BSC as a strategic management framework for call centers

September 4th, 2011

Customer support service is a must have business unit in every company that sells products and services. If a company does not maintain own call center it should definitely use services of individual call center companies that serve customers in various industries. Development of an effective call center is a more complex process as one might think. It is not a big problem to hire call center operators who would answer the same questions all over again. In fact, a call center is a complex business unit that is an inseparable part of a company organization structure. Consequently, it should operate in concordance with company goals, strategies, values and mission. To make sure your call center is operating as per company needs and strategic goals it is recommended to start using Balanced Scorecard which is a fantastic strategic management framework chosen by iconic companies from all over the world.

Basics of helpdesk performance

Basics of helpdesk performance

Balanced Scorecard in a call center plays a dual role. On the one hand, BSC measures performance of a call center based on values of KPIs. On the other hand, Balanced Scorecard helps in adjusting call center measures and strategies to requirements of company missions and goals. If Balanced Scorecard fulfills only one function it does not show its true power. Thus, it is not reasonable to use BSC in a call center just as performance evaluation tool. Being aware of own performance is great, however this info should be used in strategic management.

Some of the most important call center KPIs include such measures as cost per call, first resolution calls rate, abandoned calls rate etc. Of course, the number of indicators in not limited. At the same time it is recommended not to overburden call center BSC with a huge number of indicators as it will make it “heavy” and difficult to interpret.

What is an efficient call center

What is an efficient call center

Cost per call includes as expenses related to handling one call, for example wages for a call center operator, telecommunication costs etc. moreover, some call center managers calculate these expenses separately. Of course, it is important to lower cost per call. However, one should find a balance between quality support (quality of telephone line, call center operator knowledge etc) and expenses related to call handling.

Lots of managers mistakenly think that the number of handled calls per hour (or any other period of time) is all important. However, experience shows that quality of support is of superior importance.

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Call Center BSC: What are the Perspectives?

September 3rd, 2011

Why is it so important to use BSC metrics in call centers? A lot of people who lack knowledge in this sphere are interested in this question, because it seems to them that these companies work well without any particular operation strategies. If you think so too, you are seriously mistaken. Just like any other business, this one cannot boast superb performance if not managed properly. This is because there is tough competition at this market nowadays and call center owners have to think over numerous ways to encourage people use their services, which should be of high quality. In other words, a great call center is that element, which should be considered by any customer-oriented business. Therefore, it becomes quite understandable why balanced scorecard is used in the majority of call centers as well as in other businesses.

Stages of BSC implementation

Stages of BSC implementation

Prior to making any substantial improvements in the performance of this business unit, you should realize that it deals directly with clients, so all changes have to be thoroughly thought-over in order not to worsen the situation. Listed below are four major BSC perspectives that can contribute to the profitability of your business. Do not hesitate to learn them.

The first perspective is a financial one. As far as any reputable company invests money into the call center maintenance (the cost of telecom equipment, energy bills, Internet connection, salaries etc. are included here), it is extremely important to use a system that will help minimize those expenses without affecting the quality of services. This is where balanced scorecard will be highly useful. If you implement this system properly, it will soon help optimize the most significant indicators, such as cost per one call, revenue you get from it etc.

How call center performance influences company performance

How call center performance influences company performance

When it comes to discussing call center BSC perspectives, we should obligatory mention the one that deals with clients’ satisfaction. Thus, a company should always be serious about the customer perspective in order to define whether its work appeals to people or not and eliminate the apparent problems in time.

The third perspective deals with internal business processes. It is really of paramount importance to know what is going on inside the company. As far as BSC provides the assessment of such indicators as duration of the call, handling time, the amount of successfully solved problems etc., it can offer you the required information and give you a hint concerning potential ways to improve the quality of call center services.

Finally, it is impossible to go without learning and business growth when it comes to the company’s improvement. Therefore, it is the fourth BSC perspective worth talking about. It can help you define the ways of your company’s improvement and development. With this purpose, BSC will evaluate such key performance indicators as number and quality of training techniques applied by top managers and the amount of learning time for each employee.

