Call Center KPI's - Getting The Most Out Of Metrics
A business adage is that you can't manage what you don't measure, but given the huge amounts of data available where do you begin?
Implementing a software based CRM will allow you to rapidly collect data from a huge array of sources, while integrating this with other data collection processes such as accounting, will produce even more. So where do we start with all of this and, more importantly, at what point do we need to stop. First principles, ask yourself how is the call center performing? If you can't answer that question but have reams of performance metrics pouring out of your ears, this article is for you.
Pareto's Principle or the 80/20 tell us that less is more, putting it into the context of call center management, we need performance metrics that tell us what we need to know in order to make an informed decision. This means understanding what the metrics are trying to tell us in the very first instance, but it also means not allowing extraneous clutter obscure the real information that is relevant to our decision making. If you are using more than 5 KPI's on your balanced scorecard, then seriously consider removing some of them and focus on what is directly relevant to your call center performance.
Many call centers monitor and produce reports on over 25 metrics, however most are at best only marginally relevant to core performance. The five metrics you should be tracking and using on your balanced scorecard are:
- Call cost
- Customer satisfaction
- First call resolution
- Agent efficiency or utilization
- Overall call center performance
When you consider how many of your metrics are actually dependent on what has happened with other metrics, then you are on your way to being able to simplify the balanced scorecard. Take this as an example, call center customer satisfaction in many instances is made up of several other metrics such as first call resolution, speed of answer, call quality and so on. What contributes the most to customer satisfaction ? Use the 80/20 rule and you will find in all likelihood that it is first call resolution, so if 80% of customer satisfaction is governed by first call resolution there is little need for including the other metrics that go to contribute to overall customer satisfaction in your balanced scorecard and three or four metrics can safely be removed.
Some argue that in fact only two metrics matter, cost per call and customer satisfaction, however that is probably too much of a simplification and these five metrics certainly will represent the 80% of the "what" of your call center performance. Focus on these metrics in your balanced scorecard and you will find that you are in a position to take call center metrics to the next level, that is, to use them to diagnose the "why" of your performance.
Many call center managers are not aware that balanced scorecards and call center KPI's are much more than management measurement tools. When used holistically, that is, viewing the call center metrics as a whole, interacting body of information, they are powerful tools to assist managers identify why performance has varied (both positively and negatively), what is happening with internal benchmark performance levels against industry peer standards and SWOT analysis.
About the Author
In this industry call center customer satisfaction (Csat) is king. If you are not focused on customer satisfaction then you're dropping the ball. Call center certification is your first step towards improving your Csat.
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