xgt[vjkpi[qwpggfvqmpqycdqwv … · 60% of all repeat calls are process or training driven –...

Everything you need to know about first call resolution

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// table of contents //

INTRODUCTION // 04

01 // Why you should measure FCR // 05

02 // 16 Factors influencing FCR // 12

03 // How to measure FCR // 20

04 // How to improve FCR // 38

05 // How to improve FCR: a guide for agents // 55

CONCLUSION // 62

talkdesk © www.talkdesk.com // 3

// Everything you need to know about first call resolution


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// INTRODUCTION //

Measuring customer satisfaction, the effectiveness of your team and the level of efficiency of your call center are typically top priorities for call center managers. And they should be. They provide insight into the general functioning and overall health of the call center. If any of these start slipping, so will the profitability of the call center. Given their importance, managers must consistently measure and track them and make data-driven changes based on these measurements.

First contact resolution (FCR) is the most accurate measure of all three of these constructs. FCR is the percentage of calls in which agents completely address the customer’s needs without having to transfer the caller or call them back. It is a measure of efficiency and effectiveness and by improving it you will improve quality, reduce costs and increase customer satisfaction. If you had to choose one KPI to measure consistently over time, FCR would be it.

This e-book will explain FCR in detail, give step-by-step instructions on how to measure FCR as well as tips for getting your entire team on board with helping to increase FCR.



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01 // WHY YOU SHOULD MEASURE FIRST CONTACT RESOLUTION

FCR is the most important call center metric for any company to measure. Measuring FCR and making data-driven decisions based on the outcome of the analysis will allow your company to:

If customer satisfaction isn’t a top priority in your company,

it should be. Taking a customer-centric approach to conducting business (and measuring the effectiveness of this approach) is essential. It will promote brand awareness, help your company gain a competitive edge and thrive in a tough economy.

1. INCREASE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION


For companies that maintain a customer-focus, FCR is an incredibly important KPI to measure and track. This is because it is the single most important KPI related to a customer’s level of satisfaction with a company [2]. When FCR increases, there is a corresponding improvement in customer satisfaction and a reduction in customer churn. The reason



is simple: customers want to speak with a competent call center agent, have their issues resolved immediately and don’t want to be transferred to another agent during the course of their interaction. Thus, FCR is a measure of how well you are meeting the needs of your customer base and how satisfied they are with their interactions with your company.

“Every 1% gain in FCR translates into a 1% gain in customer satisfaction.”

The Service Quality Management Group, Inc., (2008).

Customer retention is huge for any company. A loyal customer can add incredible lifetime value, promote positive brand awareness and increase word of mouth traffic. It is therefore essential that any company go to great lengths to make sure their customers are happy and are provided with the best service.

2. REDUCE “AT-RISK CUSTOMERS”

The best way to keep customers happy and loyal is to adequately resolve their issues on first contact (increase FCR). The evidence



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“One out of six customers could be “at-risk” because they were not satisfied with their

last contact center interaction.”

The 2007 Aspect Contact Center Satisfaction Index, (2007).

to support this is incredible: only 2% of customers’ whose calls are resolved on first contact stated that they would not continue to use that company’s product/service based on that experience with the call center agent. Conversely, 19% of customers expressed intent to discontinue the use of their product/service when their issue was not resolved by the first agent they spoke with [4]. With data like these, you cannot afford to neglect tracking your FCR.

Developing a comprehensive understanding of your

customer base is essential if you are a customer-centric company that aims to meet the changing needs of your customers.

3. UNDERSTAND YOUR CUSTOMER BASE



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FCR measurement and detailed analysis is one of the best methods for you to gain insight into your customer’s needs, the reasons that they call, typical issues, common misconceptions about your product/service and problem areas. This customer intelligence can be invaluable for marketing efforts, product development, enhancing onboarding efforts and engaging in preemptive reparative action with unhappy customers before they quit using your product or service.

When looking to improve call center efficiency and reduce operational costs, reducing repeat calls should be the first target of your efforts. By tracking FCR and engaging in

root cause analysis, you can identify factors contributing

to repeat calls.

4. REDUCE OPERATIONAL COSTS

Once you understand the reasons for repeat calls, you can engage in reparative action which will reduce the demand for service, improve FCR and reduce costs. According to experts, an 18% reduction in call volume results in a 15% improvement in FCR [4]. This is a large improvement that can have a significant impact on your bottom line. Research conducted by The Pelorus Group confirms this. They found that a reduction in repeat calls from 25% to 20% would save the average call center $389,120 annually. This is a feasible goal that results in huge savings.



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Business inefficiencies often plague companies and can

significantly impact the relationship with the customer

base. They can increase call times, lead to an increase in transferred calls and callbacks and can be very frustrating for both the agent and the customer.

5. INCREASE EFFICIENCY

Measuring FCR and engaging in subsequent root cause analysis will illuminate inefficiencies and business practices that are hindering the customer support process and negatively effecting customer satisfaction. Once you have identified inefficient practices and understand the impact they have on your customers, it becomes much easier to fix them. When you do, you customers will thank you for it.

60% of all repeat calls are process or training driven – business processes are not in place to meet the customer’s need, and agents have not been given the training required

to meet the customer expectations that have been set by marketing or elsewhere in the business.

Frost & Sullivan



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FCR rates within a call center have a direct effect on

agent satisfaction: companies with high FCR rates have agents who are more satisfied with their jobs, experience less stress and have lower turnover rates. This is likely because the company’s internal business processes are more streamlined, the agents have been well trained and they are more autonomous, making the job more enjoyable.

6. IMPROVE AGENT PERFORMANCE, SATISFACTION AND RETENTION

Measuring and tracking FCR can be an excellent way to increase agent performance and satisfaction. The best way to use FCR to increase performance is to anchor recognition and rewards programs to this metric. It will allow you to identify top performing agents and reward them accordingly, which will increase agent satisfaction and retention. It can also help to identify agents who need extra coaching, training and guidance. By tying rewards programs to FCR metrics, you will promote your company’s customer-centric values and will help to align your team with your strategic business goals. All of these factors result in a more skilled workforce, more satisfied employees and increased profits.