Well, it would be wrong to assume that balance scorecard can resolve all the apparent call center problems in no time. Still, if used properly, it can help the company’s management analyze the current situation and draw corresponding conclusions. This will undoubtedly optimize performance of any business unit.

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Call Center Balanced Scorecard Implementation

September 3rd, 2011

If you are concerned with your call center performance, then you will undoubtedly appreciate an idea of implementing the balanced scorecard system. How can your business benefit from it? You may find that out from this article.

Generally, successful implementation of call center BSC should result in efficient changes in its performance and management. It may help you bring your business to the brand new level, contributing to the quality of provided services. That is exactly why this system should be an indispensable part of your business, no matter how profitable it is at the moment. To make this process successful, the company’s personnel and managers should be aware of the aspects listed below.

Traditional BSC matrix

Traditional BSC matrix

First of all, there is no sense in developing this system until you define all your business objectives. Do not forget that a call center is like a bridge between the company’s management and the customers. The latter can get all the required product information and support from call center agents, who should be aware of the most frequent questions and problems associated with the company’s production or services. Therefore, it is extremely important to realize your goals and aspirations.

Why opt for call center BSC

Why opt for call center BSC

The next aspect that has to be considered is the necessity to make your employees aware of the general BSC concept. Your personnel should obligatory have at least the idea of what this system is and what mission it has. Otherwise, it will seem practically impossible to develop it. The most effective way to introduce it is to organize a conference and ask people who know a lot about this system to make an informative and comprehensible introduction. It is also useful to represent your strategic goals and summarize the obstacles that may prevent your company from reaching them. Furthermore, the help of BSC experts should not be underestimated, since it is they who have sufficient knowledge in this sphere.

Now, let us proceed to defining basic call center key performance indicators (KPIs), without which it is impossible to implement the BSC system effectively.  To start with, they should be understandable and clear for all employees, since it is the most effective way to improve them. Moreover, each indicator should have a connection with the goals defined by the company’s management. One should also decide in favor of qualitative indicators rather than quantitative ones. It means that if you have managed to handle a dozen of calls, for example, having satisfied the needs of five customers only, this will hardly be considered a great result. Always bear that in mind when thinking over the necessity to implement call center balanced scorecard.

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Call Center BSC: Interpretation Aspects

September 3rd, 2011

If you are a conscientious call center owner, then you are definitely concerned with its overall performance and diverse ways of its improvement. Therefore, you should obligatory have an idea of the call center Balanced Scorecard. What is the mission of this system and why is it frequently applied nowadays? Let us try to find out proper answers to these questions.

Importance of quality customer support in overall success

Importance of quality customer support in overall success

Call center BSC defines its general performance based on particular KPIs (key performance indicators). It is also used to determine the effectiveness of the company’s operation during a specified period of time.  Generally, it helps analyze the efficiency of the chosen operation strategies and change something if necessary for the benefit of the company. If done properly, this system is said to be extremely helpful in identifying potential problems that may prevent you from getting the expected revenue.

Why is customer support important?

Why is customer support important?

The main mission of any call center is to provide fruitful interaction between businesses (such as banks, utility organizations, computer hardware companies etc.) and their customers. There is a distinction between inbound and outbound call centers, though. Thus, inbound companies receive phone calls from clients who are searching for professional assistance or useful recommendations concerning a particular service or product. Outbound companies, in their turn, make outgoing telephone calls to their prospects. However, management of both types of companies faces the problem of balancing the level of service and commercial viability. For example, it is quite understandable that customers do not wish to spend much time waiting for a call center agent to answer their call. Consequently, there is no need to explain that one of paramount tasks for the management of such companies is to employ a sufficient number of people. At the same time, there is always a necessity to reduce the number of employed personnel, which is explained by high wage costs. Therefore, call center BSC implementation is of key importance for these companies, since it helps find adequate solutions to such problems.

