The Most Important Metric

I have been asking people for awhile what the most important metric in the contact center world is. I’ve asked leading speakers, small contact center managers, friends at vendors and agents. I’ve asked consultants, our customers, even the AV people and the monitors outside the rooms at conventions.  Only one person nailed it (and I will not tell who to protect the guilty!)

Take this quiz— “What is the most important metric in ensuring an efficient, engaging and first-time question in a contact?”

1)      CSAT

2)      FCR

3)      NetPromoter

4)      Quality

5)      Something Else

6)      Adherence

Many folks will say CSAT. A customer being satisfied means we did our job. We answered our customer and created a loyal fan with a great experience!  Uh—nope--

Others will say FCR. We not only achieved great CSAT, but we did it the very first time they contacted us! We are rock stars! They buy the record without ever hearing it! Of course, the survey must be truly reflective. I remember hearing a large Credit Card company talk about changing their wording. Their survey asked, “Did we solve your issue today?”  They thought they were doing awesome! They changed it to ask, “Is this the first time you have called on this issue?”  A bit of work to do—but it’s not FCR.

NetPromoter is not always in the agent’s control. I can have the best service in the world, but if the toy is faulty, and not fixed in the future. I might love the agent, but your product fails.

Quality calls are important. It’s part of the big picture. Question, would I rather have a killer quality score, but not be able to deliver what the customer needed (I might not be empowered as an agent due to process restraints,) or, would I rather have an OK call but get my answer.

Some something else’s?

Some mention SVL (or the poor man’s version Average speed of Answer.) Service Level, if measured at the interval level, can give you a feel for answering a percentage of all contacts, but you don’t know how many times a caller called back.  Unless you do fancy math it includes pocket calls (extremely short abandons) and, in this day and age a customer can reach out via phone, chat, e-mail and social media at the same time and hang up on whichever is not answered first. Not SVL.

Others mention planning metrics. This includes WFM metrics that are my world. Forecasting, FTE, Shrinkage. The stuff the guys with the black hats and weird words, like regression theorems do. No—much as I would like to hog the glory and say I have your magic eight ball. Do what I say, and your world will be perfect, it is not that either. My wife will tell you it definitely isn’t listening to me.

No one wants to speak the three letter four letter word—AHT. I won’t either—today (as that’s not the answer—but more to come there soon.)

Remember, WFM has always stated its purpose to be simply, “Right person in the right place at the right time” to handle our customer’s questions. That’s been expanded a bit to include in the right skill and or in the right channel. Now we are getting close—It means—if the forecast and schedules are perfect— “Adherence” No cigar Groucho. It is not adherence.

OK, the moment of truth. What is it? All the answers above require one thing. It is the foundation of all of our success and one thing we sometimes forget about in our cranial exuberance to pontificate on the omniscient leadership skills we surely possess. To have FCR, CSAT, Customer Experience or a Quality contact, we require an agent. To have reflective AHT, Service Level or even adherence, all require agents. By now, the most important metric should be quite obvious! It is attendance! You cannot deliver anything if you are not there!

Attendance is the most important metric! If no one is there—why do you exist? But how can we increase attendance, or, at minimum make sure we plan on a changing society?

The WFM take is that we must start doing a bottoms-up shrinkage exercise and stop using a flat shrinkage. The vendors who say this can be obtained from past trends are dead wrong.  I mean, does it rain twenty inches and flood South Texas the same exact week every year? Does a blizzard hit Atalanta on the same day every year? Is my team in the Super bowl every year (well—you can count on Dallas at least; they are never there.”) Does marketing release the next big push the same time every year? Heck, some years something as simple as which week Thanksgiving falls changes. You have to look at what you will do (or plan to do) in the upcoming year. This is yet another article in itself.

Most important is engagement. This is not my area of expertise, so I brought in two fine young gentlemen to help. First, that bowtie wearing philosopher of the contact center world Justin Robbins. Justin says:

"What difference does it make?" When I heard these words uttered by one of my employees, I knew that we had failed him. He felt disconnected and devalued. In his mind, the team didn't need him, and his customers couldn't care less about whether or not it was him who helped them. I knew the opposite to be true, but how could I get him to see it that way, too? 

