Workforce Management Featured Article
Hitting KPIs in the Call Center Requires a Firm Foundation
Key performance indicators (KPIs) are commonly used in contact centers, but they mean different things to different people. Managers may seem them as a diagnostic tool, agents may see them as unfair and difficult-to-comply with rules, and executives may see them as an enabler (or barrier) to profitability.
In reality, they are just a way for companies to measure where they are in relation to where they are going. Business writer and speaker Bernard Marr has offered an analogy of a sailboat attempting to get from point A to point B in 10 days.
“Once they’ve set sail, the captain and crew need navigation data to understand where they are, relative to their planned sailing route,” he wrote. “Useful KPIs might include the GPS location data, average speed, fuel levels, weather information, etc. Together, these metrics (or KPIs) allow the team in charge to understand whether they are on track or veering off route. This enables them to make decisions about where to steer next.”
KPIs shouldn’t be about punishing individual agents for slacking, but are instead a useful tool to help contact centers understand where their processes are working and where they aren’t. They also help contact centers better understand how outcomes will change if certain variables are altered. According to Judy Philbin in a blog post for Impact Learning, it helps to return to the sailing analogy: What’s the cost of arriving in 12 days rather than 10? Of hitting rough weather that could have been avoided, or running out of fuel?
“Best-in-class customer service teams know where they want to go and have a clear plan for getting there,” wrote Philbin. “They’ve established performance objectives that keep them ahead of competitors. They understand their strengths and weaknesses and have an actionable plan for improvement. KPIs and other benchmark tools are highly effective to help motivate and focus the team.”
To meet KPIs, companies must ensure that the right number of workers with the right skills is in place. Without this firm foundation, which can be ensured with a solid workforce management solution, companies will consistently miss their KPIs, and they may not even be able to understand why. A high quality workforce management solution can also ensure that workers are receiving adequate amounts of training (without affecting operations and the quality of service) so they can better understand the importance of meeting KPIs, and the consequences when they get out of alignment.
Contact centers can never be successful if they’re not operating on a firm foundation, and this foundation includes a robust workforce management program solution and a meaningful set of key performance indicators. Together, these two processes can ensure a high quality customer experience, and a high quality employee experience.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi