When it comes to call centers, a data-driven strategy is essential for improving operations. Call tracking metrics allow managers to review precise data on how agents are performing. Regardless of what type of phone system you’re using, tracking and reviewing these metrics on a regular basis can help you maximize your efficiency and improve customer satisfaction.
Here are six key call tracking metrics, along with what they indicate and how they can be used to benefit your business.
Average Minutes Per Call
Calculating the average length of your calls will give you an idea of how long your agents are spending on the phone with each customer. Set a benchmark time that you want your agents to meet, and then compare your averages against this measure. Hone in on individual agents who are consistently exceeding the benchmark, and find out why they're going over the limit. Is the agent spending more time than necessary with customers? Do you need to organize more training sessions? Or are there lingering product issues that needs to be addressed by the product team?
To make things fun, offer an Amazon gift card to the agent with the lowest monthly average minutes per call. A bit of an incentive can give your team the spark they need to improve their on-call performance.
.jpg?width=892&name=P2%20(iStock-839818410).jpg)
Average Calls Per Hour
Looking at your average calls per hour throughout the day will show you your call center's busiest windows. A graphical representation of this metric can reveal patterns over time, and aggregating average calls per day can show how your call volume fluctuates over longer periods of time.
With this data, you can better allocate your human resources to maximize your efficiency. You can place more agents or more experienced agents during peak hours to anchor your call operation. During off hours, you can staff the minimum number of agents needed to man the phone lines.
Average Agents Available Per Hour
This metric tells you how much idle time your agents have. Like average calls per hour, agent availability allows you to make key personnel decisions. If more than half your agents are free during a given time period, you can probably lighten up your employee load. On the flip side, if you have less than one agent available on average, it might help to add another to reduce callers waiting on the line.
Average Caller Wait Time
15 percent of callers are likely to hang up after waiting 40 seconds on hold, according to a recent industry study. That's why it's imperative to answer calls in a timely fashion. Average call wait time is another metric that needs a benchmark for comparison. Two minutes or less is a good range to shoot for. If it gets above this range, talk to your team about strategies for reducing wait time. Here are some ideas:
- Record your team's calls and examine the outliers that seem to drive the numbers up.
- Look at other call tracking metrics to see if more people are waiting during certain time periods.
- Engage in persona training with your sales agents so they can read customers quicker.
Maximum Caller Wait Time
Most data sets have outliers, and you shouldn't necessarily become alarmed if you have a large maximum wait time. But this number certainly worth contextualizing with the other metrics. Is this maximum wait time truly a single event, or a pattern of rising wait times? Cross reference this data point with your average wait time.
Ideally, your average and maximum call wait times should be similar, unless there was some unusual activity on a certain day. If you're consistently seeing short average wait times but high maximum wait times, it's a sign to dig deeper and figure out what's causing the discrepancy.
.jpg?width=893&name=6%20Ways%20to%20Boost%20Revenue%20and%20Cut%20Costs%20with%20Call%20Tracking%20(iStock-533693165).jpg){kind=tracking}
Average Callers Waiting
This metric gives you an idea of how many people are waiting for their calls to be answered at any time. Consider the hourly distribution of average callers waiting, and note what times seem to have the most people on hold.
You can also compare average callers waiting to average calls per hour to see if they're proportional. If the average callers waiting increases more than the average calls per hour, then you're probably not staffing enough agents to meet the surge in call traffic. This metric should also be inversely proportional to the average agents available per hour if your call center is running smoothly.
Call Tracking Metrics: Boost Efficiency, Cut Costs
Analyzing these six call tracking metrics will give you a better understanding of how your call center operation is performing. The insights you gain from this data can help you plan employee schedules, cut unnecessary staffing, discover weak points, optimize your resources, and help your hiring decisions. But ultimately, these metrics are a way to keep your customers happy, retain business, and earn more revenue.