Establishing KPIs is the first step in attaining the call center’s goals the success. The key performance indicators (KPIs) for call centers are measurable values that managers and leaders of an organization can review periodically to assess how well the contact center is performing or achieving its operational goals and if agents are providing customers with a high-quality customer experience.
Call centers adopt generic KPIs without customizing them to suit the particular requirements of their companies. Each KPI should be explained clearly to the employees and teams to whom they apply so that employees will be able to understand them clearly. It will ensure call center agents adhere to procedures and guidelines and enhance the customer experience and brand image.
The following list of crucial call center KPIs can reflect the specific needs and goals of a contact center:
Average Handling Time (AHT)
The average time it takes a customer care agent to complete one transaction is measured by the average handling time (AHT). It is one of the major contact center KPIs. AHT typically begins when a consumer places the call and includes any wait time as well as any activities that must be completed after the conversation before the agent can begin the next call or chat.
When determining call center staffing requirements, AHT is a key consideration for managers. So, managers can better allocate their agents’ time when they are aware of the average length of the calls received by the agents. It also will ensure workloads will be evenly distributed and not overwhelming for agents. Moreover, the individual AHT of each advisor must be monitored to identify which of them requires advanced training. The quality assurance software can track agents with High AHT and call listening facilities in many contact center quality assurance software help QAs to review the reasons it is increasing.
Thus, the contact center’s AHT may be decreased by using contact center quality assurance software that can streamline complicated interactions, which can also result in considerable cost reductions and improved workforce productivity.
First Response Time (FRT)
A very influential KPI as 77% of consumers confirms they appreciate an organization that values their time. Nobody likes to be put on hold or kept waiting. So, callers will have a positive experience if call center agents swiftly respond and fulfill customer requests. This KPI can be calculated using the number of hours in a day, the number of days in a week, or on a yearly basis.
A study revealed that a call will be abandoned by 35% of callers during the first minute of waiting and 66% of them will end the call after three minutes have passed. The advisors who are having trouble with maintaining FRT can be identified through quality assurance software and can be coached to improve their performance.
First Call Resolution (FCR)
First call resolution (FCR) measures whether the customer’s concerns and reason for calling were addressed in the first call or chat or contact, without transferring the call or calling back the customer. FCR measurement enables a contact center to assess its agents’ capability to satisfy the consumers’ demands and needs during the first contact. FCR is regarded as the core indicator for call center performance and CX delivery. The research found that 60% of businesses that tracked their FCR for at least a year were able to increase the KPI by up to 30%.
An essential call center KPI FCR can significantly enhance CX. Moreover, customers are anxious to get their questions answered on the first contact. So, when their queries are answered or issues are resolved on first contact, they are more inclined to offer positive feedback and reviews.
Customer Satisfaction (CSAT)
CSAT is a metric used to determine if the products and services of a company meet or exceed the customers’ expectations. The consumer is frequently given a scale from 1 to 5. CSAT is utilized as a leading predictor of customer loyalty, and retention and it ensures long-term revenue from a customer.
CSAT is a very useful metric for determining if the call center agents are providing poor or excellent customer experiences. To better understand which aspects are having a negative influence on the call center as well as which ones are having a favorable one, the quality team can use CSAT scores. A contact center quality assurance software must take CAST into consideration when measuring the performance of an agent.
Net Promoter Rating (NPS)
The net promoter score (NPS) is used to evaluate a customer’s loyalty and overall customer experience. It’s a more recent technique for gauging client satisfaction. NPS is frequently determined using the answer to the following types of questions:
“How likely is it that you would recommend this company (or product or service) to your friends or family or colleague?”
A 0 to 10 scale is used to score this response, with 9 and 10 being promoters, 7 and 8 being passive, and 0 to 6 being critics. The NPS is calculated by deducting the proportion of customers who are promoters from those who are detractors. A score of over 50 is therefore regarded as a good NPS score.
NPS enables organizations to get insightful feedback from consumers about their experiences with the call center. Positive revenue and business growth are strongly connected with high NPS ratings. To better understand how to raise NPS, they should be assessed on a regular basis. Quality assurance software must be able to track interactions with high and low NPS ratings for better QA monitoring and assessment.
Client Effort Score (CES)
Customer Effort Score (CES), like NPS, is a metric for customer satisfaction and a sign of loyalty. The question used to measure CES is generally “How easy was it to address the reason for your call?” or other variations of it. On a scale of 1 to 5 or from Very Difficult to Very Easy, the customer must rate the question to measure CES.
Percentage of Blocked Calls
One of the most annoying experiences in a call center for a customer is receiving a busy signal when they are calling the call center and hoping to get assistance. The last thing a caller wants is to hear a busy tone while they are trying to have a question answered or take care of an urgent situation.
It means are no available agents (each agent’s call queue is too full) or that the contact center’s software is unable to manage the volume of incoming calls.
Contact centers must identify if the problem is affecting the entire department or only a certain employee by tracking the KPI and advanced training can be offered to employees who are struggling with the overwhelming call queues.
But if the problem lies with the whole department, they should consider updating the call center software to accommodate higher call volumes. Investing in more advanced call center software will greatly improve CX and a good contact center quality assurance software can help to improve the service delivery of the contact center.
After Call Work Time (ACW)
After Call Work time displays which agents are spending more time than the specified time allocated for the post-call activities and ideally it should be kept minimum so that agents can devote most of their time to tend customer calls.
Call Arrival Rate
A very useful KPI generally denotes the number of calls the call center receives each day and it should include at least data of a month to correctly track and predict different patterns and trends.
Largest Call Hold
The KPI helps the management to identify where the longest hold times are happening and can assist in reducing the customer wait time.
Average Call Length
The KPI refers to the average time agents take to finish a customer interaction, but if a call center is willing to set a standard call length and use this as a KPI, it must be tailored according to the contact center. According to the product, services, and operation, the KPI can differ significantly in call centers.
Average Age of Query
The KPI measures how long it takes to resolve a query or an issue on average and the goal of the managers is to make it shorter for each interaction.
Conclusion
These are standard KPIs, but if they are customized for a particular contact center and continuously monitored by the management through a contact center quality assurance software, it will result in significant changes. It will improve employee and customer satisfaction, productivity levels, and overall efficiency, and help to create superior customer experiences.