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FCR is an excellent metric to help you identify and repair

issues which will result in an increase in performance,

customer service and efficient practices. Taken together, these three changes will have an enormous effect on revenue.

7. INCREASE REVENUE

Excellent customer service can have a direct effect on revenue. According to a Genesys Global Consumer Survey [3], 75% of global consumers stated that they would do business with a company based on a great contact center experience. When customer’s issues are resolved quickly on first contact, they are more receptive to upselling and cross-selling activities and are more likely to spread positive word of mouth about their experience, your company and your product. Additionally, by identifying and fixing inefficiencies, training gaps, managerial issues and obsolete software, you will increase the effectiveness of your team and reduce operational costs. Taken together, these actors will all contribute to an increase in revenue.

Understanding the importance of measuring FCR is the first step to making huge changes within your company. Once you do, it becomes clear that FCR is much more than just a KPI, it can be the key to your company’s success.


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FCR is a complex metric that is influenced by many factors. Knowing what constructs contribute to a change in FCR will allow you to develop a more comprehensive approach to measuring and tracking it and also will allow you to make appropriate changes within the workplace in order to improve it.

Below is a list of 16 of the most important factors that influence FCR:


02 // 16 FACTORS INFLUENCING FIRST CALL RESOLUTION

According to a study conducted by Dimension Data [1], the top issue that contributes to a decrease in FCR is lack

of access to customer information and systems data. When agents don’t have access to the customer’s history (i.e. their support requests, items purchased, previous events/cases and previous interactions with your company) they are less likely to solve their problems on the first attempt.

1. TOOLS AND ACCESS TO ACCURATE INFORMATION



This occurs when software isn’t integrated or doesn’t provide a 360 degree view of the customer, when agents forget to input information into the CRM/helpdesk/back office systems, when agents forget to update all systems with new information and when agents input wrong information. This also occurs when agents don’t have access to accurate information about the product/service (via a knowledgebase, training, or access to a manager/SME). Agents in these situations will be more likely to have to transfer the call or call the customer back.

The second most influential factor on FCR is the call center

agent’s knowledge and capabilities [1]. When agents are unaware of new events like campaigns, press releases, bugs/known issues and product launches, they will be less prepared to adequately resolve customer’s issues.

2. AGENT KNOWLEDGE AND CAPABILITIES

Additionally, when the call center agent lacks the authority to solve specific problems, they will be more likely to transfer the call or have another agent return the customer’s call. Finally, the agent’s troubleshooting skills, problem solving capabilities and extent of training will all contribute to their ability to meet the needs of the customer. Taken together, these factors can have a huge impact on FCR.



The third most important factor influencing FCR is company

policies, processes and procedures [1]. When company policies hinder the agent’s ability to sufficiently meet the customer’s needs, they will be more likely to have to transfer the call.

3. COMPANY POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

For instance, if an agent is not authorized to give a customer a refund (only a manager) the number of calls that are escalated to a manager will significantly affect FCR.

The fourth most influential factor on FCR is the

effectiveness of the call routing system [1]. Call routing systems like ACDs and IVRs determine which callers are directed to each agent, team and/or department.

4. EFFECTIVENESS OF THE ROUTING SYSTEM

They can route calls based on the caller’s needs as well as agent experience, expertise, spoken language, product knowledge, geographic location, etc. They are therefore essential for making sure that callers are directed to an agent that is most capable of meeting their needs.



The fifth most influential factor on FCR is agent experience

[1]. Agents with significant product knowledge, skill navigating company policies and procedures, proficiency with tools/software and who are skilled at meeting the needs of the customers will be more capable of resolving issues and addressing concerns than agents who are not (and thus less likely to transfer the call or have to return the call).

5. AGENT EXPERIENCE

A major factor that influences FCR is the level of training

that each agent receives. Agents who are poorly trained, haven’t practiced sufficiently before they go live or are not adequately monitored are less effective at meeting the needs of the customer. They will therefore be more likely to transfer the call, escalate the call or have to return the call.

6. LEVEL OF TRAINING

Different types of calls will have a different impact on FCR.

Calls that are more complex are more likely to be escalated, transferred to a more skilled agent and more likely to be returned, thereby increasing FCR.

7. COMPLEXITY OF THE CALL



The more complex the work environment (i.e. inefficiencies, lots of red tape, complicated policies and procedures, etc.) the more difficult it is for an agent to resolve a caller’s issue on first contact.

8. COMPLEXITY OF THE WORK ENVIRONMENT

Companies that sell more complex products/services will

often have lower FCR than those that sell simpler products. This is because troubleshooting and problem solving with customers typically takes a considerable amount of time and effort and agents will have to transfer the call more often that if they fielded a call from a customer who purchased a less complex product/service.

9. COMPLEXITY OF THE PRODUCT/SERVICE

Certain types of interactions (i.e. technical issues) will be less likely to be resolved on first contact than others (i.e. billing questions, updating account information, basic support issues, etc.).

10. TYPE OF TRANSACTIONS/INTERACTION



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Training, level of familiarity with the product/service and awareness of upcoming promotions, specials and product launches all affect an agent’s ability to meet the needs

of the customer on first contact. When agents are well informed and well prepared, they will be more likely to meet the demands of the callers. Managers that are well prepared to handle the changing needs of the call center environment, fluctuating call volumes and workforce management issues will help to improve FCR.

11. DEGREE OF PREPAREDNESS OF THE TEAM AND AGENT

The more knowledgeable, skilled and patient callers are,

the higher your FCR will be. This is because they will be more likely to ask questions for clarification, troubleshoot with the agent and make sure all of their issues are resolved before they end the conversation.

