Using Discover for First Call Resolution
Best Practices for Increasing Customer Satisfaction and Reducing Costs
Keith KressDirector of Marketing Communications
Dave DitmarsMarketing Analyst
Why FCR Is Important
• Metric that matters• Impacts customer service• Impacts labor costs• Affects entire organization• Affects staff satisfaction/attrition • Reduces risk of losing customers
Why FCR Is Important
• 1% gain in FCR = 1% gain in CSAT
Why FCR Is Important
• 1 in 6 customers are at risk when not satisfied with contact center interactions*
* Aspect Software, The 2007 Aspect Contact Center Satisfaction Index (2007).
Why FCR Is Important
• 5% reduction in customer defections
can create an 85% increase in profit*
* Frederick F. Reichheld and W. Earl Sasser Jr., “Zero Defections: Quality Comes to Services,” Harvard Business Review (September 1990).
Why FCR Is Important
• 75% of consumers would do business with a company that provides a great call center experience*
*Genesys Global Consumer Survey (2007).
Why FCR Is Important
• 50% of consumers surveyed say they stopped doing business with a company because of poor customer service*
*Genesys Global Consumer Survey (2007).
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FCR Reduces Costs
Not All Contact Centers Measure FCR
• Only half of contact centers measure FCR
•Why?
Brainstorming Session #1
• If you are not measuring FCR, why?
• What are your challenges in measuring FCR?
How Centers Measure FCR
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for Customer Service Representatives (2008)
Causes of Repeat CallsWhat causes repeat calls?
Common Causes
• Agents– Lack information– Have poor call control skills– Lack authority to solve problems– Are unaware of recent events– Provide unclear or incorrect information
• Long holding times• Corporate policies
Agents Lack Information
• Agents need information quickly• Agents need access to call history
– Caller is frustrated and slow access adds to handle time– Agent needs to know what actions have been taken
• Quick and easy access to a knowledge base helps• Agents need to quickly reach subject matter
experts
Interaction Control
• Agents need to – Identify caller issues quickly– Keep focus on caller issues
• Digressions decrease quick resolutions and increase callbacks and repeat calls
Lack of Authority
• Issue escalate when– Agents do not know
answers– Agents do not have
authority to solve problems
Agents Are Unaware or Unclear
• Agents need to be aware of– New campaigns– Media announcements– Delivery/quality problems– New product/service releases
• Agents present unclear information– Callbacks are caused by ambiguous/wrong information
Corporate Policies
• Business practices create confusion/ multiple steps for customers
• Management needs to know if policies contribute to customer defections
Improving FCR
How to determine your causes of repeat callsHow to make improvements
Agree on Data Collection Method
• Choose method that works for your center
• Don’t let perfect be enemy of good• Be consistent in measurement
Set Reasonable Goals and Rewards
• Target must be realistic and balance objectives
• Reward achievement
Set FCR as Evaluation Metric
• Track FCR in quality evaluations– Underlines importance to the
enterprise– Encourages agents to seek
training and development
Train on Call Control
• Provide training on control– Isolating reasons is critical– Train how to recognize repeats– Teach agents to stay on point– Focus interactions on resolutions– Teach how to code/tag repeats
Provide Advance Information
• Inform agents of– Policy changes– News– Events
Analyze Corporate Policies
• What policies are causing calls?– Credits and returns?– Shipping charges?– Billing cycles?– Late charges?– Promotions?– Warranties?
Empower Agents
• Provide knowledge base• Identify SME agents• Solicit agent feedback
Brainstorming Session #2
• What are your causes of low FCR?
• How can you best address them?
Using Discover to Improve FCRTechniques
Establish Baseline FCR Rate
• Use reports to capture and count calls from callers, accounts or case numbers in specific time periods
Implement Closing Codes
• Train agents on how to recognize repeat calls
• Instruct on how to code or tag repeat calls
• Teach how to define and run reports
Conduct Post-call Surveys
• Using Survey, ask yes/no questions about FCR– “Was this the first time you called about this
matter?” – “Did we answer your question to your
satisfaction?”
Categorize Repeat Calls
• Use Speech Analytics to categorize calls by key words and phrases like “called before” or “last time I called”
Employ Quality Management
• Have staff track FCR metrics with Coaching and Training– Tag calls as repeat– Track reason codes
• Use Discover reporting to track/report this data without factoring in agent scores
Performance Management
• Use Insight to improve call handling– Push current policy messages and
product/service information to agents– Include agent FCR rates on their QA
dashboards– Add incentives to motivate agents
Insight Performance Dashboard
Use Insight to Tune FCR Effectiveness
• Review/improve terms and phrases to refine process
• Expand scope/focus based on initial quality of results
• Use speech analytics to identify calls for follow-up
• Build categories with phrases like “billing problem”, “return policy” and “advertising” to receive notice of repeat calls
Speech Analytics Can Tune Effectiveness
Identify Causes of Repeat Calls
• Use surveys to determine caller motivations
• If callers have indicated common repeat calling reasons, list causes to which they can reply with yes/no response
FCR as Evaluation Metric
• Include FCR as key performance metric• Weight as important resolving inquiries on
first call
Build FCR into Coaching
• Use superior performance examples in coaching
• Coach on call control, new products, policies and factors driving repeat calls
• Capture video of screen activity to ensure agents understand knowledge base tools
Your Takeaways
• Causes of repeat calls• Setting up FCR metric• Improving FCR practice• Best FCR practices