Key Metrics to Monitor in Your Call Center to Boost Your Business

Symon Edmonds — December 19, 2016

Todays’ customers are looking for immediate responses to their queries and requests. Call Center software has evolved to be able to expertly track how your business is faring with customers calling in. It provides you with in depth data so you can accurately analyze and measure where you are excelling and which areas need serious attention. The key performance Indicators that need to be constantly assessed revolve around the performance of your agent, your team and the call center as a whole. The measurements will point you in the right direction towards increased efficiency.

You will be able to determine customer satisfaction levels and how to improve your offering for them. You will be able to plot a clear path towards growing your revenue and reducing unnecessary costs. When you can clearly see how your call center is performing and how it compares to the industry standard you can then make strategic decisions that can elevate your business.

Selecting Key Metrics for your Business Objectives

The first thing you and your team will need to decide on will be the list of key performance indicators that will be implemented to accurately reflect your business. The chosen metrics must be in line with your overall strategy. You need to identify, define and decide what will actually be measured. Your business will have access to extreme amounts of data and clear decisions need to made to choose the data points that will ultimately contribute to the analysis and KPI calculation. Every key metric chosen must be clearly conveyed to your team so that they all understand the purpose of its inclusion in the measurement.

You will also be gaining a more comprehensive understanding of your performance by measuring different domains. For every metric that will be monitored, it’s vital to set a quantitative target. You will need to constantly review your chosen KPI’s and meaningfully interpret the data. If it seems as if an area hasn’t been accurately measured, select new KPI’s to look into causes for trends or outliers so you can enhance your call center’s overall performance.

What Are Some of the Most Used Key Metrics for Call Centers?

This list of commonly identified 12 KPI’s establishes the questions you need to be asking about your call centers performance and customer satisfaction.

1. How long will a caller spend waiting in the queue? No one likes to wait in line and will get increasingly frustrated the longer they have to wait. In order to keep your callers satisfied you need to ensure their wait time is acceptable. This metric will measure the total time callers end up waiting in call queues divided by the total number of calls that will be answered by agents. You will be ascertaining measurements such as whether there are too many calls for the number of agents, whether the average time spent on each caller is too long and whether the agents are able to provide callers with optimal service. Too long in the queue = unhappy customers and tarnishes your brand.
2. What percentage of callers will get the busy tone when they call in? Inbound calls are not answered because there are no available agents to take the call or the call center software is not powerful enough to handle a high call volume or call queues are just too full. This is known as a “blocked” call and is a red flag showing a missed opportunity to communicate and connect with a new prospect or existing customer. The customer will also be annoyed with not being able to have their issue or need resolved. This KPI should be high on your list of chosen identifiers.
3. How many callers hang up before they reach an agent? This is known as the “abandonment rate.” People really don’t enjoy waiting for ages in a queue and give up and hang up the phone. It’s a very common occurrence that has a negative effect on customer retention. You must keep track of this KPI and make sure it remains steadily below a target threshold. They will be putting down the phone and calling your competitor. Remember, “The customer’s perception is your reality” — Kate Zabriskie
4. How many calls are answered in X number of seconds? This allows you to gauge your call center’s response time. Both agents and managers can see this figure in real-time on their metrics dashboards. How fast are customers accessing an agent and how easily and efficiently are they being handled? It’s is an imperative KPI for delivering long lasting customer service and for building loyalty.
5. How long does it take an agent to resolve a query? The shorter the better. The customer will be satisfied to spend less time on the phone and it shows that the agent is competent in resolving issues quickly. This KPI measures the average time of an actual call from when the caller gets through to an agent until they disconnect. It is one of the most commonly used metrics as it reveals caller satisfaction clearly.
6. How much time is an agent spending on completing work related to the call? Once the caller disconnects the agent has to spend a fair amount of time actioning the request. Perhaps sending emails, updating information on the database etc. This is known as “After Call Work Time.” Managers obviously want to reduce this time as much as possible so that more customers in the queue can be assisted. However, managers need to set realistic targets for the agents so they do not increase their stress levels and overload them.
7. How many calls are completely addressing a customer’s needs? This is known as “First Call Resolution.” Being able to resolve a query without having to transfer the call, escalate it or follow up later with a customer increases customer satisfaction dramatically. If a customer is satisfied completely in just one call it will reduce operating costs and retain customer loyalty. This KPI should always be on your list.
8. How can you gauge customer satisfaction? Generally, call centers use IVR- based post-call surveys where the caller can rate the service they have just received. This is a critical metric and one of the hardest to calculate.

Other KPI’s for call centers can include the number of day’s agents are absent from work, agent turnover rate and schedule adherence.

Call centers can be stressful environments where thousands of calls are managed every hour. The agents are under pressure to deliver a high standard of customer service and KPI’s can tell you if there are any cracks that are starting to show.

Leveraging the Right Tools to Measure KPI’s

To be able to monitor your call center’s performance you will require software that boasts integrated real-time and historical reporting. At Nectar Desk , we offer the most affordable and complete SaaS solutions for handling inbound and outbound calls with reporting and analytics. Our comprehensive cloud call center software solution can be set up in minutes with no contracts, no hidden fees, no hardware, 24/7 phone and live chat support. We will help you discern the best KPI’s to gather the most useful data to boost your business. Our software provides a real time metrics dashboard for agents and managers, a call monitoring dashboard, historical reporting and back office tools. Why not try out our software today –we offer you a free trial?

It’s Never Crowded Along the Extra Mile

Nectar Desk will provide you with software to change the course of your business and grow your revenue but other points to remember include:

• Hire the right team from the get-go. You’re looking for customer service champions –responsible, organized, dependable, empathetic and self-disciplined.
• Train agents to exceed customer’s expectations, delight them and they will spread the word about your brilliant brand.
• Make sure your agents are skilled at trouble shooting and best practices. Offer them the best hands-on training on your call center software.
• Properly orient new employees in your company culture, work ethic guidelines and policies.
• Make sure they have training manuals at their fingertips and give them all of the tips for handling customers when you don’t know how to answer their problems.
• Educate, mentor, check in and offer feedback so that your agents feel supported and in turn they will offer customers the greatest service.

Exceed your customer’s expectations, add the personal touch and aim to constantly offer them the best service. Every single call center agent is a live marketer propelling your business forward by offering expert service on a daily basis.