Call Center Performance Management

Below is the continuation of a transcript of a Webinar hosted by InetSoft on the topic of "Performance Management in Government." The presenter is Christopher Wren, Principal Consultant at GPM.

Christopher Wren (CR): Next let’s talk about another real life example. This one is from the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation, and I think everyone is familiar with their mission of course which is guaranteeing pensions around the country. In their call center performance management project, they wanted to evaluate three customer touch points. Those were the phone system, the customer care staff, and written communications.

Now what's interesting is if you look at where they were, the phone system was poorly rated. The other areas rated about average, and so in most organizations I think the obvious choice if you are going to invest a little bit of money, would be to invest in the phone system. Well in this case the phone system to upgrade the phone system was going to be a very expensive investment, and they really wanted to think carefully was it worth it, just because something is not rated well, or something is not performing up to the level that you would like it to, does that really have an impact on the bottom-line or on customer satisfaction.

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Evaluation of Real Investment

In this case it turned out they did not have to invest in the phones. So you know by doing an evaluation you can see what the real investment should be. You don’t want to spend too much money in areas that do not give you the outcomes you are looking for.

Let me show you another example. This is from the Department of Health and Human Services. And again the question is where can they get the most bang for their buck, where should they be investing, and really how high should the targets be? Again here what they have found was that trainee and technical guides gave them the most value on the investments. So these are the areas you want to think about.

The next one is called “Making Benchmarks Matter to the Citizen,” and really what you are talking about is, that industry averages are not always your best guide for setting targets because after all an average is just an average. It's your own results that are important, not someone else’s results. So just because your call center is maybe not getting 95 out of 100 you may not need 95 out of 100. That’s why we urge people to think carefully about using external benchmarks because they may be incompatible with their internal goals. You may not have the same needs or the same operating environment as the people that you are benchmarking.

What Are External Benchmarks?

External benchmarks refer to standardized metrics and performance indicators used by organizations to compare their performance and practices with those of similar entities in the same industry or sector. These benchmarks are derived from data collected externally, often from industry reports, surveys, or publicly available sources, providing a means to gauge a company's performance in relation to industry peers.

By analyzing external benchmarks, organizations can gain valuable insights into best practices, competitive positioning, and areas for improvement. This allows them to set realistic performance targets and make informed strategic decisions to enhance their competitive edge and overall operational efficiency.

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