What is call resolution?
It is one of the most important customer service metrics. Call resolution directly links to customer satisfaction and indicates how well your contact center agents resolve customer queries.
The primary goal of each call center is to provide the best customer support experience possible. This means resolving customer requests quickly and efficiently in compliance with given service level agreements (SLAs).
Is call resolution an important KPI?
Yes, it is. Furthermore, it is a vital indicator of customer satisfaction. It is used to assess your contact center agentsโ customer service standards.
Analyzing the call disposition allows center leaders to get insights into how effectively their support teams handle customer calls.
Poor contact resolution may lead to a dissatisfied customer taking their business elsewhere. Therefore, you must consider this metric when assessing the overall center performance.
How to measure call resolution?
To calculate call resolution, divide the total number of resolved cases by the total number of received cases during a certain time period (can be calculated annually, monthly, weekly, etc.). Multiply your result by 100 to get a percentage of your centerโs call resolution.
Call resolution= (Total resolved cases/ Total received cases) x 100%
Of course, this calculation method is not an end-all-be-all and it is important to consider various factors when it comes to measuring call resolution. This formula provides a basic understanding of how effectively your center agents do their job but do not forget to consider your customersโ opinions as well. Be sure to ask for customer feedback every chance you get. You can do this by a follow-up email, or simply ask them during a call. Tailoring call centersโ approach to clientsโ needs is what makes excellent customer service.
Challenges of call resolution
As with all customer service efforts, call resolution has some challenges you and your team need to handle.
- issue complexity โ Customers can contact you with very basic inquiries that take seconds to solve. But sometimes, a very complex issue can occur that requires a lot of expertise and time to solve.
- inaccessible/insufficient information โ Even the most productive agents may find it difficult to provide support to customers when they are unable to access all the information they need.
- high agent turnover โ Call centers are known for their level of agent turnover which can prevent delivering high-quality service.
- lack of agent authority โ Support agents may be unable to solve customer issues quickly and efficiently if they lack the authority to perform certain actions. Therefore, the issue can needlessly escalate.
Improve your call resolution
Continuously improving customer service should be at the forefront of every customer support center. Any project manager should strive to create the most efficient environment for their team as well as for their clients.
Here are a few steps you can take to improve call resolution:
- define your goals โ You need to outline clear goals in order to follow them.
- create an improvement plan โ Once you know what your desired outcome is, create a plan which defines how you will get there. This is important in order to stay accountable.
- create an accessible knowledge base โ Have an internal knowledge base that your agents can refer to any time they need. This will help call resolution rates dramatically. The best way to do this is by equipping your support representatives with reliable customer service software like LiveAgent.
- provide training โ Provide your employees with training and seminars on the companyโs products and services as well as on how to deal with various customer requests. These training sessions can be internal or external. The important thing is to keep your agents up-to-date and ready to tackle any issue thrown their way.
- empower your customer service agents โ Allowing your staff to perform certain tasks ( for example giving a discount) tremendously helps with customer satisfaction. Review your company policies and procedures and identify areas where you can give more authority to the agents.
- utilize speech analytics โ These analytics identify trends in customer interaction. They are able to recognize patterns and emotions in the speakerโs voice.
- monitor your centerโs performance โ Utilize quality monitoring to keep track of call center metrics. Doing so will help you identify where you need to make further changes.
Benefits of improved call resolution
Improving call resolution results in better customer retention rates. The better service you provide, the more loyal customers your business has. Improved call resolution is directly linked to higher customer efforts scores.
Better call resolution also has an impact on your centerโs agentsโ performance. Empowering them to solve problems themselves keeps them engaged and satisfied with their job.
Having improved call resolution is also a part of your differentiation strategy. Being able to stand out from your competitors by providing exceptional customer service is one of the most significant attributes of a successful call center. In this day and age, you donโt want to be regarded just as another average call center. Use all the tools available to you to create the best customer experience possible.
Prevent your agents' burnout and increase their productivity
LiveAgent has a built-in call center, so itโs set up and use are easy to handle. Have a look at all the features!
Frequently asked questions
How to measure call resolution?
The basic formula to calculate call resolution is as follows: Call resolution= (Total resolved cases/ Total received cases) x 100% However, make sure to conduct frequent customer surveys and ask for customer feedback. Always take into account the needs of your customers as well as those of your staff. ย
What are the challenges of call resolution?
The most prominent challenges of call resolution include high agent turnover a lack of agent training. Furthermore, agents not being able to solve customersโ requests due to the lack of authority is a common issue that needs to be addressed. Lastly, dealing with complex issues without a proper and accessible internal knowledge base can result in poor customer satisfaction levels. This may result in higher customer churn.
How to improve call resolution?
There is no one size fits all answer to this. However, most businesses find it helpful to define their call center objectives and create a plan to fulfill them. Having properly trained staff who have access to all the information they need via an internal knowledge base is a complete game-changer. Also, empowering your employees to deal with more difficult situations without escalating them further allows them to tackle more challenging requests. It also positively affects the confidence in their job as a support rep. Donโt forget to track your centerโs performance to keep an eye on any areas that need improvement. Moreover, use speech analytics to gain more comprehensive insights into customer interactions.
Expert note
Call resolution is a vital metric in measuring customer satisfaction and indicating how well contact center agents resolve customer queries. Effective training, monitoring, and customer feedback are crucial to improve call resolution.
First response time (FRT) is a significant measure in customer service that organizations should aim to keep low to improve customer satisfaction. This can be calculated by adding up first response times and dividing by the number of submissions. It's important to avoid including automatic responses in these calculations. There are several ways to improve FRT, such as coaching and training, adding additional communication channels like live chat, and planning employee schedules. High levels of first contact resolution (FCR) and first call resolution (FCR) can also improve customer satisfaction and efficiency, but challenges exist in accurately measuring and improving these KPIs. Best practices include providing accurate information to agents and empowering them to make decisions.
What is a Customer Service Call Center?
Customer service call centers are essential for businesses to ensure customer satisfaction and meet their demands. They can be expensive and challenging, but cloud-based call center software can efficiently manage inbound and outbound calls, routing, monitoring, and reporting. Call center representatives must be skilled in solving problems, communicating, and have technical support experience. They must provide personalized solutions and a great user experience while being flexible and knowledgeable in multiple languages. A competent call center system and an experienced, agile team are critical for excellent customer service.
Call center supervisors are essential to providing great customer service through traditional phone support. They train agents, oversee daily operations, manage databases, and ensure the company's goals are met. Their duties also include performance evaluation, customer service management, and assisting employees. To be successful, they need strong management, communication, leadership, and problem-solving skills, as well as a desire for self-improvement. Thus, it is important to hire skilled supervisors who possess these traits.
First contact resolution rate (FCR) is a crucial factor in improving customer satisfaction and efficiency in customer service. It is a KPI that measures the number of customer queries resolved on the first interaction without escalations or follow-ups by the agent. FCR can be calculated by dividing the total number of resolved cases on the first outreach by the total number of received cases. A satisfactory FCR rate is around 65-75%, though it varies depending on the type of business and complexity of products. Having a good FCR rate leads to improved customer and employee satisfaction, customer retention, and reduced operational costs. However, challenges arise in measuring FCR accurately, connecting contacts, and ensuring adequate agent authority. Factors that affect FCR include product/service complexity, tools available, self-service options, channel choice, routing system, policies/procedures, agent knowledge and training, and type of interaction. To improve FCR, set clear goals, use a robust helpdesk software, create an accessible knowledge base, automate tasks, empower customers, monitor customer journeys and agent performance, and gather customer feedback.
