Question: Resolving conflict between key metrics

Our company handles call center operations for many well known consumer finance companies.

In my job as the operations leader, dealing with relatively inexperienced staff, it is difficult to communicate the need for a balance.

For example, we reward quick turnaround on calls. But, we also reward personalization in call handling which may take longer. I want to effectively communicate that the "right action" is whatever creates more value for the company in a particular situation.

This is just one example where a balance between productivity and customer centricity is key. How can we communicate this effectively?

Your advice is greatly appreciated.

5 Expert Insights

The focus should always be on resolving the customer's issue to their satisfaction (or delight) in alignment with the brand you are representing in the shortest time possible. You should not be rewarding speed but rather true customer resolution (which may have multiple definitions depending on the issue and the brand). One call resolution should be a goal whenever possible. Personalizing the call or other "add ons" should be done in alignment with the brand, remembering that customers, too are busy and may not want these "enhancements" if they extend the call beyond what is necessary. In other words, forget the timing and focus on what the customer really needs and wants and always be courteous and friendly when doing so.

The "right action" is NOT what creates value for the company, but what creates value and resolution for the customer.  Sometimes we as managers can get "snowblinded" with the use of metrics, and allocate too much time and effort in evaluating the statistics, rather than analyzing the results.

I agree entirely with Rick. Your employees will always be driven to do what the performance system rewards them for doing, so if you emphasize quick call handling, you'll find (as I did with another client) that call center reps will game the system by answering a customer and then immediately hanging up - thus driving lower average call handling time. Lots of other examples, but perhaps sufficient to demonstrate how clever employees can be to drive the metrics to make them look good.

Many call centers I've worked with put a premium on first call resolution, even if a "warm transfer" to another employee is appropriate. If you ever wonder what are the right customer-focused metrics, don't forget the power of hearing directly from your customers. Sometimes a longer call with resolution is much preferred to a shorter call with a callback required. Even operationally, this should be what your company should desire and drive through your metrics.

Call centers are sophisticated enough nowadays to have a number of metrics available to the casual data observer. The perception is that of a rich variety of available data for decision making, but my clients find that a remarkably small subset of these metrics are sufficient to manage the call center. Thus, don't drown in a sea of data when a few drops will suffice to tell you how well your center is operating.

One final suggestion: a focus on the process of handling a customer's call tends to drive the right results, much more than a focus on the results themselves. You can always mandate better results (and sometimes get them), but it's temporary - take the focus off and results backslide. Focusing instead on the process that drives the results yields more long-term and sustainable improvement.

Funny your situation is the exact scenario I use when talking about using a balanced approach to performance metrics.  You need to select a set of metrics that balances all of the "value streams" of the interaction.  Rick, Tom, and James have all touched on them above:
1) What provides value to your company?  These may be measured by the call center software mentioned my James.
2) What provides value to your customer?  These may be measured by a customer survey (see below).
Look for a set of metrics that would represent your brand and desired service level.  Try to minimize the number as well, too many metrics makes it confusing for your staff to understand what your desired outcome is.

Consider also a customer satisfaction survey that get sent out upon the closing of each "ticket" asking things like: was the issue resolved on the first call, was your problem actually resolved, did you feel that you received personalized information?

A balance of customer-oriented and company-oriented metrics, and the principle of "keep it simple" should help get you to the right solution.

I have worked with call centers that have pursued conflicting business and customer priorities, which can confuse employees. It seems you face at least a little of that dilemma. I suggest the following.

1. It is important that you and other managers establish and then communicate balanced call center metrics and priorities that do not conflict with each other. This is often called a "balanced scorecard" with a touch of common sense.

2. Modern call centers usually have large screens for all employees to view real-time metrics and messages. That would enable you to track and possibly color code your critical metrics as red (critical - need intervention), yellow (marginal performance) and green (all is well). This is called "visual management", which is real-time communication with your employees.

3. Each color code for the individual metrics should be associated with pre-determined management and employee responses if performances are anything less that desirable (green). This should be the main role of management, which is to track real-time business and customer satisfaction and then take the appropriate actions to get back to targeted performance. That is what we often call "target gap analysis and closure action planning".

I hope this helps.