24 Chapter 3 Contact Center Planning and Management
Choosing a Service Level goal
Contrary to popular belief, there is no industry standard Service Level. Some contact centers base their
Service Level goal on the targets of same-industry companies. In doing so, they assume these companies are
actually meeting their intended targets. Companies are setting increasingly rigorous Service Level targets in
sectors where outstanding customer service is the norm. In a survey of over 100 UK contact centers Opta
Consulting was surprised to find an average performance target of 90 percent of calls answered in 15
seconds. They found that companies setting extremely rigorous targets did not necessarily meet them, and
the investment required to achieve “best in class” targets was difficult to justify.
Setting an appropriate Service Level goal for your contact center is not easy. The motivation and expectations
of your customers, the availability of similar goods or services, the Service Level targets of same-industry
companies, and the value of calls are things to consider. It may be useful to run some calculations to
determine the trade-offs in Service Level associated with adding or removing an agent, and implement
customer satisfaction surveys. When defining your corporate Service Level, consider several factors and rate
their relative importance.
An appropriate Service Level is one that
• Satisfies callers’ expectations for service
• Keeps abandonment in check (at less than five percent)
• Minimizes expenses and maximizes revenue
• Meets with the approval and support of agents, supervisors, and senior management
Consider this modest objective. For a Service Level of 80 percent of calls answered in less than 20 seconds,
callers receive the following service:
• Approximately 30 percent of callers experience a delay in queue.
• The longest wait time is approximately three minutes.
• The average speed of answer is approximately 12 seconds.
Is this acceptable service for you and for your callers?
Understanding Quality of Service
Agent statistics reflect the time agents spend in various states and are used to assess agent performance.
The average time an agent spends handling contacts, and in the Make Busy, Do Not Disturb, Unavailable,
and Wrap Up states directly affects the agent’s availability and the Service Level provided to callers.
Service Level alone does not ensure customer satisfaction. The quality of the interaction between the caller
and agent leaves a lasting impression.The Quality of Service reflects an agent’s ability to provide excellent
service to each customer. The knowledge of the agent, the accuracy and completeness of the information
provided, and the courtesy extended to the caller contribute to the caller’s experience.
Monitoring call handling techniques
Silent monitoring systems complement ACD statistics by providing a snapshot of quality and productivity in
your contact center. You can track call handling techniques and determine where improvements can be made
in individual performance. Advanced systems capture the voice conversations between agents and callers
and record agent data tables for a complete picture of call handling. They provide online evaluation forms so
you can annotate recordings with feedback.
Silent monitoring takes the bias out of performance evaluation. Silent monitoring provides a systematic
process for monitoring and grading agent calls. You can schedule sessions across different times of the day,
days of the week, and evaluators promoting fairness and consistency. Showing agents where improvement is
needed is more effective than just telling them. Silent monitoring can contribute to a reduction in call time, a
reduction in monitoring time and personnel, and increased training efficiency.