So, you have your call center set up, but how do you know if it's set up for success? You can't leave it alone and expect it to improve over time, which is why call center metrics are vital to track success. But how do you measure which ones will increase your ROI and which aren't worth pursuing?
We'll walk you through all the metrics you can track, which ones are best suited for your business, and how to improve your ROI. Whether you're in insurance or sales, call center metrics are vital to your success. At Hooked, we believe that having clear call data is the first step for creating workflows that enhance customer experience.
If you're looking for a CRM that tracks all the valuable call center metrics, book a demo with Hooked CRM. Our representatives can walk you through how our program can capture all the metrics you need for success.
What Are Call Center Metrics?
Call center metrics are key performance indicators (KPIs) that track your team's performance, efficiency, productivity, customer conversion, and more. The metrics you focus on will depend on your industry and company goals, so you should always find a program that tracks all the KPIs you want.
Here's how you can determine which call center metrics you should track:
What Call Metrics Should I Track?
In total, there are around four categories your call center metrics can fall under. Each one prioritizes different goals that your company could pursue. Here's what each metric category can track and how you can determine which one to focus on:
Customer Experience Metrics
Customer experience metrics evaluate how a client interacts with your company. If you're looking to increase the lead satisfaction rate, these are the metrics you should be tracking and building off of:
- First Call Resolution (FCR): Closing a lead on the first call. Useful for companies selling products or services that require immediate solutions.
- Customer Satisfaction (CSAT): Determines customer sentiment at the end of the call. Can help you evaluate if the customer will return to your company.
- Net Promoter Score (NPS): Answers the question, "How likely are you to recommend us to a friend?" Indicates customer loyalty and the likelihood of them returning.
- Customer Effort Score (CES): Measures how easy it is for customers to handle issues, purchase products, or use a service. Evaluating this can help you see where your workflow can be adjusted.
- Repeat Call Rate: How often a customer needs to call to resolve issues. This determines your team's effectiveness and shows who may need additional call center training.
- Quality Assurance (QA): Determines if all company guidelines were followed. Can keep your customer interactions compliant.
Operational & Efficiency Metrics
If you're looking to improve your efficiency and operational success, these are the metrics you should be paying attention to. Each one will help you improve your workflow, especially when dealing with customers:
- Service Level: If you set goals for each call, service level metrics determine whether you accomplished your goal. This can evaluate how effective your process is.
- Average Speed of Answer (ASA): Measures how fast your call representatives answer calls. You can evaluate agent efficiency by tracking this metric.
- Call Abandonment Rate: Percentage of people who disconnect before reaching a call representative. Where a caller abandons the interaction can also tell you about your workflow.
- Average Handle Time (AHT): The time to complete a full customer interaction. Tracking this metric is only effective when you want to decrease call length.
- Average Hold Time: Duration where clients are on hold waiting for a representative to pick up.
- Cost Per Call: The average cost for each call. You always want your cost per call to be small.
- Call Volume / Call Arrival Rate: How many calls your call center can handle. This number largely depends on how many representatives you have in the office.
- Percentage of Calls Blocked: If this number is extraordinarily high, you will want to re-evaluate your dialer. It could indicate that your number is registered as spam.
Agent Performance Metrics
If you're a supervisor or manager, agent performance metrics will determine if you make changes to workflows, identify those who need additional training, or identify flaws in your automatic call distribution system. Here are a few of the metrics you can track:
- Agent Utilization Rate: Measure the time an agent spends on job-related tasks. This can identify call representatives and agents who might be at risk for burnout.
- Occupancy Rates: Determine how much space you have in your office or dialer plan. Can help evaluate your own management team's capacity.
- Schedule Adherence: Acts as a timesheet and evaluates if your employees are working during the allotted time.
- Calls per Hour: Number of calls an agent answers per hour. This number will be affected by the average call duration you expect. For example, in the life insurance industry, this number should be smaller since call length is longer for converting calls.
- Transfer Rate: Measure the number of times a representative transfers their call to a supervisor or manager. Could be an indicator of knowledge on the subject or ability to handle difficult calls.
- Wrap-Up Time: Length of time it takes to complete a call. If you're using an AI assistant to fill out fields during calls, it should be simple for your representatives.
- Agent Turnover: This metric can help re-evaluate your current workflows and training. If the turnover rate is high, you will want to make changes to ensure your employees are given the best chance at success.
AI & Automation Metrics
If you're using an AI virtual assistant, you'll want to measure the agent's success rate. This can help you continue using an AI assistant or find one more specialized for your industry. Here are just a few metrics you can use to determine the success of your AI agent:
- Self-Service Containment Rate: Is your AI pulling information from other sources outside of your guidelines? It's important to review where the information is coming from so it doesn't hallucinate answers.
- Escalation Rate: Can the AI determine which requests must be escalated to management? It should evaluate your customer sentiment and understand when a manager should enter the conversation.
- Intent Recognition Accuracy: Your AI should accurately recognize the customer's intent throughout the conversation. This will help guide your representatives and inform their next steps.
- AI-Assisted Resolution Rate: How often are your agents closing conversations based on your AI suggestions? Measuring the resolution rate determines if your AI assistant is working as intended.
Of course, we highly recommend using an AI agent to automate your CRM, provide advice, and generate reports. Our set of AI assistants, Tacklebox AI, was created to streamline tedious tasks and equip your agents with the best possible tools for their job.
What is the 80/20 Rule in Call Centers?
The 80/20 rule in call centers is the idea that 80% of calls will be answered within 20 seconds of first contact. Most call centers use this rule as a standard for evaluating their business's health and often make changes to fit the metric.
However, it is just a suggestion, and the ratio changes depending on your industry and your company's size. It is also a metric based on speed, not on closing, so always identify if your call center is increasing your ROI, no matter how long representatives take.
How to Improve Your Call Center Metrics
Why should you evaluate your call center metrics? Because it will help you improve your call center. Without proper statistics, any changes would be misguided. There are a few steps you should take to improve your metrics quarter to quarter. Here's how to monitor call center performance:
| Steps | Explanation |
|---|---|
| 1. Choose your metrics to track. | You should choose up to five metrics to track for the quarter. This can be tracked through your CRM, Excel, or other program. |
| 2. Set targets for each metric. | For each metric you choose, choose an achievable target. It's important to pick a goal your representatives can achieve to see if improvements were made. |
| 3. Track each target. | Either with AI reporting or manual reporting, you should track the metrics and see if any changes work. Call evaluations are key in finding those metrics. |
| 4. Coach call representatives and make changes. | After the quarter ends, evaluate the data and coach your call representatives to improve your statistics. Once the changes are made, circle back to the start and begin to see the results. |
Of course, these steps are not set in stone, so always evaluate your workflow to see what timeline and process works for you.
HookedCRM As Your Call Center Metrics Dashboard
Hooked CRM easily tracks your call center metrics. On the dashboard, you'll see your total calls, earnings, leads, and recent call data. Managers, administrators, and supervisors can dive even further into the call data and see a comprehensive view of your agency and each individual's statistics.
If you've invested in Tacklebox AI, you'll gain access to our AI reporting, which will bring up detailed charts, graphs, and statistics with a simple question. No matter which metric you're tracking, having an AI agent assist is incredibly helpful in finding exactly what you need.
Interested in Hooked? Book a demo with us today, and a qualified representative can walk through your workflow and show you how Hooked can level up your performance.
