Call center evaluation somewhat differs from assessment of other business unit. The point is that a call center is a 100% customer oriented department which means that all decisions and actions should be aimed at customer satisfaction. However, this is the trick. Customer satisfaction can be easily achieved. However, it depends on how much money the company spends to reach such a goal. Customer satisfaction would not matter if the company suffers losses. That is why an effective call center is the one that manages to keep customers satisfied and save costs at the same time.
Aims of a call center
Perhaps, Balanced Scorecard is the most effective and yet simple tool to both evaluate call center performance, align helpdesk strategy and save costs. Since BSC is a strategic management tool it is important to remember that successful implementation of BSC implies development of an effective strategy. Sad to admit, but lots of call center do not find strategic goals in their strategies which look rather like a set of short term goals.
Why focus on number of solved problems?
A call center works in a close cooperation with other departments, for example sales dept. If sales volumes went up, a call center will have more job to do since more customers might have questions regarding purchased products and services. So, when implementing BSC in a call center only, it is necessary to remember this fact and align a call center strategy to goals and measures of other departments. Â Here are a few tips on creation of an effective call center BSC:
- Assigning of roles. Call center operators should clearly understand how and why they use Balanced Scorecard. Of course, it does not mean that everyone in the call center should be a BSC expert, at the same time, though, employees should have at least a basic BSC concept.
- Customer satisfaction is all important. The majority of indicators should evaluate employees’ performance that directly influences customer satisfaction. For example, if employee lateness or time on hold does not have any impact on customer satisfaction these KPIs should be given less weight.
- Costs savings. There are a number of financial indicators that measure financial efficiency of a call center. Do not forget about such KPIs as cost per call, revenue per call, office maintenance costs etc. At the same time do not get carried away with costs savings since insufficient funding leads to decrease in personal and group performance in a call center.