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Improving Inbound Call Handling Performance
An extract from Call Center Strategies 2007, a new research report published by the Ascent Group, Inc.
The Ascent Group’s research conducted during the end of 2007 sought to better understand how companies are handling inbound customer contact. We asked companies to share their call center experiences to help us identify the practices that make or break a customer contact center. We also asked them to provide their plans moving forward as well as lessons learned along the way. The results of this research are contained in our report, Call Center Strategies 2007.
As part of this research, we asked companies to report call center operational data so we could calculate several performance benchmarks. The following benchmark metrics were collected and calculated:
- Cost — Cost per call (Operational & Maintenance costs only — direct labor, contractor costs, overtime, and non-labor O&M; no capital costs or overheads)
- Productivity — Calls Handled per FTE (per month)
- Service — % Abandoned Calls (total calls handled versus total calls offered)
- Service — % Call Resolved on First Contact (of total calls handled)
- Service — % Agent Availability (time on phone or available to take calls)
- Service — Service Level Conformance (percent of days service level goals achieved)
- Service — Average Speed of Answer (Time between the first ring heard by the caller and when the call is answered by an agent or automated system, including time spent in queue.)
When evaluating performance of any organization, it is important to look at performance from three perspectives: Productivity, Cost, and Service. By examining call center performance on several dimensions, companies can understand if service is being compromised by cutting cost, or conversely, if a company is spending too much to attain a high service level. Typical drivers of productivity, cost and service are listed below:
Productivity
- Morale
- Experience & Skill Level
- Degree of Supervision
- Level of Automation
- Use of Technology
- Incentives
- Quality of Work Life
Cost
- Staffing & Organization
- Wage Rates
- Employee Mix
- Regulations
Service
- Convenience
- Accessibility
- Accuracy
- Timeliness
- Skill & Professionalism
We identified the “best performers” for each industry-—above average companies that deliver low cost, high productivity, and high service. We calculated a “best performer” average for these high performing companies. We also calculated an industry average for each of the benchmark metrics, to demonstrate the performance of participants by industry. The following two charts depicts the Unit Cost and Abandonment Rate for our study group.
More benchmark performance comparisons are contained in the published research report.
Benchmarking Study Findings & Observations
It's all about people.
The best approach for a call center depends upon its unique composition. A lot depends upon the demographics of the group—generational, cultural, and individual differences. Call centers with college-age employees have different priorities from ones made up primarily of mothers with school-age children. In more competitive environments, paying bonuses for perfect attendance may be more successful than increasing the base salary. You have to evaluate your own unique environment to find out what will work best.
Numerous studies and surveys repeatedly confirm what almost every employee already knows—recognition for a job well done is the top motivator of employee performance. As a manager, you positively reinforce, through rewards and recognition, the behavior you want repeated. Aubrey Daniels, a leading performance specialist, explains it best, “You reinforce behaviors and reward results.”
Informal incentives are often more effective in boosting morale than the less personal formal plans. Informal rewards can go as far as the manager’s creativity and sense of humor will take it. Informal rewards are usually spontaneous, inexpensive, and require minimal planning and effort. One of the most powerful employee motivators is personalized, instant recognition from a manager.
Do your homework. Talk to employees at all levels, in all job categories, to understand expectations and drivers of performance. Identify meaningful rewards for each employee.
In this age of changing technologies, industry restructuring, and competitive markets, call center training is one of the call center manager’s most vital resources. As customer service, more specifically the call center, becomes a strategic weapon in the competitive marketplace, management must be sure that their front-line is prepared to deliver the most effective and responsive level of service possible.
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