10+ Call Center Metrics to Boost Customer Service

75% of customers would prefer to have their customer service needs managed by a live agent rather than self-service or a chatbot (let’s face it, we’ve all been there!) Call center metrics play a huge part in ensuring agent availability and efficiency.

Even in the age of self-service and chatbots, call centers remain a crucial touchpoint. But how do you know if your agents are effectively resolving customer issues and delivering a positive experience?

That’s where call center metrics come in.

By leveraging these call center key performance indicators (KPIs), you can gain valuable insights into agent effectiveness, identify areas for improvement, and ultimately elevate your customer service experience.

This guide will walk you through the meaning of call center metrics, highlighting their importance and strategies you can implement to improve them in your center.

Table of Contents:

1. What are Call Center Metrics?
2. The Significance of Call Center Metrics
3. 10+ Essential Call Center Metrics and KPIs You Need to Monitor
4. Strategies to Improve Call Center Metrics

What are Call Center Metrics?

Call center metrics are performance measurements used to assess how well a call center is doing. These metrics can be used to track agent performance, customer satisfaction, and effectiveness of customer service operations within a call center.

By tracking and analyzing these metrics, you can identify strengths and weaknesses within your call center operations, enabling them to implement targeted improvements and strategies for growth.

The Significance of Call Center Metrics

Identifies Areas for Improvement

The call center metrics are useful in showing where your call center is falling short. Pinpointing specific areas, such as average handle time (AHT) or customer satisfaction rate (CSAT), makes it possible for you to identify where processes can be improved.

Assesses Agent Performance

Call center metrics let you measure how well agents perform their duties. They measure how well agents handle calls, their product knowledge, and their ability to follow procedures. This data is crucial for individual and team performance evaluation, ensuring fairness and providing a foundation for targeted development.

Guides Training and Development

By analyzing key metrics, you can tailor training programs to your agents’ needs and identify gaps, whether in communication skills, product knowledge, or handling difficult calls, to create targeted training programs.

Helps with Strategic Planning and Resource Allocation

Decisions on workforce management plans, technology investments, or customer service enhancements are made with the help of call center metrics. For example, allocating resources based on traffic patterns or call volume ensures that sufficient resources are always available to run the call center effectively while meeting customer expectations.

10+ Essential Call Center Metrics and KPIs You Need to Monitor

Here are some ways in which you can measure your call center’s metrics:

1. Average Handle Time (AHT)

AHT measures the average time an agent spends handling a call from start to finish. This includes talk time, hold time, and after-call work.

Formula to calculate AHT:

AHT= (Total talk time + Total hold time + Total after-call work) / Total number of calls

• Total talk time is the sum of time spent by agents speaking directly to customers on calls.
• Total hold time is the total amount of time callers spend on hold while waiting for an agent to assist them.
• Total after-call work includes additional time spent by agents after ending a call to complete tasks such as updating customer information, writing reports, or sending follow-up emails.
• The total number of calls is the total number of calls handled by a call center within a specific time frame. (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly)

2. First Call Resolution (FCR)

First call resolution measures the percentage of customer service agents who resolve customer issues during the first contact, with no follow-up action required.

This lets you understand how well your agents meet customer expectations on the first call.

Formula to calculate FCR:

FCR = (Calls resolved on first contact / Total calls received) * 100

Calls resolved on first contact mean that the agent successfully addressed the customer’s concern during the conversation in a single call.

3. Service Level

Service level is a performance metric of how efficiently a call center resolves customer inquiries, balancing quick response times with quality service. It refers to the percentage of calls agents answer within a given time frame.

Each call center has its own set of service level standards. However, most companies have similar service level standards, such as answering 90 percent of calls within 20 seconds. You can improve decision-making and customer satisfaction by setting benchmarks.

Formula to calculate service level:

Service Level = (Number of calls answered / Total number of calls) * 100%

4. Call Abandonment Rate

The call abandonment rate is the percentage of customers who hang up before speaking to an agent while waiting.

In such a situation, the customer experience is likely to be poor, so you can allow agents to automatically create tickets from abandoned calls with the help of call center software. Agents can avoid bad experiences by contacting customers who hung up without talking.

Formula to calculate call abandonment rate:

Call Abandonment Rate = (Number of calls abandoned / Total number of calls offered) * 100%

5. Occupancy Rate

The occupancy rate measures how much time agents spend on customer calls or post-call work activities. It basically measures how busy your agents are.

To measure occupancy, you should aim for less than 100% occupancy, as 100% occupancy does not equal 100% productivity. Remember that agents’ total handling time includes not only talk time but also hold time and log-in time.

Formula to calculate occupancy rate:

Occupancy Rate = (Total talk time + Total hold time+ After call work time) / Total Logged-In Time x 100

• Total Talk Time: The time agents spent talking to customers.
• Total Hold Time: The time customers are on hold during calls.
• After-Call Work Time: The time spent completing tasks related to the call after it has ended.
• Total login time: The time represents the total duration agents are logged into the call center system and available to handle calls.

6. Cost Per Call (CPC)

Cost per call measures the average cost of each call an agent handles. This gives you an idea of whether resource allocation needs to be adjusted.