12. CALLER’S PERSONALITY, SKILL-SET AND KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE PRODUCT



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New agents take time to become familiar with a product/

service, company policies, software, etc. They are therefore less capable of solving caller’s issues than more seasoned agents. Thus, call centers with higher agent turnover rates will have more “green” agents answering the calls and as a whole will have lower FCR than call centers with lower agent turnover rates.

13. CALL CENTER AGENT TURNOVER RATE

Caller’s issues are escalated for two reasons: the agent either does not know the answer to the caller’s question/issue or they do not have the authority to solve the problem. Having a lot of red tape, restrictions and limitations will cause more issues to be escalated to a manager and will negatively affect FCR.

14. LACK OF AUTHORITY TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM



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Agents that are effective at communicating, solicit relevant information from the callers and ensure that all of the caller’s issues are resolved before ending the conversation will have more of a positive effect on FCR than those who aren’t. This is because they will be better at meeting the needs of the customers and the customer will be less likely to call back about their issue.

15. AGENT COMMUNICATION STYLE/SKILL

Call centers with long holding times will also have lower

FCR. This is because callers will be more likely to hang up in the waiting queue and call back later when they have more time. This will negatively impact FCR.

16. LONG HOLDING TIMES

Knowing each of the aforementioned factors that influence FCR is the first step to understanding how to measure FCR, identify issues contributing to a decrease in FCR as well as engage in actions to increase it.


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Continuously measuring, tracking and acting on FCR analysis outcomes should be the cornerstone of your call center evaluation process. If you don’t measure FCR, you can’t improve it.

Companies that consistently measure FCR are seeing major performance improvements. According to research conducted by The Ascent Group [6], 60% of companies measuring FCR for a year or longer reported a 1% – 30% improvement in their performance. With results like these, you cannot afford not to track FCR. In order to be effective, measurement of FCR must be reliable, consistent and accurate.

Below are 9 steps to help you consistently measure FCR and track your results:


03 // HOW TO MEASURE FIRST CALL RESOLUTION


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1. DECIDE ON A FCR DEFINITION

The first step to measuring FCR is selecting a definition that

makes the most sense for your team. You should decide whether you want your definition to be technical, specific, comprehensive, easy to understand, or a combination of the four. Clearly defining FCR will help with the next steps.


2. DECIDE ON FCR CRITERIA

Once you come up with a FCR definition, you should think

about criteria/variables that may or may not be included in your FCR analysis. To do this, you can start by making a list of all of the variables that can affect FCR and decide how you can consistently capture or exclude these with your FCR definition. You should also decide on criteria that may

Examples of FCR definitions:

• The total number of calls resolved correctly on the first attempt divided by the total number of calls in a given period of time.

• The total number of calls resolved correctly on the first attempt divided by the total number of first calls.



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or may not qualify for “sufficiently resolving an issue on the first

attempt”. Finally, you should consider what constitutes an “escalated

call”, “callback” and “repeat call”. Some questions to consider during this process are:

• Does FCR only apply to live contacts who call your company?

• Does “sufficiently resolved” mean that the customer’s problem was solved AND they were satisfied?

• Does an escalated call include calls that a manager dropped in on (i.e. whisper coaching, call barging, etc.)?

• Does an escalated call include calls where a colleague was conferenced in?

• Does a callback include callers that were followed up with via chat or email?

• Is FCR affected when a caller contacts the wrong department?

• Is FCR affected when the caller makes an error on their survey response?

• What constitutes a repeat call?

• Does FCR include calls abandoned in the IVR, waiting queue, etc. (i.e. before speaking with an agent)?

Be sure to be very specific about your definitions and inclusive and exclusive criteria. This again will be important for the subsequent steps.



3. DEFINE A “CONTACT WINDOW”

In addition to deciding on inclusion and exclusion criteria,

you must also define a “contact window”. This is the maximum amount of time that is allowed to elapse between calls in order for them to contribute to FCR.

When a call is received after this “contact window” it will not count as a follow up call for the original issue and thus not affect FCR.

For example, if you have a “contact window” of 24 hours and you receive a support issue at 1pm on a Thursday and the caller calls back on Monday at 9am regarding the same support issue, this follow up call will not contribute to FCR as it was outside of the 24 hour “contact window”.

It is important to make sure that your “contact window” allows enough time for the caller to try the new solution and callback if their issue wasn’t resolved. It is also important to decide whether or not your “contact window” only applies to business hours.



These formulas will differ between companies and even between departments within the same company. What is important is that you choose a formula that works best for your team.

Standard FCR formulas to base yours off of are:

4. DEFINE A FCR FORMULA

Once you have picked a definition for FCR that makes the most sense for your company and have decided on criteria, you are ready to come up with a FCR formula. In order for FCR to be consistently measured over time, it must be concretely defined.

OR

FCR = # resolved incidents closed on the first contact

Total # incidentsx 100%

FCR =Total incidents resolved – Total incidents reopened

Total incidents openedx 100



5. CONDUCT CUSTOMER SATISFACTION ANALYSES WITH SURVEYS

The most important measure of FCR is the customer’s

perception of whether or not their issue was resolved on

the first attempt. This is because you can never be sure if their issue was resolved, or if the customer gave up trying so they never called back, unless you ask the customer. There are a few ways you can do this:

» POST-CALL SURVEYS

After the call is finished, you can have your customers take a brief survey asking

if their problem was resolved, if they are satisfied with how it was resolved and if they would recommend the company to a friend based on the service they received, etc. Be sure to include a Likert Scale (i.e. scale from 1-10) with anchors (i.e. 1 being the worst, 10 being the best). You should have enough items that you can retrieve statistically meaningful data, but not too many that you discourage callers from completing the survey. Administering a survey immediately after the call has finished will reduce customer recall bias as well

as interviewer bias and increases the likelihood that the caller will respond to

the survey.



» EMAIL A FOLLOW UP SURVEY

Many companies opt to send an email survey after the call is finished. The main problem with this form of measuring the resolution of issues is that most callers will not respond to the survey. Additionally, when the caller does respond to the survey they might have difficulty remembering the interaction in its entirety (recall bias) due to a significant amount of time elapsing from when they interacted with your call center agent. Regardless of these issues, this method of data collection may be less biased than that of the call center agent directly asking the customer about their experience.

