KPIs (key performance indicators) are those tools that help measure the overall performance of a call center as well as the efficiency of its main operations. Some of these indicators are applied to evaluate the general performance of this organization, while others focus on employee productivity. Their basic objective, though, is to ensure the contact center meets its current goals and the employees achieve their maximum productivity and work potential.
Important call center metrics
Key performance indicators are generally categorized into quality, service and efficacy measures. They are also subdivided into those that pertain to inbound and outbound calls. Let us have a look at the most important KPIs related to both categories. When it comes to analyzing inbound call center operations, we should primarily focus on the following metrics: calls per hour, first-call resolution rate, average handle time, average wait time, abandonment rate and completion rate.
The cycle fo a call center evaluation
Call per hour is the so-called “real time” metric that helps measure the average amount of calls an employee is able to receive during one hour. First-call resolution rate is used to identify the approximate number of problems and queries an agent can manage to resolve within the very first telephone call. The next KPI, namely, the average handle time, is applied to find out how much time it takes to handle one call. This involves the call time as well as the after-call work. The average wait time focuses on how long a customer is typically put on hold prior to having his/her call answered. This metric is closely related to the general abandonment rate, which measures the percentage of callers who disconnect before an employee intercepts the call. Finally, a completion rate metric represents the ratio of successfully handled calls to the amount of attempted ones.
So, what about the outbound calls? Are there any KPIs that measure their efficacy as well? Actually, there are. These metrics include: contacts per hour, leads conversion rate, hourly sales and daily sales. Contacts per hour is a significant indicator, which helps define the average amount of people a call center agent is able to contact during one hour. Leads conversion rate, in its turn, is an indicator that is applied to reveal the percentage of prospects that have actually been converted to sales, while the hourly sales metric is used to identify the number of sales that were successfully closed by the agent during one hour. When there is a need to define the amount of sales the employee is able to close during the whole working day, the daily sales metric is applied.
The above mentioned KPIs are highly valuable when it comes to maintaining a consistent service quality level. Their proper implementation is the key to effective call center performance measurement.