Call Center Reporting & Analytics: 2024 Guide

Did you know a small 5% bump in customer retention can lead to a whopping 25% boost in revenue? At least, that’s what a publication by Bain & Company suggests.

But how can you retain customers for the long term?

It starts with understanding their needs and consistently meeting them. By analyzing the situations that upset customers, training your team to address these effectively, and bolstering support during peak times, you can make a significant difference.

You can do all these with the help of call analytics and reporting. With these real-time metrics, you can enhance customer satisfaction, boost agent efficiency, and unlock the full potential of your business.

Learn how to use raw data to measure customer service quality and agent performance to enhance overall business operations.

TL;DR

No one wants to risk running blindfolded. Without verifiable insights into your agent and campaign performance and customer satisfaction, you’re doing just that. Call analytics and reporting offer tangible data in the form of KPIs and essential metrics, so your decisions are guided and informed, not based on guesswork or gut feeling. JustCall’s advanced analytics, powered by AI, offer automated call scoring, lead scoring, sentiment analysis, call resolution rates, and hold times. Guided by an advanced analytics dashboard, you can navigate tumultuous business cycles effortlessly.

What is call center reporting?

Call center reporting and analytics refer to the systematic process of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data from inbound and outbound calls.

This includes call center metrics like call volume, duration, wait times, call outcomes (such as sales or issue resolution), customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores, call abandonment rates, first call resolution (FCR) rates, and agent performance metrics.

How does call reporting work?

Call reporting helps in creating graphical reports to understand agent performance and how well the call center is servicing customers.

Here’s a stepwise breakdown of how call reporting works:

Step 1: Collecting data

The call reporting system will first collect data from different sources in the call center. This raw data (meaning unfiltered and non-segmented) can be collected from the call center call distribution system, workforce management system, voice responses, and CRMs.

Step 2: Processing the data

Call centers produce different types of data focusing on different aspects of a call center process. For example, the data can be on agent availability, call abandonment, or agent activity. The collected data has to be filtered and then, segmented and categorized to draft insightful reports.

Step 3: KPI calculation

Once the raw data is processed and categorized, the reporting system will start calculating the required KPIs. For example, if there are a number of product queries flowing in, we can assess customer satisfaction by checking the FCR (First call resolution) rates. The reporting system can calculate FCR percentage by checking the number of inquiries resolved on the first call against the total number of inquiries.

Step 4: Presenting data reports

Finally, the reporting system presents the calculated data in easily understandable forms like a graph, chart, or table. Thus, the final step is data visualization so that the insights can be further used for training or understanding the efficiency of the call center.

Key benefits of call center reporting

• Actionable insights

  Call center analytics reveal valuable insights that can be used to improve future interactions. You can leverage this data to optimize call center operations and make informed decisions.

• Agent performance improvement

  By analyzing their own call data, agents pinpoint areas for improvement. This leads to better customer service and increased productivity.

• AI and ML-powered voice and speech analysis

  Advanced voice and speech analysis powered by AI and machine learning allows managers to intervene quickly and develop personalized training programs for agents.

• Optimized workflows

  Analyze customer behavior patterns to optimize workflows, improve customer satisfaction, and reduce costs.

• Improves customer satisfaction

  Personalized interactions, real-time call monitoring, and efficient call handling lead to higher customer satisfaction.

Challenges you might face with call center reporting

While data is crucial for making informed decisions, too much of it can be overwhelming.

You need to understand which segment of data is useful and for what particular goal-whether to improve customer satisfaction or for agent coaching. Segmenting data with the right purpose can make or break a business.

If you’re in customer service or call center business, you might be facing one or the other of the following issues:

• Data overload: With all the data flooding in, finding the right ones to extract insight can feel like finding a needle in the haystack.
• Integration issues: Difficulty in integrating all call analytics and reporting tools with your existing platforms can downsize its effectiveness. For example, a dialer without CRM integrations will not display actionable insights on agent performance or customer service, which makes it less effective.
• Lack of expertise: Your agents might feel lost at sea, not having the right training and skills to use the tools effectively.
• Privacy and compliance: Ensuring compliance with privacy regulations and maintaining data security while analyzing and reporting is like walking a tightrope. One wrong move can result in a ton of court cases.
• Cost constraints: The price tag on these tools can feel like a sticker shock, especially if you’re a small or medium-sized business working with a shoestring budget.
• Actionability of insights: It’s not just about crunching numbers; you need to know what to do with the insights. You are translating the insights into working strategies for improving business operations.

If you don’t want to struggle with overloaded data and want to maximize productivity, you need powerful call analytics. With JustCall Call Analytics, you can easily convert call data into action.

Call center report types

Below, we’ve briefly mentioned the reports you need to keep track of your call center’s performance.