Measuring CPC gives you insight into the cost-effectiveness of operations and how to manage resource allocation in a call center.

Formula to calculate CPC:

CPC = Total call center operating cost / Total number of calls

Total call center operating cost encompasses all the expenses of running your call center.

7. Average Answer Speed (ASA)

Average Speed of Answer (ASA) is a call center metric that measures the average amount of time it takes for a call to be answered after a customer enters a queue. It reflects how quickly agents are available to address customer inquiries.

Formula to calculate ASA:

ASA = Total waiting time for answered calls / Number of calls answered

8. Peak-Hour Traffic

Peak-hour traffic measures which time is the busiest time i.e. which time receives the most calls from customers. It refers to the specific times within a day or week when a call center receives the highest volume of incoming calls from customers.

9. Blockage Rate

Blockage rate measures the number of blocked calls over time, that is, how often callers cannot connect due to capacity issues. This happens when the inbound call volume exceeds the maximum limit you set.

In such a situation, the customers can be told why they are not getting the service through a recorded message.

Formula to calculate blockage rate:

Blockage Rate = (Calls Blocked / Calls Attempted) * 100%

10. Agent Utilization Rate

Agent utilization rate measures a call center agent’s time handling calls or other work-related daily tasks. It provides insights into agent productivity and whether they are underutilized or overburdened.

Formula to calculate agent utilization rate:

Agent Utilization Rate = (Total Worked Hours / Total Available Hours) x 100

11. Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)

CSAT is typically measured through surveys administered after a specific customer interaction, such as a call, email, or in-person service experience.

Through Survey, you can also ask them to give 1-5 ratings. Those who give a 5 rating are “very satisfied,” and those who give a 1 rating are “very dissatisfied.”

Formula to calculate CSAT:

CSAT= Total Number of Positive Responses / Total Number of Responses Collected * 100

12. Net Promoter Score (NPS)

NPS measures customer loyalty through a survey by measuring how many customers recommend your services to others. Customers answer on a rating scale of 0-10, with Promoters rating 9 or 10, Passives rating 7 or 8, and Detractors rating 6 or below.

Formula to calculate NPS:

NPS= % of Promoters – % of Detractors

• Promoters: These are your loyal customers and brand advocates.
• Passives: These are neutral customers. They are somewhat satisfied but may not be actively excited about your brand.
• Detractors: These are unhappy customers who are likely to spread negative word-of-mouth.

13. Customer Effort Score (CES)

CES measures how easy or difficult it is for customers to interact with agents to resolve their issues. This is measured by creating surveys that ask customers, “How easy was it for you to interact with our service, on a scale from 1 (very easy) to 7 (very difficult).

Formula to calculate CES:

CES = Sum of customer effort ratings/Total number of survey responses

Sum of customer effort ratings is the total of all the numerical ratings customers give in response to the CES survey question.

For example, if three customers rate their effort as 3, 5, and 2, respectively, the sum of these ratings would be \ (3 + 5 + 2 = 10).

14. QA scores

QA scores are a metric used in call centers to assess the quality of agent interactions. Evaluators listen to recorded calls and use a scorecard to evaluate how well agents adhere to established performance standards and best practices. These standards might cover areas like communication skills, problem-solving techniques, and following company procedures.

By analyzing QA scores, call centers can identify areas where agents excel and areas where they might need additional coaching or training. This helps ensure consistent service quality and a positive customer experience.

Strategies to Improve Call Center Metrics

You can adopt these actionable ways to create a strategy for increasing agent efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Implement the Latest Software Solutions

It is vital to use software backed by the ML and AI technologies used in the software. New-gen software helps you improve call center metrics.

Call centers can also personalize interactions by leveraging these software solutions and automating routine tasks. Additionally, agents gain a deeper understanding of customer behavior, improving metrics such as Average Handle Time (AHT) and First Call Resolution (FCR).

Invest in Training Programs

Invest in creating new programs to provide periodic training to your agents. It is essential to provide training to agents to improve their communication skills and make them aware of the product, new software, and policies. Strong communication skills can reduce call handle times, while in-depth product knowledge increases first-call resolution rates.

Providing training on new software improves agents’ knowledge and skills, and understanding company policies ensures accurate responses.

Optimize Workforce Management

It is very important to adjust your employees properly to make the workforce effective. You can schedule agents strategically by analyzing call volume patterns and historical trends. This proactive approach ensures you have the right number of staff during busy periods, customer wait times are minimized and agent productivity is maximized.

Effective workforce management prevents agent burnout from excessive call volume and avoids idle time when calls are low.

Regularly Review and Adjust Processes

It is vital to evaluate workflow and adjust processes regularly to improve call center metrics. Regular evaluation will allow you to improve the routing of calls to the most appropriate agent, streamline workflows to eliminate delays, and automate repetitive tasks.

By doing this, operations remain efficient, and customer expectations are also met.

The Bottom Line

By focusing on key call center metrics, you enable your team to provide excellent customer service. Understanding and improving these metrics increases your team’s efficiency while also improving customer satisfaction and experience. Keep measuring the metrics occasionally, keep improving, and make your call center customer support excellent.