If most call center teams had to pick a “North Star” it would be service level, which measures the length of time callers wait to reach an agent. Service level is always given as a pair of numbers: a percentage value and a time value in seconds. That exact combination is considered by many to be an industry standard. The original logic behind it is lost in the mist of time. Were their wait times 30 seconds or 10 minutes? MORE

The longer you make them wait, the less important they feel. Knowing how long it takes to answer customer calls can help you answer that question, and Average Wait Time has become a contact center key performance indicator for just that reason. But just what is Average Wait Time, and what are some of the ways you can reduce it to help ensure that customer calls are being answered quickly and effectively? What is Call Center Average Wait Time? MORE

Call centers use a variety of methods, tools, and practices to lower the average time that a caller spends in the call queue. The goal is to have the lowest average call queue time possible, which will result in more effective service and happier customers. It is imperative that call center queues be consistently monitored and actions be taken to reduce queue wait time in order to decrease customer frustration and call abandonment. That takes some time. MORE

It gives the industry a universally understood way to talk about how quickly customer calls are answered by support agents. Service level is always given as a pair of numbers: A percentage value and a time value in seconds; it has nothing to do with the Pareto Principle. One would hope that this standard is based on careful analysis, but in reality, it’s not an 80/20 rule or principle at all. And, second, no one knows where this standard came from! MORE

Call Abandonment Rate. Average Waiting Time. Occupancy Rate. Average handling time. Transfer rate. Hold time. Contact Rate. Hit Rate. Success Rate. Talk Time. You can measure the number of inbound calls daily, weekly, track it over a specific period of time and compare from month to month to see if the total number has changed. How to calculate the FCR rate? or averaged over a specific time period. MORE

Anyone working in the service industry, be it in retail, health or finance, should get the low-down on Service Level Agreements (SLAs), and fast. If it’s crunch time and you’re looking to quickly study up on SLAs, look no further. In this crash course, we provide you with: SLAs in nutshell; How to set a winning service level for your own organization; Developing 20/20 vision with the industry standard of an “80/20 service level”; and. MORE

This data allows them to bolster those areas to meet or even surpass industry standard call center KPI benchmarks, which is essential for your brand’s reputation. Wait time should be one of your most important call center KPI benchmarks. MORE