Call center benchmarking is key to managing an efficient call center operation. Not only will the metrics help you save money on your bottom line, but it will also ensure your team is performing optimally, and help you to stay compliant with best practices, and keep up with the competition. By analyzing the data, call center managers can spend their time and energy on making the changes that will have the greatest impact.
What Call Center Benchmarks Should You Be Looking At?
Service Level:
Service level is the percentage of calls that are answered within a predefined time. You can calculate this percentage by adding the calls answered within the predefined time and calls abandoned within the threshold, divided by the sum of the total calls answered and abandoned. Then multiply by 100 to get a percentage value.
Average Speed to Answer:
This metric measures the average amount of time for calls to be answered by an agent during a specific time period, including the time callers are waiting in a queue. Obviously, the lower this number the better. No one likes waiting on hold when there is an issue. In fact, according to a study by Velaro, about 60% of customers won’t wait on hold for more than one minute.
Abandonment Rate:
This call center KPI measures the amount of callers that hang up before an agent answers. A high abandonment rate number suggests an issue in your process and is worth evaluating further. Typically, people will abandon a call because of how long it takes to reach a human. This could be due to a complicated menu system, or not enough staff to handle the call volume.
Accuracy of Call Forecasting:
This metric measures the difference between the number of calls predicted to arrive during a specific timeframe and the actual number of calls that arrived during the timeframe in a call center. Basically, it measures the ability of call center managers and directors to accurately forecast inbound call volumes. How accurate (or inaccurate) you are will affect other call center performance benchmarks. For instance, if the actual call volume is above the forecasted number, customer service levels will suffer. This means your average speed of answer and abandonment rates will increase. If the number is well below forecasted levels, your call center will be overstaffed, which should result in great customer service, but it also means you are spending more on labor than you should.
Adherence to Schedule:
This metric looks at an agent’s degree of compliance with their assigned schedule. Adherence to schedule is measured by taking the total time a call center agent is available and dividing it by the time they are scheduled to work. A high deviation from schedules indicates you are losing some serious revenue in your business.
Occupancy Rate:
This KPI measures the amount of time agents are on live calls & completing work associated with calls. This metric can be used by call center managers to determine whether the call center is overstaffed or understaffed, and how effective the service is. Unusually low or high occupancy rates can be problematic. Low occupancy rates suggest you are overstaffed, while high occupancy rates could be an indication that volume is too high and quality might be suffering.
Call Duration:
This KPI measures the time agents are speaking with customers on the phone. Shaving time off your call center duration often means saving money; however, lower call durations are not always great. In fact, it can be an indication that your reps are not giving complete information and could lead to expensive callbacks and a lower customer satisfaction rating.
Call Wrap-Up Time:
How long it takes an agent to complete all work associated with the call once the call has ended. This KPI is important as it helps to determine how much interaction is actually customer-facing. Some typical culprits for long call wrap-up times are slow computer systems and poor training.
Agent Absenteeism:
This measures the number of days lost per year due to agents being out. Agents are human, so last-minute call-ins due to emergencies or illnesses are to be expected. However high agent absenteeism can have a big impact on the quality of service.
Agent Attrition:
This measures staff turnover annually. Attrittion is higher in call centers compared to other industries. However, a high agent turnover can seriously cost your organization. It is not cheap to recruit and train new agents. If you are experiencing high agent attrition, it is time to look at your recruiting and training processes and overall call center culture in order to better retain agents and reduce costs.
Customer Satisfaction:
This KPI requires you to conduct customer surveys to measure their satisfaction. This is a good way to judge whether your agents are delivering poor or high-quality customer experiences. Call center managers should analyze satisfaction surveys and make adjustments as needed to ensure that customers are getting the best experience possible.
First Call Resolution:
First call resolution is an important benchmark that measures the percentage of all calls where issues were resolved on the first attempt. This KPI not only helps to measure customer satisfaction but also measures your agent’s efficiency. Ultimately this KPI is an important factor in call center profitability.
How Do You Stack Up to These Call Center Benchmarks?
If your call center is performing below these benchmarks, it is time to make some changes! With 20 years of experience in call and contact center implementation, DiRAD Technologies is here to help. Give us a call at 518-438-6000 or send us a note to chat about the areas you would like to improve.