When sending email follow ups, it is helpful to send a follow up survey after the event (that is tied to reason for their call) occurs. This will allow you to have a better understanding of whether or not their issue was fully resolved. For instance, if the caller had an issue related to their billing, a follow up survey should be sent after their next bill is emailed out. This way you will

have a better understanding of whether or not their issue was resolved to

their satisfaction.

» HAVE YOUR AGENTS ASK

A third and final method of collecting data on whether or not the issue was sufficiently resolved is having the agent directly ask the caller when the call

has finished. Some questions for them to ask are:

• “Is there anything else I can help you with? I have the time.”



• “Have I fully resolved your issue?”

• “Is there anything else I can do for you before we hang up?”

• “Have you called about the issue before?” If so, “When?”

The advantage to this approach is you will collect more data than you would with the other approaches, as customers are typically more available. The disadvantage is that the responses will be baised as the interviewer is basically asking the customer how well they did their job. Many customers will sugarcoat their answer, or give an answer that interviewer wants to hear (even if it isn’t true). Agents can also be motivated to change the response of the customer so managers will view them in a more favorable light, especially if rewards are tied to FCR performance. Thus, this metric is more prone to manipulation and should be interpreted with this in mind.

6. CONDUCT CALL STATISTICS ANALYSES

One of the most important (and most frequently used) methods to keep track of FCR is conducting call statistics

analyses. Basically, you want to know who is calling, why they called and when they called. To do this, you need the right tools:



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» CRM SYSTEM

CRM systems with reporting capabilities can be useful tools for measuring

FCR. When the agent has finished speaking with a customer, they can ask whether or not their issue was resolved to their standards. If so, they can make a note of it in the CRM, close the case/ticket/event as “resolved” and classify the customer as “Completely satisfied” using a disposition code. It is also helpful to assign each issue a unique number, to help enhance the call tracking process. Finally, CRMs that are integrated with call center software are a great tool for keeping track of call logs, which agent the caller spoke with, the phone number they called and the phone number they called from. All will allow you

to easily track and analyze FCR.

» AUTOMATIC CALL DISTRIBUTION (ACD) AND INTERACTIVE VOICE RESPONSE (IVR) SYSTEMS

ACDs and IVRs are extremely helpful for keeping track of the reason for the

call and having this reason updated in the call log in the CRM automatically.

You can use information from the IVR to determine the general reason for the call (i.e. sales, support, technical issues). You can also easily keep track of the number that the customer dialed (i.e. the support line, a sales rep’s office, etc.) by tracking the DNIS from the IVR. Finally, you will know exactly how many calls terminated in the waiting queue from the data collected from the IVR. All of this information should be complied into the customer’s call log in your

CRM so it can be extracted for analysis at any time.



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» CALL MONITORING AND RECORDING

Call recording in an invaluable tool for deciphering the reason for a customer’s call as well as checking to ensure that your call center agents are assigning accurate disposition codes to each call. Managers can review call recordings and assign (or check for accuracy) tags or disposition codes to the call log after the interaction has ended. They can also listen in on live calls to ensure that agents are assigning the most accurate disposition code to the interaction. This can go a long way in making sure that the data is accurately reflects the

customer’s experience.

The most important tool in your FCR tool belt should be call center software that allows you to track FCR in a way that is most meaningful for your company. Whether it is software that will keep track of cases, tickets, issues and events (specifically when they are opened and when they are closed), allows agents to add disposition codes to the call logs or allows managers to listen in on live calls (or a combination of the three) you should ensure that your software is adequately meeting your needs.



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7. CALL RECORDING ANALYSIS

Call recording speech analytic systems are helpful for

understanding the reason why customers call and why they

might be dissatisfied. You can configure these systems to automatically identify key words as well as heightened emotional reactions of the caller from the call recordings.

They will flag these conversations so a manager can listen to the recording to verify what the caller said (this is important because these systems are prone to error). Although they can be very helpful, the drawbacks to this system and method are that it can be expensive and time consuming for management.

8. HOW TO CALCULATE FCR

Once you have established your measurement criteria

and decided how to measure it, it is time to calculate FCR. Below are steps to help with this process:

» DECIDE ON A TIME PERIOD

To start this process, you should decide what time period you are most

interested in looking at FCR performance. This can be arbitrary (i.e. a randomly chosen month) or targeted (i.e. the week after Christmas).



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» COMPILE DATA

After you select a time period you should compile data on all calls within your predetermined time period. The data you include should have the time of the call, caller’s name, the reason for the call, the agent the caller spoke with, the phone number the caller dialed, department reached, the level of satisfaction with the call, etc. You should gather this information from call logs, IVR, post-call surveys, information recorded in your CRM, etc.

You should also record any outbound calls made to each caller on your list. This will allow you to know whether or not the agent had to return the call.

» CLEAN THE DATA

Once you compile all of the data into a spreadsheet, you must make sure that

you flag data that meets exclusion criteria. Any interactions that falls outside of your time frame, any calls that you deem not relevant (i.e. wrong numbers, internal calls, calls from employees, etc.), calls for which you have incorrect of incomplete data should all be flagged and removed from the master spreadsheet (and data analysis). This step is very important as clean data will help to ensure that your analysis accurately reflects your customer’s experience. “Garbage in garbage out”.



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» CALCULATE THE TOTAL CALLS

You should next calculate how many calls you have overall in your given time

frame (i.e. 1 month). This number will include repeat calls, calls abandoned in the queue, calls that were lost on transfer, outbound calls to the customers, etc. As long as they meet your inclusion criteria, you should include them.

» SEGMENT THE REPEAT CALLS

Once you know how many total calls you have, you should isolate all of the

repeat calls and callbacks. This should include any call that is received from the same person or placed to the same person (even if it is a different phone number) within your designated time period (i.e. 1 month).

