Call Center Metrics

Evaluation of a call center performance may have several goals. First and foremost, this is, of course, evaluation of business performance with the aim of improving quality of rendered services. On the other hand, performance evaluation is necessary for strategic management purposes. It is not quite reasonable for call center managers to set up new plans if they are totally unaware of current performance. Sure, past financial information is quite important in strategic planning as it reflects efficiency of adopted decisions. Use of Balanced Scorecard in a call center makes it possible to make forecasts as to future performance. A call center BSC employs quite a simple principle – evaluation of previously chosen key performance indicators with the aim of using obtained info (evaluation results) in strategic planning, response actions and changes in the organization.

Attributes of an effective call center

Examples of effective call center KPI

One of the most important stages of BSC implementation is without any doubts development of applicable call center metrics, i.e. key performance indicators chosen by call center managers and those employees and specialists responsible for Balanced Scorecard implementation in a particular call center. Sure thing, it is necessary then to adopt the right evaluation methods and analyze information obtained as a result of KPI evaluation.

4 call center BSC perspectives

One of the most important and common KPIs in a call center BSC is cost per call/contact. The thing is that most call centers do not earn money (except for sales call centers that sell products and services). Thus, to handle one call, company spends a certain amount of money (salary to call center operators, office maintenance costs, telecommunication costs etc). Naturally, these expenses have to be compensated by increased sales and revenue growth. This is why call centers need to improve performance in order to improve customer satisfaction.

When existing and potential customers are making calls they have different questions and problems, as well as face different situations, for example abandoned and blocked calls. Through measurement of relevant indicators it becomes possible to measure efficiency of both call center operators and functionality of used equipment, as well as approaches to handling calls, answering questions and solving customers’ problems.

For instance, such KPI as abandoned call rate is directly linked to several call factors. A customer hangs up under several conditions: he/he is either tired of waiting for response (time on hold), his/her problem is not solved, or the offered solution seems unacceptable.

Having all relevant figures in a dashboard, call center managers will have very important info at their disposal.

Any call center should use key performance indicators as they play an important role in the measurement of this organization. A number of important metrics are used to calculate for the call centers. Nowadays advanced technology makes it possible to get good data and find out how to improve the work of such places.

Key performance indicators must include the fact about the performance rate and there should be an ability to track it. When setting goals for performance, do not forget that it is necessary to have a good amount accountability to chase these goals. It is also advisable to note all performance problems for further diagnosing and improvement.

What is an effective call center?

To measure and improve any call center you will need about five KPIs. Any call center metrics should be concentrated on the quality than quantity. The first thing that you should take into account is the cost of each call. Next goes customer satisfaction. Only then, you will get the resolution rate from the first contact.

After this you have the last of all the performance on an average and the utilization of agents from the call center. You can derive almost 80 percent of performance and measurement from these metrics. The vast evidence that a number of call centers have shown from the use of these metrics proves the effectiveness of this method. The mentioned above five metrics are all you need to improve the work of your call center.

How BSC benefits a call center

Good quality should prevail over quantity and thus the main goal of any call center should reaching good quality at the lowest cost possible. The most important factor in this case would be looking at labor, since about 70% of costs go towards it. A call center’s overall performance can be determined with the help of one metric.

If the metrics are wrong, the results of the organization can be interpreted in a wrong way. Wrong conclusions can be also made, if only one metric is looked at and the rest are ignored. Only complete indicators can help to track overall performance.

It is really important to use metrics which can give the desired results, as some metrics may be not useful and may not play a role in evaluation. Establish adequate targets and performance goals is very important as this will help avoid too many metrics.

The cost of the call and customer satisfaction are two main factors that will be more than enough to evaluate any call center’s performance.

There are numerous pitfalls in implementation of Balanced Scorecard in various business units and industries. As a rule such mistakes are related to the fact that BSC is often perceived as some magic business toll that can solve all problems overnight. Thus, many managers and business owners think that as soon as the company builds a scorecard, harsh times are over. Well, this is a common myth. BSC is a tool. For example, a hammer can be useless in hands of a person who cannot do anything with his hands, while it becomes an effective tool when used by Jack of all trades. Implementation of BSC in individual business units and departments of a company conceals many underwater rocks. These days, optimization of call center performance has become a popular trend since having own customer support or sales call center is a must for most companies because of a touch competition. Customers do not only want to buy quality products but also receive quality post sale service and support. So, what are key pitfalls and mistakes in implementation of call center BSC?

