Call Center Metrics

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

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.

Why use business metrics for call centers? They seem to work without any proper strategy. Well, the word “seem” explains everything. In fact, call center without strategy is unlikely to make progress. Tough competition in the markets makes producers look for different ways to attract customers. An efficient call center is one of the elements of a successful and customer focused company.

Perspectives in call center BSC

Balanced scorecard has become one of the most popular business metrics tools used in different industries, including call centers and customer support services. Indeed, when a company adopts a strategy all business units should bring their goals and measures to conformity with the company strategy. A call center is a business unit that directly contacts customers, and that’s why one have to be very careful when implementing changes there. This article will focus on how the four balanced scorecard perspectives can benefit a call center.

Financial perspective. Any company spends a certain amount of money to maintain call center. This includes expenses related to maintain ends of telecom equipment, electricity, the Internet, as well as wages for call center operators and senior managers. Balanced scorecard helps optimize such indicators as cost per call, telecom costs per call, revenue per one successful call etc. There are more financial indicators which BSC team can choose to evaluate.

Ties between call center BSC perspectives

Customer perspective. Are all customers satisfied with quality of support service? What is the number of first resolution calls? What is abandoned calls rate? BSC will give answers to these questions and help find weaknesses in the work of a call center.

Learning and growth. Every call center should constantly develop and improve quality of service. BSC will measure such KPIs as learning hours per employee or number of coaching techniques used by senior managers. This will help improve service quality and find out what call center operators have problems with.

Internal business processes. This is perhaps one of the most BSC perspectives, especially in case of a call center. BSC evaluates such indicators as averages time to handle a call, number of problems solved, time to answer call etc. In other words, this perspective can give answers on how to make call center service better.

Of course, BSC is in no way guarantee for successful operation of a call center. Many managers treat BSC as a magic tool that solves all problems. This is not so. However, when properly used, Balanced Scorecard can optimize performance of a business unit or entire company.

What do you usually do if you are having problems with the product or service you have just purchased? Sure, you call tech support or a company call center. It does not matter which products you have bought or what service features aren’t working. You still pick up the phone and dial a number to hear pleasant voice saying: “Tech support welcomes you.” Of course, you do not only want to hear a pleasant voice, but also have your problem solved or question answered.

Many customers form their judgment about the company based on their experience of talking to call center operators. You may have bought the best products or services ever, but if customer support service is unable to answer your questions about the products you may get discouraged with the company or even get angry.

Call center or service desk efficiency is a must for all companies providing such services. Tech support does not earn money, so in a way this is unprofitable department of the company, and that is why many managers do not pay due attention to call center performance. But as said above, inefficient call center may take the company down and lower sales rates. It will be increasingly difficult to find new customers while existing customers may go to your competitors.

Measure service desk efficiency with Balanced Scorecard system

Use effective software to measure service desk efficiency

From time to time service desk efficiency must be evaluated. Balanced Scorecard is an ideal tool to perform evaluation of business performance. This system can be used by managers at all levels, since it is very easy to use and provides very accurate evaluation results.

Balanced Scorecard will help you concentrate on major factor5s influencing performance of a call center. For example, increase time on hold (period of time customers have to wait to talk to an operator competent in the certain area) may have more serious and dreadful consequences for a call center than increased cost per call.

So, Balanced Scorecard system evaluates a number of KPIs (key performance indicators) which altogether represent overall performance of a call center. These indicators are not numerous, however extremely important for anyone who wants to optimize call center work.

Balanced Scorecard will provide you with evaluation results of such indicators as cost per call, time on hold, revenue per one call, one and done calls, conversion rate and others. With figures and graphs you will be able to analyze business performance and find solution to existing problems.

Business performance evaluation is perhaps one of the most important business processes. Net revenue is not the only indicator of how well you company is performing. Of course, making more profits is an ultimate goal of any company and net revenue is a very important indicator. But still, there are so many other factors and indicators showing how your business performs in the market.

