Call Center Metrics

How to Evaluate Call Center Agent Performance

There are a number of call center metrics you can use to track agent performance, such as call handle time and customer satisfaction rates. One of the most effective ways to track and evaluate agent performance is by using a call center agent performance scorecard. Keep reading to learn more about this valuable tool.

Call Center Agent Performance Scorecard

Continuously tracking the quality of your agent’s performance is a critical component of the quality assurance process. Recording agent calls for quality assurance is a significant first step. Not only can this practice help your center effectively deal with customer complaints and protect your agents, but it can also provide actual examples for training and coaching purposes.

Since your call center likely handles hundreds of calls every day, it would be impossible to review these call recordings and manually assess agent performance for every call. Instead, call center software can automatically track specific metrics for each call and use this data to rate agent performance using a customized quality assurance scorecard.

Using a call center agent performance scorecard to rate each incoming and outgoing call creates a standardized process. Once you create a call center scorecard, every agent is evaluated using the same call center metrics for every call. This creates an unbiased method for identifying both overperforming and underperforming agents.

With mySQM™ Customer Service QA software, you can create a customized call center agent performance scorecard. This scorecard works like a checklist to ensure agents are meeting company expectations.

How to Create a Scorecard 

When creating a quality assurance scorecard, consider company standards and your overall goals and objectives. For example, are your agents required to open each call with a specific greeting? Does the company have first-call resolution expectations? Be sure to include these critical elements in your agent performance scorecard. Below is a look at some of the most common components of a call center quality assurance scorecard:

• Time to answer the call
• Proper greeting provided
• Verified customer’s identity
• Resolved customer issues
• Transferred call if necessary
• Followed customer service protocols
• Ended call properly
• Maintained a pleasant tone throughout the call
• Submitted post-call form
• Average call handle time

Once your customized scorecard is in place, the software automatically tracks the required call center metrics, such as call handle time and speed of answering. When the call is over, the quality assurance dashboard scorecard combines all data collected and calculates an overall score for each agent’s call.

Call Center Metrics and KPIs

There are dozens of call center metrics and KPIs your company can use to measure performance. Fortunately, call center quality assurance software can track, manage, and analyze vast amounts of data. In most cases, this software calculates these metrics automatically based on the data it collects.

Even so, it’s important to understand which metrics provide the greatest value to your company and how you can use these metrics to measure success. Below is a look at some of the most common call center metrics examples: 

• First Call Resolution: First-Call Resolution (FCR) represents the rate at which agents can resolve customer issues during the first call.
• Customer Satisfaction Score: Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) gauges the level of customer satisfaction based on customer feedback. Many call centers conduct surveys at the end of the call to gather this information.
• Average Handle Time: Average Handle Time (AHT) is the amount of time the agent spends on the phone handling customer issues.
• Customer Effort Score: The Customer Effort Score (CES) determines the level of effort customers put into resolving their issues.

Outbound Call Center Metrics

• Average Speed of Answering: The Average Speed of Answering (ASA) represents how long it takes the agent to answer the phone.
• Call Abandonment Rate: Call Abandonment Rate (CAR) is the number of callers who hang up while waiting for a call center agent to pick up.
• Average Time in Queue: The Average Time in Queue is the amount of time callers are put on hold before connecting with an agent.

Inbound Call Center Metrics

• Call Block Rate: The Call Block Rate (CBR)  is the number of calls an agent can’t make because the customer has blocked the number.
• Answer Success Rate: The Answer Success Rate (ASR) is the number of outgoing calls that customers answer in comparison to the overall number of calls made.
• Agent Wait Time: Agent Wait Time (AWT) is the amount of time agents spend on the phone waiting for the customer to answer the phone.

It’s important for your company to determine right from the start which call center metrics it wants to track on an agency, department, and agent level.

Call Center Metrics Dashboard

A call center metrics dashboard is a visual representation of numerous call center metrics and KPIs. This dashboard gives call center managers and leaders easy access to the real-time data they need to continually monitor quality assurance and optimize agent performance.

These contact center dashboards are completely customizable, so you can determine exactly which metrics you want to see front and center. The call center quality assurance software automatically collects and tracks relevant data and also instantly calculates your selected call center metrics formulas and KPIs.

There are numerous benefits to utilizing call center metrics dashboards, including:

• Identifying Problems Quickly: Having instant access to key call center metrics allows managers to quickly identify and resolve issues, such as agent performance, software issues, and decreasing customer satisfaction.
• Tracking Emerging Trends: This real-time data can also alert call center managers and leaders to emerging trends, including higher-than-normal wait times, increased call abandonment rates, and an increase in customer effort scores.
• Identifying Coaching Opportunities: One of the top benefits of utilizing this type of interactive dashboard is that it allows managers to quickly identify a breach in call center service level standards. By identifying which metrics are below company standards, managers can provide targeted coaching and training opportunities on a company-wide or individual agent level to improve performance.
• Recognizing Outstanding Performance: The chaotic nature of call centers can make it difficult to identify top-performing agents. The call center metrics dashboard can help managers overcome this challenge by identifying which agents continuously exceed company expectations and deserve recognition.
• Improving the Customer Experience: Being able to quickly identify issues within the call center and provide agents with real-time feedback can help to improve agent performance and provide a better customer experience.
• Cutting Costs: These dashboards help to streamline the quality assurance process by automatically tracking and calculating valuable call center metrics. This benefit not only helps the company save time, but it can help save money as well. 

The online data visualization that call center metrics dashboards offer is critical for agents, managers, and call center leaders. Not only can it help to simplify call center analysis, but it can also help to improve agent performance, customer satisfaction, and call center outcomes.

Find out how mySQM™ Customer Service QA software can help your company streamline the call center quality assurance process and improve outcomes for both your customers and your agents.

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