All call centers know it’s important to keep track of metrics. What they may not know is what metrics are important to track, how to successfully track metrics, how to help employees improve metrics, and what you can do to motivate employees so they reach success.
Finding the Right Metrics to Monitor
There are many common call center metrics. While they’re all beneficial in some way, they are not all right for each call center. Instead of trying to tackle every metric available, call centers need to evaluate which metrics are important to the success of the company. You need to ask yourself, which metrics are most important to my customer? Which metrics help our company to be successful?
Metrics Are Not Just About the Numbers
In addition to considering metrics that measure quantity, like average speed of answer, talk time, etc., be sure to include quality as an important metric. Tom Vander Well wrote an article on Service Quality Central explaining what he calls “Metrics Deception.” This idea is generated from call centers that only measure the time it takes to complete a call or the number of calls that take place. Imagine what happens when your call center employees try to improve their average handle time (AHT) and still don’t answer a customer’s question or fix their problem. Their AHT may improve, but their first call resolution (FCR) rates suffer. Call quality is an important metric that often gets left behind.
How to Improve Call Center Metrics
If you want to improve your call center metrics, you need to develop a coaching plan to assist your call center employees. Giving your employees a goal to meet is great, but you need to offer assistance to help them handle that goal. The following are some tips to get you started:
- Create Incremental Goals – Decide on your end goal and break it up into smaller increments. Employees need a goal that is challenging, but well within their reach.
- Coach Individually – Listen to recorded calls and coach employees individually so they know in which areas they could make improvements.
- Use Yourself as a model – If an employee is having trouble handling a difficult call, step in and have your employee listen to how you manage the call.
Discover What Motivates Your Employees
You have a goal you want your employees to meet, but how do you get them excited to reach that goal? Motivators. These influencers help your employees stay focused and committed to the goals they have set. Motivators don’t have to be monetary. Check out Managing and Motivating Contact Center Employees for some great ideas for motivating employees without money. Motivators are only successful when they are personalized to the employee. What motivates one person might deter another.
Many companies consider benchmarking to compare themselves to other companies and see what to measure. That’s a place to start, but if you only remember one thing when it comes to call center metrics, remember to personalize. Find the metrics that matter most to your company, accurately measure, and see your call center improve!
