KPI stands for Key Performance Indicators, a set of metrics critical to assessing contact center performance. The specific metrics that are considered KPI are different for each contact center. The primary factors to consider are: inbound vs. outbound, and sales vs. service. Secondary factors include markets served, your company’s position in that market, customer behaviors, and many other factors that may be unique to your operations. For example, in an outbound call center dialer performance, such as the ratio of lines dialed to agents staffed, would be important while a standard inbound service level would not; however, in an inbound center your standard service level, measured as a percentage of calls answered within a desired time frame, is one of the most important KPI, along with Average Handling Time (AHT) and Abandonment. Performance metrics such as quality monitoring scores, schedule adherence, and productivity are also common.Other KPI, such as first call resolution and sales conversion rates, may be highly subjective based on a company’s line of business and the types of customers served. Even in a case where a single KPI like a standard service level is used in two call centers, each center may have its own standards. A center focusing on sales may have a service level goal to answer 80% of the calls in 20 seconds, where a service-oriented call center may have a more relaxed service level of 80% in 30 seconds. Likewise, the goals for abandoned calls may be different, too. In the sales center, an abandoned call directly relates to lost revenue…there is no way to close the sale if the customer hangs up! For the service environment, there is an indirect impact on revenue, as poor service may lead to churn and impact renewal rates for subscription services. But the service center must prioritize its actions; simple customer issues and basic user-errors are to be supported in most cases, but not with the same urgency as service-effecting outages or direct sales inquiries.
A key factor to consider in setting KPI goals is your technology. Do you have the systems in place to capture and report on the data needed to asses each KPI? Many metrics come from the phone system and/or CRM, but for the blended call center that handles phone calls, email, and chat there may be a variety of tools used to source performance data. There may also be some instances where you cannot measure a specific metric because you simply do not have the needed technology in place. There are many KPI measurements, and the correct set is unique to each company.