Improve Contact Center Performance with Real-Time Metrics

Long before ”big data” became a focus for enterprises, contact centers (also known as call centers) were already generating and capturing large amounts of valuable data from every call. Call detail records (CDRs), which refers to the data captured by contact center infrastructure solutions, include transaction-level information about everything that occurs during the customer journey, from the second the call arrives, to the steps taken in the self-service interactive voice response (IVR) system, through the agent experience, including being put on hold or transferred, until the call ends. Once referred to as cradle-to-grave tracking and reporting, CDRs are the essence of “big data” in contact centers.

Most contact center managers want to use call data to analyze and understand customer behavior, as well as agent and department performance. However, given the massive amount of data generated with each transaction – calls, emails, short message service (SMS) conversations, chat sessions, social media interactions – it is hard to filter through the “noise” to find the information that is useful for overseeing and improving performance.

To complicate matters, contact centers often lack visibility into what is happening in real time. Without the ability to measure real-time performance metrics such as service level or agent average handle time, contact center managers will not be able to intervene and alter outcomes. Managers need to know when an agent is having a hard time with a customer, when volume forecasts are not matched to demand, when too many agents are out of schedule adherence, or when the department’s average handle time is surging due to an unanticipated system issue or billing error. Real-time data empowers managers to address challenges as they arise, preventing small issues from turning into major problems.

This white paper provides use cases and best practices to help contact center managers and supervisors identify and use real-time key performance indicators (KPIs) to improve their operation. It also provides guidance to assist contact center leaders in deciding if real-time performance management is right for their organization.