At present, there is a number of BSC metrics that are used in the process of call center performance assessment. The most widespread of them include customer and employee satisfaction, cost per one call, the rate of first contact resolution, agent employment etc. So, if you consider all these metrics while analyzing the current call center BSC, it will be easier for you to define whether its performance is improving or not and make corresponding changes where possible. In other words, this system will help you define and resolve all kinds of your company’s performance problems, thus making your business more profitable. Isn’t that what you are striving for?

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Call center metrics: how does it contribute to overall performance?

September 3rd, 2011

What is so special about modern call center business that makes it unbelievably popular these days? You may think over dozens of suitable answers to this question, but the only thing you should not forget about is that we live in the age of technological innovations, which requires the development of advanced communication tools and strategies. Due to this, call center consulting has become an indispensable part of everyday life of lots of people worldwide.

What to focus on in a call center BSC

What to focus on in a call center BSC

If you think that management of this business does not take much effort, you are seriously mistaken. Just like any other industry, it requires complete understanding of what is going on inside the company as well as the business owner’s ability to analyze the factors that may eventually contribute to the general improvement of call center performance. This task seems practically impossible if you have no idea of what indicators are typically applied in this kind of business. Therefore, if you wish to establish a profitable business, you will not go without understanding call center metrics and their importance.

Some typical helpdesk KPIs

Some typical helpdesk KPIs

Just like call center business differs from other industries, the metrics it uses differ from those applied by other businesses as well. Always keep that in mind. Thus, when it comes to call centers, the quality of outgoing and incoming calls proves to be one of the most significant metrics. Consequently, it would be ideal if you manage to employ only highly-qualified staff. Pay special attention to how knowledgeable and intelligent your employees are. And, of course, make sure they are properly trained to provide your clients with all the required product information they need.

The cost of each call is another metric that should be considered by these companies. Typically, outgoing calls are more expensive as compared to incoming ones. This is due to diverse phone rates that are applied in any particular situation.  For example, long-distance calling has never been cheap. Luckily, the variety of alternative communication options helps solve this problem effectively nowadays.

There is no doubt about the fact that employee and customer satisfaction is of paramount importance when it comes to the profitability of any kind of business. This concerns call centers as well. Consequently, you have to make sure your personnel is satisfied with operating conditions and money reward systems. If not, this may seriously affect the level of customer satisfaction.

Another significant BSC metrics is income. Its importance should never be underestimated, since it is inevitably connected with other industry components. So, try to make it as strong and regular as possible.

The number of call center metrics is not limited to those mentioned above. There are much more of them in this business and they all include lots of significant KPIs, such as abandoned and blocked calls, speed answer rate, duration and average value of each call, the amount of time required to handle it, its efficiency, and, of course, the overall company performance (the amount of sales that results from its calls). So, just make sure you consider all the required balanced scorecard metrics and your business will eventually bring you the desired profit.

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Customer Service BSC for Any Type of Business

September 3rd, 2011

Customer satisfaction is of paramount importance for any business owner. It does not matter significantly what type of business you are involved in. What really matters is your dedication to it and desire to meet your clients’ demands. If you do not try your best effort to do that, you will hardly feel any feedback and your business will not be able to withstand tough competition that is observed at the market these days.

What contributes to customer satisfaction

What contributes to customer satisfaction

There are plenty of ways to persuade your customers in the fact that your services or products correspond to their needs and expectations. Well, this is not that easy. Still, there is nothing impossible if you are goal-oriented and have serious aspirations and proper tools to cope with this challenging task. This is where BSC or Balanced Scorecard will come in handy. How does this system work and is it really effective in satisfying the growing needs of your customers? Basically, it helps you learn the points you have to analyze in order to improve the quality of your services. In other words, it offers you a complete and thought-over view on what is going on in your company and what aspects have to be improved so that you could get the desired result.

