It provides this prospect group a higher service level by routing to a team trained to optimize these opportunities . The team can assure quality and favorable outcomes for the prospect and the business .
Treatment plans for new customers cannot be at the expense of existing customers , though they may have a higher tolerance for delay due to existing business relationships . ( I only have one bank to call for account issues , one airline from which I bought a ticket , and one utility company and cell phone provider .)
The menu selection often determines the treatment of existing customers as well as the caller ' s tolerance for delay . Technical Support may not offer the same service level as Sales , but often has a lower abandon rate due to caller motivation .
Caller motivation impacts abandon rates . If you want to reduce abandons you must observe and closely study abandon data . Study abandon percentages by time of day , average time to abandon by queue , and longest wait ; these are great indicators that assist planning .
Keep in mind that abandon is a response to a condition ; it is not a condition in and of itself . Callers abandon when their tolerance for delay has been exceeded .
If you want to manage abandon you must manage delay . If you want to manage delay , manage service levels with an understanding of your various callers ’ motivations . This assures routing to the proper resource in the best timeframe possible . That is an art form !
2 . SUBSTITUTES AVAILABLE
There are many questions to pose when evaluating the CX related to the ease of getting to products and services without human interaction . What substitute channels are available to callers ? What self-service options are available ? How well do they work ?
A business ’ s delay announcements often suggest that callers visit their website for faster service . But this becomes annoying if you are calling about a website failure .
CONTACT CENTER MANAGEMENT OFFERS A LIFETIME OF LEARNING AND TO ME THAT IS THE REAL ART !
More and more alternative access channels are available today . These include email , websites , IVRs , mobile apps , artificial Intelligence ( AI ) chat , chatbots , etc . But the channel must fit the need to be effective and it must work to be efficient .
3 . EXPECTATIONS
Expectations are often driven by a company ’ s reputation , brand , and the promised customer experience . It is materialized by planning and ( let ’ s face it ) by the budget .
Callers have different expectations when calling a public utility or government agency than when calling a well-regarded company like L . L . Bean .
Most of us , at a minimum , expect that our issues will be resolved . If callers are forced to wait , it is critical that the calls be routed to be “ handled ,” not just answered .
The calls must be routed to places where the callers can conclude their business . Callers whose tolerance for delay has been reached often simply hang up and the contact center sees abandon rates rise . One thing for certain is that high abandon sends the message that callers ’ expectations are not being met and an analysis of causes is required .
4 . TIME AVAILABLE
This one is simple . Simply ask a couple of questions . How much time does the caller have to invest in the delay ? Does time of day have an impact ?
Many contact centers have found that average time to abandon increases in the evening hours ; this indicates that callers are willing to wait longer after regular business hours for their calls to be answered . They are relieved of the time constraints the workday presents .
IDIOM INSIGHTS
If there are indicators of a higher tolerance for delay during different hours of operation some organizations are comfortable staffing using a lower service level . This reduces staffing but causes no harm to callers . I recommend that before making any staff reductions , conduct a complete analysis of agent utilization to avoid burning out assets on any particular shift .
5 . HUMAN FACTORS
Have you ever been on hold on your cell phone and gone through a tunnel or other coverage dead zone that ended the call ? It shows as an abandon call to the contact center ! So , keep in mind that not all abandons are due to a lack of tolerance for delay .
Some abandons are caused by technical issues , like the above . But other causes are simply human factors . Like someone interrupting the caller while on hold and they abandon to deal with another issue .
The list of human factors is endless , so , ahem “ abandon ” the need to take responsibility for all abandon calls .
For reporting purposes , if your service level objective is 80 % of calls answered in 20 seconds , most contact center leaders are comfortable deducting all abandons that occurred before 20 seconds or whatever is your particular service level objective .
Keep in mind that it is unlikely there were any opportunities to recover those calls . These early abandons are most likely driven by those human factors ( and other factors ) over which the contact center has no control .
INTEGRATING THE DRIVING FORCES
The driving forces in contact center management — Random Call Arrival , Visible and Invisible Queue , and Caller Tolerance — are pivotal to both understanding and developing the operational activities required to deliver on CX-based outcomes .
The customer , the center , and the frontline are represented within these drivers . The understanding of Random Call Arrival enhances the frontline ’ s understanding of the WHYs . For example , why can ’ t everyone go to lunch or break together ? Why is the contact center not always available to participate in that “ companywide ” town hall ?
CONTINUED ON PAGE 17 AUGUST 2024 13