How to Measure Agent Performance and Capacity

The primary reason why most call center managers and supervisors are the most detested and despised persons in the BPO industry is because they are in- charge of measuring the performance of the agents. It is a constant process that without a strict and stringent procedure, sales could go down, the call center put in jeopardy and the business in danger of losing clients and customers.

The problem with most call centers is that there is a discrepancy about the way they measure individual performance. Most agents feel that when they answer the call quicker, they give better customer service. This is a false notion that needs to be corrected. The truth of the matter is that most call centers include features that are sometimes hard to control especially by the call center agent.

For virtual call center agents, this may also be the case. Employers rate each agent differently. As it should be, because performance differs when type of account (inbound or outbound), call (sales, appointment setting or lead generation) and the channel (landline, chat or email) to which these interactions were made. Each of these should be measured differently and needed to be modeled after the agent’s specific and assigned task.

When trying to measure an agent’s productivity, you must first consider the factors which the agent is able to manage. Like available time, after call work time, adherence to the schedule and talk time. Available time is the allotted time that an agent is available to receive or make a call. For most call centers, this is in the 8 to 9 hour period. After call work time is the time spent by the agent completing task such as making reports after receiving and making calls. Adherence to the scheduled time will also affect the measurement of performance. Talk time refers to the duration of time that the agent is able to talk to a customer regarding their concerns. Why are these included? As a call center, you won’t be able to predict the length of time a customer talks to a specific agent, and the agent won’t have control over it as well.

There are a wide variety of call centers out there and the variation of call types will also affect the agent’s performance. Sales based calls should be measured by the sales percentage made, drop calls and sales closure rates. This is an indication of how effective the agent is in selling a company’s product. Another factor that needs to be considered is the quality of the calls made. While some call centers will be perfectly happy with a large volume of calls coming in, what will make or break a relationship with a client or customer is the quality of the call received and made by the agents. Virtual call centers should be wary of the quality of interactions made by your agents for this is a reflection of the kind of agents a contact center has.

Panoramic View of Virtual Call Centers

There has been an increase in the popularity of virtual call centers, making it the most talked about topic over the internet. And because of this popularity, many things have been written about the business, some are true; some are not which paved the way for wrong notions and ideas. The way you understand the call center industry all depends on which side of the fence you are standing. Whether you are company that is looking for a call center to outsource your services or someone looking for a new job, your perspectives is different. There are only 3 truths when we talk about virtual call centers; one is that it is a multi-million industry, it is growing and expanding and is an advantage both to the company and its workers.

In economics, companies are known to exist to gain profit. And hiring a call center ensures that you do. Virtual call centers are “off-campus” call center that allows you to outsource to home based agents abroad. You won’t need to worry about additional expenses for the construction of a new office or prate about the costs of new equipment. Another advantage is that it allows the company to allocate work like customer service, product sighting and other services to the call center and they could concentrate on expanding their businesses. A company would greatly benefit from an innovative call center, helping them on developing further marketing strategies and to help them reach their goals.

For a call center agent, a virtual call center job is an opportunity to get away from constricting and sometimes demanding call center environment. The virtual call center also gives you the choice of working at home. Another bonus, especially for new job seekers, is an opportunity to make money while sitting down comfortably in your own home. These is the perfect opportunity for many housewives, single and stay at home mothers, those who want to take a career change and is still yet undecided, for those with disabilities and cannot leave home, to find work and fend for themselves. It is not rocket science as well; all you need is a reliable internet connection, a landline and a computer. Of course a good set of communication skills will be beneficial as well.

Marketing your company would be a difficult undertaking because of the stiff competition in the call center industry. The key to building your reputation in a competitive industry like call centers is to raise and maintain your standards, an often disregarded process. Many businesses would hawk and gawk at the competition, that they forget to think of ways to further develop and expand their own companies. It is good to know what the competition is doing but it is even better to surpass them without trying to.

Virtual Call Center: Future of Your Business

The reason why businesses are ever evolving is because they want to stay on top of the pile. Customers are very difficult to please. They are looking for quality service, superiority and excellence, and if they feel that they do not receive the kind of service they feel they deserve, they will most definitely take their business away from you. Virtual call centers are not exempted from this and because of the way the economy has been going up and down, you cannot afford to lose any more clients and customers.

It will be such a shame that your patrons and clientele alike would not allow you to service them again just because you were not able to answer the phone on the first ring or because they got the voicemail instead. The reality is that you as a company have to be available to them every day, every hour. Virtual call centers should adjust their time and schedules to cater the people who made it possible for them to still be able to do business. It might be impossible to achieve but it is necessary. And with this feat comes the challenge of providing the kind of service your customers deserve and the capability of your call center to provide that without exhausting your agents.

There is a pressing need to stay on top of everybody else in the call center industry. You can achieve this by providing your customers the service they deserve, professional and of high excellence. As a virtual call center, you should be able to take calls, inquiries and complaints about the company that hires you. Your company needs to have skilled agents to be able to properly address the concerns of your clientele. Your services will be needed greatly by companies during holidays, after office hours, during weekends and especially during rush hour and hectic days.

Being able to get the messages in a timely and orderly manner is a challenge but not impossible. This is the number one reason why most companies choose to outsource customer service and other related services to virtual call centers because they have the expertise and the equipment to do so. They will also be able to address the different issues accordingly either through telephone conversations, email, fax or through live chat.

Almost all functions of an entire staff can be done by the call center you hire, at a smaller price. You would not have to pay salary and benefits. It would be also a money saver since you will only be paying the services done. It’s an easy and obvious choice, if you want to save on money yet not compromise on the quality of service, hire a virtual call center now.