» IDENTIFY ALL REPEAT CALLS THAT FALL WITHIN YOUR CONTACT WINDOW

Once you have identified all repeat calls and callbacks for the time period that you are interested in, you will then want to compile a list of all repeat

calls that fall within your previously defined “contact window” (i.e. 24 hours or 16 business hours). This is the list of calls that you will use for your FCR calculation as well as your root cause analysis.



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» SEGMENT THE REPEAT CALLS BY TYPE

Once your repeat calls (that fall into a predefined “contact window”) are compiled into one list, you may also want to segment the data by caller type, call type, call reason, etc. You should do this in a way that is most meaningful for you and the question you are trying to ask. For example, you can segment the calls by issue:

• Technical support issues

• Update account information

• Billing issues

• Simple support requests

• Sales

• Legal

• Marketing

• Manufacturing

• Human Resources

You can use this information to measure FCR for each segment and also to conduct a root cause analysis for each segment. It is important to know that you can repeat the segmentation and FCR analysis as many times as you would like. This will allow you to conduct a more detailed analysis.



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» DO THE MATH

It is now time to calculate FCR using the formula that you chose to be most relevant. You can calculate an overall FCR, an FCR for each agent, call type, team, department, time period, etc. Segmenting the data and analyzing FCR based on the segmentation will help you to quickly compare performance, identify issues, pinpoint inefficiencies, etc.

» TAKE A MULTI-SOURCE MEASUREMENT APPROACH TO TRACKING FCR

FCR is a complex metric that is influenced by many different variables. Therefore, taking a one-dimensional measurement approach can be too rudimentary. To gain more accurate insights, you should account for many different factors as possible and take different approaches to measuring the same construct:

SOURCE: http://www.csbenchmarks.com/research/sum_fcr.html

% CONTACTS RESOLVED ON FIRST CONTCT

- Recent Contact Survey- After-Call Survey- Customer Satisfaction Survey- Milestone Survey

- Agent Log / Coding- Repeat Call Calculation- Call Quality Monitoring

DO YOU THINK IT’S RESOLVED?

DOES THE CUSTOMER THINK IT’S RESOLVED?

EXTERNAL MEASUREMENT

INTERNAL MEASUREMENT



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Use information from surveys, agent logs, repeat call calculations, call monitoring, etc. to enhance or support your FCR analysis. You can also use this information to conduct a root cause analysis in order to identify reasons why FCR is impacted.

» EVALUATE THE RESULTS

Once you have run the data, take some time to think about the results and what they mean for your company, department, team, agent, customers, etc. You should consider the following questions:

• How do my results compare to industry standards?

• How often are my customers calling my company for each issue?

• Is there an agent, department, team, etc. that have more repeat calls than others?

• Is there a time of day, week, year that has more repeat calls than others?

• How many repeat calls does my company have during seasonal rushes? Periods of peak call volume? After a new product launches? During a promotion?

• Are there certain issues that tend to be escalated more than others?

• What factors could be contributing to the differences in FCR across departments/issues/agents/etc.?

• Are there any gaps in training, education, access to resources that could be contributing to these issues?



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• Are there any issues with software, applications, hardware, plugins or equipment that may be contributing to an increase in escalated calls or callbacks?

• Is a lack of internal communication contributing to a decrease in FCR?

• For customers whose issues were not resolved on the first attempt, how many calls were required?

• Are there any issues with workforce management, scheduling or agent availability that might be contributing to the results?

Taking the time to understand your results and put them into context will allow you to have a more comprehensive understanding of which variables are contributing to your FCR and how you might think about enhancing positive influencers and fixing problematic ones.

“66% of contact center costs today are due to callbacks.”

Yankee Group



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9. CONTINUALLY ENHANCE YOUR FCR DEFINITION, DATA COLLECTION PROCESS, ANALYSIS

Once you ran your FCR analysis, you should think about

ways to improve the process. You can adjust the contact window, increase your list of inclusion and exclusion criteria, improve your data collection process, etc. You should always continually enhance this process and adapt it to better meet the needs of your business.

Following the aforementioned 9 steps is an excellent way to consistently measure FCR and obtain meaningful results from your analysis. Once you measure FCR, you can focus on improving it.



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04 // HOW TO IMPROVE FIRST CALL RESOLUTION

Once you have conducted a FCR analysis, you can start looking for methods to improve FCR. Below is a list of 11 ways to help you improve FCR:

After you have conducted an FCR analysis, it is important

to conduct a root cause analysis on the calls that were not resolved on first contact. A good root cause analysis will help to identify trends, pinpoint inefficiencies and can inform data-driven decision making.

1. UNDERSTAND YOUR ISSUES AND FIX THEM

You can identify issues by looking into:

• Why was the call transferred?

• When calls are transferred, who are they being transferred to?



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• Why was the call escalated to a manager?

• Why was the caller followed up with?

• Why did the interaction span different channels (i.e. phone, chat, email, walk-in)?

• Why was the caller not satisfied with the solution?

Once you have isolated certain issues, you should also consider factors that can contribute to those issues:

• Are there specific products, bugs or issues that are most problematic?

• Are company policies or procedures impacting/hindering agent performance?

• Are there edge cases that should be addressed?

• Did the agent have sufficient knowledge, training and resources to solve the issue?

• Did the agent effectively utilize the knowledge base, follow protocol and work in line with company policy?

• Is my software, plugins, hardware obsolete and causing issues?

You can answer these questions by examining your data, asking your agents, looking into call logs, listening to call recordings, analyzing customer survey responses and checking in with more experienced agents.



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Once you identify common issues, knowledge gaps, training opportunities, inefficiencies or problematic policies/procedures, you should engage in reparative action and also preventative measures to help improve FCR in the future. Make sure that this process happens on a continual basis and that you are always looking for ways to improve or streamline the support process.

