3 Metrics To Make An Accurate Prediction In The Planning Of A Call Center

Making a forecast for a call center is difficult. Companies with few personnel run the risk of keeping users on hold for several minutes, resulting not only in their dissatisfaction, but also in the frustration and demotivation of the agents.

Users can ignore long wait times once, but they will not have patience if this happens regularly. On the other hand, these delays produce labor costs of 70-80% of the budget, and having an excess of personnel increases these costs even more.

Why Is Accurate Prediction In The Planning Of A Call Center Important?

An accurate prediction means that contact centers have the right agents available, with the appropriate skills, in a concise moment. This aspect is essential for a successful user experience. So, how can organizations find the balance to keep both employees and users happy?

First, it is important to decide what constitutes success. Without the right context, it is impossible to develop an accurate prediction. Generally, approximately 5% accuracy is the industry standard, although calculating the figures is not that easy. For example, if the goal is set to 100 contacts, 106 will be shown as failed, which means that call centers cannot always rely on industry standards when setting goals. For this reason, it is important to have professional telephone support tools, which will help contact centers to better manage incoming calls and, consequently, increase user satisfaction, reduce waiting time and agents will resolve inquiries more easily efficient.

Second, after defining success, it is important to determine the metrics so that you can determine where the contact center is currently located, and if you are progressing towards the goal of a more accurate prediction.

These are the three main indicators that call center leaders should use to ensure an accurate forecast:

1) Volume Of Contacts (Calls)

The number of calls a call center receives is a critical piece in accurate prediction. But it is not the only one. That information should not be used to look forward; it should also be used to see how the predicted interactions match the actual number of contacts. With this complete vision, adjustments can be made to achieve greater accuracy.

2) Time Management

The time agents need to resolve a query, or time management, can provide an idea of the agent’s availability to respond to new requests. However, call-handling time should not be based only on the first contact, but on the entire series of subsequent calls related to the same case.

3) Pattern Of Arrival Of Daily Contacts

Also known as “interval prediction accuracy,” the daily contact arrival patterns show the moments with the most and least calls of the day. This allows determining the amount of agents that are needed to administer the daily peaks and valleys. From there, you can create a programming plan that matches the number of agents needed to manage the work.

While these numbers are important, the way a call center collects them is equally key. Making sure to use historical and real-time data in specific time periods and applying trend data from the previous year to compensate for increases or decreases in call volume can help increase prediction accuracy. In addition, non-telephone interactions such as chat and email must be included.

Prediction is crucial for the staffing of a call center that meets the needs of users. When done effectively, it improves the experience of employees and users while managing budgets effectively. With the right metrics and data, call center leaders can eliminate the ‘pain’ of the process and create an accurate prediction.