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How to measure a successful call centre - Q&A Session between GCCRM Advisors and Members
Australia Perspective
Mr. Simon Kriss, CRM & Call Centre Expert, APCCN
www.g-cem.org
This article is exclusively written for GCCRM.
Question :
In China call center is very familiar and useful for us. However I've no idea about the criterion of a successful call center, especially in the telecom industry .Is the criterion qualitative or quantitative? If quantitative, what does it mean concretely?
Answer:
Hello and thank you for your question.
Your question is indeed a good one and it has multiple answers. The one thing that is most commonly understood about call centres is that there are always multiple answers to every question, and most of us have to discover our own exact solution.
When it comes to an opinion on the exact criterion for a successful centre, this is a little like a nose! Everybody has one and they are all slightly different - so in this answer I will give you my personal thoughts (some people will agree, some will not). Also, to keep some sanity in the answer, I will focus just on an inbound centre - there are some serious differences in inbound and outbound.
Measuring success in a call centre is indeed, as you say, a balance between the qualitative and quantitative measures. Most management teams want you to work to key performance indicators (KPIs) which are quantitative driven, but numbers alone can drive the wrong behaviour in your call centre.
For instance, if one KPI is the number of calls answered and you focus on that, then you agents are likely to be "short" or "rude" in their calls just to make the number. On the other hand having only qualitative measures will create an environment where there is no focus on efficiency or effectiveness. Neither of these approaches is sustainable in the long term.
I was recently honoured to be one of three judges for the "Call Centre of The Year" awards across Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. We visited many centres across all three countries and judged them all on the same criteria.
If I look back on that judging and my personal experience building new centres there are some keys to setting the criterion for what constitutes a successful call centre. I would group them into one of 5 headings: Technology; Human; Environment; Management (Operational); and, Management (Strategic).
Below I have laid out some of the basic points I would want to cover off in trying to evaluate if your centre is "successful".
Technology:
1. Is there an appropriate level of technology (is the centre too technology driven)?
2. Are simple mundane tasks being moved to technology or left with agents?
Human:
1. Is the staff attrition rate below 20%? And, how much positive (internal transfers) attrition is there?
2. Is there a solid recruitment process? Is there a solid exit interview process with feedback into the recruitment process?
3. Is there a solid training plan in place to keep enhancing agent skills?
4. Is there an active Reward & Recognition scheme in place? Does this R&R scheme have a focus on financial or non-financial rewards?
Environment:
1. Is there adequate floor space per agent (approx 8-10m2 per person across the entire floorplate)?
2. Is there lots of natural light and good outside visibility?
3. Is there good use of colour, depth and shape to encourage eye adjustment?
4. Is the furniture ergonomically superior?
5. Is there easy access to fire/emergency exits for all staff?
Management (operational)
1. Does a fully documented Disaster Recovery Plan exist? Has it been tested?
2. Reporting - who does it? Who reads it? When is it done? What does it report on? (By the way, reporting "average" anything is a waste of time)
3. Is there solid Call & Resource (Workforce Management) practices in place to maximise available resources?
4. Is there a focus on continuous process improvement?
5. Is there a solid quality measurement and management process in place with call monitoring and feedback sessions?
6. Are all of the quality team members and call centre supervisors calibrated against each other for a "norming" effect in scoring?
Management (strategic)
1. Why is the Service Level set where it is? Could it be varied?
2. Do you know your exact (fully loaded) cost and revenue models?
3. Is the call centre semi-detached from the business model or a key mission critical centre for communications?
4. Does the call centre have "board room" level representation?
5. Are the centres Vision and Mission clearly articulated?
6. What is the "culture" of the centre?
7. What ate the centres Critical Success Factors?
This list is by no means exhaustive and it could go on for pages, however I hope this gives you an idea of the breadth of consideration required in assessing if your centre is successful.
If you are looking for the "Readers Digest" or "Short Course" version of what you would need to measure/manage to head towards being a successful call centre, I would initially focus on the following:
a) Service level
b) Abandon calls
c) Adherence to schedule
d) Forecast call-load to actual
e) Staff attrition
f) Exit interview scores
g) Call quality scores
h) Customer Satisfaction ratings
i) First call resolution (real, true resolution ? not just handoffs or call backs)
j) Centre profitability
I hope that this has helped. If not, please let me know and I might be able to focus my answer a little more on an exact question you might have.
About The Author
Simon Kriss is an experienced veteran in the CRM and Direct Marketing fields, having worked all across Asia. Simon is the CRM and Call Centre Subject Matter Expert for the boutique consulting company Sagatori. Sagatori specialises in Customer Touchpoint Consulting.
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