The more a company knows about their customer base

and why their customers call, the more prepared they will

be to adequately meet their needs. Doing so will increase customer satisfaction and FCR. You can approach this from a few angles:

2. ANALYZE CUSTOMER CONTACT BEHAVIOR TO ANTICIPATE THEIR NEEDS

» CREATE CUSTOMER PROFILES

Divide your customers into groups and define their group characteristics. If you have demographic information about your customer base, you can group them together by common feature (i.e. age, location, gender, average income, education, interests, etc.) or you can group them by the product they are using, their industry and their position within their company. You can also split them into 2 groups: the customers that are most likely not to have their



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problems resolved the first time vs. the ones that are. Once you segment your customers in a meaningful way, identify each group’s needs, why they use your product/service, typical sales scenarios, typical support requests and typical reasons why they call your company. With this information you will have a better understanding of their needs and how your team can do a better job

meeting them on first contact.

» ANALYZE THE CUSTOMER DEMOGRAPHIC DATA

It is always best to know the demographics of your customer base. Take some time to analyze this data so you have a better understanding of who your agents are helping when they answer the phone. Here are a few tips

that can help:

• Determine the predominant age group, gender, marital status, income level, etc. You can easily do this by determining the mode of your distribution.

{ It is often helpful to group together your customers by a feature like age

and then take the mode of this distribution. If you do this, be sure your cutoff/

inclusion/exclusion criteria make sense (i.e. group together adolescents, teens,

young adults, adults, older adults and geriatric population) and is consistent

(grouping by the same number of years). }



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• Determine what the distribution of your clientele looks like in graphical format.

{ Is your data bi-modal (your customers are mostly in the 15-20 year old

range and 40 -45 year old range)? }

{ Is it skewed positively or negatively (do you have much more older

adults and geriatric customers than teenagers and young adults)? }

{ Is it bell shaped (the demographic composition of your customer base

peaks at 35 years old and trails off as your customer age increases and

decreases from 35 years old)? }

Based on this information, you can not only have a better understanding of who constitutes your customer base, but can also infer what their needs are and why they usually call.

» GROUP CUSTOMERS BY THE REASON FOR THEIR CALL

Another way to analyze customer contact behavior is to group callers by

the reason for their call. Once you group callers by the reason for their call, you can look at the customer composition of that group. Are there common characteristics? Is there one customer group (i.e. older adults) that dominates a specific reason for calling? You can use this information to route specific callers to agents most capable of meeting their needs and to better prepare your team to anticipate caller’s needs.



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By analyzing customer contact behaviors, you will have a better understanding of who is calling, what problems they typically have and whether or not they are typically sufficiently solved. With this insight you can take actions to help solve the problems and provide

better service, thereby increasing FCR.

3. INVEST IN CALL CENTER SOFTWARE THAT:

» PROVIDES A COMPREHENSIVE HISTORY OF THE CALLER IN ONE INTERFACE

Equipping your team with the right tools is essential to increasing

FCR. When your agents have a detailed history of the caller pop up in their browser before they answer the call, they will be able to meet the customer’s needs with more skill and professionalism.

More progressive call center software will display the caller’s name, company, phone number, email and social media profiles (i.e. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.) in the browser. Also, agents will have access to detailed contact logs from every contact channel (i.e. phone, email, chat, support tickets, sales receipts and events) all in the same interface. With all of this information your agents will be more prepared to resolve their issue, without having to transfer the call or call them back.



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» HAS AUTOMATED TASKS

Forgetting to update CRMs, helpdesks and other back office solutions (or entering incorrect information) is one of the leading causes of a decrease in FCR. Investing in call center software that will automatically update all integrated systems and will automatically perform relevant tasks will dramatically improve your agent’s capabilities as well as FCR. This software will:

• Automatically update call logs

• Show new information added to all agents in real-time

• Create new tickets, cases and events automatically when an event happens

• Update all integrated systems

This will allow your agents to have accurate information about the caller, in real-time. Agents will also never have to enter redundant information into all systems. This software will help your team easily document everything

relevant about the caller and help reduce errors and omissions.

» HAS SKILLS-BASED ROUTING

Once you have a better idea of your customer base, why they call, what products they typically buy, etc. you can better meet their needs by deploying



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call center with skillsbased routing. You can assign tags to each customer and agent and when the customer calls, they will be routed to the agent that is most capable of meeting their needs. Tags can be assigned to agents based on the following:

• Department (e.g. customer support, technical support, sales, marketing, billing,HR, etc.)

• Skills (e.g. training, area of expertise, etc.)

• Knowledge (e.g. product knowledge, proficiency with specific software, etc.)

• Language spoken

• Demographics (i.e. age, gender, etc.)

• Geographic location

You can assign as many tags as you would like to each agent, creating multiple teams. The tags are customizable and can be changed at any time. The skills-based routing will then route the caller to the agent who can most effectively meet their needs based on:

• The phone number the customer called

• The choices the customer selected in the IVR

• The customer’s previous interactions with the company

• The tags of the agents



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This efficient system will ensure that each caller is directed to an agent that is most qualified to meet their needs. This might be the single most important tool that will help increase FCR in your company.

Once you have a good understanding of why customers call, what leads to a decrease in FCR, have the right tools and software in place and have a better understanding of your customer behavior, you can completely change the structure

of your support system to better accommodate the needs of your customers.

4. OPTIMIZE YOUR SUPPORT STRUCTURE

» HAS AN AGENT DASHBOARD AND METRICS

When each agent can access valuable information about how they are performing, they will be more aware of their actions and can aim to improve

them, without management having to constantly reminding them. Empowering agents to make educated decisions based on data will help to increase their performance.

You should delegate each issue to different levels of support and then adjust your skills-based routing algorithms accordingly. You can have frontline agents who are most skilled at solving basic problems. You can



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have support engineers answering technical issues. You can have sales professionals answering all sales calls, etc. With both small and large teams, stratifying your support can be a very simple way to increase FCR.

You can also cross-train agents to handle more than one type of call. Many call centers will cross-train agents to handle support, billing and account related issues. Cross-training your workforce will allow your agents to be more knowledgeable and your team will be better prepared to handle fluctuating call volume.

