There is a growing discussion among contact center managers about how to implement effective, KPI-based reporting. This conversation is being driven by contact center modernization and a realization that the old “art” of call center management is giving way to the new “science” of contact center management.
There is an ocean of KPIs to help measure contact center performance. So many in fact that it’s easy to feel lost. For years, many call center managers have focused on performance and efficiency metrics like total calls, hold times, handles times, cost per call, etc. But with the growing role contact centers’ play in delivering a great customer experience throughout the entire customer journey, many managers often fail to stop and reflect on two important questions. The first question being are we measuring the right things and the second question is how effective are we in communicating results to business leaders?
For-profit organizations have one over-arching objective which is to make more profit. How well they succeed is a function of planning and execution. Each year, executives make detailed plans to increase revenue (including acquiring and retaining more customers) and to lower costs (including finding the most efficient means for delivering and supporting products and services). Clearly, the contact center plays a central role in these critical activities. So, what does this have to do with KPIs? Everything! If the contact center is narrowly reporting on legacy metrics like total calls, hold times, handles times, cost per call, etc., then its missing a huge opportunity to measure more strategic results and demonstrate its larger value to the organization.
Here is a quick example. If the contact center is used to support a direct sales effort, then metrics like lead to opportunity conversion, offers made, utilization and cost-per-sale are immensely useful to business leaders. So, then the big questions should be 1) which KPIs should be reported on, and 2) what is the best way to communicate this information to executives?
So what KPIs should you be considering?
Donna Fluss, the founder and President of DMG Consulting has conducted extensive research into the most impactful KPIs for customer service, sales and collections contact centers and how to best communicate KPI results to business leaders. On January 29, Donna will be presenting her findings in a special webinar. To learn more, please register to attend and make plans to join us or a very informative discussion.
