Setting Service Level Range expectations

[brianduress]

We have a SL goal of 80/20. I am attempting to look at a set of SL data over a time period and statistically determine what is an exceptable range. In other words, what is my low and high target range we should statistically expect to meet on an interval basis? For example, with an 80/20 SL, perhaps we would set a range of 70-95 wherby my goal would be that 80% of my daily intervals fall within this range? I have been tasked then with reporting to my managemnt the %of daily interavals that fall outside our target range, but I am not sure how to determine my target range. Can anyone help?

[JoeB]

I suggest you start by setting a business objective for your SL; in other words, why 80/20 and not 80/60 or 90/20? Usually, management is concerned about customer satisfaction and call abandonment, but the importance of these depends on business environment (see www.DiagnosticStrategies.com/abandonment.htm).

Next, I suggest you determine the callers abandonment sensitivity and adjust the target SL as well as the expected ASA (they are NOT the same), so that you meet caller expectations. Also, find out how much tolerance is acceptable, which is probably the variance you want to allow yourself.

When reporting adherence to SL, I recommend that you decide, based on your business goals, which parameter is fixed and which you report the variance on. I.e., if your target is 80/20, you always report either report the time in which 80% of the calls were answered, or the % of calls that were answered in 20 seconds. This will help staff and management focus on the business objectives reflected by this measurement instead of using metrics as operational goals.

The subtleties are hard to summarize in a short message; feel free to email me directly for clarifications.

Joe
jbarkai@DiagnosticStrategies.com