Tasks of a call center

• As already said above, one of the most common mistakes is the wrong attitude to BSC. Call center managers just make a scorecard, select KPI and totally forget about this system. In order to make BSC effective, it is necessary to live with scorecard every day. BSC will never do manager’s job.
• Choice of the wrong (secondary) indicators. Although these days it is possible to buy or download for free sets of key performance indicators for call centers, top managers should be very careful when using them. Every call center is individual and has unique problems. Choice of primary KPI is a must. For instance, cost per call or one and done calls rate are more important than employee sickness or lateness (although these KPIs also influence total performance)
• Use of BSC by call center top management only. Ordinary call center operators and junior managers should also participate in discussion of BSC and suggest their own ideas of how to improve performance. Front like call center operators directly contact customers and they know real problems.
• Expectance of fast results. Balanced Scorecard does not work in the short term. Much time is required to introduce the system to a call center, select the right metrics, set up reporting, information gathering and feedback information etc.

Major call center KPIs

It is impossible to imagine a modern company that offers products of services without competent and efficient customer support service. Moreover, as online sales are becoming increasingly popular, call center has gained tremendous popularity. Sales by phone have become a norm of today’s life. It is so convenient! However, an inefficient call center or customer support service may take the company down, thus hampering its progress on the way to implement strategic goals and gain considerable competitive advantage. In this article we will talk about call center BSC, implementation tips and most popular KPIs.

Tasks and goals of call centers

Implementation process of a call center BSC starts with development of realistic and comprehensive strategy. It is vitally important to get the entire personnel involved in strategy discussion. Of course, there are no ideal situations, and not all employees are very loyal and dedicated. However, top management should do everything possible to motivate personnel and get employees involved in strategy discussion. The point is that ordinary call center operators know very much about problems of their department, as well as most common problems of customers. Thus, if a call center is designing a strategy, opinions of ordinary managers and call center operators who are at frontline, are very valuable.

Then comes choice of key performance indicators. It is difficult to say what stage is the most important. However, it would be fair to say that selection of KPIs is one of the most important stages of BSC implementation. This especially concerns call center BSC since this business unit is customer oriented. It also does not produce anything which sometimes causes serious losses. Key performance indicators represent critical success factors in various aspects of running business.

Why is optimization of call center performance effective?

Popular call center KPIs include cost per call, first resolution calls rate, time on hold, number of calls handled by one operator, abandoned calls rate and many others. It is impossible to develop a universal set of key performance indicators that will work equally well for every call center. Every business unit is individual. Every call center or a helpdesk has unique structure and problems. Still, it is rather reasonable to use sets of key performance indicators specifically created for a call center. Some KPIs are fairly universal such as cost per call or customer satisfaction. Correct measurement of such KPI will offer call center managers valuable information on progress of their business unit in terms of strategic goals implementation.

Call center evaluation is a must for every company or business unit that sells products or services. Call centers can be of different types: customer support service and sales call center that handles customer calls and places orders. Sometimes, call center operators call customers to offer products while in most cases customers are calling to make inquiries on the products/services or buy selected products. Quality of customer support and etiquette of call center operators is very important for ordinary customers. Very often customers form their judgment on a particular company based on how they have talked to a call center operator. A customer may not like a particular brand just because a call center operator was unable to solve his/her problem or answer questions. This happens very often since modern products and services are quite complex and thus people always have certain questions.

Major call center KPIs

As a very important business unit, a call center requires proper evaluation. These days many companies adopt and implement strategy in order to gain or maintain competitive advantage. Successful implementation of a strategy implies involvement of all business units and departments. Only when the entire personnel is involved it is possible to succeed in strategic planning. This also concerns Balanced Scorecard which is known as the most effective and popular performance evaluation and strategic management tool that puts strategy into action. BSC is just perfect for a call center as this business unit is always customer oriented.

Call center evaluation

Implementation of a call center BSC differs from implementation procedure in other business units. Top managers have to take into account peculiarities of a call center, related expenses, goals and measure. It is vitally important that call center goals and measures comply with requirements of general company strategy, values and mission. In this sense, choice of key performance indicators is perhaps the most important stage. Let’s review a couple of them.

One of the most popular indicators is cost per call. Here, top managers need to understand why they make or receive calls. The company spend certain amount of money for one call, thus it expects to receive some revenue. The key goals of sales call center is to sell products/services, and thus cost per call should be correlated with revenue per successful call. If this is a customer support service, then call expenses should be related to customer satisfaction, one and done calls rate and some other important KPIs.

