Setting goals can be challenging at any level of the organization. Contact center professionals are asked to balance costs with quality, service and the increasing demand across new channels. While each contact center’s goals vary depending on factors like size, location, line of business, or present technology, these goal setting principles can work across many different situations.
Tony Robbins, a well-regarded motivational speaker and author, says “Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.” This is especially true in a contact center environment. Most contact centers capture volumes of data about customers and performance. With all of this data, it’s easy to get lost in all the noise. Many contact center performance management solutions fail simply because the organization tries to make sense of all the data, without properly defining goals and what they are looking for first.
There are many frameworks out there that help you set effective goals, many are familiar with the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-Based) goal structure. Whatever framework you follow, setting goals that align with your organization’s mission statement is critical. This sounds straightforward in theory, but it can be more difficult to achieve in practice. With constraints on budget, labor and technology, many organizations face challenges when applying their goals in real life scenarios.
Once you’ve defined your goals, spend some time understanding how key performance indicators (KPIs) fit into the picture. These are the gauges that allow you to measure progress towards your goals. Without a framework to measure progress, it’s easy to feel like you are simply spinning your wheels trying to achieve a desired outcome. Staying on top of your KPIs enables each agent, supervisor or manager to have the insight needed in order to move the needle.
Setting appropriate goals lets you quickly identify opportunities for improvement. By correlating data between systems with a focus on your goals and key metrics, you are able to make adjustments as you notice performance inconsistencies.
One of the benefits of implementing performance management software is enhancing the ability to set effective KPI-based goals and improving the visibility required to get the whole team on the same page. With alignment across the organization, everyone is able to keep a pulse on contact center performance. Visibility plays a vital role in driving accountability, and a tool like NICE Performance Management can help you get all of the information out in the open. The resulting insight provides users with anywhere-anytime access to key metrics of contact center activity, and includes customized views designed to enable action and create business value.
