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Top 10 Metrics That You Need To Measure In A Call Center

Contributed article by Knowmax.AI

The entire efficiency of customer service teams is evaluated using call center metrics. Metrics are used in many elements of call centers to assess performance, agent productivity, and other actions that improve customer happiness. Customer service managers track key performance indicators (KPIs) to determine how successfully and efficiently a call center solution accomplishes organizational objectives.

For many businesses worldwide, call centers act as the customer service voice. Although their underlying technology has advanced, they have been this way for many years. All signs point to the fact that even in the era of messaging applications, contact centers will continue to be viable channels for consumer connection. However, having a mediocre call center won't put you ahead of the competition these days. 

Fortunately, improving pertinent call center KPIs helps improve team performance. As a result, your call center representatives can address all customer tickets more effectively.

Top 10 Call-Center Performance Metrics

1. Call abandonment rate

The amount of callers who hang up before speaking to an agent is displayed by this metric, which is prevalent in contact centers. This contact center metric will reveal little about a specific agent, but it will show a great deal about the performance and productivity of that agent. Look for issues affecting all of your agents and determine why they cannot reach your clients promptly if your abandon call rate is too high. 

This measure also reflects the quality of your client service. Something needs to be changed in your contact center to improve customer experience if clients are forced to wait so long for your team to assist them that they give up.

2. Percentage of blocked calls

The Blocked Calls measure represents the number of callers unable to reach an agent. This measure figures out how many incoming callers hear a busy tone. Callers would be advised to try again later if their call was blocked, which frequently happens during periods of high peak demand. If this contact center statistic is too high, it suggests that your agents are taking advantage of the chance to assist clients, who are likely to become irate if they cannot receive the required service. It might be the outcome of the following:

Callers receive a busy signal or are forwarded to voicemail due to a lack of available agents and poorly organized (or complete) call queues.

The call volume is too great for the call center software to handle.

3. Average queue time

Measure the average Queue Time as one of your primary contact center metrics best practices to enhance the experience for your consumers. This indicator displays how much time callers spend waiting in call queues divided by the total number of calls answered; this figure is obtained. 

This metric may be obtained by dividing the total number of calls answered by the total number of calls received. The risk of a call being abandoned increases as the queue length does and these two metrics are connected. 

If you see consumers waiting longer than usual, urge your team to reduce this KPI score by handling calls more effectively. Another choice is to provide call-back services or self-service options to customers so they may avoid waiting.

4. Service level

One of the metrics used in contact centers, service level, measures agent performance as calls are answered in real-time. The amount of calls answered within a predetermined number of seconds is the basis for this metric, which tracks agent productivity in real-time. It represents the number of calls returned within a given time frame. Use this indicator to assess how rapidly agents are transitioning between calls. 

Persuade your agents to maintain this KPI within the defined range. Is a lower Service Level metric giving you trouble? It might be time to think about staffing and workforce management.

5. Response time

The average Response Time of your team of agents is one of the most critical contact center metrics to use when measuring agent productivity. This contact center statistic determines how long it typically takes to answer calls within a given time window. If your agents need to work more swiftly as they should and your consumers are waiting too long on hold, this measure may be excessively high. Find out why they need to answer the phone more frequently. 

Their typical Response Time could be decreased with something as essential as better work gear. Both hold durations and call-related tasks are included. This data can be used to establish team benchmarks and identify which agents still need more instruction in handling client calls.

6. Average handle time

The Average Handle Time metric is one of the most crucial measures to gauge contact center agent productivity. This metric measures the average time between when an agent picks up the phone and when the call is disconnected. 

This is the typical wait time, including hold time and transfer time, from when a customer initiates contact until they disconnect from the agent. The after-contact work done by the agent is also included. 

The contact center metric known as average handle time has some complexity. If your agent's handle time is excessive, it may indicate that they need help handling consumer issues or are unsure how to address complaints. 

However, if the agent's average handle time is too short, it can indicate that they aren't helping the customer, are moving them along quickly, or need to listen more carefully. Use quality management software to monitor call quality and ensure all bases are covered. 

Please give them the resources like scripting tools so that they need to respond to consumer inquiries swiftly and put a focus on training. 

To help them achieve their KPI, provide them with all the information they require at the click of a mouse.

7. After call work time

This metric tracks and calculates the average amount of time it takes agents to complete the tasks related to a call after it has ended. Average after-call work time is a good metric for gauging contact center agent performance. Average After-Call Work Time estimates how long it typically takes agents to complete the tasks related to a call after it has ended. Your agents must dedicate enough time to this post-call activity to do it accurately and completely. 

However, if the typical After-Call Work time is excessive, there might be another issue. Agents might need access to all the resources they require, need help understanding how to handle fundamental problems, or need coaching on how to do so effectively.

8. First call resolutions

One of the simplest methods to gauge the performance and productivity of contact centre agents is to look at first contact resolution. This metric keeps track of the proportion of calls in which the agent can resolve the caller's problems without transferring, escalating, or picking up the phone again. Consider ways to eliminate this so that customers may get their concerns resolved the first time around if they frequently have to call back, experience a high rate of transfers, or are handed off to a supervisor to settle their difficulties.

Measuring this KPI is one of the most critical contact center metric practices because it's all important to a positive customer experience. Customers expect their issues to be addressed and resolved when they contact your business. Maintaining this measure requires proper training, agent empowerment, and avoiding other metrics incompatible with First Contact Resolution.

9. Occupancy rates

A way to gauge agent performance across all call-related responsibilities is to look at the contact center occupancy rate. It's a gauge of how much time your agents spend completing tasks linked to those calls or taking live calls instead of just sitting around. The amount of time agents are on active calls or wrapping up charges related to those calls is shown by occupancy rate measurements. 

But, if the occupancy rates of your agents are too low, they aren't engaged in any work-related activities. Utilize this contact center metric to pinpoint responsibilities and handle circumstances unrelated to calls.

10. Customer experience 

The cost of a bad customer experience can also be assessed, but a good customer experience is the most thorough approach to gauge contact centre agent performance. The customer satisfaction score is the most straightforward indicator of whether your contact center is giving your clients the service they need, even while many other contact center metrics can show areas where your agents are falling short. For the success of your brand and business, this is ultimately what matters. 

After-call surveys are typically used to judge whether a customer had a pleasant experience. The ability to satisfy customers is what keeps companies in operation. But how can you tell if you're fulfilling client demands? Whether a customer's experience is positive, negative, or indifferent depends on how they rate their interaction with the goods, services, and other aspects of your business.

Conclusion

To ensure the contact center properly handles consumer inquiries, organizations must track and report the productivity and efficacy of contact center personnel. Agents can use various internal technologies at contact centers, including automated call distributors, labor management software, KM systems, and quality monitoring software, to track and report progress and performance.  

Although call centers are an operationally challenging component of your organization, they significantly impact how customers perceive you. It might be tough to balance the need for operational efficiency and satisfying client expectations. You can stay on course with the correct call center metrics and KPIs.