1. Call volume reports: These are like pulse checks for your call center. They show you the number of incoming and outgoing calls over a certain period, indicating your call center activity.
2. Average handling time (AHT) reports: Ever wonder how long your agents spend on each call? AHT reports give you the lowdown, telling you the average time it takes to handle a call from start to finish. It is an essential measure of agent productivity.
3. First call resolution (FCR) reports: This one’s all about efficiency. Customers hate going back and forth with the same requests. FCR reports tell you how often customer issues are resolved on the first call without follow-up. It’s like hitting the bullseye with your first shot – quick and effective.
4. Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) reports: Want to know how happy your customers are? CSAT reports measure customer satisfaction levels based on feedback or surveys gathered after interactions.
5. Agent performance reports: These reports give you the scoop on how well your agents are performing, including metrics like call duration, talk time, hold time, number of issues solved, etc. It shows you who’s acing it and who might need a little extra help.
6. Abandoned call reports: Ever wonder how many calls are slipping through the cracks? Abandoned call reports show the number of callers who hang up before speaking to an agent. It’s like shining a light on missed opportunities.
7. Service level reports: This one’s all about keeping your promises. Service level agreement reports measure the number of calls answered within a set timeframe.
8. Queue activity reports: This report spills the beans on your queue activity. You get firsthand insight into the number of calls lined up, average wait time, dropout rates, longest wait time, and which agents are handling them.
9. Agent activity reports: As call center managers it’s hard to keep track of agent schedules and activities. With this report, you can see:

• their status (busy, idle, taking a break, absent, available)
• average wrap-up time
• number of transferred calls

How is call center reporting different from analytics?

Call center reporting and analytics may seem similar, but they serve different purposes. Call center reporting is the first step of call center analytics. Analytics uses this collected data to create actionable insights to further improve call center processes.

Here are the differences between the two:

Call Center Reporting	Call Center Analytics
Processes raw data and creates reports for managers	Uses both real-time data and historical data to identify trends in reports
Managers need to interpret the comprehensive reports and create a plan of action based on the report	Since analytics also take into account historical data, it shows exact problems to work on
Based on reports, you can understand “how” smoothly your call center is running	Looking into analytics, you get an insight into “why” you are getting these specific results and if there are areas of improvements

Types of call center analytics

Take a look at the prominent analytics your call center can’t do without:

1. Speech analytics: Taking a chance with customer emotions is like playing with fire. Better be safe than sorry, right? Speech or sentiment analysis listens in on customer-agent chats, picking up on tones, keywords, and trends. With this insight, you can prevent customer churn, measure success, and train your agents to hit all the perfect notes.
2. Text analytics: Just like reading between the lines, text analytics digs into chat logs and emails to uncover what your customers are thinking. You can identify customer trends, sentiment, and emerging issues before they can blindside your business.
3. Predictive analytics: Think of predictive analytics as your call center fortune teller. It looks at past data to predict future trends; think foreseeing when call volumes might spike, dips in CSAT scores, or seasonal trends. It’s handy to make proactive decisions and allocate resources effectively.
4. Omnichannel analytics: According to CSGI, 43% of business leaders reported a surge in customer cravings for omnichannel experiences. Thus, to keep pace with the present generation of consumers, it’s essential to monitor all interaction channels.

Best practices in call center reporting & analytics

We’ve already established the “what” of call analytics and reporting. Now, let’s look at the ‘how to’ of it all:

1. Set clear goals

First things first, figure out what you’re aiming for. Think about what you want to achieve with your reporting and analytics —– whether it’s boosting customer satisfaction or making your team more efficient. Set SMART goals based on the following:

• Business size
• Budget
• Staffing levels
• Tools available

2. Pick the right metrics

Choose the numbers that really matter. Tracking irrelevant metrics not aligned with your business goals would result in a wild goose chase —- losing time, money, and resources.

To improve agent performance, focus on KPIs like:-

• Agent idle time
• Average handle time
• First response time

To improve customer service, track:

• Average hold time
• Call abandonment rate
• CSAT score
• Net promoter score (NPS)
• Customer retention rate
• Customer churn rate
• Average call transfer rate

3. Keep your data in check

Make sure your data is solid, clean, and up-to-date so you can trust the insights you’re getting. Inaccurate data = Skewed results. After all, you don’t want to make decisions based on bad data!

4. Use the right tools

Invest in tools that can get you maximum value with minimum effort. Look for ones that can crunch the numbers for you, spot trends, and give you easy-to-read reports –— it’ll make your life a whole lot easier. Your tools should be easy to use with a smooth UI/UX.

Pro tip: Look for tools offering features like real-time monitoring, predictive analytics, and customizable dashboards.

5. Share insights with your team

Don’t keep all the good stuff to yourself! Share your insights with your team, stakeholders, and upper management so they can see how they’re doing and where they can improve. It’s all about working together to get better. Data silos can put a stopper on cross-departmental collaboration, ultimately stunting organizational growth.

6. Monitor trends and patterns

Stay on top of what’s happening. Look for trends or patterns in your data that might give you a heads-up about what’s next.

7. Stay flexible

Be ready to change things up if necessary. Incorporate feedback from both customers and agents. Be open to tweaking your approach as you go — after all, things change, and you need to be able to roll with the punches.

8. Improvise constantly

Finally, never stop learning and improving. Keep looking for ways to make your reporting and analytics even better, and you’ll keep seeing those positive results roll in.

Choose JustCall for an all-in-one analytics solution

Wrapping up our exploration of call center reporting and analytics for 2024, it’s clear that these tools are essential for understanding and improving your customer service operations.

By effectively using the insights gained from detailed analytics, you can enhance agent performance and boost customer satisfaction. Remember, every customer interaction is an opportunity to learn and grow.

With tools like JustCall, which offer detailed metrics and automated insights, your call center can not only meet but exceed expectations. Don’t just collect data — use it to make meaningful changes that resonate with both your team and your customers.