Examining the health of your call center
The first step toward delivering world-class customer
service in todays environment is to separate the different
components that contribute to a successful call center, and
evaluate your performance in each area. This tutorial
introduces the Contact Center Model and the Call Center
Model Scorecard, a simple assessment you can use to see how
your center is performing.
The Contact Center Model is the focus of the
Planning and Design Toolkit, and industry expert
authored guide to optimizing or designing your call center.
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The Call Center Model
The Contact Center Model is a high-level framework for thinking
about the five main areas of a world-class contact center. In the
contact center model, there are five main areas as shown in the
figure below:
Each of the five elements is important by itself, but is
interdependent on all of the others. Defining the business
strategy is the basis for defining the processes and
choosing the technology. Human resource policies
require input from the processes and the technology,
and all three will guide facilities selection and design.
Together they create a Call Center Model that can be used to improve
or redesign your contact center operations.
The Call Center Model Scorecard
The following Call Center Model Scorecard is a simple scoring
tool will let you know where you stand overall. The scoring
translates to letter grades as follows:
A = 90% - 100% (excellent)
B = 80% - 89% (good)
C = 70% - 79% (fair)
D = 60% - 69% (poor)
F = Below 60% (failing)
Strategy:
Your business strategy is the critical starting point for
planning a call center. Before selecting the site for your call
center, or designing processes, systems or organizational
structures, you should define the role the call center will play in
the success of your organization. Evaluate yourself on the following
questions. All questions are on a 1 - 5 scale, with 5 being the
highest score and 1 being the lowest score. For each statement,
circle the appropriate score for your call center.
| Our call center's strategy is defined and is aligned
with our overall business strategy. |
1 2 3 4 5 |
| Our call center vision and mission is defined and
well communicated to all call center employees. |
1 2 3 4 5 |
| The needs and expectations of our customers are
understood and updated over time based on data from
customers. |
1 2 3 4 5 |
| The performance goals and objectives of our call
center are defined and clearly communicated. |
1 2 3 4 5 |
| Our overall contact center strategy is revisited and
updated on a regular basis (at least yearly). |
1 2 3 4 5 |
Total Strategy points you received out of 25 possible = _____
Processes:
The core of your call center operation will be your business
processes. Evaluate your call center in each of the following areas:
| Our business processes, including hiring, training, quality
monitoring, workforce management, performance management,
systems maintenance and disaster recovery, are well-documented
and up-to-date. |
1 2 3 4 5 |
| Our contact routing and contact handling processes are
well-documented and up-to-date. |
1 2 3 4 5 |
| We have performance measures assigned to each
business process and each customer contact process, and
data are collected and analyzed on a regular basis to
indicate our current performance levels and trends.
Continuous process improvement methods are in place. |
1 2 3 4 5 |
| We collect customer satisfaction data, and benchmark
our performance against competitors and non-competitors
in order to set performance goals. |
1 2 3 4 5 |
Total Processes points you received out of 20 possible = _____
Technology
Technology will play a key role in the success of your call
center. Evaluate your call center in each of the following areas:
| We have a technology architecture plan for the 1 to
3 year timeframe, including a migration plan to VoIP. |
1 2 3 4 5 |
| Technology is used effectively throughout the call
center to route customers to the right agents, to enable
agents to access information easily and quickly, and to
gather data on the performance of contact processes. |
1 2 3 4 5 |
| Our technology enables customers to choose their
preferred media (voice, email, text chat, web, fax or
mail) or self-service as a option for interacting with
the call center. |
1 2 3 4 5 |
| Data is easy to extract from our systems and we make
effective use of reporting tools to support our
performance management processes. |
1 2 3 4 5 |
Total Technology points you received out of 20 possible = _____
Human Resources
HR includes the people-aspects of your call center. Evaluate your
call center in each of the following areas:
| Our current organizational design and reporting
structure is an enabler to our strategy and processes. |
1 2 3 4 5 |
| We have up-to-date job descriptions that clearly
outline job responsibilities. Compensation is equitable
based on industry comparisons. |
1 2 3 4 5 |
| Our hiring and recruiting processes support the call
center strategy and goals, and we employ processes and
tools, including exit interviews, to improve employee
retention. |
1 2 3 4 5 |
| Managers help develop career paths and professional
development plans, and use fair performance evaluation
procedures. |
1 2 3 4 5 |
Total HR points you received out of 20 possible = _____
Facilities
The last key element of the call center model is the facilities.
Evaluate your call center in each of the following areas:
| The location of the call center is well-suited and
meets the call center's needs in terms of labor
availability and access to networking. |
1 2 3 4 5 |
| The building, furniture, lighting and HVAC provide a
conducive atmosphere for the call center employees. |
1 2 3 4 5 |
| We have adequate facilities to cover common outages
including power black-outs and cut utility lines
(network or phone lines). |
1 2 3 4 5 |
Total Facilities points you received out of 15 possible = _____
Calculating your score
| Strategy score total (out of 25): |
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| Process score total (out of 20): |
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| Technology score total (out of 20): |
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| Human resources score total (out of 20):
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| Facilities score total (out of 15): |
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| TOTAL SCORE (out of 100): |
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Score interpretation:
A = 90% - 100% (excellent)
B = 80% - 89% (good)
C = 70% - 79% (fair)
D = 60% - 69% (poor)
F = Below 60% (failing)
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If you scored below an "A" (lower than 90 points), then stay
tuned for the next series of modules that examines each of these
areas in more detail. Or,
purchase the Planning and Design Toolkit for complete
step-by-step guidelines and templates for improving your call center
operations. Learn more about the
Planning and
Design Toolkit.
The text of this tutorial comes from Prosci’s Call Center
Planning and Design toolkit. Developed by industry leaders in the Call Center field,
Vanguard Communications and Prosci, the toolkit is the definitive guide for creating the
best contact center possible for your organization.
The toolkit provides:
- a comprehensive planning checklist and design guidelines for successfully setting up a
new call center or redesigning your existing call center
- the approach and tools to help you create a contact center strategy and manage the
implementation effectively
More information about Prosci’s Call Center
Planning and Design – A blueprint for building a successful contact center.
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