refers to the amount of time a customer must wait before accessing a caller.

Depending on the case and the specificities of your service, you can of course refine this essential indicator in multiple ways. This type of KPIs for a customer relationship center, for example, can also be adapted to measure the average time spent browsing an answering machine or a chatbot before getting a human interlocutor.

Call abandonment rate

It is imperative to keep a permanent visibility on orphaned calls! The call abandonment rate fulfills this function, and allows you to know the number of unanswered phone calls, most often because the customer is tired and hangs up.

Training rate

This is another important KPI for evaluating customer service management and human resources. It can be calculated in several ways, the simplest being to divide the number of training days by the number of working days.

Absenteeism rate

It is expressed as a percentage and is calculated by dividing the number of days (or hours) of absence by the theoretical number of days (or hours) of presence. It can be calculated at the level of each consultant, but also at the level of the call center.

3. Measuring the quality of the service of the call center ✅

Customer satisfaction

The customer satisfaction rate is an essential variable to better appreciate the quality of customer service. It is also one of the most difficult to evaluate and quantify.

To get a reliable percentage, generate satisfaction questionnaires (for feedback) by offering small rewards or promotions to those who agree to fill them out. Remember that very few dissatisfied customers ever come forward !

First call resolution rate

First call resolution (FCR) is a valuable indicator to measure the quality of your service, but also its productivity.

There is no real standard, but each company, depending on its sector and its call typology, will set its desired first contact resolution rate. There is a very strong correlation between the first contact resolution rate and customer satisfaction, as well as a direct link with the cost of processing a request.

Every complaint that is resolved immediately is a reminder of unhappy customers that your agents will never have to deal with !

Average treatment time

The Average Handling Time (AHT) is one of the key KPIs of the Call Center. This indicator allows to define if a request will be managed in level 1 (the most voluminous flows) or in level 2 (complex cases requiring a more complete expertise and time). However, it is not an objective in itself, as it does not allow us to meet the expectations of personalization and quality of the customer relationship.

Depending on the sector of activity and the type of call (information, technical assistance, etc.), the LMD varies greatly. But it is essential that the standard deviations are low to guarantee the productivity foreseen in the steering model.

This indicator must therefore be interpreted taking into account the specificities and complexity of the requests you receive. A long processing time per call can be positive for customer satisfaction, especially if it is coupled with a high first call resolution rate.

Note : not to be confused with DMC (average talk time)

Transformation rate

This KPI refers to the percentage of outbound calls that result in a product sale or a subscription. The transformation rate is a key indicator to measure the commercial performance of the call center.

Cost of outgoing calls

This KPI is calculated by dividing the operating cost of the call center by the number of outbound calls answered.

4. Measure the rate of digitalization of the customer relationship in the call center 📲

In order to focus contact center activity on high value-added calls, it is interesting to monitor the rate of transfer of contacts for routine requests to self-care: customer area, FAQ, IVR, etc. This is obviously in addition to communication actions, including via customer advisors. The objective is to encourage customers to use the means at their disposal in order to give priority to taking important calls !

This Customer Service KPI designates the proportion of customer requests that could be resolved via the self-care tools made available to them, without human intervention.

Why use an automatic transcription system for your call center ? 👇🏼

Call centers require you to retain and process a lot of information. What if it were possible to make note-taking easier in order to optimize your time? With our online platform Noota, you can automatically record and transcribe your conversations! This allows you to be fully involved in the exchange and to save time.

It's very simple, you import the file of your choice and in a few minutes you have access to the transcription with a report. You can edit, highlight, classify the text as you wish.

Maybe it would be easier to try ? Go to our website !

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