A contact center can be a hive of noise and business. It’s easy to see employees working, but are they getting their job done well? That’s where call center analytics and using a contact analyzer can help you understand what is going on. By using contact center analytics generated by call center analytics software, you are able to better understand what is happening, where you can continue to grow, and where you can improve.
What Are Call Center Analytics?
Call center analytics are tools a company uses to make sure their contact center is performing how it should. Depending on your needs and the service you are providing, there is a wide variety of analytics that can help you.
On that list are new analytics, like speech analytics for real-time call monitoring, that can identify some emotions and create meaningful voice data for in-depth phonetics-based searches. This can provide help for training where you are able to share a hostile or emotional call, as well as the representative’s response to that call.
Speech analytics are a new and growing way to understand what is happening in a call center, but there are other analytics that can also help with the growth and efficiency of a center. These can include text analytics (determining the tone and voice used in text communications), predictive analytics (applying past solutions to upcoming problems), self-service analytics (how to encourage and support self-service options), and cross channel analytics (what channels are customers using and how you meet that need).
Call center analytics help identify the holes in your daily operations. Analytics software is able to point out what is happening in your company, and then it is up to management to provide a solution to any problem that is found.
How Do You Analyze Call Center Performance?
The performance of a call center is subjective and determined mainly by your outcome goals and standards. For some companies, a successful call center is only focused on the amount of calls or contacts that are processed in an hour. For others, a successful contact center is shown by customer and employee satisfaction and rate of resolution. No matter what your goal is for your call center, analytics can provide you with the information you need to measure your goal.
When you are starting to analyze your call center’s performance, it is important to establish a baseline to work from. This then gives you a foundation to build and improve upon. There are a few major metrics that most call centers use to analyze their performance.
First Contact Resolution (FCR)
A major factor, no matter your goal or performance objectives, is first contact resolution (FCR). FCR is when a customer only has to contact the call center once, independent of which channel they use, to get the resolution they are looking for. This reduces the need for multiple contacts and touches to an account, which only increases the investment for that customer.
Cost Per Contact
Cost per contact is found by taking a complete view of all resources and costs that are part of operating a call center (rent, utilities, wages, technology requirements, etc.) and then dividing that amount by how many contacts were made by the center.
Abandoned Call Rate
For an inbound call center, it’s important to know the ratio of customers who are trying to contact the center to those who get through. A common issue is when callers hang up or stop trying to contact through the channel they were using before being able to receive help. Most companies want to reduce this number as much as possible because an abandoned call typically means there is a customer who is not only frustrated with the product but also unsatisfied with the quality of customer service.
Be aware that the abandoned call rate is also a concern with outbound calling, particularly with calls made by a predictive dialer. Predictive dialers assume a certain number of calls will not be answered. To compensate, they dial more calls than there are agents available, which causes some calls to be abandoned when the prediction is wrong. Both the FTC and the UK’s Ofcom have strict rules about abandoned calls, and penalties can be stringent.
Average Speed of Answer (ASA)
The average speed of answer (ASA) measures the amount of time a customer has to stay on hold before a representative talks to them. The general time most centers aim for is an ASA of 28 seconds or less.
Average Handle Time (AHT)
The average handle time is the time an agent spends on a call working with customers. This can be a good number to see which agents are spending too much time with customers or are not spending enough time making sure customers are satisfied with the service they receive. It should be looked at in a large sample size, as there are going to be calls that will either go well above or below the expected average.
Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)
The goal of every contact center is to keep customers happy. In order to achieve customer satisfaction, you have to be able to measure and monitor it. Without knowing exactly how you’re doing in customer satisfaction, it’s impossible to know what to keep or what to improve.
The other numbers and metrics are important, but there are times where an increased AHT or a higher cost per contact provides a major increase in your CSAT. Your CSAT, measured by customer service analysis tools, helps you understand the progress of your entire center, as well as the success level of individual agents.
How Can I Make My Call Center Successful?
This is a complicated question, and there is no one clear answer. Each center operates differently, so a tactic that works for one place might not work as well for others. If there was one silver bullet that could work on all centers and instantly make them successful, everyone would know about it.
There isn’t a single way to make your center successful, but there are common mistakes you should avoid while running your call center.
Restriction of Growth
There are times where experienced employees and managers might have an idea that does not fit current standards. By limiting opportunities for development or growth for your employees, you are limiting your ability to advance as a company.
Be open to alternative ideas and standards. While they might come from a low-level employee, they have a better understanding of the needs of the customers and might provide meaningful insights for growth.
Undermotivated and Unengaged Employees
A contact center’s job is to provide a great customer experience. If your employees dread coming into work or are more interested in applying to other jobs than working for you, they won’t be able to provide the best customer service.
High turnover in a call center is sometimes expected but should be avoided. Keep the employees you have, and make them interested in their job. This can take the form of a meaningful rewards program, promotions, raises, and other incentives.
Outdated Practices, Software, and Hardware
What has worked in the past will not continue to work. Your hardware, software, and training need to stay up to date. If you are working on a system that is older than some of your employees, you are only hurting yourself. If you don’t update your company’s infrastructure there will be contracts you will have to pass on because you are unable to provide for their needs.
What Are KPI in a Call Center?
KPI (key performance indicators) at a call center align with many of the metrics that can be measured by call center data analysis. The metrics involved with analysis are also used to measure KPI. These can include ASA, AHT, and CSAT.
If you are having difficulty tracking performance at your call center, or are just starting and want to make sure you start off on the right foot, get a free quote from FirstDigital. Our contact center specialists will be able to show you how you can update to an omni-channel predictive analytics and how that will help you.