27 Ways to Get the Best Out of Your Metrics

Our readers and panel of experts share their top tips for getting the very best out of your contact centre metrics.

1. Always ask yourself “what are we going to do with this information?”

Before adding new metrics to the mix, always ask yourself “what are we going to do with this information?”

If you don’t have time to action it, or don’t have a plan on how the data will inform positive change, you are probably measuring the wrong thing.

With thanks to Kate

2. Don’t stick with historic measures because “it’s what we’ve always done”

Measure the behaviour you want to get – as your focus changes, so should your metrics.

Don’t stick with historic measures because “it’s what we’ve always done”!

With thanks to Sara

3. Ask your agents what is stopping them from achieving their metrics targets

Ask your agents if they feel they have the tools to resolve calls in the most efficient way.

You won’t know what is stopping them achieving their metrics targets unless you ask!

With thanks to Glendon

For great advice for engaging agents with metrics, read our article: 5 Important Call Centre Metrics to Improve Agent Performance

4. Don’t become too obsessed with Average Handling Time

Average Handling Time is flawed. In an extreme case, you can just inform your agents to drop calls constantly and beat your Average Handling Time targets all the time.

But this approach will completely destroy your customer experience.

With thanks to Craig

5. Reassess your recruitment strategy to attract the best agents

Reassess your recruitment strategy to prevent challenges with behaviours and capability.

With the best possible staff in place, you should have fewer problems meeting your metrics targets.

With thanks to Mark

6. Evaluate your metrics on an ongoing basis

It’s important that you evaluate your metrics on an ongoing basis.

Some companies have the same metrics they have had for decades. But businesses and customers change. Therefore you need to be certain that your metrics are accurate for today’s business and customer.

With thanks to Cindy

7. Focus on quality conversations to reduce overall Average Handling Time

Average Handling Time should not be the driving force behind efficient customer-agent conversations.

Quality conversations should drive down Average Handling Time.

With thanks to Mark

8. Think about which metrics are really suitable for your industry

It’s so important to consider the industry you are working in when choosing your metrics, as it really makes a difference in how you evaluate everything.

For example, banking, emergency centres and sales organisations all have different priorities.

With thanks to Cindy

9. Don’t just focus on your NPS detractors

I think NetPromoter Score can give a great industry comparison, but the focus tends to be on the detractors.

If companies focused on moving up the 8s, there would be more value to be gained from the NetPromoter Score.

With thanks to Rachael

10. Find out if your current processes help or hinder your metrics success

Don’t forget that the processes and procedures you have in place can increase (and decrease) your customer and employee satisfaction levels.

Be sure to evaluate your processes for accuracy and efficiency as well.

With thanks to Cindy

11. Prioritise customer and employee engagement

Prioritise customer and employee engagement.

These two metrics should work hand in hand to ensure targets and the overall metrics are achieved.

With thanks to Christopher

12. Treat your agents well to help deliver a better overall customer experience

You can measure all the metrics in the world, but if you don’t treat your agents well and like grown-ups they will deliver a poor customer experience.

We ask the team how they feel in each 1-2-1, and also what they want to change and why. We cannot always make the changes, but they feel valued and engaged with us and the brand.

With thanks to Kate

13. Produce findings everyone can understand

Whatever metrics are used, they need to be easy to understand and readily accessible by interested parties at all levels.

Too often, overcomplicated graphics are presented at board level and the key findings aren’t relayed clearly to the service centres.

With thanks to Ian

14. Act on customer complaints

Learn from the complaints your business receives.

You can then try to shape your metrics to measure what really matters to your customers.

With thanks to Christopher

15. Blend metrics together to stop people ‘gaming the system’

There will always be agents who try to game the system.

However, a model that takes information from financial, operational and behavioural metrics, and is blended into Customer Lifetime Value data, will help to ensure you still gather an accurate view of performance.

With thanks to Craig

16. Stop treating people like processes

Treat customers as people and not as a process.

This should help to improve First Contact Resolution.

With thanks to Christopher

17. Present metrics data to accommodate different learning types

Understand personality and learning types. You can then use this information to find out how specific people may wish to view your metrics data.

This approach can maximise understanding and improve results.

With thanks to Christopher

18. Reduce the number of metrics you analyse to drive real change

The more metrics you have in place, the less you’re able to drive change from them, as you spend too much time reviewing data.

With thanks to Kate

19. Add in ‘retention data’ to better understand your customers’ needs

‘Retention data’ can help you identify trends and traits in your customer base.

It becomes easier to understand their needs – and target around them to ensure customer satisfaction levels remain high.

With thanks to Christopher

20. Focus on developing your agents – instead of on what they are doing wrong

Focus on improving your agents, rather than focusing on what they are doing wrong.

This should have a positive impact on them meeting their metrics targets.

With thanks to Stephen

21. Involve your agents in capturing customer feedback

Train your call evaluators to recognise and capture feedback directly from the customer.

For example, the fact that the agent followed the process, but the customer did not receive a satisfactory solution in the end.

Involve agents by letting them log negative comments made by customers during a transaction. By analysing this logging data and following up with process-level improvements, customer satisfaction can be improved.

With thanks to Michele

22. Capture useful data through live chat exit surveys

We have exit surveys on every Live Chat, where the customer has the option to score the advisor and provide feedback.

We use this in 1-2-1s as well as any feedback from customers to improve processes.

With thanks to Lea

23. Meet your customers face to face to gather feedback

Our senior team spend some time each month out of the office visiting customers.

They then feedback this first-hand data to the rest of the contact centre, so we know we’re measuring the right things.

With thanks to Harj

24. Create separate reports for managers and agents

We have 2 sets of reports – one up to management and one down to agents.

With thanks to Rikus

25. Get your culture right and metrics success will follow

Our first priority is the culture in our contact centre – the physical environment, the leadership style, and agent empowerment.

If all that is right, metrics success will follow.

With thanks to Eric

26. Start measuring the Employee NetPromoter Score too

Start measuring the Employee NetPromoter Score (eNPS) too.

I believe it is a crucial metric, as happy agents will create happy customers.

With thanks to Rachael

27. Check your use of wording when asking for customer feedback

Customers don’t always understand the question you are asking them, especially if it is vague or contains in-house contact centre lingo. The neutral box can also be confusing.

Getting these things wrong can bring your KPI scores down, but it’s hardly ever intended negatively by customers – and it certainly isn’t your agents’ fault.

With thanks to Eric

For more advice on how to best use contact centre metrics, read our articles:

• How to Use Inbound Call Centre Metrics to Drive Performance
• 10 Experts Share Their Favourite Advice on Call Centre Metrics
• What Are the Industry Standards for Call Centre Metrics?