Good customer experience is a key factor that fosters loyalty and generates higher revenue. Likewise, call center KPIs influence satisfaction and caller experience simultaneously. For call centers, it is often challenging to manage the conflicting KPIs, but it is the best bet to optimize the overall performance.

In a word dominated by customer experience that continues to be the major contributor to business growth and success, call center KPI metrics are the cornerstone.

Priority for Business

According to a Salesforce study, 96% of customers suggest that brilliant customer service is the foundation for trust.

Another study shows that 86% of customers are willing to pay more for excellent customer experience.

That clearly makes customer service and experience a deciding factor for choice. To understand how your call center agents are performing, it is important to measure each call and identify the key improvement areas.

Metrics and KPI in call centers range from tracking the total number of calls taken per hour to the time spent on a call. Organized data can be analyzed to understand the latest trends and make necessary improvements.

What Is Call Center KPI?

Call center KPI is best defined as a metric that managers leverage to determine the quality and performance of calls and agents. Using KPIs, managers set realistic performance goals and guide employees towards professional growth and development, set business financial goals and measure the efficiency of the business.

When the reports are collated and combined, it becomes an integral part of the call center’s KPI report.

Call center KPI metrics answers some of the following questions:

  • How easily can customers contact your call center?
  • How efficiently and quickly are issues resolved in the call center?
  • Are customers happy with the experience?
  • What are the scope and areas of improvement?

To track call center KPI metric, you can use software or quality assessment (QA) tool. These tools are designed to monitor the quantitative (number of answered calls, active call waiting) and qualitative (customer sentiment and effort) aspects of calls.

Without measuring calls, it is impossible to find the scope of improvement. As you measure calls, you can also compare the results of the past, present, and future performances.

Commonly Used Call Center KPIs and Their Purposes

  1. First Call Resolution (FCR): FCR measures the percentage of customer inquiries or issues resolved during the initial contact with the call center. A high FCR indicates that agents can effectively address customer concerns without requiring additional follow-up calls, leading to improved customer satisfaction and reduced operational costs.
  2. Average Handling Time (AHT): AHT represents the average time an agent spends on a customer interaction, including talk time and any related tasks after the call. A shorter AHT generally signifies efficient call handling, but it is crucial to balance it with the quality of service to avoid rushed interactions.
  3. Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) Score: CSAT is a direct measure of customer satisfaction based on post-interaction surveys. Customers rate their level of satisfaction typically on a scale from 1 to 5 or 1 to 10. Monitoring CSAT helps call centers identify areas for improvement and gauge overall customer sentiment.
  4. Net Promoter Score (NPS): NPS is an indicator of customer loyalty and likelihood to recommend the company to others. Customers are asked to rate their likelihood of recommending the company on a scale from 0 to 10. This KPI helps assess overall customer loyalty and advocacy.
  5. Service Level (SL): SL measures the percentage of calls answered within a specified time threshold, often expressed as a percentage (e.g., 80% of calls answered within 20 seconds). Maintaining a high SL ensures minimal customer wait times and better customer experiences.

Some More Call Center Metrics In Use