There is no doubt about the fact that information technology (IT) services are extremely significant for any company. That is why much attention is given to the analysis of call center performance nowadays. Generally, there are several metrics that can help measure it. Still, you should keep in mind that these metrics may substantially differ from those applied by other businesses. Listed below are the most vital of them. If you really wish to identify how effective the work of your call center is, then you should start with the first call resolution or FCR metric.
Importance of FRC
According to recent studies, this index is the one that is primarily associated with the level of customer support, thus affecting the performance of any call center. The higher the FCR is, the better the level of servicing proves to be. Therefore, one of the initial objectives of any call center is to increase this indicator. This will eventually result in the reduction of operating expenditures and the overall call volume. Furthermore, it will increase the level of customer and employee satisfaction, because people, who have their questions answered on time, are less likely to be unfriendly, irritated and hostile. What does it mean, however, if the rate of first call resolution appears to be lower that it was initially expected? It may indicate that there are certain problems within the company associated with customer support system. For example, call center agents may not have the required knowledge and skills to handle the call on time or cannot find a proper approach to the customers they are serving, which may prevent them from resolving their problems quickly and efficiently.
Success factors for call center
Another reason for low FCR is problems with the company’s software that do not allow to provide quick response. Another metric that is important for any call center is forecasting accuracy. Theoretically, any customer support center should be staffed in accordance with the amount of calls that may be potentially received during a day. The truth is, however, that it is not easy to achieve this simply because the number of calls may differ from one day to another. This call volume may depend on diverse factors and may not be the same throughout a month or a year. Consequently, it is quite understandable that if the number of agents does not correspond to the amount of received calls, it may negatively affect the call center performance. Finally, we should focus on response time metric, which is closely connected with the level of customer satisfaction. It is not difficult to assume that clients who have to be on hold for a long time may not be satisfied with the work of the call center, in the result of which they may turn to the company’s competitor. If it is not what you are aiming at, then you should undoubtedly consider all the above mentioned metrics, the analysis of which may affect the advancement and profitability of your call center.