To accomplish this effectively, you should:

• Know what types of calls your frontline support agents can resolve without transferring

• Know what types of calls are typically escalated and to what teams

• Know which agents are best suited to handle certain caller types/issues

• Know which teams are best equipped to handle specific issues/caller types

• Provide targeting training and supervision to agents who will perform new tasks and handle new callers

• Provide agents with access to resources, knowledge bases and live support when they need it most



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Total Contact Ownership is a process that dramatically

increases FCR. It is when the agent who took the initial call follows the call from start to finish. When you implement this policy, agents will be less likely to transfer calls just to “pass the problem” to another agent, as they will still be required to follow the issue until it is closed.

5. ENGAGE IN TOTAL CONTACT OWNERSHIP

They will instead recruit the resources (i.e. more senior agents, management, technical support agents, etc.) they need to help solve the issue collaboratively. This system not only increases FCR, but also increases professionalism, customer satisfaction and brand awareness.

Once you have pinpointed inefficient processes, policies and procedures you can start to re-work or eliminate

them. Streamlining your internal processes, eliminating unnecessary red tape and empowering your agents to solve issues that are within their capabilities will go a long way to improving FCR.

6. STREAMLINE YOUR INTERNAL PROCESSES



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Some policies that you should think about allowing your agents handle (so they don’t have to transfer the call to a manager) are:

• Issuing credits, returns and refunds

• Removing shipping charges

• Adjusting billing cycles and timing

• Removing late fees

• Applying promotional discounts

• Solving warranty issues

If certain policies are causing a significant amount of calls to be escalated or returned, you should think of ways to improve the policy, adjust the agent’s scope of practice or improve the routing of the calls.

An obvious, but often overlooked, change that many companies can make to increase FCR is to invest in more

automated self-service options. An easy way to do this is to configure your IVR to provide basic information (i.e. account information, business hours, directions, promotions, etc.)

7. INCREASE AUTOMATION AND SELF-SERVICE OPTIONS



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and put a FAQ, knowledge base (with information about your product/services, solutions to known issues, steps for troubleshooting, advice, etc.) and training manuals on your website. This will not only help to increase FCR but will significantly reduce call volume.

Sometimes the best defense is a good offense. In the case of FCR, this is especially true. If your agents can provide information that is accessible online or via email that will help guide them through their issue, the caller will be less likely to call back about the same issue.

8. OPTIMIZE YOUR CONTENT

It is important that the information on your website and well as in your how to guides is up to date, helpful and easy to understand. The effort your team puts into making sure that your content is optimized will pay off in the long run.

Improving agent performance may be the best way to help increase FCR. Here are some tips to help with this process:

9. IMPROVE AGENT PERFORMANCE



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» TRAIN WELL

Your agents must be well equipped to handle the diverse needs of the

caller. This means they should be proficient with your software, procedures, communicating with clients, be well informed of policies, etc. To accomplish this you should:

• Provide extensive training on how to use software, how to improve their technical skills and all the ins and outs of your products

• Ensure that your agents are up-to-date on product recalls, promotions, sales, technical support issues, bugs, etc.

• Train them well before a new product launches

• Make sure they understand any changes in company policies or procedures, services, pricing, etc.

• Emphasize the importance of FCR, provide training for all your agents about what FCR is and how they can enhance it

• Give examples of interactions where the agent resolved the issue on first contact and one that had to be escalated

• Train agents on call control techniques and etiquette

• Train agents how to engage the customer, establish rapport, engage in effective communication, build a relationship with the caller, identify the true need of the caller and successfully meet their needs



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» INCREASE MOTIVATION

Employees must be motivated to increase their performance so that it has an impact on FCR. To do this you must first make them aware of your goals related to FCR, allow them to track their own performance, give them feedback, recognition and rewards tied to their performance and ensure that the entire team recognizes a good performance (using peer recognition and rewards systems). Increasing agent’s motivation to improve their performance will have

a significant impact on FCR.

» EMPOWER AGENTS WITH THE RIGHT RESOURCES AND INFORMATION

Give agents a lifeline when they need it most:

• Allow a technical support agent to drop in on the call to offer support when needed

• Make sure managers are available to answer questions (via chat or email)

• Ensure that managers are monitoring calls for quality assurance (and barging in when needed)

• Allow agents to conference in a manager when necessary

• Give agents access to a knowledge base, agent resources and a FAQ for agents.

All of these resources and sources of support will go a long way to increasing FCR.



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Cut the script and the red tape. Autonomous agents who are not bound by strict scripts and restrictive policies are more capable of effectively meeting the needs of the customer by being flexible, responsive and personal.

10. INCREASE AGENT AUTONOMY

When you remove unnecessary restrictions from capable agents (i.e. power to give refunds, offer promotional discounts, waive shipping costs, make changes to account information, etc.) you will dramatically decrease the number of calls transferred and increase FCR.

“Caller satisfaction will be 5 to 10 percent lower when it takes more than one call to resolve the issue than it is when

the issue is resolved on the first call.”

Dr. Jodie Monger, president of Customer Relationship Metrics



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The 11 tips mentioned above will allow you to take a systemic approach to increasing FCR. While not all may be applicable to your situation, tackling many different issues and making many different changes will have the largest impact on FCR. In order to be effective, you must commit enough time, resources and energy to consistently monitor FCR and fix issues that negatively influence FCR and enhance factors that increase FCR. If you do, the results will be amazing!

Having an open door policy when it comes to suggestions

from staff about how to improve inefficiencies, procedures, etc. is important for increasing FCR. Managers should continually solicit information from inexperienced and seasoned agents about their experience and how to improve it.

11. ENHANCE INTERNAL COMMUNICATION

Managers should also monitor for agent effectiveness, track FCR and provide feedback to agents daily. When internal communication is a two-way street, the company wins.



