MANAGERS & STAFF
DIRECTORS & VPs
EXECUTIVES
Call Centers: Organization Chart
Chief
Operating
Officer
EVP/SVP of Customer
Experience
Employee Name
Employee Name
Employee Name
Employee Name
Employee Name
Call Processing
(Inbound/Outbound)
Workforce
Management
IVR/VRU Management
Call Center Training &
Development
Call Center Technical
Support
The call processing
(inbound/outbound)
function handles calls
received and calls made
in the contact center,
routing them to the
appropriate department
or subject matter expert.
The workforce
management function is
responsible for
forecasting incoming call
volumes and related
workload and then
staffing the group
accordingly, as well as
monitoring call center
agents to ensure they are
KPIs
performing up to
Average Speed to Answer
company standards..
KPIs
Abandonment Rate
Average Handle Time (AHT)
First Contact Resolution
Rate
Common Job
Titles
Customer Service
Representative
Call Center Agent
Sales Support
Representative
Inside Sales
Representative
Account Executive
(ASA) Call
Call Occupancy Rate
Customer Satisfaction Rate
The IVR/VRU
Management function is
responsible for
configuring and
monitoring the usability
of interactive voice
response (IVR) systems
and forming strategy for
optimal use of the IVR
system.
The contact center
training and development
group is tasked with
developing programs to
ensure that call center
agents are properly
trained on the
program/product to
deliver optimum levels of
customer service.
The contact center
technical support group
is responsible for
addressing any internal
technical issues and
resolving any outages
related to hardware or
software used in the call
center..
KPIs
KPIs
KPIs
IVR/VRU Containment Rate
IVR/VRU Utilization Rate
Average Time Spent in IVR
Annual Representative
Training Hours
Employee Turnover Rate
Total Training Cost
Average Resolution Time
Tickets per Support
Employee
Total Tickets Closed
Common Job
Titles
Common Job
Titles
Common Job
Titles
Common Job
Titles
Staffing
Coordinator
Recruiting
Manager
Operations
Manager
Call Center
Supervisor/Manage
r
Call Center
Planning Analyst
Call Center Trainer
Customer Training
Instructor
Contact Center
Training Manager
Training &
Development
Specialist
Contact Center
Coaching
Specialist
Call Center
Technical Analyst
IT Service Center
Analyst
Call Center
Administrator
Call Center
Technician
Technical Specialist
IVR Developer
IVR Analyst
IVR Designer
IVR Call Flow
Designer
Application
Support Engineer
Customer
Customer
Contact Centers: Inbound Call Processing Workflow
Account manager verifies
customer identification via
other personal information
End Call
Customer call comes into
the answer queue
Services
Services Division
Division
No
Client verified by
IVR?
No
Yes
Account Manager asks the
customer the reason for the
call
Account Manager provides
answer to customers
inquiry
Transfer to another
department?
Yes
Account Manager contacts
the appropriate Senior
Manager for additional
information
Account Manager continues
to close the deal
Interactive voice response
(IVR) gathers customers
reason for calling
Account Manager updates
the appropriate systems
Yes
Advise customer about the
transfer of call and put
him/her on hold
Other
Other Departments
Departments
Escalation
requested?
Account Manager thanks
customer for holding and
transfers the call to the
representative
Customer provides account
number, name of caller, and
reason for call
Account Manager advises
customer that he or she will
follow with customer when
an answer is provided by
the Senior Manager
Account Manager escalates
the call according to the
escalation hierarchy
Account Manager offers
customer a particular
product he/she is eligible for
Does customer
accept offer?
No
Account Manager solves
the customers issue
Retirement
Retirement Specialist
Specialist Group
Group
Client
Client
Contact Centers: Customer Issue Resolution Workflow
Caller calls and navigates
through call routing prompts
to reach queue
Caller waits in queue until a
retirement representative
becomes available and is
then connected
Interactive Voice Response
(IVR) verifies the
identification of the caller
Retirement Rep identifies
the purpose of the call
Caller explains the reason
for the call and asks
questions or initiates a
request
Customer requests a
Retirement package?
Yes
Retirement Rep orders a
personalize Retirement Plan
Package for the customer
No
The caller has received
product X and has
questions
Retirement Rep answers all
the customers questions
Retirement Rep answers
any final questions from the
customer and updates
appropriate systems
Process View of the Call Center
Process
Inputs
Outputs
Inputs/Outputs customers calling for service/customers completed the call
Flow Units customers
Network of Activities and Buffers answering customers calls
Resources customer service agents (CSA), phone automated system
(PAS), etc.
Information Structure account management system, reference materials,
etc.
Call Center Competencies and Architecture
4 Dimensions for measuring the competence of the call center:
Process Cost
Process Flow Time
Process Flexibility
Process Quality.
Argentina call center focuses on the low cost.
Call center provides high-quality Spanish support.
Argentina call center process architecture is defined by the
types of resources (CSA, PAS, etc).
Call center falls somewhere along the spectrum between two
extremes (flow shop and job shop).
Flow shop fits better, as call center uses specialized
resources that perform limited tasks & produce large
volumes with high precision and speed.
Three Key Call Center
Measures
Flow Time = Time Customer spends:
In automated phone system
Waiting in the queue for an agent
Talking to an agent.
Ex: October Average PAS time is 46, Queue average waiting
time is 32 & handle time is 462 seconds.
T=540 seconds
Flow Rate = Number of customers that flow through a specific
point in the call center process per unit of time.
Inventory = Total number of customers present within call
center boundaries.
