Call distribution

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Is there a way to distribute the number of calls taken by techs to be an even amount? My best techs take far more calls than say the mediocre techs on the floor and fatigue and other issues are now becoming greater factors.

[phreeborn]

Instead of trying to even out the calls taken, I strongly suggest you pay incentive for performance above the minimum or the average. This will raise the performance across all reps.

[Michcall]

You can't force your mediocre agents to take more calls by artificially manipulating the distribution. I would suggest doing a root cause analysis on why the superstar agents are handling the calls so much better than others and try to close that gap. In any call center there is going to be a spectrum of performance, but a key is to set appropriate goals and manage to them so that a majority of your staff is performing acceptably, distributing the performance across a larger population of agents.

Here are some ideas:
>Gather representative stats from your superstars (ATT, AHT, ACW, productivity, log in time, not ready, quality etc.). Compare these to a cross section of others and see where the biggest discrepancies lie. You might find it as simple as your mediocre agents being unavailable for a greater percentage of time.
>Ask your best agents what makes them so productive, why do they get through the calls more quickly, what allows them to troubleshoot problems more effectively, what methods have they come up with that allow them to be more productive. Ask them pointed questions about performance issues that are prevalent (not related to specific individuals, of course). Your agents know what's going on on the floor and can give you insight into problems your leaders may not see.
>Is this a problem between veteran and novice agents? If so, you'll need to review your training to see if agents are prepared appropriately. Also, you may need to try a mentoring program or some other additional support during the first months on the phones to help those agents get acclimated more quickly.
>Training may also be an issue for veteran agents who are not "getting it". In a tech environment, the ability to troubleshoot effectively is key to lower talk time and effective call handling. Maybe some agents are ineffective at this leading to longer calls. Do you have a knowledgebase to help these agents handle the calls? Do you provide ongoing training or skills tests to make sure agents are kept current?
>Look at agent profiles. Do your superstars have significantly different background and training than others? What skills/abilities do your superstars exhibit that aren't in the rest of the population? You may have some hiring mistakes that should be corrected.
>Look at the quality scores. Are the agents taking the high number of calls cutting corners to get the job done? Are those who take fewer calls praised for their high quality which might cause them to focus on quality over quantity?
>Does your leadership staff take the lower performers off the phones for projects etc. with the thought that that is less of an impact to overall operations than taking a superstar? (thus putting more burden on the superstars).
>Do you have metrics in place that all employees need to meet? If your mediocre agents are doing just enough to get by, maybe your metrics need to be redefined to be a stretch target to get them out of a complacent mode. If you don't have monthly metric goals, then your staff has nothing to shoot for---those who are self-motivated to perform will & those who aren't will do the minimum to get by.
>Do all the mediocre performers seem to be on one team or in one group? Could be a supervisor issue of not effectively coaching and providing feedback. Do your leaders know what to do to motivate those mediocre perfomers and help them improve? Are they accepting barely acceptable performance because it's easier than addressing it? Do they know how to address it when they see it? Do your supervisors review performance stats monthly with each team member and provide them guidance on how to improve?
>Ask the lower performers what they need to improve. Do they need better tools, more coaching, additional training? You'll probably find some who really are motivated to improve and a small percentage who just don't care enough to put in the effort.
>You may want to look at performance incentives which will reward your best performers and motivate those others to improve.

Right now you just have a symptom (disparity in performance). You need to find a cause (or causes) behind it, then you can put action plans in place to address.

Good luck.

[mdbabb]

I concur with Michcall's recommendations and want to add one more....many ACD systems allow for call distribution based on occupancy rather than first available agent. We are using an Avaya Definity G3R on v11 with Advocate.

This allows for better utilization of your agents and helps prevent burn-out. You will still have performers with better call handling stats (lower AHT means they can take more calls) but it does help to even out the disparity.

[sealink]

Thank you all for your replies, especially Michcall. I will utilize the info you all provided to better my call center.

Much regards,

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