Benefits of customer satisfaction

Benefits of customer satisfaction

The best and the most successful way to contribute to your customers’ satisfaction is to find an efficient customer service BSC tool. This approach is frequently applied in call centers and other customer-oriented businesses. Let us have a closer look at call center balanced scorecard, for example. If you are involved in this particular kind of business, then you have firsthand knowledge of what exactly your potential clients may be looking for. Generally, call center employees communicate with people with a single purpose to increase the number of sales and make profit. Furthermore, their work implies helping unsatisfied customers solve any kind of problem, associated with the work of their company. In this respect, balanced scorecard proves highly effective, since it helps them understand what undertakings they should make to achieve all business-oriented missions. As a rule, this involves the following perspectives: learning and advancement, cost and potential profits, customer satisfaction and client-oriented actions.

Each perspective is associated with particular aspects. For instance, if we talk about cost and potential profits, you will possibly like to consider the cost of each outgoing call, the potential profit you can get in case it is a success and, of course, the so-called “conversion rate”.  When it comes to client-oriented actions, they will include the business process itself and management of calls. Learning and advancement, in their turn, will incorporate different types of trainings practiced in the company. Finally, customer satisfaction will embrace the general quality of all calls. The combination of these perspectives typically results in proper assessment of your work and general performance percentage of the company. This information will be useful when thinking over the ways to improve the work of your company, thus contributing to the satisfaction of clients.

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Positives of implementing BSC in call centers and customer support services

September 3rd, 2011

Call centers always attract attention of the majority of customers. Sure, if you have no questions regarding the product of service you purchased you never pick up the phone and call customer support. However, it often happens that purchased products do not work properly or you simply have any questions about acquired services/products. In such a case calling to a customer support service is a must. As a rule, people form their judgment about a definite company based on conversation with customer support specialists. Even if you own a very good PC, one irritated call to a customer support service of the manufacturer may make you forget about buying from this company ever again. This is how lots of companies lose their customers. And that is how various companies acquire new clients. Inadequate performance of a call center may cause serious problems for any company. Besides, wrongly chosen strategy for a call center results in financial losses. In other words, companies that aim at internal harmony and adherence to adopted strategy should regularly monitor strategy implementation. This is where BSC comes into play.

Stages of call center BSC implementation

Stages of call center BSC implementation

Balanced Scorecard proved to be an effective framework for call centers and helpdesks. Since retention of customers is an obligatory element of any business strategy, BSC helps improve customer satisfaction and optimize call center performance. The whole chain of BSC implementation in call centers looks like this:

  • Adoption of comprehensive strategy. There is a common mistake – some call center managers start using BSC just a performance measurement but not strategic management tool. In such a case, Balanced Scorecard will never demonstrate its true power.
  • Once the strategy is discussed it is important to appoint personnel that will be responsible for implementation and maintenance of call center BSC. Traditionally, BSC teams include call center chief managers, strategic planners and external consultants who have experience in implementing BSC in various industries, preferable in call centers.
  • Choice of key performance indicators is deemed the most important stage of BSC call center implementation. The problem of choosing the wrong KPIs is perhaps the most common. Managers choose irrelevant indicators that provide top management with the wrong information. this may lead to dreadful consequences.
  • Measurement of indicators is the next stage. Call center management should operate correct data to make decisions. Use of reliable BSC software and tools to gather and analyze information is a must!
Examples of call center measures used in scorecards

Examples of call center measures used in scorecards

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Tips and tricks of a call center BSC

September 3rd, 2011

Lots of managers face pretty much typical problem when trying to implement BSC or at least make the first step in BSC implementation. By the way, these initial mistakes are the most common destabilizing factors in further creation of company or department BSC. Call centers are business units that have unique structure and goals. On the one hand customer support services do not earn money and thus do not seem to help companies in generating revenues. On the other hand, customer satisfaction is all important for every manufacturer or service provider simply because every organization aims at retaining customers who then become regular clients.

Major call center measures

Major call center measures

For this reason excellent performance of a call center is a must. Moreover, as a rule completion of strategic goals is simply impossible without achieving local goals (those of individual departments). Strategic management always implies use of specialized software and strategic management frameworks, such as Balanced Scorecard. BSC, created by Norton and Kaplan, has become popular in a variety of industries, including call centers. Moreover, since call centers are customer oriented business units BSC is even more effective as Balanced Scorecard concept implies achievement of customer satisfaction.

