4 Steps to gradually break away from traditional call center metrics

Faith Ocampo Published on December 1, 2016

Making critical business decisions based on traditional customer service metrics alone can be detrimental to your brand.

The customer support industry has been transforming in many ways over the past few years. A large part of this evolution is driven by consumers’ changing expectations and the unstoppable spread of mobile devices. Instead of transactional seller-buyer relationships, customers now want to connect with businesses at a meaningful level.

smiling customer care rep with call center team

You’d think that because of these shifts, contact centers would start tweaking their performance measurement system, but plenty of them haven’t. Some are still implementing the same call center metrics that have been in place for a long time. In these cases, therefore, the indicators they’re using to measure the quality of their services may no longer be applicable to the existing business environment.

In other words, these companies are failing to be customer-centric.

Take for example, AHT or average handle time, which pertains to the length of a transaction between a support agent and a customer. A quantitative metric that almost every customer care provider has used at some point, it has become a subject of debate among customer relationship experts. Some argue that aiming to reduce AHT would force agents to rush through their interactions with consumers, thus possibly damaging the customer experience and hampering problem resolution.

As an alternative to AHT, some companies favor these indicators instead:

    • First contact resolution tells you whether the customers’ issue was resolved during their first interaction with your brand

  • Customer effort score measures how easy or difficult it was for customers to reach your support channels and interact with your agents

 

  • Communication etiquette allows you to measure the quality of an interaction in terms of etiquette and effective communication

 

Rethinking your metrics ensures that you’re targeting and measuring the aspects of your services that matter the most to your customers. To make this process more manageable, here are the four general steps you must follow.

  1. Examine your existing framework

    Philippine BPO executive writing with pen with charts and graphs
    You need to take a close look at how you’re currently measuring your performance. During this stage, here are some questions you need to answer:

    • What call center metrics are you implementing?

    • Do these metrics reflect your goals?

    • What are you not measuring?

    • What should you be measuring?

    Examining your existing performance management system would allow you to identify the gaps in your quality checking processes. This will let you build a monitoring strategy that best reflects your brand’s objectives.

  2. Update your customer service goals

    call center executive brainstorming in meeting
    Contact centers must aim for one thing only: making customers happy.

    Most customer relationship experts would agree that consumers have relatively simple demands, the most crucial of which is a hassle-free experience. They want fast and reliable customer support and deeply humanized interactions, and you should be able to deliver on all these aspects.

    But you should also know which among these must be prioritized, considering the nature of your brand and your market’s preferences. The metrics you’ll be using must let you measure your performance in each of these aspects.

  3. Identify the skills and resources your agents need

    smiling call center agent helping a customer during a call
    As you update your call center metrics, make sure that agents are equipped with the skills and resources they need to achieve these new targets. As you make changes on your quality measurement approach, therefore, it’s best to design and conduct new training programs.

    In addition to this, employees must be aware of how their performance will be measured. This way, everyone will be focusing on the same set of goals.

  4. Implement your new metrics in increments

    BPO team leader helping call center agents by office computer
    If you’re hesitating to implement your new performance management mechanism across your entire contact center, you can start by testing it out on a single team for a given duration. You can consider this a trial period, during which you can evaluate the changes you’ve made and see whether they’re getting you closer to your customer support targets.

    Once you’ve made all the necessary improvements and acquired the resources you need, you can then roll out these updates at a broader scale.

 

Faith is a digital media enthusiast aiming to become an active part of the tech world by sharing her insights. She likes to blog about everything digimarketing, technology, and social media.
Join us on facebook
Open Access BPO 1 hour ago
𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗕𝗣𝗢 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗹𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗼 𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗽 𝗜𝘁 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗛𝗼𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲. | https://buff.ly/434ctKb

The three-month program saw employees engage in wellness sessions, regular weigh-ins, and receive expert weight loss guidance. The finale recognized and celebrated the remarkable transformations achieved by the participating employees.

The initiative underscores Open Access BPO's commitment to investing in the overall well-being of its employees and cultivating a positive and supportive company culture.

----------
Open Access BPO is dedicated to employee engagement and contributing to our team's growth, both professionally and personally.

Learn more about our company culture and commitment to our employees: https://buff.ly/4i34265

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#DropItLikeItsHot #OABPODroppinIt
#OneForHealth #IdeaHubOABPO
Open Access BPO 6 days ago
Open Access BPO Taipei celebrated a decade of growth and success with a party event at the ILLUME Taipei Hotel.

The evening showcased our strong company culture, with games, delicious food, and a festive atmosphere.
We're proud of our team and excited for what the future holds!

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#OABPOKickOff2025 #OABPOWanderlustBliss
#WanderlustBlissOABPO
Open Access BPO 6 days ago
𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗽 𝗜𝘁 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗛𝗼𝘁: 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗕𝗣𝗢 𝗪𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗟𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗻𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀

The Open Access BPO's weight loss challenge has officially come to a close after a successful three-month run.

The program, which included wellness sessions and regular weigh-ins, culminated in an awards ceremony celebrating the incredible achievements of our participants.

We're thrilled to announce and congratulate the five champions from our Manila and Davao offices who demonstrated remarkable dedication and commitment to their health and wellness journeys.

Open Access BPO is committed to employee well-being, and this weight loss challenge is a prime example. We regularly offer activities and programs like this to support our employees' personal and professional growth, fostering a healthy and supportive work environment.

We're proud of all participants and look forward to continuing to support their wellness journeys.

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#DropItLikeItsHot #OABPODroppinIt
#OneForHealth #IdeaHubOABPO
Open Access BPO 6 days ago
This February, Open Access BPO joins the world in celebrating 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵.

We recognize the vital contributions of African-Americans who have shaped our world.

It's also a call for us all to learn from history, amplify Black voices, and take action against systemic racism.

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#BlackHistoryMonth #BHM2025
#OABPOonBHM #BHM
Open Access BPO 8 days ago
Bringing people together, celebrating achievements, and building momentum for their 10th anniversary is the real highlight of 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗹𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗕𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘀: 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗕𝗣𝗢 𝗞𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘆.

We're looking forward to being stronger together with our Davao teammates for another decade, but for now, here's a look back at what happened in last week's party: https://buff.ly/3CK1vyM

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#OABPOKickOff2025 #OABPOWanderlustBliss
Open Access BPO 13 days ago
The Davao leg of our 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗹𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗕𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘀: 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗕𝗣𝗢 𝗞𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘆 over the weekend was a celebration of what lies ahead: a shared vision of unforgettable moments and a reflection of our collective drive to succeed in every challenge 2025 has in store.

Thank you to everyone who joined us at the Acacia Hotel Davao for an evening of inspiration and celebration. Here's to a year of new opportunities and achievements!

Let's take a look back at last weekend's party.

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#OABPOKickOff2025 #OABPOWanderlustBliss
#WanderlustBlissOABPO