Call Center Analysis Should Focus on Resolving Cases.(inbound call)

SAN FRANCISCO -- If you measure agent performance in a call center by the average time it takes to handle an inbound call, you are making a big mistake. That was the message Wells Fargo SVP Gary Class offered attendees at a session on call center metrics at the SourceMedia Business Intelligence Forum here. The measure instead should be the elapsed time it takes to solve the customer's problem.

Handling inbound calls successfully can be a huge factor in determining whether a lender will be successful in cross-selling products such as HELOCs, he stressed. Business intelligence technology, particularly pattern-recognition software, earns its keep, he argued, "because the more you can predict behavior, the better you serve customers" and thereby "earn the right to cross-sell."

A call center has to balance a tradeoff between keeping a handle on the direct cost of agent time and the indirect benefit of quality customer service. One problem with trying to keep the lid on the averaging handling time of calls, explained Mr. Class, is that call center agents whose performance is evaluated by the average time they take to deal with an inbound call learn ways to skew the figures in ways that actually undermine the customer experience.

A successful business intelligence strategy, he said, begins by formulating a "customer value framework" as a background for measuring components of customer satisfaction that includes such factors as tolerance for wait time. Against that background, the call center can map strategies for predicting peak times and the likelihood of long calls clogging the pipes.

Collecting "reason for the call" ...