Call center BSC does not differ much in structure from Balanced Scorecards created for other business units. Of course, every department has own goals and organizational structure. However, BSC uses the same principles in a call center industry. Traditionally, BSC includes 4 categories which are called perspectives: financial, customer, internal business processes, learning and growth. Many inexperienced managers put excessive focus on financial results. Without any doubts, financial results of a call center are important, however, spending less on the customer support services in no way implies excellent performance. For this reason, it is important to adequately share efforts and focus among the 4 categories and choose effective KPIs (key performance indicators).

Sample perspectives and measures of call center bsc

Sample perspectives and measures of call center bsc

Call center KPIs must be necessarily hand picked. Sure, there is a good option of buying ready to use sets of KPIs. At the same time, it is important to “personalize” these measures and customize them as per call center’s goals. As a rule, managers take into account lots of factors, such as internal problems, outside challenges, problems in organization structure etc. Probably, the best option is to start implementation of call center BSC with making yourself familiar with Balanced Scorecard concept and peculiarities of using this framework in this particular business unit.

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List of Business Intelligence Software

July 18th, 2011

Business intelligence website offers a unique product which is comparison of the best business intelligence (BI) solutions. As known, every successful business uses IT support to optimize performance and run business smarter. Use of the right BI software is the number one concern for managers and business owner. The websites did a fantastic job the results of which are contained in the available product – comparison of Business Intelligence Software solutions. This is a 42 page survey report that contains only true and tested information on the best market offers in this context. It will be helpful for managers who are hesitant over the choice of the right BI software.

The reports contains tables and graphs that rate applications on the list of business intelligence software. Besides, all applications are accompanies with expert opinions that are quite helpful in decision making.

In fact such reviews are quite popular in the business world due to a large number of BI and strategic management applications in the market. The choice might be very difficult, thus experts offer their help. The product offered by bisoftware.org is quite reasonably priced, especially taking into account the amount of work done to design this manual. Besides, there are lots of general info on BI at the website which is available for free.

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How to pick the right KPIs for a call center scorecard

July 3rd, 2011

The recent decade saw a sharp increase in the number of call center. Business goes online which means that millions of people from all over the world can easily purchase products or services form a company located in a distant country. International payment and delivery services make it easy to buy any products. However, customers usually have questions and problems with the products/services they acquired. Besides, post sale support is one of the ways to improve customer loyalty. The aim of every company is to have a many regular customers as possible since regular customers are steady source of income.

Benefits of improving indicators

Benefits of improving indicators

A call center is perhaps the most important department in this sense. Yes, products are developed in other business unit while sales, marketing and advertising departments do everything possible to sell as much as possible. However, once a person becomes a customer (or even before) a call center operator is the person who represent a company for him/her and the only person who can solve a problem or answer a question. For this reason excellent performance of a call center is a number one concern for every business owner or manager.

Part of the BSC implementation process

Part of the BSC implementation process

Balanced Scorecard is perhaps the most widely used performance evaluation system in various business areas, including phone and email support. BSC is extremely effective and at the same time simple to understand. Basically, this is a number of measures divided between 4 categories. However, a call center (like any other) BSC is more than that. It is bound to become a true philosophy for a company.

When implementing a call center BSC, managers should always remember that whatever they do, they do it for customers. The fact that a call center is a customer oriented business unit affect the implementation of Balanced Scorecard in it.

Since a call center is dependent on work of lots of business units, its own goals and strategies should be aligned with objectives and missions of other departments and company in general. This is perhaps the most common mistake, especially if the BSC is implemented in a call center only.

Choice of KPIs (key performance indicators) is another significant elements in the BSC implementation process. In a call center, all indicators should demonstrate impact of the chosen measures on performance of a call center and company in general. For example, even the best call center performance may contradict company goals.

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