IDIOM INSIGHTS
ILLUSTRATION PROVIDED BY MICROONE ADOBE STOCK
“ SPARE ME ”… AGENT RESPONSE TO OUTDATED KPIS .
BY KATHLEEN M . PETERSON , POWERHOUSE CONSULTING , INC
“ SPARE ME ” IS AN IDIOM DEFINED AS , “ DON ’ T BOTHER CONTINUING TO
TELL ME THAT ; I DON ’ T BELIEVE OR CARE ABOUT
WHATEVER YOU ’ RE SAYING .” 1
18 CONTACT CENTER PIPELINE
This definition runs on a loop for many Contact Center agents these days when listening to feedback by those who think they are coaching . Key Performance Indicators ( KPIs ) built around agent productivity metrics ( e . g ., number of calls handled ) is ineffective and quite frankly outdated .
Today ’ s frontline agents handle increasingly complex contacts , as many high frequency , low complexity contacts have been shifted to self-service . When agents are busy problem solving while simultaneously being nudged about their call volume , it honestly makes them shake their heads and ask the age-old question : Do you want quality or quantity ?
To be honest , you want both . But beating up agents with metric audits is not at all effective and for the most part has become passe . Sadly , what it is , is easy . Metrics are easy to find on a report so it doesn ’ t take much time to deliver metric results to agents . But is it really helping the customer , the business , or the agent ?
I have been thinking about this topic since last week when a friend shared a story from her book club . The story had nothing to do with the book … she shared the rantings of an RN working remotely as a “ triage ” nurse for a major Healthcare system . The story horrified others in the club . It was a story about her supervisor letting her know repeatedly during her shift of how many calls she had handled and whether she was on track to take the “ minimum ” 100 calls per shift .
Given the times we live in , this approach seems particularly reckless . Finding and retaining nurses for these critical positions means treating them like grown up professionals and not pieceworkers in a factory . This treatment may trigger a “ spare me ” moment ( s ) that