When it comes to evaluation of company or business unit performance it is very important to use the right metrics. This can be compared to use of the right ruler when measuring length. If you have got the ruler showing the wrong measures you will get the wrong figures now matter how hard you try and what measurement methods you employ. The same concerns performance evaluation. If you measure only such KPIs as average office space required for one employee or employee short term sickness rate you will surely fail in evaluation of business efficiency. Sure, these secondary KPIs can help optimize performance and even reduce costs but they do not directly influence implementation of strategic goals. Choice of the wrong indicators is quite a common mistake among companies that decided to implement Balanced Scorecard in an individual department. What are the most suitable departments for BSC implementation? These are call centers, HR and IT departments. This article will talk on implementation of Balanced Scorecard in a call center.

Call center metrics

To begin with, we need to define Balanced Scorecard. This is a revolutionary performance evaluation and strategic management tool developed by business gurus Norton and Kaplan who were the first to introduce non-financial indicators to the set of measures for business performance evaluation. Balanced Scorecard help design strategy maps that demonstrate cause and effect ties between the indicators and BSC categories (financial, customer, internal business processes, learning and growth).

A call center has own specifics. This business unit directly contacts customers, and company revenues directly depend on performance of a call center. How is that possible? It is quite simple! If a customer is satisfied with quality of support offered by a call center operator, he or she will certainly buy from the same company as soon as he or she needs a particular product. Sales call centers also generate income by offering products and services to existing and potential customers.

Most important call center KPIs

Thus, successful implementation of Balanced Scorecard in a call center will certainly improve its performance and consequently customer satisfaction that in its turn results in growth of sales and revenue. It is extremely important to use the right metrics. Never forget about the most important indicators like cost and revenue per call, number of first resolution calls, abandoned calls rate, customer satisfaction rate, employee satisfaction (satisfied employees usually have satisfied customers) and a number of others.

What usually happens when a dissatisfied customer call the company that sold him/her a particular product or service? There can be two options: either a call center operator manages to calm such a customer down, or the customer hangs up having made a decision never to purchase from this producer in future. In first case, a call center operator does a great job and saves a customer for a company, while the second option shows low professional level of a customer support service specialist. This example is called to demonstrate importance of customer support service quality. Thus, in order to maintain high quality call center services, one needs to measure them. They say that something that can be measured can be improved.

This is how a call center operator can benefit the company

This also refers call center departments in big companies, especially those that produce goods or render services. Existing customers always have questions and problems related to purchased products and services, while potential customers may want to learn more information on products that want to buy. Thus, call center operators should do everything possible to satisfy callers. In such a way, they improve loyalty of existing customers and persuade potential customer make a purchase.

The process of call center evaluation

A call center is a customer oriented business unit. For this reason use of Balanced Scorecard is highly recommended since this strategic management and performance evaluation tool consists of both financial and non-financial indicators. As known, non financial KPIs can tell much of what might happen to a call center/customer support service.

Now let’s analyze a couple of key performance indicators applicable to call center BSC.

Cost per call. Every call center spends certain amount of money to handle one customer call. Of course, it is better to minimize these costs. However, one should be reasonable and avoid saving for sake of quality. These are ways to optimize costs, for example use of advanced telecom equipment etc.

First resolution calls rate. This is definitely one of the most important indicators in a call center BSC. One and done calls rate (this is how it is often called) shows professional level and competence of call center operators. High level of one and done calls means that a customer does not need to call for the second of third time to have his questions answered and problems solved.

Time on hold. Most customers do not like waiting for response for several minutes. Thus, call center top- management should think of the ways to decrease this waiting time through employment of a greater number of call center operators.

Use of Balanced Scorecard is highly recommended for major businesses. Of course, there is sense in BSC use in small businesses, although one has to be very cautious in this case since small business cannot afford huge investments in BSC. When it comes to implementation of Balanced Scorecard in big companies, top management and business owners (or whoever makes a decision to implement BSC) have to take into account numerous factors in order to avoid common mistakes and pitfalls. Every business and industry is individual and thus should solve various problems. Sure thing, advantages of Balanced Scorecard also differ from industry to industry. This article will talk about pros of BSC in call centers and customer support services.

Some of major call center KPIs

Cost saving. After Balanced Scorecard is successfully implemented in a call center or a customer support service, managers will be able to track expenses related to communication with customers, maintenance costs, salaries etc. BSC will demonstrate how efficiently money is being spent. For example, such indicators as average cost per call or office maintenance cost per square meter will help tom managers analyze expenses and think of the ways to cut costs whenever possible. Ratio of cost call and revenue per successful call (in case a call center sells products or services) vividly demonstrates efficiency of a call center and possible ways to improve performance. This takes us to the second point.

