Service level of a call centre is based on a company’s accessibility to its customers and its workability to grip call traffic variations while implementing their work force in an improved way. It is often termed as cornerstone of inbound call centre manager’s prime metrics as it is directly relevant to customer service quality. Service level can be defined as both goal and performance oriented and it describes the percentage of calls being answered in a prior set time (target time threshold). This level can be time span measurements (i.e. 20 sec, 30 minutes, 1 hr, 1 day or 1 week) and grading of agents, specific department and team as a whole.

We precisely define our call centre service and optimize it consistently. We understand that a quality call service level is a milestone towards effective customer care and company’s growth. For measuring our service level we take the following steps:

We go with a customer-centric outlook and count all abandoned calls as missed opportunities. Any customers that stepped towards us counts and missing it negatively affects the service level according to our work ethics. We don’t believe in assumptions that certain customer whose call was abandoned will contact soon and will be entertained. We rather believe in giving an in time response and work out solutions accordingly.

For data-driven decision making we have evolved following formula to measure our service quality:

We take a 5 second delay from our crew side as humanely and also ignore it believing someone has dialed it in error and then hung up. We configure it later on our ACD system.

Our standard time interval is a response time within 30 seconds. Keeping in mind your company’s products and services we optimize the time interval too. The options include:

• When a caller finally opt for IVR
• The moment a call enters an ACD
• At the end of waiting crew greeting
• On the very first phone ring

Customer care is our top most priority and for it we take all steps for analyzing our customers’ behaviors. Our service level main benchmark is empathy and we keep focusing on what customers feel and how they react to particular response. With our knowledge base detail and detailed psycho analysis we highlight customers’ needs, expectations, preferences and patience level and act vis-a-vis.

For assessing our quality we believe in consistent, short interval base calculations. Rather than going for weekly or monthly calculations, we opt for hourly (i.e. each 15 seconds, 10 minutes, 30 minutes or hourly). This way we evaluate the peak hours and off-peak timings to adjust staffing accordingly. The longer measurement spans, the more intricate emphasizing on service problem points, so we choose the shorter to leave behind no loophole.

We verily focus on all departments collectively. The basic criterion varies according to each company’s needs and we also keep optimizing it but our target includes all departments i.e. customer care, sales, support, technical and general.

After collecting data through our software and classifying it regarding answered calls, abandoned calls, and callers’ waits we analyze the data. Our call centre software solution automatically updates and analyzes the service level, making it as easier as opening that tab on your software.

We make all data based results visible for the analytics and agents through dashboards and TV monitors for a real time updated feedback. It enables them go through issues with timely solutions.

After evaluating our service level, we go for the best solutions to overcome all pitfalls. We take following measures to optimize our service level:

• After forecasting call volumes, we schedule the optimal number of agents required at specific time. We go for optimizing task force management, rather than falling into the hazards of low staffing and over staffing.
• We keep working on optimizing our agents’ occupancy rate as it is inversely proportional to service level. We try to balance it on low occupancy which indicates more available agents, more immediate responses and increase in service level.
• By analyzing our ACD data we keep improving our call forecasting that results in better workforce management and scheduling.
• By looking into our agents personal and official issues, we try to retain an experienced taskforce that ultimately results in an optimized service.
• Our software is well-designed to inform the caller an anticipated waiting time and also enables agents for a right away call-back to abandoned calls.
• With the help of our software, web analytics and digital data base knowledge, we enable our agents for the best FCR ‘First Contact Resolution’. Its outcome is high customer satisfaction level that is our target.
• We serve our callers with a multi-channel support that includes emails, chat, self-help guide and FAQ. It works while reducing the volume on inbound calls and increasing customer satisfaction in a more careful way.
• Through live training sessions and sound knowledge base we have got a highly competent team that responds with an uninterrupted response sans declining and transfer.
• We track our service level on short interval bases to come up with an in time optimized service.
• We keep updating our whole team with the benchmarks of our service level to make them render services ac cordingly.
• We also keep working on the agents’ feedback that keeps our analysis in a closed-loop form.
• We never overlook the importance of updated software that helps us rendering the best call centre services.