Customers don’t care how you reach first call resolution (FCR) or how you measure it in the call center -- they just want you to achieve it. Learn tips for improving FCR as well as new processes that drive and actively sustain FCR success. In this SlideShare, you will walk away with knowledge on how to: Educate staff on the importance and impact of FCR Train agents to effectively answer inquiries Remove barriers hindering FCR achievement Optimize workforce management processes

1. Sponsored by
A Customer-Centric Approach to
First Call Resolution

2. FCR Stats that Make You Go
“Oooh, Ahhh”
C-Sat ratings are For every 1% you get a 1%
35%-45%
improvement in
FCR, = improvement in
C-Sat.
lower (SQM Group)
when a second call is of centers that reported an increase in FCR
made for the same
issue.
More
than 75% over previous 12 months indicated a
resulting increase in C-Sat.
(Customer Relationship Metrics) (ICMI)
of customers who do not get their inquiry or problem resolved
34% on the first attempt are likely to go to your competitors.
In contrast, only 3% percent of customers whose
issue is resolved on the first call are at risk of going to a
(SQM Group)
competitor.

3. Customers don’t care about FCR research
findings or if you know how to measure
FCR…
…they simply want
you to achieve it.

4. Why sit around arguing over
measurement methods and
70% or 75%
whether your FCR rate is… or 80%
…when you could be spending that
time implementing processes that
80% or 85%
will enable you to argue over
whether your
FCR rate is… or 90%

5. And just how DO leading call centers drive
and actively sustain FCR success?

6. FCR Driver #1
Educate staff on the importance and
impact of FCR.
 What FCR is; what FCR does
 Companies with “Most Improved” FCR accolades
attribute much of success to agent education and
buy-in early on
 Prime example: BCBS of Michigan

7. FCR Driver #2
Provide agents with the training and
resources to effectively resolve contacts.
 Skills, Knowledge, Access
 Prime example: VPI

8. FCR Driver #3
Ensure that there are no conflicting
performance objectives hindering FCR
achievement.
 Put your metrics where your mouth is
“De-emphasizing straight productivity metrics allows our
agents to focus on quality, not quantity.”
– Debbie LeBlanc, Contact Center Director, Purolator Courier
 FCR and AHT needn’t be mutually exclusive
“By putting the right agent behaviors in motion, our FCR has
gone up and our AHT has remained well in line. We set more
of a range for AHT and not a strict quota so staff can focus on
the customer.
– Geoffrey Butler of ICBC

9. FCR Driver #4
Optimize workforce management
processes.
 Adequate staffing
 Skills-based routing
 Personality-based routing

10. FCR Driver #5
Build incentives around FCR goal
achievement.
 Move beyond pizza and pats on the back
 “Wall of Fame” and other public recognition
 Preferred shifts
 Opportunity to serve on FCR Improvement Team

11. FCR Driver #6
Empower agents to improve FCR-
related processes.
 Form an agent-led FCR improvement team
 Implement a “Voice of the Employee” (V.O.T.E.)
initiative

12. Common FCR Measurement Methods
“Repeat call” tracking Internal QA
technology decision
Having agents ask Post-call transactional
customers directly surveys
 live phone survey
 automated phone survey
 email survey

13. A high FCR rate isn’t always cool.
Why Not?

14. Consider “Customer Effort”
Not all resolved calls leave the
customer smiling.
To view FCR in full context of
the customer experience you need…
 A comprehensive quality monitoring program
 A C-Sat survey with qualifying questions

15. We Know How Important FCR Is
Top Issues for Improvement:

16. What Holds Us Back?
29% provide
as much training as
they target 73%
say service level
agreements don’t
allow enough time
for training
Source: Ventana Research Call Center Agent Productivity Poll

17. Time Invested for Improvements
Industry Average Composition of Secondary Loss
21% Training
17% Coaching
Secondary Loss 12% 16% Team Meetings
Primary Loss 17%
11% Projects
Wait time 11%
9% Paperwork
Call Handle time 9% Call Research / Follow-up
60%
17% - Email, Call Back,
Knowledgebase, Etc.
Category 1
Source: 2010 Contact Center Shrinkage Survey

18. Time: An Agent’s Day
Shrinkage:
(off-phone work)
12%
Shrinkage: 17% Active Wait
(Absenteeism, etc.)
Wait Time 11%
24 x 2 minute breaks/ day
120 x 2 minute breaks/ week
Call Handle time 60% 480 x 2 minute breaks/ month
5,760 x 2 minute breaks/ year
Costs our industry $30 billion/year
Source: 2010 Contact Center Shrinkage Survey

19. Agents have 17 hours of Idle Time Every Month
Contact center
agents spend 11% Break
of their day
unproductively Lunch 50 minutes of
unproductive
waiting for the next wait time
customer Break
interaction

20. Making Idle Time Productive
Leverage technology to
redistribute the idle
time and create 15-20
minute activity 20 minutes of
sessions “Active Wait”
Lunch time
Use these sessions to +
improve FCR: skills Break
30 minutes of
training, must unproductive
reads, coaching, QM wait time
reviews

21. Finding the Time
Occupancy
100%
95%
90%
85%
80%
75%
Off-phone Activity Sessions
70%
 Sessions delivered only during periods of low call
volume to protect service levels

22. Shifting Shrinkage Into Active Wait: Found Time
Productivity gains from shifting 4 hours of training, coaching, and
communications into Active Wait time each month for 1,000
agents.
Shifted
4,000 Hours
Shrinkage 46,400 Shrinkage 46,400
Active Wait Time
Wait Time 17,600 Wait Time 13,600
Handle Time 96,000 Handle Time 96,000
Hours

23. Summary: Focus on Drivers
1. Educate on importance
2. Equip agents
3. Eliminate conflicting objectives
4. Optimize WFM processes
5. Build incentives
6. Empower agents

24. Summary: Putting Into Practice
Utilize Idle Time: Apply more time to making agents
better at resolving contacts
Prioritize: Organize, track and deliver the most important
off-phone work
Measure: Improvement