how best-in-class contact centers satisfy demanding customers
DESCRIPTION
Omer Minkara, Research Analyst at the Aberdeen Group, discusses how your contact center can improve productivity and give customers the service they want and deserve.TRANSCRIPT
1
Sponsored by
How Best-in-Class Contact Centers Satisfy Demanding Customers
Omer Minkara, Aberdeen Group Research Analyst, Contact Center
Author of Workforce Management in the Contact Center benchmark report
Distinguished thought-leader in Contact Center and Customer Experience Management
Today’s Presenters
2
John Wolf CMO, Knowlagent
Call center intraday management technology to improve agent productivity and performance
Agenda
• Introduction• Research Foundations• Role of Contact Center Workforce Management
in Delighting Customers• Best-in-Class Steps to Success• Intraday Contact Center Management – Why &
How• Case Study
© AberdeenGroup 2012 4
Show me the ROI
$881 in savings per agent – each year
--------------------------------
300 agents = $264,300 in unnecessary costs each year
$1,675
$2,556
$1,000
$1,400
$1,800
$2,200
$2,600
Average Cost of Unutilized Time for each agent per yearPercent of respondents, n=166
Intra-day Contact Center WorkforceManagement UsersNonusers
© AberdeenGroup 2012 5
Why Use Research
Photo credit: Inmagine
© AberdeenGroup 2012 6
Research Foundations
What are Best-in-Class companies doing differently?
What pitfalls are they avoiding? Why are they achieving greater
success? What technologies and services
are enabling them to succeed?
P
A
C
E
Pressures:External forces that impact an organization’s market position, competitiveness, or business operations.P ressures:External forces that impact an organization’s market position,’competitiveness, or business operations.
Actions:The strategic approaches that an organization takes in response to industry pressures.A ctions:The strategic approaches that an organization takes in response to industry pressures.
Capabilities:The business competencies (organization, process, etc…) required to execute corporate strategy.C apabilities:The business competencies (organization, process, etc…)required to execute corporate strategy.
Enablers:The key technology solutions required to support the organization’s business practices.E nablers:The key technology/service solutions required to support the
’ organization’s business practices.
Selected Performance Criteria (KPI)
First call resolution rate (current)Total
Respondents: 166
- Top 20%
- Middle 50%
- Bottom 30%
Respondents are scored individually across KPI
Best -in-Class
Industry Average
Laggard
Customer satisfaction (YOY)
Average handle time (YOY)
Agent utilization (YOY)
© AberdeenGroup 2012 7
Why should I deploy Contact Center Workforce Management?
65%
43%
32%
10%
30%
50%
70%
Improve agentproductivity and
utilization
Improve forecastaccuracy in
predicting volume ofcustomer
interactions
Improve the qualityof customerinteractions
Percent of respondents, n=166
Contact Center Workforce Management Users
© AberdeenGroup 2012 8
Connecting Customer Satisfaction with Agent Productivity & Utilization
86%Top Metric to Assess Performance Results:
Customer satisfaction
© AberdeenGroup 2012 9
“In addition to improved customer loyalty, managing our contact center workforce with an eye on customer experience results has helped us improve our industry rating and improved our cost structure through better processes and improved customer delight.”
~ VP of Contact Center at Large Global Financial Services Firm
© AberdeenGroup 2012 10
Top Pressures
48%44%
24%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Unpredictablecustomer traffic
Increased customerdemand for service
High turnover ofhigh-quality / top-tier
agentsPercent of respondents, n=166
Contact Center Workforce Management Users
© AberdeenGroup 2012 11
Best-in-Class Criteria
Definition of Maturity Class
Mean Class Performance
Best-in-Class: Top 20%
of aggregate performance scorers
75% first call resolution rate 21.9% average year-over-year improvement in customer
satisfaction 15.7% average year-over-year improvement (decrease) in
average handle time 11.8% average year-over-year improvement in agent
utilization rate
Industry Average: Middle 50% of aggregate
performance scorers
62% first call resolution rate 8.4% average year-over-year improvement in customer
satisfaction 2.6% average year-over-year improvement (decrease) in
average handle time 2.1% average year-over-year improvement in agent
utilization rate
Laggard: Bottom 30% of aggregate
performance scorers
28% first call resolution rate 2.9% average year-over-year improvement in customer
satisfaction 0.4% average year-over-year improvement (increase) in
average handle time 5.0% average year-over-year decline in agent
utilization rate
© AberdeenGroup 2012 12
Intra-day Contact Center Management Drives Best-in-Class Results
80%
75% 75%
70%
57%
44%43%
37%
32%
20%
40%
60%
80%
Routing customers based onagent competency skills
Predict staffing requirementsacross multiple sites
Intra-day contact centerworkforce management
Percent of respondents, n=166
Best in Class Industry Average Laggards
© AberdeenGroup 2012 13
“A broad category of processes and technologies that enable contact centers to react to changing conditions throughout the day to optimize agent productivity and performance.”
Definition: Intraday Contact Center Workforce Management
© AberdeenGroup 2012 14
Intra-day Contact Center Workforce Management – It Works!
