data analyses, SL

[yooo]

Heres some data which I would appreciate if it could be interpreted some how. The data is from 12AM to 1:30PM.

Calls Offrd: 3442
ACD Calls: :3539
Max Delay: 8:46
%Calls within service level: 84.9
Avg Talk time: 4:50
Avg Aban Time: 1:13
Aban Calls: 97
%Ans: 97.2
Avg Out Talk T: :09
Avg # Staff: 19.7
Calls offerd/Staff: 92.9
AVG After Call Work: :21

From the above data, the SERVICE LEVEL is 84.9 %. Please let me know how that figure was reached at and if there is any direct calculation from the above data by which we can get the 84.9% SL. Thanks.

[gkern]

Yoy answered 84.9% of the calls within a specific amount of time that was programmed in as a threshold. The service level is the percentage of calls that were answered within the amount of time that was programmed in. You probably have something like 60 seconds programmed in. If that was the case, you answered 84.9% within 60 seconds. I do not think there is any way to calculate that number from the data you had shown. If you had an Average Speed of Answer number, you might be able to approximate a service level from that.

Give me a call if you need more help.

[imran94]

Hi Greg,

Thanks for your reply. The ASA was 40 seconds and our service level is calculated over 90 seconds. Normally, I calculate the SL using: Calls Answered/Calls Offered * 100. Sometimes, the SL comes correct but fluctuating ASA doesn't give me the correct SL which I get thro email from my management but don't tell me how they got it.

Greg, so if the calls offered is say 3600 and calls answered is 3490, and ASA is say 40 seconds, how would we calculate SL.

Thanks a million.

[sjbogani]

Just to add to that one thing the formula they used to calculate SL which is always dependant on the Call center,

(Calls Answered within SL Threshold / Calls Offered ) *100

The variations are always with the Calls Offered. For example some Call Centers will state that the Offered can only include Calls that were Answered within Service + Calls Abandoned after Service + Calls Answered after Service. Another variation may include the same formula only no abandons or even adding in abandons that were before Service Level. It all depends on what you as a Call Center manager thinks is fair. The first example is commonly used denominator in many Call Centers.

Sergio Bogani
Secamer Corporation
sjbogani@secamer.com

[Maggie Klenke]

Interpretation of data is dependent upon a number of settings. First of all, the manufacturer of your ACD will preset defaults withing the setting and if you have not overridden them, they will affect the results. For example, Nortel uses calls answered or abandoned within the goal service level to calculate the percentage within goal, while most other vendors use only calls answered. But all modern ACDs have settable parameters and you can make the calculations nearly anthing you like. That resolves conflicts between multiple sites with different systems, and makes the calculation most appropriate to your environment.

Secondly, the abandons may count from the first moment the call is received in the ACD (including people who dialed the wrong number and hang us when they get your announcement). But you could ignore some number of seconds, or set the abandonment to not count until the caller has heard a forced annoucement (like the QA message).

So, unfortunately, the interpretation of the data requires knowing what your vendor has set in the parameters. Let me know if I can help further in getting to the bottom of it.

[JoeB]

I agree with Maggie and Sergio - different ACDs use slightly different formulae to factor in abandoned calls, and some allow you to modify the calculations and/or choose from a number of canned strategies, so it is impossible to simply “reverse engineer” the SL figure 84.9%.

There are three general approaches to calculate SL, depending on your perspective on abandoned calls, and, as Maggie pointed out, numerous nuances you may consider.

Example:

Call offered: 100
Answered within service level threshold: 70
Abandoned within service level threshold: 10
Abandoned exceeding threshold: 20


Methods to calculate service levels:

Abandoned calls have negative impact: 70 / 100 = 70.0%
Abandoned calls have positive impact: (70 + 10) / 100 = 80.0%
Abandoned calls ignored: 70 / (100 - 10) = 77.7%%.

See more about this in another thread http://callcenterops.com/forum/showt...&threadid=175.

Joe Barkai
DIAGNOSTIC STRATEGIES
http://www.DiagnosticStrategies.com/
Tel. 781-433-0833