Are Your Call Center Metrics Consistent?
May 7, 2007 · Print This Article
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When your metrics aren't in line the customer draws conclusions about your company that are not favorable.
Here's a great example.
Recently I found a post titled, Unusually High Call Volume that discussed the company in question with not properly staffing. This is frustrating especially during a time that should be light in call volume.
Unfortunately, call centers are so focused on the bottom-line (and for good reason) that they forecast and staff with a very small margin of error.
If any of the assumptions used to determine required headcount are out of line, i.e higher than planned, then service level will suffer and ultimately the customer will suffer.
What can the call center do to prepare for Murphy's law?
That's a tough question to answer without knowing the specifics. Sometimes things are out of your control in this situation but the management team can do a couple of things that may help.
1. Flexible Scheduling - Offer a slightly higher pay knowing that your schedule is flexible and you may end up being called in;
2. Overstaff - you can always over staff and make adjustments as needed. If it is the weekend and you bring in more people than you end up needing, you can always ask for volunteers to go home.
3. Overstaff knowing that you have back office work.
These are just a couple of ideas. If you know of a good idea, please leave a comment.
Bottom-line the call center management team has to be proactive and know that at times absenteeism may be higher on some days than others and making the adjustments proactively will have a positive effect on your customer;s impression of your service.
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