Measure for measure

Calls to contact centres are getting longer. Progressively more customers are resolving simple queries through self-service portals. So, when they do phone the contact centre, their queries are complex. It takes time to resolve such calls satisfactorily.

Also, data analytics, when employed, provide agents with more information on customers. So, they're able to up- and cross-sell - taking more time on the call. What, then, is the relevance of metrics such as average handling time and time to answer?

According to the Dimension Data Global Contact Centre Benchmarking Report 2012, 80.6% of organisations say they want customer satisfaction.

The problem with that, of course, is knowing when there is customer satisfaction and how much of it there is.

Actually, the measurement is very simple. It's the Net Promoter Score (NPS) and it's based on only one question: 'Would you refer any of your friends or family to our products, services, or brand?' If the answer is yes, then the likelihood of repeat and new business from the people a customer influences is very high.

So, one measurement answers all questions about whether or not a company is doing its job properly. Ironically, that one measure is directly opposite to all the metrics currently in place in contact centres.

The Benchmarking Report shows the metrics companies deem most important are first-call resolution, average handling time, and customer satisfaction (third, at 31%). In other words, organisations that say they want customer satisfaction actually only rank it third in importance. They rate the time it takes to handle a call more highly than resolution of a customer query.

That's a contradiction in terms. It also drives exactly those agent behaviours that will most frustrate the customer, and therefore, erode customer satisfaction.

And, it leads to repeat calls and hand-offs; both are costly. A focus on speed instead of resolution actually costs the company money instead of making it more efficient. Less obviously, it deprives the organisation of repeat or new business.

A focus on speed instead of resolution actually costs the company money.

By contrast, a call that takes 20 seconds longer but resolves the customer's query eliminates repeat and hand-off calls, reducing costs while creating additional revenue from referrals. In all the measurements being done, that offset is not being calculated.

The wrong things are being measured, because they are what companies have always measured, and they really don't believe they can found their operations on something as simple as customer referrals. How can something as complex as a contact centre be run on such a simple principle - and only one metric?

Of course, the mechanics underlying such simplicity are not necessarily self-evident. For one thing, while the customer wants due time and attention given to his query, he doesn't want to be on the line for an hour either.

And, yes, one must still measure such things as average handling time so that managers can spot the outliers and bring them back to an acceptable norm.

To achieve both efficiency and call resolution, the organisation must do something new.

The Benchmarking Report shows 43% of organisations understand that an agent's ability to resolve a call first time is dependent on advisor knowledge. But, agents are still not being given the tools to acquire or use such knowledge.

Logically, therefore, the organisation's systems need to be integrated, and data distribution needs to be designed in such a way that the agent has delivered to his screen a single view of the customer, and can, as a consequence, address all aspects of the customer's relationship with the organisation in one call - and in the most appropriate way for both the company and the customer.

Only the leadership team can authorise the commitment or reallocation of resources to make this possible. Because it's not happening, the implication is that leadership itself isn't focused on customer satisfaction; it's someone's job, but clearly, not that of the exco.

In addition, an agent who is used to relying on a script, and has not been expected to use initiative, will need to be retrained - or a new profile of agent will need to be recruited. Either way, emotive HR, which focuses on providing employees with the most attractive, interesting, nurturing, and empowering work environment, will be needed to retain the talent developed or recruited.

This requires a new strategy and different effort from the executive team.

No area of an organisation is measured as much as sales and the contact centre. Yet, the most important measurement, whether or not the customer is satisfied, is not always among the standard metrics.