Perhaps, you have noticed that almost all companies have own call centers and contract independent call center companies to work for them. Why would a company need a call center? In the modern age of telecommunication, ordering products or services by phone is a very common practice. Besides, potential customers often have questions about products and services, while current customers may have problems or concerns about purchased products/services.

Thus, call center is a linking element between customers and business. If this element fails to perform its core functions, the business is likely to have problems. The result of this may be decreased revenues and even losses.

To evaluate performance of your call center, you need to use specialized software that does all the hard work for you. Balanced Scorecard system is known as a reliable and trusted business performance evaluation system. This program will help you find strong and weak points in the work of a call center. Sure, you need to answer one question that may not seem easy for you: “Which service desk benchmark is most important for call center?” The answer is quite ambiguous. The reality is that there are several most important key performance indicators (KPI) having the most influence on business performance. Call center metrics includes KPIs directly related to calls, their cost, customers, employees and their attitudes.

Which service benchmark to choose? Use BSC to find answers

Service desk benchmarks

So, of you want to know weak points in the work of a call center you need to use Balanced Scorecard system and evaluate the following KPIs:

1. Customer satisfaction. Ask you customers to rate conversation with the call center operator. Were all questions answered? Did call center operator talked to you politely? Were you fully informed on the issue you have been interested in? Customer satisfaction has a direct impact on revenues and number of new customers.
2. Cost per call. If you are an ineffective manager who makes wrong decisions it may turn out that cost of one call may equal to the cost of a cheap product you sell. Try to analyze what factors influence cost per call, and what needs to be done to reduce it.

Sure, there are many more KPIs in call center metrics, which will be covere din the next articles on this blog.

As successful as call centers may be today, there is still a need to manage and control call center performance. Here are some tips on how to do this.

The call center industry has been experiencing boom after boom for so many years now. This is a strong indication that there is much revenue to be earned in this industry! And for the many investors considering delving into the call center industry, you must be prepared to tackle every single aspect to be tackled, just to ensure the success of your call center. Yes, call centers are indeed quite successful these days. But this does not go without much effort from the many people behind it, as well as the different technologies that support the operations of such centers!

The typical call center does not just cater to the needs of one client. In fact, in the most common setting, a call center could very well cater to the needs of banks, travel agencies, financial institutions, and the like. And these establishments have different needs and operations to handle. The call center itself would then have to hire different sets of representatives who would then be trained to handle the problems and issues the customers of these clients would be calling about. Let us say that a call center has an Internet Service Provider for a client.

The call center would then have to hire representatives who would have sufficient background and experience when it comes to the technologies and such in providing Internet services. The same call center could then have a financial institution for a second client. The representatives hired for this account should then have a certain level of background in accounting or banking and finance. Thus, there is a need for any call center to be very flexible when it comes to catering to the individual needs of their clients. So, what can be done to manage and control call center performance?

The perfect approach to take here is actually the Balanced Scorecard. This is actually metrics and metrics management combined. The metrics to be used here should represent the business in its entirety. These include the calls, the operators, the expenses incurred, and the revenue gained. In managing these metrics, the proper order should be implemented. But it is equally important to keep the number of metrics to be used at a moderate level. So, just choose the metrics that are relevant to your business as a call center.

You should also have a financial perspective when deciding which metrics to use here. Most call centers actually perceive that more revenue is garnered with more calls. But this is not true at all. This is not just about making as many calls as possible. There are also conversion rates to consider, as well as maintaining costs at the lowest possible rate.

Next to consider are the internal processes. Just how is a phone call handled in your very own call center? How do the queues of calls go about? Is there a particular segmentation of incoming calls that takes place? How long is the call-handling time that you perceive as average? And what about your service window? Is it available 24/7? These are just some of the questions you need to ask when it comes to the internal processes of your call center. By keeping these things in mind, the plan to managing and controlling the functions entailed in maintaining call centers is indeed made easier to achieve.