Most contact centers use performance metrics to measure success in hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, and annual time frames. It is essential to implement the right objective and subjective performance metrics to determine what you do right and where you go wrong.

It is a challenge for every contact center leader to find the right mix of objective and subjective metrics that:

• Support the organization’s mission and strategy,
• Accurately reflect the customer experience you want,
• Reflect how efficiently you are running your business.

The best time to revisit contact center metrics and measurements is during new contact center technology implementation. Keep in mind that calculations used to measure metrics, especially your new technology, may use different terms, calculations, and report layouts. You may have access to new performance statistics and have to figure out if they are relevant in your environment.

Selecting a limited number of key performance objectives is part of a comprehensive measurement strategy. If users must pay attention to every available statistic, they will not see the connection between contact center metrics and daily activities — or know where to focus their efforts. That’s why it is vital that the leadership team:

• Identify the key performance indicators (KPIs) most important to the contact center,
• Communicate them across all levels of the contact center,
• Describe how to measure them and the actions that impact them.

Refer to the standard contact center metrics below for examples of commonly used KPIs.

Questions

Discuss the following questions with your team:

• Do contact center metrics align with the organization’s mission and strategy and your Customer Experience Strategy? If the CES describes the desired customer experience, then key contact center metrics should reflect whether the contact center carries out the strategy. If not, point the way toward prime areas of improvement.
• Do KPIs and supporting metrics cascade throughout the contact center into team and individual performance metrics?
• Do you consider how metrics drive employee behaviors? For example, rigid individual handle-time metrics can make agents rush–an unintended consequence. Conflicting or misaligned metrics may drive behaviors that are at odds with your mission and objectives.
• Are all individual metrics within the individual or team’s ability to control? For example, agents don’t control how many calls they receive during their shift.
• Are contact center objectives clearly defined, measurable, actionable, and attainable?
• Do reporting stakeholders clearly understand where each metric is derived along with the metrics and calculations used for each? Can report stakeholders explain each metric and explain why it is important, how it fits into the overall strategy, and how they and other employees impact it?
• Have you matched report stakeholders with the reports and statistics they need? Be aware that senior leadership does not need as much detail that supervisors require. Do not bog leaders down with extraneous information.
• Is data organized and presented in a way that is easy to understand on reports and dashboards? When statistic layouts are confusing or unclear, it is unlikely stakeholders will use the data for its intended purpose.

Actions

Take the following actions before moving forward in the planning phase:

Standard contact center metrics