While my team and I tried a number of things to turn things around for this particular employee, the damage was done. He felt like anything we did was a desperate, last-ditch effort to keep him from quitting. That experience taught me a difficult lesson on the importance of affirming, and reinforcing, the value provided by our employees early and often. When we neglect to tell people how we value their contribution and forget to connect the dots between the job they do and its greater impact, we set them on a path to apathy. The further they go down that path, the greater the likelihood that they'll become less reliable and, ultimately, churn.  

So, here's what I do to enhance the culture among my teams, which in turn improves their reliability, performance, and broader business impact.

·         Have a strong understanding of the organization's mission, vision, values, and current strategy. How will you know it when you see it? You should have the ability to clearly articulate what it means to demonstrate and work toward these things.

·         Establish connection points between the everyday measures of success (quality assurance criteria, coaching sessions, surveys, etc.) and their impact on the organization's mission, vision, values, and strategy. How do the little things that happen in every customer interaction add up to a bigger story? Your employees should understand their ability, in each moment, to affect the company's key initiatives. This should be discussed and highlighted frequently.

·         Invite people to co-create solutions for the gaps in customer expectations and service delivered. Be intentional about acknowledging whatever their contribution may be. Do your employees feel like they have a voice in improving the operation? Do they trust you enough to share honestly about their concerns, beliefs, and ideas? And are you helping to affirm or shape them along the way?

I could go on, but the fundamental truth is this: When employees understand their purpose, feel connected to a bigger "why", and trust their leader to invest in their future success, they want to show up to work and be a part of what's happening there.”

I then asked the pickle balling, frisbee throwing, fashion plate of CX Accelerator the same thing. Nate Brown’s take was:

“If you are still trying to force people to do things, they don't already want to do themselves, you are fighting a losing battle. Pay enough so that service workers are not completely distracted by money. Then use intrinsic motivators to make them love the work for the right reasons. These positive motivators begin with the unique brand core of your organization.

How are they getting to serve their customers to make something unique and special happen? Show them through the Voice of Customer process how they are making people's lives better and easier. Help them to become the type of person they want to become because of the purpose-driven work they get to do. Foster the mentality of a brand guardian. "I care about the promise of the organization, my customers, and my co-workers.

I will do everything in my power to deliver on this promise and protect the experience we are creating together." This includes showing up to your shift and not being late! When it's a matter of pride versus an issue of compliance, you are going to have a far easier time achieving the outcomes you are looking for.”

Hmm this sounds a lot like “being part of the Big Team to me.”  Those that know me know my Twitter (or “X”) handle is @ Huskerhix  so I’ll share what I know and love most related to that.  I ask often when I present, “How many contact centers have had perfect attendance for a day?”  Sometimes I get a hand or two. I ask, “How many for a week?”  I have got a few sparse responses there also. I ask a month. I have had only one response ever, and it was an extremely small contact center. Then I ask how many for a year and people roll their eyes and laugh.

In Lincoln, Nebraska sits Memorial Stadium. Nebraska is not the most populated place in the world. On game day, the stadium becomes the third largest city in the state—truthfully. It holds over 90,000 people now, more than many NFL stadiums. The last few years they have not had the teams of when I was young. They are not winning multiple national championships. They have had a slew of injuries, yet one thing remains constant. They have sold out every game for over 60 years! A few years ago, they wanted to expand the stadium, but were afraid they would not be able to sell games out. The fans screamed, Build it. We will be there!”  This year they broke an all-time record. This was a world record for any stadium anywhere. It was not for football and not even men’s sports! The women’s volleyball team had 92,003 people attend, smashing the woman’s attendance record for any sport anywhere! Why?

It is what you need to create in your contact center. Culture. If a fan can’t be there in Nebraska, they find a replacement, because they do not want to let their teammates or their fellow fans down. What if at your call center, Bob had something come up, and Betty jumped at the chance to help, even though it was her day off—because she didn’t want the customers and her fellow agents to suffer.

Ask yourself this. Are you, as leaders, dedicated to your customers so much you make sure their needs are met? Are you willing to do what you ask your agents to do? Are you willing to take that phone shift, because Bob’s wife is having her baby 3 days early? When you can say “Absolutely,” your agents will start being there more often. The roller coaster of attendance will start the fun trajectory downhill. Then, we can all say “Wheeeeeee” and let the fund start!

Build the culture. Fill the Stadium.