Industry Standard KPI's

[mofo196]

I was just wondering goals other call centers usually set for themselves in terms of

ABA (Abandonment Rate)
SVL (Service Level)
AHT (Average Handle Time)
ACW (call work)

I am mostly interested in Service Level. They have set our goal recently to 90% of calls answered within 30 seconds. This seems a bit high in comparison to other centers I have worked at (at least to be cost-effective).

We are a call center handling inbound customer care calls for a small local phone company.

Any help will be appreciated.

[mikael]

There really aren't any industry standards in the contact center game. That having been said, however, let's take a look at the standard set of metrics you noted.

ABA (Abandonment Rate)

What's your center's definition of an Abandon? This is a critical point that is all too often overlooked. How long does somebody have to wait on hold before hanging up in order to be counted as an abandon? Set it too low, and you'll probably get a flawed picture. Set it too high, and you'll certainly get a flawed picture.

SVL (Service Level)

90% picked up within 30 seconds is a pretty ambitious goal for most centers. Have you run the staffing calculations to be sure that you can meet that goal? Or was it imposed on you from above because some exec thought it sounded good? Unless you're in direct competition with another phone company, I'd suspect that this is probably better than you really need to deliver.

AHT (Average Handle Time)

This will vary by the category of the problem you are dealing with. You should have an AHT value across the board for use in staffing calculations, but you should also know the AHT by problem category as well.

ACW (call work)

I'm assuming that you mean "wrap up" by this? After Call Work? If so, this should be included in the AHT value. Typically, about 90 seconds are allotted to wrap up note-taking & documentation of the call in most centers.

[Rebecca Oettinger]

Hello.

Metrics vary depending on the industry, type of customer, etc. However, some general information that we have found that may be able to assist you includes:

ABA- Average 5.5%, Benchmark 3.7%
ABA- Time- Average 66.2 seconds, Benchmark 31.2 seconds
SVL- Average 80% in 36.7 seconds, Benchmark 80% in 18.3 seconds
AHT- Average 6.1 minutes, Benchmark 3.3 minutes
ACW- Average 6.6 minutes, Benchmark 2.8 minutes

Hope this helps. Feel free to contact me if you have additional questions.

Thanks,
Rebecca

Rebecca Oettinger, Consultant
Sibson Consulting, The Segal Company
p: 609.520.2779 f: 609.520.0369

[Frank A. Engle]

Both Rebecca and Mikael have offered some great advise and information. The only thing I can add is that standards are an organic tool. They need to live inside of your company mission statement and the reps that communicate with your customers.
When they are well thought out, they allow you to zero in on exactly the spot your company is striving to reach. When they do not mesh well, you might be better off without them altogether.

Good Luck!

[JoeB]

Frank’s point talks to the heart of the problem. It is quite typical today in industries that measure time in Internet time units and look for quick solutions to ask for magic numbers such as “standard” ASA, AHT or SL. As others pointed out, by definition there are no numbers that can be applied across the board - they need to be defined for each organization, understanding the specifics and dynamics. Simplest example: do we expect AHT at a help desk supporting administrative stuff using standard desktop software to resemble the AHT at a help desk supporting complex networking equipment? From another angle, customer expectations and patience vary, so ASA that is very acceptable to one organization may be completely unacceptable to another (as discussed elsewhere in this forum, abandonment rate is not a linear function of ASA) .

Another problem I constantly detect is variances in measurement methods – unfortunatly, some of “standard” metrics are measured and averaged such that by the time they are published as “industry benchmark” they cannot be applied accurately. (You can find an article on the subject at www.DiagnosticStrategies.com)

As Frank suggests, the correct approach is to develop organic benchmark within the company, and monitor and adjust them to reflect the company’s business strategy. Use industry “benchmarks” wisely and as a sanity check, but not as performance targets.

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

[Puneet]

Hi Rabecca,

Regarding the benchmarks you had posted here, I've a query. Are these Benchmarks industry specific or general. I'm handling a telecom call center (Basic Telephony) and was wondering if the benchmarks set by us are too dynamic and aggresive.

Looking forward to a revert.

regards,
Puneet

General Industry Standards
Hello.

Metrics vary depending on the industry, type of customer, etc. However, some general information that we have found that may be able to assist you includes:

ABA- Average 5.5%, Benchmark 3.7%
ABA- Time- Average 66.2 seconds, Benchmark 31.2 seconds
SVL- Average 80% in 36.7 seconds, Benchmark 80% in 18.3 seconds
AHT- Average 6.1 minutes, Benchmark 3.3 minutes
ACW- Average 6.6 minutes, Benchmark 2.8 minutes

Hope this helps. Feel free to contact me if you have additional questions.

Thanks,
Rebecca

Rebecca Oettinger, Consultant
Sibson Consulting, The Segal Company
p: 609.520.2779 f: 609.520.0369


__________________
Rebecca Oettinger, Consultant
Sibson Consulting, The Segal Company
p: 609.520.2779 f: 609.520.0369