Agent Attrition up to 22%

Agent attrition rates have risen up to 22%, according to the 2015/2016 edition of ContactBabel’s operational benchmarking report.

“The 2015/16 UK & US Contact Centre HR & Operational Benchmarking Reports” provide key research, based on research with over 420 UK and US customer contact operations.

Findings include:

In the UK:

• Average new agent salaries are £16,844 (up by more than 5% from 2014)
• Agent idle time drops to an 11-year low
• Average speed to answer in 200+ seat operations is more than double that of sub-50 seat contact centres

In the US:

• The mean average cost of an email is $4.14 – 62% of that of a phone call, but 14% more expensive than a webchat
• Average annual salaries for contact centre managers are $69,605 (up 3.0% from 2014)
• Median agent absence rates are twice as high in 200+ seat operations than in sub-50 seat contact centres
• First Call Resolution (FCR) rate has dropped to its lowest-recorded level

The HR & operational benchmarking studies of UK & US customer contact operations are now available, giving detailed information on:

• Salaries and bonuses for new agents, experienced agents, team leaders/supervisors and contact centre managers
• Agent attrition rates
• Agent absence rates
• Recruitment costs and best practice
• Key operational metrics – average speed to answer, call abandonment, call duration, agent occupancy, first-contact resolution, call transfer, cost per call / email and webchat

Findings are segmented by 11 vertical markets, 3 contact centre size bands, inbound/outbound activity and services/sales focus for accurate comparison with individual operations.

Historical data going back to 2003 (UK) and 2007 (US) is also used to identify key patterns in the industry, enabling the report to forecast how salaries, HR and performance benchmarks are likely to look in 2018.

The UK report costs £295 + VAT, with the US report priced at $495.

You can download more detail on the reports, as well as find out how to purchase them, from www.contactbabel.com/reports.cfm