We, here in this article will talk about how a simple inbound call center evolves into a multi dimensional outsourcing service provider and so does its performance management problem as well. With advanced technology and brightest minds, call centers expand and upgrade themselves to the next level of services and quality. But we need to understand that as call centers, their services and outsourcing trend have changed; their performance management techniques need to be changed as well. To determine the standards and quality of working, we are presenting 18 performance measures in terms of services, quality of work, efficiency and profitability of their services and impact of their support on a business and its growth.
We are analyzing these mentioned performance measures in two aspects of work levels: one for ordinary call center and another contact for multi level support provider contact center.
Performance Management in terms of Service
The most important measures of performance are those associated with service. Some of these measures are the same for both a Outsourced Call Center and contact center, while some will need to change slightly to reflect the new types of transactions.
1. Blocks and Hurdles
Blocks and hurdles are indicated as time when customers are not able to get through the network due to insufficient facilities at work. The busy signal, dropped calls and other situations can be count as such. These obstruct the speed of performance and have adverse affect on quality of services. Also, it has negative effect on customer satisfaction.
Solution: Increase the server capacity. To estimate how many network facilities to be needed by you so that it does not get overloaded.
2. Abandon Ratio
The dropped calls do impact the retention and revenue generation of call centers. They understand that making your customer wait in queue to receive a call is not going to take you anywhere. Nonetheless, it cannot be eliminated properly. There are number of factors that affect this factor such as caller’s patience, the time of call and other alternatives of getting in touch like email or dropping a number to call back.
3. Self-Service
Now, when market is expanding and customer base of organizations are growing, their partner call centers are adopting new measures to attend them. Most of them are adapting self-service facilities that help customers to choose their operations and help menu by themselves.
In a contact center, the performance can be tracked by observing how many times help menu was accessed and how many times a live agent was called upon?
4. Service Level
Service level consists of determining the most average speed of processing a request. Some of Call Center Outsourcing Services and contact centers measure the response time taken by the customers as well.
5. Maximum Delay in Queue
Another measure of speed is to calculate the longest time a customer was made to wait. This is also referred as worst case.
Quality Measures
6. First Resolution Rate
The first call resolution is called one and done in call centers which is very critical and significant for the performance levels of a call center. The factors contributing in this performance measure are the team that handled the query, time of call and nature of query.
7. Rate of Transfer
The seamless nature of a process of a call center can be determined by the rate of transfer. How much part of the work was handled over or transferred to another team or person, also counts.
8. Communications Skills
How well versed customer support executives are and how they behave with customer can either bog down your reputation or soar it above the clouds. This quality measure can be monitored through observance, reviewing the performance and proper reporting channels.
9. Procedures Adherence
This helps to integrate value and customer satisfaction together. Your agents should be willing to stick to workflow and shifting of process. Also, they should feel obliged to call scripts because they are trademark of your call center and brand awareness tactic for your client.
Efficiency Performance Measures
10. Agent Occupancy
Agent occupancy is the time that an agent takes to attend the customer as compared to the times he is not taking the calls. This is an important measure to check and oversee how your agents are utilizing the working hours.
11. Staff Attrition
It is the time when your staff is not present to handle the flow of calls. It could be due to meeting times, break times or other non productive issues. It is an important measure as you can easily calculate that how many people you will need in a session so that no call would go missed.
12. Efficiency of Schedule
It is about just hitting the mark. Not less and not more, just the right number of people working for you. Understaffing or overstaffing both is extremely dangerous curves for an organization.
13. Adherence to Schedule
This performance measure is a calculation of number of working hours per schedule. It ascertains the productivity of a team and its agents.
14. System Availability
An agent is incapable of doing anything if his system is slow. The overall performance of an agent can be marred by a slow system. For instance, IVR is much used and coveted technique of every call center. It eases down the workload of agents by 50 percent, in case IVR is not functioning properly, an agent would have to devote time to understand the nature of the query and answering it accordingly.
Profitability Measures
15. Rate of Conversion
The success of call center depends on the growth of organization they work for. How many of leads have been translated into sales, is the measure of their real success and actual performance.
16. Up-Selling and Cross-Selling
How much value has you agents added to your clients. This value added services adds as an advantage along with generated revenue in the kitty of your client.
17. Costing as per one Call
This is a critical and bottom line measure to calculate the efficiency and workload stamina of a call center. How much effort, facility, money and labor you have put in one call and what you are getting back out of it can be a real eye opener shot for any call center which boasts about success.
We are analyzing these mentioned performance measures in two aspects of work levels: one for ordinary call center and another contact for multi level support provider contact center.
Performance Management in terms of Service
The most important measures of performance are those associated with service. Some of these measures are the same for both a Outsourced Call Center and contact center, while some will need to change slightly to reflect the new types of transactions.
1. Blocks and Hurdles
Blocks and hurdles are indicated as time when customers are not able to get through the network due to insufficient facilities at work. The busy signal, dropped calls and other situations can be count as such. These obstruct the speed of performance and have adverse affect on quality of services. Also, it has negative effect on customer satisfaction.
Solution: Increase the server capacity. To estimate how many network facilities to be needed by you so that it does not get overloaded.
2. Abandon Ratio
The dropped calls do impact the retention and revenue generation of call centers. They understand that making your customer wait in queue to receive a call is not going to take you anywhere. Nonetheless, it cannot be eliminated properly. There are number of factors that affect this factor such as caller’s patience, the time of call and other alternatives of getting in touch like email or dropping a number to call back.
3. Self-Service
Now, when market is expanding and customer base of organizations are growing, their partner call centers are adopting new measures to attend them. Most of them are adapting self-service facilities that help customers to choose their operations and help menu by themselves.
In a contact center, the performance can be tracked by observing how many times help menu was accessed and how many times a live agent was called upon?
4. Service Level
Service level consists of determining the most average speed of processing a request. Some of Call Center Outsourcing Services and contact centers measure the response time taken by the customers as well.
5. Maximum Delay in Queue
Another measure of speed is to calculate the longest time a customer was made to wait. This is also referred as worst case.
Quality Measures
6. First Resolution Rate
The first call resolution is called one and done in call centers which is very critical and significant for the performance levels of a call center. The factors contributing in this performance measure are the team that handled the query, time of call and nature of query.
7. Rate of Transfer
The seamless nature of a process of a call center can be determined by the rate of transfer. How much part of the work was handled over or transferred to another team or person, also counts.
8. Communications Skills
How well versed customer support executives are and how they behave with customer can either bog down your reputation or soar it above the clouds. This quality measure can be monitored through observance, reviewing the performance and proper reporting channels.
9. Procedures Adherence
This helps to integrate value and customer satisfaction together. Your agents should be willing to stick to workflow and shifting of process. Also, they should feel obliged to call scripts because they are trademark of your call center and brand awareness tactic for your client.
Efficiency Performance Measures
10. Agent Occupancy
Agent occupancy is the time that an agent takes to attend the customer as compared to the times he is not taking the calls. This is an important measure to check and oversee how your agents are utilizing the working hours.
11. Staff Attrition
It is the time when your staff is not present to handle the flow of calls. It could be due to meeting times, break times or other non productive issues. It is an important measure as you can easily calculate that how many people you will need in a session so that no call would go missed.
12. Efficiency of Schedule
It is about just hitting the mark. Not less and not more, just the right number of people working for you. Understaffing or overstaffing both is extremely dangerous curves for an organization.
13. Adherence to Schedule
This performance measure is a calculation of number of working hours per schedule. It ascertains the productivity of a team and its agents.
14. System Availability
An agent is incapable of doing anything if his system is slow. The overall performance of an agent can be marred by a slow system. For instance, IVR is much used and coveted technique of every call center. It eases down the workload of agents by 50 percent, in case IVR is not functioning properly, an agent would have to devote time to understand the nature of the query and answering it accordingly.
Profitability Measures
15. Rate of Conversion
The success of call center depends on the growth of organization they work for. How many of leads have been translated into sales, is the measure of their real success and actual performance.
16. Up-Selling and Cross-Selling
How much value has you agents added to your clients. This value added services adds as an advantage along with generated revenue in the kitty of your client.
17. Costing as per one Call
This is a critical and bottom line measure to calculate the efficiency and workload stamina of a call center. How much effort, facility, money and labor you have put in one call and what you are getting back out of it can be a real eye opener shot for any call center which boasts about success.