Pros of call center BSC

Performance improvement. Without any doubt, BSC helps improve performance of a call center in terms of current operations and implementation of strategic goals. Balanced Scorecard will offer top management all information about current performance. As such, managers will be able to amend and correct the way a call center functions based on information received from Balanced Scorecard. For example, if a top manager notices that sales offers per call is going down which decreases overall sales volume, he or she will definitely ask call center operators to pay a special attention to this indicator. Besides, BSC makes it possible to focus on the most important indicators having an exceptional importance.

Employees motivation. It needs mentioning that BSC never works in a call center (as well as any other business unit) only in case it is accepted by everyone. A call center operator will only use BSC if he understands personal benefits for himself/herself. Thus, top management should create comprehensive motivation and compensation systems for personnel which will definitely improve performance.

Call centers are specific business units in the companies. At the same time, some companies prefer to outsource and use services of external call centers. Both options are equally good as long as call center operators are competent enough to answer customers’ questions. For example, a call center specializing in ISP or Web Hosting will not be helpful for producer of laptops. Sure, before launch of a new call center project, operators undergo special training. However, the best way to optimize call center performance is to use Balanced Scorecard system. This article will explain why.

Some of major call center kpis

First and foremost, in order to implement Balanced Scorecard it is necessary to adopt a strategy. What strategy can be adopted for a call center? It depends on what kind call center it is. There are two basic types: sales call centers (those that receive orders by phone or call customer to offer new products) and support services used for post sale support. In the first case increase of accepted orders should make a nice goal, while a customer support service should concentrate on customer satisfaction. For example, such indicator as first resolution calls rate (one and done calls) vividly demonstrate whether or not customer support service is doing a great job. Thus, the decision to implement BSC in a call center is a nice opportunity to think about strategy, review or adopt it, if necessary.

Implementation of Balanced scorecard will harmonize work of a call center, as an internal or external business unit. Strategies and goals adopted for a call center must comply with the company strategy otherwise there is no point in functioning of a call center. For example, if a call center management makes a decision to improve cost per call, this should be related to company strategy. In other words, one should clearly see how this decision contributes to implementation of strategic goals. In order to see such cause and effect ties a comprehensive strategy map must be designed. Ideally, it should answer the question: “How do we implement strategic goals that we have set?”

The 4 perspectives of Balanced Scorecard

BSC use is associated with numerous benefits, but at the same time there are common mistakes and pitfalls. One of the most common mistakes is use of BSC only by several people in a call center. In such a way, BSC becomes a top secret document that is of no use to ordinary operators who actually do the job.

Many business owners ask one and the same question: “Why use Balanced Scorecard?” Indeed, why? There are many similar performance evaluation and management control systems that have been used for ages. Well, this is partially true. At the same time it would be wrong to call Balanced Scorecard just another system of managerial control. BSC has another purpose which is more global and work in the long term. Balanced Scorecard is an effective strategic management tool. It means that with BSC you will not only be well informed in everything that happens to a company both in the external and internal environment but also whether or not the company is on the right track to implement strategic goals. Of course, in order to be successfully using BSC a company requires realistic and comprehensive strategy. Top managers of call centers should seriously consider possibility of implementing Balanced Scorecard to optimize and improve call center performance, as well as bring a call center strategy (if any) in compliance with company strategic goals, mission and values. So, what are benefits of BSC implementation in call centers, helpdesks and customer support services?

Benefits of call center BSC

Benefit 1 – Expenses optimization. One of the major KPIs in a call center BSC is cost per call. Various companies use different ways to calculate it, but generally it includes telecommunication costs, office maintenance costs, call center operator salary and other expenses. By monitoring changes in cost per call, tom management of a call center can make relevant decisions and cut expenses whenever necessary. This especially concerns those call centers that only provide customers with support but do not sell anything. Sales call centers can make a ratio of cost per call and revenue per successful call.

How call center performance contributes to implementation of company goals

Benefit 2 – Improvement of employee performance. BSC should initiate changes in a call center. Employees must be properly motivated to improve own performance and work with BSC. For example, by controlling first resolution calls it is possible to monitor total performance of a call center. A first resolution call is sometimes called one and done call. It means that a customer needs just one call to have his question answered and problems solved.

Benefit 3 – Improvement of organization climate. BSC unites employees in their desire to benefit the company. Besides, satisfied employees as a rule have satisfied customers. High customer satisfaction is the ultimate goal of a customer support service, while in sales call centers customer loyalty improves sales rates.