Call Center Management: Are You Measuring the Right Metrics?

Metrics – they are at the top of the list for call center management, playing a critical part in every decision made and action taken. It’s the argument for or against a chance to implement a new platform, invest in new software and expand out the call center team. Are you studying the right metrics to help take you where management wants you to go?

Some environments may be more concerned with average handle time, average speed to answer and abandon rate, while other companies may put more stock in the call center’s ability to resolve issues on the first contact. Service levels are also measured while call center management often performs assessments of business intelligence data, workforce management and more. The list could be endless, which can also cause problems for those leaders who want to see measurable impact.

While no one call center is like another and therefore shouldn’t take advice from one source on how and what to measure, there are ways you can whittle down the list. A recent Fonolo (News - Alert) blog gives us some insight into a key metric that maybe doesn’t need to be a key metric. Average handle time can safely be demoted – let’s take a look at the advice from this piece on how and why.

In breaking it down, the average handle time, or AHT, is the sum of three numbers: talk time, hold time and wait-time, averaged over a period of time for all calls. Talk time is the amount of time the agent is actually talking to the customer; hold time is the amount of time the customer spends on hold after he or she makes contact with the agent; and wrap up time is the amount of time it takes the agent to complete post-work after the conversation has ended.

This metric is measured by call center management often because it captures the cost of interacting with customers. It does not, however, offer a performance measure. It gives a great snapshot into the cost of doing business in terms of staff. It does not offer any insight into customer satisfaction, loyalty, potential for ongoing revenue, cost of resolution, etc. It does give insight into agent efficiency, but not agent effectiveness.

Agents are often motivated by metrics that are tracked by call center management. If AHT is at the top of your list, agents will strive to be fast, but not effective. They won’t make problem solving a primary goal and can therefore miss key opportunities to reduce repeat calls, upsell or cross-sell to customers or identify key issues that lead to calls from other customers.

If call center management truly wants to produce optimal results from the agent base, metrics should measure performance and customer satisfaction. AHT is still important to understand in terms of costs, but don’t make it a top priority.

Edited by Stefania Viscusi