We have mentioned here before that a majority of contact centres still measure what is easy to measure and not what is relevant to measure. This, in combination with managers not being able to prove the link between these metrics and bottom line, results in rejected funding to improve them (and rightly so). We must get better at picking KPIs that actually
drive company strategy and profit, and then quantify the return on investment in these areas to get the budgets and attention needed.
Unfortunately there isn’t one single metric that will address this. Yes Net Promoter Score e.g. gives a good indication of CSAT but you need to measure and manage a number of performance and employee engagement metrics to be able to drive it. You also need to quantify if CSAT does in fact drive bottom line (it doesn’t always). By measuring and managing three areas you will be able to prove these links. Find out more by accessing Bright’s 5 minute VIDEO presentation on the topic below (courtesy of CSUK TV).
The key message is however still to try and cut your number of KPIs to as few as possible as long as they really are KEY in driving productivity, employee engagement or C-SAT. You simply cannot focus if you try to cover too many indicators. Having said that, we still can’t resist sharing trends for a couple of “secondary metrics” because they in turn drive KPIs.
• Agent v team leader ratio:
Bright has identified a sweet spot between 8-15 agents per team leader. Anything above and most KPIs will deteriorate. Anything below and you will not gain any additional benefit.
• Number of training days per agent and year:
A clear correlation exists between this and C-SAT but not primarily because of improved product knowledge. Agent engagement also increases therefore significantly improving both productivity and C-SAT.
• Level of self-service.
It is understood that automated solutions save money but we were surprised last year to find a positive correlation with C-SAT as well. Companies with a higher level of self-service (enabling customers to have their simpler “bulk” errands done quicker) scored several points higher with customers.
Have you managed to link KPIs with bottom line and given your board reason to sit up and listen? Or found “secondary metrics” that drive the key ones? Looking forward to discuss in our LinkedIn group “Bright Customer Management“!
Bright
November 2011