14.9%
12.7%
4.8%4.1%
2.1%
5.8%
2.1% 2.2%
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
16%
Number of quality SLA’s met
Customersatisfaction
Improvement inaverage handle
time
First callresolution rates
Yea
r-ov
er-y
ear
perc
ent c
hang
e, n
=16
6
Intra-day contact center workforcemanagement users
All Others
© AberdeenGroup 2012 15
Best Practices in Intra-day Contact Center Management
79%77% 77%
75%
58%
45%
33%
40%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Adjust agent schedulesto adress intra-dayoverstaffing and/or
understaffing
Determine anddocument the skills of
successful agents
Use competency modelsto hire and train agents
with the right skills
Determine trainingcontent for each agentbased on agent skillsand knowledge gaps
Percent of respondents, n=166
Intra-day Contact Center Workforce Management Users Nonusers
Task Management & Staffing Training & Productivity
© AberdeenGroup 2012 16
Empowering Agents with Intra-day Contact Center Management
Companies integrating intraday contact center management activities achieve better:• First-call resolution rates• Customer satisfaction• Agent utilization• Average handle time
81%
52%
48%
Best-in-Class
Industry Average
Laggards
Percent of respondents, n=166
© AberdeenGroup 2012 17
Pillars of Intra-day Contact Center Management
81%
70% 71%
54%58%
46%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
Forecast agent demand byusing historical data on
customer traffic
Connect customers withagents who have the
knowledge and skills toaddress their needs
Assess agent skills againsttop-tier agents to determine
competency skill gaps
Percent of respondents, n=166
Intra-day Contact Center Workforce Management Users
Nonusers
© AberdeenGroup 2012 18
Smart Call Distribution: The Right Step for Best-in-Class Performance
10.2%
8.7%
5.3% 5.2%5.9%
2.1% 2.0%1.0%
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
Customersatisfaction
Number of quality SLA’s met
First callresolution rates
Agent utilizationrateY
ear-
ove
r-ye
ar
per
cent
cha
nge,
n=
166 Companies routing customers
based on agent competency skills
All Others
© AberdeenGroup 2012 19
Technology helps Companies Streamline Business Processes
89% 87%
78% 78%
48%
41%
48%43%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
Time andattendance
management
Knowledgemanagement
Workforceoptimization
eLearning tools
Percent of respondents, n=166
Intra-day Contact Center Workforce Management Users
Nonusers
© AberdeenGroup 2012 20
Workforce Optimization has a Direct Impact on Customer Delight
12.3%
6.1% 5.9%5.0%5.2%
-0.2%
1.5% 2.0%
-1%
1%
3%
5%
7%
9%
11%
13%
Customersatisfaction
Agent retentionrate
First call resolutionrate
Averageimprovement in
handle time
Yea
r-o
ver-
yea
r p
erce
nt c
han
ge, n
=16
6
Workforce Optimization Users Nonusers
© AberdeenGroup 2012 21
“Deploying a formal contact center workforce management initiative helped us with large savings through reduced unnecessary operational expenses.”
~ Contact Center Manager at Large Insurance Services Firm based in the U.S.
© AberdeenGroup 2012 22
The Value of the Difference
$881 in savings per agent – each year
--------------------------------
300 agents = $264,300 in unnecessary costs each year
$1,675
$2,556
$1,000
$1,400
$1,800
$2,200
$2,600
Average Cost of Unutilized Time for each agent per yearPercent of respondents, n=166
Intra-day Contact Center WorkforceManagement UsersNonusers
© AberdeenGroup 2012 23
Research Takeaways
Contact center workforce management is more than agent productivity & utilization; it has a direct impact on customer delight
If you’re not automating your intraday contact center workforce management activities, you are incurring unnecessary costs each year
Align your intraday contact center workforce management activities to achieve Best-in-Class results
Use supporting technology tools to maximize your performance
11% of every day agents sit idle
25
30%
47%
18%4% 1%
Delivery of off-phone work during idle time is a viable so-lution for my contact center
Strongly agreeAgreeNeutralDisagreeStrongly disagree
According to WFM professionals...
CONFIDENTIAL
Knowlagent Survey of Workforce Management Professionals, February 2012
Intraday Contact Center Management
Unpredictable customer traffic is a top challenge
Intraday Contact Center Management
Intraday Contact Center Management
Proactively send learning materials and off-phone work during idle time
Communications
Coaching/Training
Back-office work
Activities to complete during idle time
Agents can work on any task:• Product training• Coaching• Professional development• Critical communication• Administrative tasks• Claims processing• Back-office work• HR assessments• Voice of the agent• Breaks
Training Impact on Customer Experience
30
Customer SatisfactionGetting First Call Resolution Done
Using Knowlagent to deliver more training, coaching, and communications to over 45,000 agents
Increased Delivery“Delivered more training time to a site in 5 days using RightTime than was delivered over 1 month when manually scheduling time”
Major U.S. Telecommunications Company
FCR up 3.5% in 90 days
What are we waiting for?
86% of consumers quit doing business with a company because of a bad customer experience, up from 59% 4 years agoSource: Harris Interactive, Customer Experience Impact Report
32CONFIDENTIAL
It takes 12 positive service experiences to make up for one negative experienceSource: “Understanding Customers” by Ruby Newell-Legner
Watch this presentation on-demand:
http://bit.ly/Qz1xZW