How to evaluate a call center agent’s performance?

How to evaluate a call center agent's performance?

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Contents

In order to evaluate call center agent performance, you need to pick which metrics to track. Call center software makes it easy to track KPIs in real-time. Some of the top metrics to track include average handle time, average speed of answer, first call resolution, and customer satisfaction.

The call center agent is at the core of any call center. Since they’re the most involved with customer interactions, their performance directly affects the customer experience. Given this importance, it is crucial to keep track of their productivity. Discover how to measure an agent’s performance and other important customer service metrics below. 

1. How do you measure the performance of an agent?

Key Performance Indicators (KPI)s are metrics used to measure employee performance and change from industry to industry. Call centers and contact centers have industry-specific KPIs to measure agent performance. These KPIs illustrate how one agent’s productivity affects overall call center performance indicators such as call volume, wait times, and response time. 

1.1. How do you measure performance in a call center?

There are many ways to measure performance in a call center. 10 of the top KPIs to track are below:

  • Average call handling time
  • Average call abandonment rate
  • Average waiting time
  • First call resolution rate
  • Customer satisfaction score
  • Service level
  • Occupancy rate
  • Average after call work time
  • Field agent dispatch rate
  • Average speed of answer

2. What are the KPIs in a call center?

There are dozens of different KPIs to measure the performance of your call center. We will introduce you to some crucial KPIs and explain how to use them to improve your call center agents’ performance. Here are the five KPIs that we will focus on: 

2.1. Average Handle Time

Average Handle Time (AHT) measures how long an agent spends on a call, including speaking with the customer, hold time, and call work time. These three factors are then averaged by the total number of calls to find the AHT. AHT will give you an idea of how fast an agent can resolve customer issues. It roughly shows the number of calls handled per agent. It is essential to balance the need to increase the number of calls handled with quality assurance. If you focus too much on AHT, the overall service level of your call center will decrease. 

2.2. Average speed of answer

Average Speed of Answer is another call center KPI that measures how long the average customer waits before being connected with an agent. This KPI is calculated by dividing the total duration of customer wait time by the total number of calls answered and multiplying by 100. The center’s total call volume and the number of staff present at any time will affect this KPI. This means that the average speed of answer can vary by the hour. Keep these factors in mind when evaluating the average speed of answer. 

2.3. First call resolution

First call resolution (FCR) or first contact resolution measures a call center agent’s ability to resolve a customer’s question or problem during their first interaction or call. If the agent requires several follow-up calls to resolve the issue, then the FCR rate falls. This is one of the most commonly tracked metrics in call centers. It is often related to customer satisfaction, as customers become increasingly frustrated with each new call where their question or problem still isn’t solved.

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2.4. Customer satisfaction

Customer satisfaction is key to your call center’s success. Since your agent is at the core of the customer relationship, you should regularly measure the customer satisfaction for each call center agent. Follow-up with customers after calls to gauge their satisfaction, and design customer satisfaction surveys that can measure their experience accurately. Take detailed notes of their feedback and integrate it into a database.

 

Compare the performance of different agents and identify which agents are less effective with customer satisfaction. Based on the customer feedback, try and pinpoint the agents’ weaknesses. Find another agent who excels in customer satisfaction and have them retrain the underperforming agent. Reconduct these customer satisfaction exercises regularly.  

3. What performance metrics are the most impactful in call center agent performance?

With so many KPIs, it can seem challenging to figure out what are the most important metrics for your call center’s performance. Customer satisfaction, first call resolution rate, and average speed of answer are important KPIs for both individual agents and overall call center performance. Some KPIs are useful for evaluating the call center overall but not an individual agent’s performance. Cost of operations and peak hour traffic are two notable examples. On the other hand, employee break time metrics can help measure overall center productivity, but they are more helpful with individual employee performance. 

3.1. Examples of smart metrics

Smart metrics are performance metrics that are updated in real time. Software like ViiBE constantly tracks KPIs like Net Promoter Score (NPS), First Contact Resolution (FCR), and the number of calls that lead to an on-site trip by an expert. ViiBE’s virtual call center solution allows a call center manager to see statistics at any time for multiple call centers across the globe. Even if each call center employee is located in a different country, the virtual call center can organize calls as one individual call center. Using smart call center metrics lets ViiBE take care of the calculations, so you can focus on improving your call center agents’ performance.  

Evaluating a call center agent
Evaluation of a call center agent

3.2. How to improve call center KPIs?

ViiBE’s expertise call routing puts the caller in touch with the right person from the start. This will reduce both your Average Handle Time and your Average Speed of Answer. This solution empowers your agents to reach more customers while saving your customer time.   

If you use ViiBE’s ticketing solution, all calls from a single customer are arranged under a single ticket. This allows you to easily determine how many times an agent or agents had to call a customer before their issue was resolved.

These are just two of the ways technology like ViiBE will improve your call center’s KPIs. 

4. Conclusion

KPIs have helped measure call center agent performance for many years. While there is a wide variety of metrics, just a handful of KPIs are effective enough to measure and improve individual employee performance. Call center agent performance is easier to measure than ever, thanks to tools like ViiBE. Smart metrics are the call center manager’s superpower that will turn your call center into a super call center.

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