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- Shuffling to the Back of the Pack. If your telephony system allocates calls according to which advisor has been available the longest, as most do, then this is an easy system to manipulate to avoid taking calls.
- Sitting on a Hanger or Transfer. Contact centre advisors rarely end a call themselves – they say goodbye, the caller hangs up and the line goes dead. Sometimes, though, the line doesn’t go dead.
- Rounding up Breaks. When does a break start? Is it the moment you click the ‘unavailable’ button, or is it when you physically walk out of the office?
- Making After-Call Work Personal. Some calls require a minute or two of after-call work, just to tie up the admin – some don’t. But unless you are being directly monitored, supervisors have no way of actually knowing which calls require after-call work and which don’t.
- High call abandonment rate. A call abandonment rate of 12% is typically acceptable for many call centers. If most of your customers use mobile devices to call in, a rate as high as 20% might be satisfactory.
- Lengthy average speed of answer. If your call abandonment rate is relatively high, your average speed of answer (ASA) is likely above industry benchmarks too.
- Low first call resolution rates. No matter your industry, first call resolution (FCR) is the optimal outcome for any customer interaction. Ideally, you want to resolve customer issues on the first attempt to improve your success rates and attract advocates.
- Low customer satisfaction score. If your call center is juggling any of the above issues, you may also be dealing with declining customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores.
- The Problem: High Employee Turnover Rates
- The Problem: High Rate of Employee Absenteeism
- The Problem: Low First Call Resolution (FCR) Rates
- The Problem: Long Wait Times
- The Problem: Lack of Reporting and Analytics
- The Problem: Low Customer Satisfaction
- The Problem: Workforce Not Properly Optimized
- The Problem: High Customer Churn
- The Problem: Scaling Issues
- The Problem: Technical Glitches
Call centers have a high average annual agent turnover rate of over 30%, meaning agent attrition is easily one of the biggest call center problems. Common factors responsible for high turnover rates in call centers include: 1. High stress levels caused by mistreatment from customers 2. Burnout from unrealistic performance expectations 3. Low job sa...
Employee absenteeism–where agents simply fail to show up for shifts or suddenly call out with no plan for coverage–is a struggle for many call center managers. It is particularly prevalent in contact centers where agents are often required to work long and/or irregular hours. In some cases, absenteeism happens because of legitimate employee persona...
First call resolution, or first contact resolution, (FCR) is an essential metric for call centers that measures the percentage of customer inquiries resolved during the initial contact. Low FCR rates lead to increased call volume, longer wait times, and reduced customer satisfaction. Top causes of low call center FCR include: 1. Insufficient traini...
Long wait times in call centers are a huge source of frustration for customers and business owners alike. Long hold times cause high call abandonment rates, increased average handle time (AHT), and low CSAT and NPS scores. Most important, extended customer wait times increase the average cost per calland cause frustrated customers to lash out at ag...
A lack of or outdated analytics regarding call center activity and agent performancemakes it difficult to identify areas for improvement and make data-driven decisions. A lack of available key performance indicators (KPIs) causes miscalculations in staffing needs, miscommunication with customers, and higher call volumes. In addition to failing to t...
Low customer satisfaction is a significant challenge for many contact centers, resulting in increased customer churn, reduced revenue, and damage to the company's reputation. Common causes of low customer satisfaction include: 1. Long wait times 2. Lack of personalized support 3. Feeling undervalued 4. Feeling their time isn’t respected 5. Lack of ...
Using WFO forecasting tools to estimate future contact volumes ensures call centers have a sufficient number of agents to manage peak call times. These tools also review agent skillsets and departments, so call centers are always staffed with agents trained for a variety of customer service issues. A lack of workforce optimization leads to understa...
Customer churn, also known as customer attrition, refers to the rate at which customers stop using a call center's services. A high rate of customer churn accompanies lost business, higher marketing costs, and a lack of customer loyalty. Some common causes of customer churn include: 1. Inconsistent or poor customer service 2. Lack of personalizatio...
The challenge of scaling for call centers involves the ability to efficiently and effectively handle an increasing volume of customer calls as a business grows. Scaling a call center requires careful planning and executionto ensure that customer service levels are maintained or improved as the business expands. Sudden growth without a proper scalin...
The problem of technical glitches in call centers is more than just an annoyance. Issues such as jitter, latency, dropped phone calls, etc. can result in lost business, dissatisfied customers and a damaged reputation. Technical glitches are commonly the result of hardware failure, software bugs, network issues, system overload, or data security bre...
- samantha.clayton@ringcentral.com
- Too many tools. With the rise of the contact centre, rather than just the call centre, the number of tools the average agent uses has increased. It’s no longer enough to simply answer telephone calls and answer questions.
- Conflicting priorities. It can be unclear as to what the call centre is for. Is it there to make sales, or is it there to resolve issues thoroughly, no matter how long that takes.
- Lack of advancement opportunities. Generally, people want to advance in a career. Call centre jobs often lack opportunities to change roles, or even just develop their skills.
- High-stress environment. Working full-time in a call centre is often seen as quite a high-stress job, and with good reason. Not only are stressed staff more likely to leave or perform worse, but customers can tell.
- Lack of Budget. Tight budgets have been a perennial problem for contact centres, thanks to the high costs associated with staffing them. In many cases, senior executives don’t regard contact centre efficiency savings as a “nice to have”.
- IT Issues and Need New Technology. Today’s contact centres are awash with software, ranging from predictive diallers, CRM databases and workforce management (WFM) tools, through to sales order processing platforms, credit card security applications and automated voice response systems.
- Conflicting Business Priorities. It is the job of senior management to manage contact centre performance with respect to business priorities, but often these priorities contradict each other, making life very difficult.
- Absenteeism. According to a report by NICE, the average annual absence rate in contact centres across the globe could be as high as 10%. While this might not seem particularly high, the stark reality is that a 100-seat contact centre with 10% absenteeism will only have an average of 90 seats occupied at any one time.
Mar 18, 2023 · Is it just me, or do call center agents seem burned out lately? They're sometimes lackluster, dismissive — and even rude, according to customers. There may be a reason.
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Jan 8, 2020 · Not all call center mistakes are obvious, but all come with consequences that could result in poor customer experience, legal liability, and lost ROI. In this article, we discuss some of the most common mistakes we’ve seen in the call center and how to overcome them.