Ex: Argentina call center is 24/7 & call patterns are very
different.
Littles Law
Throughput = Average number of customers that flow through
the call center per unit of time.
Littles Law - Average inventory (=) Throughput (x) Average flow
time.
I=RxT
Ex:
We identified:
T = 540 seconds (9 min)
I = 27 customers.
Therefore, R = I/T
R = 27/9
R = 3 customers/minute
Call Center Flow, Delays and Queues
Customer
Capacit
y
Rp =
c/Tp
Arrival Rate
Ri
Number:
Time:
In:
Throughput
Customer
R = Min (Ri, Rp)
Ii
Ip
=I
Ti
Tp
=T
Queue + Service =Process
Call Center Process Attributes
Inflow Rate Ri = Average rate of customer arrivals per unit time.
In the Argentinean call center, Ri = 5
customers/minute
Processing Time Tp = Average time required by agent to process
the customer.
Tp = 462 (agent) + 46 (PAS) = 508 seconds
c = Number of agents in the resource pool
c = 36 agents in Argentina
Process capacity (Rp) = Total processing rate at which customers
are processed by agents in the resource pool.
Rp = c/Tp or Rp = 36/8.47 = 4.25 customers/minute
Buffer capacity (K) = Maximum number of customers that can
wait in queue.
Flow Rate-related Measures of Call Center
Capacity
Throughput rate (R) = Average rate at which customers flow
through the call center process
R = min (Ri, Rp)
In our case, Rp is smaller, so R = Rp = 4.25
Capacity utilization () = Average fraction of the resource pool
capacity that is occupied in processing customers
= R/Rp
In our case, R = Rp and = 1
Our resource pool is constantly busy processing customers.
Safety capacity (Rs) = Excess processing capacity available to
handle the customers inflows.
Rs = R p R i
In our case, Rs = 4.25 5 = -0.75
All the available capacity is busy processing arrivals.
Flow Time-related Measures of Customer
Delay
Average waiting time (Ti) = Time that a customer spends
in queue.
Ti = 32 seconds.
Average theoretical time = Average processing time of a
customer.
Tp = 462 seconds + 46 seconds (automated
system) = 508 seconds
Average flow time in the process (T) = Average time that a
customer spends waiting in queue & being served
T = Ti + Tp or T
508 + 32 = 540 seconds or 9 minutes
Flow time efficiency = Proportion of time that a customer
spends being served rather than waiting in queue
Tp / T = .94
Inventory-related Measures of Customer
Queues
Average queue length = Average number of
customers waiting for service
Ii = R x T i
Ii = 4.25 x 0.53 = 2.25 customers waiting for service
Average number of customers in service = Average inprocess inventory
Ip = R x T p
Ip = 4.25 x 8.47 = 35.99 customers in service
Average total number of customers in the process
I = I i + Ip
I = 2.25 + 35.99 = 38.24 customers in the process
Call Center Flow, Delays and Queues
Capacit
y
Rp =
c/Tp
Arrival Rate
Customer
5 customers/min
Throughput
Customer
4.25 customers/min
Number:
2.25
35.99
= 38.24
Time:
508
32
= 540 seconds
In:
Queue +
Service = Process
Performance Improvements
The following levers improved process performance:
Decrease variability in customer interarrival &
processing times.
Decrease capacity utilization (or increase safety
capacity) either by
Decreasing the arrival rate or increasing the unit
processing rate
Increasing the number of servers
Synchronize the available capacity with demand.
Managing Capacity
Capacity utilization ( = R /R ) can be reduced by
increasing average processing rate (R )
i
In order to increase processing rate (R = c/T ) we
recommended decreasing average processing time (T )
p
To achieve a decrease in processing time:
Identified that billing & escalated calls took longer to handle
in this call center vs. similar centers.
Thus recommended & implemented 2 separate hour
training segments
Billing prorates explanation
How to handle escalated calls
Key Performance Indicators
Service Measures
Accessibility
Blockage; hours of operation; abandons; selfservice availability
Speed of Service
Service level; average speed of answer; longest
delay in queue
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Key Performance Indicators
Quality Measures
Resolution Metrics
First call resolution rate; transfer rate
Call Handling Metrics
Etiquette; knowledge and competency; error
and rework rate; adherence to procedures
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Key Performance Indicators
Efficiency Measures
Resource Utilization
Agent occupancy; shrinkage; schedule efficiency
and adherence; availability
Contact Handling
Average handle time; after call work time; onhold time
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Key Performance Indicators
Profitability Measures
Sales
Conversion rate
Use of financial resources
Cost per call
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PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT PROCESS
Steps of Performance Measurement
1. Define the ideal
2. Measure current performance
3. Diagnose problem
4. Apply treatment
5. Monitor progress
6. Preventative maintenance
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PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT PROCESS
Defining Performance Standards
Quantitative standards
Qualitative standards
21
QUALITY MEASUREMENT PROCESS
Call Monitoring Policy
Various approaches
A formal policy is important
Outline process
Describe tools and instruments to be used
Define how scores will be communicated
Quality Forms and Standards
22
QUALITY MEASUREMENT PROCESS
Call Calibration = process of
standardizing call evaluation and
scoring process
Scoring and Evaluation
23
PERFORMANCE REPORTING
Reporting Methodologies
Build a framework that CLEARLY defines:
Purpose of each report
Recipients
Sources of data
Metric to be used
Must be relevant, accurate, and timely
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PERFORMANCE REPORTING
Communications channels for each
report should be considered
Communications strategies
Agents
Teams
Management
Funders
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