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05 // HOW TO IMPROVE FIRST CALL RESOLUTION: A GUIDE FOR AGENTS

Agents are the first (and oftentimes the most important) line of defense (or offense) when it comes to improving FCR. It is therefore important that they know the importance of FCR and have a comprehensive understanding of what they can do to help increase it. Below is a how-to guide for agents that will help them increase FCR:

When interacting with callers, it is important that you are pleasant, listen carefully to the customer’s needs and be

sure that you fully understand them before you start to address their issue. If you ever have any doubt about the customer’s needs you should ask them to clarify.

1. MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND THE CUSTOMER’S NEEDS



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Examples of clarifying questions are:

• “I am not sure I completely understand your issue. Can you please

elaborate?”

• “I am very sorry but I seem to be confused. Can you please explain

to me your issue again?”

You can also ask probing questions that will help you obtain more information such as:

• “When did this issue begin?”

• “How long has this been occurring?”

• “Can you tell me exactly what you were doing when the issue started?”

These questions are often easier for the customer to answer and can be less irritating for the customer.

Once you have a good understanding of the caller’s needs, let them know when they can expect to have their issue

resolved. This can be as simple as saying:

2. SET APPROPRIATE EXPECTATIONS



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• “I’m going to look into your billing issue right now. It should only

be a few minutes before it is resolved.”

• “This issue is a bit complicated. Stay with me on the line and I

should be able to let you know how I can fix it in 2 minutes.”

This will help the caller know that you are working on the issue and have a realistic understanding of how long it will take to fix it (so they can plan accordingly).

Once you start working on the issue, keep the caller

informed about your progress. Let them know what you are doing and why you are doing it. Also, let them know how much longer they can expect to wait.

3. KEEP THE CALLER INFORMED ABOUT THE PROGRESS

This will help keep them patient and they will be less likely to hang up if they know you are still there and working on their issue.



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It is often reassuring to the customer when you communicate an understanding of the importance of

their issue. When it is an urgent matter, reassure them that you know it is. You can say:

4. LET THE CUSTOMER KNOW THAT YOU ARE AWARE OF THE URGENCY/COMPLEXITY OF THE ISSUE

• “I understand that this billing issue is urgent. I will do my best to resolve

it as quickly as possible.”

• “In this case, time is of the essence. I am going to conference in my

manager to help me expedite this issue.”

If you take this extra step, your caller will appreciate your effort and will be more patient while you work.

When you know the answer to the caller’s question, be confident when you answer. Avoid saying things like, “I think this should work”, “I hope this will fix your issue” and “I am not sure this is right, but let’s try anyway”.

5. BE CONFIDENT



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These phrases will scare your caller and they will be more likely to ask to speak with a manager or hang up and try to reach a more competent agent.

If you are not sure about something, don’t guess. Make sure that you take the time to look up the answer, conference in a manager or chat with a more senior agent. If you guess wrong, the caller will have to callback.

6. DON’T GIVE INFORMATION THAT YOU ARE NOT SURE ABOUT

If you don’t know how to resolve a caller’s issue,

conference in someone who can help. This could mean contacting a technical support agent, a more senior agent or a manager. Before doing so, make it clear to the caller that you will be conferencing in someone who can help so they know what to expect.

7. CONFERENCE IN A MANAGER, SENIOR SUPPORT AGENT OR SPECIALIZED SUPPORT AGENT WHEN NECESSARY



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Once you make a commitment, follow through. If you say you will attend to their next issue after you fix their first one, don’t forget to address it. It might help to take notes, write a check list and check in with the customer after you resolved an issue.

8. FOLLOW THROUGH ON COMMITMENTS

Once you have done your best to resolve an issue, check

to make sure. Ask the customer directly if they issue has been fixed. You should also ask if they are satisfied with how it was fixed. This will dramatically reduce repeat calls.

9. ASK THE CUSTOMER IF THEIR ISSUE HAS BEEN ADEQUATELY RESOLVED

“Satisfaction is a leading indicator of future behavior and financial performance.”

Sunil Gupta and Valarie Zeithaml, “Customer Metrics and Their Impact

on Financial Performance”, Marketing Science (Nov–Dec 2006).



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Finally, no matter how well you think you handled the call, you should always ask the customer directly about

their experience. You can never be sure of how well you did unless you ask.

11. ASK THE CUSTOMER ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCE

These 11 techniques that will help increase FCR should be followed on a consistent basis. If you take the time to make sure the customer has a positive experience and all of their issues were resolved the first time, they will be less likely to call back about the same issue and FCR will increase.

Once you have resolved an issue to the customer’s expectations, ask if they have any additional issues, questions or concerns. Give them sufficient time to think and respond to your questions.

10. ASK THE CUSTOMER IF THEY HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL ISSUES OR QUESTIONS



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// CONCLUSION //

FCR is a measure of efficiency and effectiveness and can provide an overall measure of how well your agents, teams and call centers are performing. When you engage in a concentrated effort to improve FCR, you will increase the quality of agent interactions, reduce costs and increase customer satisfaction. These changes will have an enormous impact on your company and can help to ensure that your company’s reputation is top notch for years to come.

“The cost of a complaint call not handled at the point of entry increases 500% when it has to be escalated.”

Resource International



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// REFERENCES //

Dimension Data (2009).

Feinberg, R.A., Kim, I.S., Hokama, L., Ruyter, K. and C. Keen (2000). Operational determinants of caller satisfaction in the call center. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 11, (2), 131- 141.

Genesys Global Consumer Survey (2007).

McDougall, R. (2009). How to Improve First Call Resolution. Upstream Works Software. http://www.parallaxtechnologies.com/docs/whitepapers/i3/FCR/Improving%20FCR%20v909w.pdf

Oracle (2012). Best Practices for Improving First- Contact Resolution in

the Contact Center. http://www.oracle.com/us/products/applications/improving- contact- resolution- 1599286.pdf

The Ascent Group (2010). Achieving First Call Resolution.

The Ascent Group (2010). Call Center Strategies.

The Ascent Group (2009). First Call Resolution: Customer Perception

Is Reality.

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