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A new tutorial from Prosci's taken from Prosci's new
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Reducing contact volume
Module 4 of a 5 part series on cost control
Background
Part 4 in this series on cost control addresses the third of three components to call center costs: contact volume. Specific recommendations are made for reducing contact volume in your contact center. The descriptions and action steps described below are summaries of the detailed information and checklists provided in the Cost Control Toolkit.
Reducing contact volume
Reducing the volume of contacts includes three primary areas as shown in the figure above. The major branches include:
eliminate reason for contact
minimize misdirected calls
reduce repeat calls
Area 1 - Eliminate reason for contact
The best way to reduce contact volume is to remove or eliminate the root cause of the contact. This strategy does not necessarily apply to contact centers oriented toward sales unless they can identify ways to close the sale without the contact taking place. Examples of methods to eliminate the root cause of customer contacts include:
Reduce product defects.
Provide proactive notifications and status.
Make bills and statements easy to read.
Create easy-to-use product documentation.
Improve delivery of products and services including meeting service commitments.
Make products easier to install and use.
This section - more than any other in the cost control tutorial series - is dependent on why your customers are contacting you. Identifying the root causes of the contact is the first step to removing the reasons customers are calling, and these reasons are very company specific.
Note: Many of the root causes for customer contact may fall outside the control of the call center. That does not mean that the call center management should avoid these areas for controlling cost by reducing unwanted contacts. The call center should initiate and support cross-organizational initiatives to reduce contact volumes in cooperation with other departments in the company.
Reduce product defects
Although product quality is typically outside of the scope of control of the call center, documenting the cost to support these call types can provide incentive to your R&D or manufacturing group to address product quality. Good feedback channels to manufacturing and product development from the call center can also improve product quality.
Provide proactive notifications and status
Many customers contact an organization to find out what is happening with their order or their inquiry. By creating methods for proactively notifying customers, you can avoid these contacts.
Make bills and statements easy to read
Statements and bills often are the root cause of telephone and email contacts from customers. By providing data to marketing and accounting as to the most common types of questions related to bills and statements, they can act on that data to change the way information is presented to the customer and reduce contacts related to bills and statements.
Create easy-to-use product documentation
Difficult and confusing product documentation results in customers calling for assistance with installation or operation of products. Product documentation also provides support options for the customer (in the How to contact us section of the documentation). In this material you have an opportunity to influence the behavior of your customers.
Improve delivery of products and services including meeting service commitments
Missing commitments is a key root cause for increased contact volume and customer dissatisfaction. The role of the call center is to provide data on the number and costs to support these types of calls.
Make products easier to install and use
In many cases product documentation is not used by the customer. Product usability becomes critical to avoid unwanted calls related to product installation and use. In other words, if product usage and assembly is not obvious, then the customer is not satisfied. Moreover, many customers would rather call than refer to the manual.
Area 2 - Minimize misdirected contacts
Some fraction of your contacts are most likely misdirected contacts intended for some other part of the organization. These contacts not only add to the queue but they also take time away from handling other contacts. Methods to minimize misdirected contacts include:
Provide clear contact information on statements and bills.
Provide clear and accurate contact information on marketing and product documentation.
Make menus in voice response system easy-to-use.
Ensure accurate and easy-to-use phone directory listings.
Reduce inter-company transfers.
Provide clear contact information on statements and bills
What many companies do not realize is that bills and statements may be the only (or most convenient) contact numbers the customers have. This results in misdirected calls and unnecessary transfers for your call center (and other call centers in the company). The solution is to provide clear contact information categorized by the type or reason for the call on all bills and statements. This area includes online statements and bills that customers can access on your website.
Provide clear and accurate contact information on marketing and product documentation
Misdirected calls are generated when marketing materials and product documentation does not clearly and accurately provide contact information. This contact information should clearly delineate not only the options for customer support but also separate the contact information based on the reason the customer is calling. This requirement is especially true for websites.
Make menus in voice response system easy-to-use
Automated routing with voice response systems is an effective and cost efficient way to route calls. However, poorly designed menu systems and scripts can result in misdirected calls and frustrated customers. Customer may often "opt-out" of VRU systems if they are poorly designed.
Ensure accurate and easy-to-use phone directory listings
Telephone directory listings that are too general or provide only partial listings generate misdirected calls unless the caller is provided with a general number that connects to an automated routing system (like a voice response system) or a general operator service. The call center remains the target for misdirected callers.
Reduce inter-company transfers
Call centers receive many contacts that are intended for another department or organization. Many solutions for avoiding misdirected calls have been addressed in this section. However, another solution is to simply handle the inquiry and not transfer the call. More and more businesses are employing universal agents that have the skills, knowledge and system access to handle multiple-types of contacts, eliminating the need to transfer a call.
Area 3 - Reduce repeat contacts
Call volume can be reduced by minimizing the number of repeat contacts (referred to as call-backs for phone calls).
Repeat contacts can be improved by:
Improving first contact resolution rates.
Improve contact closings.
Using proactive follow-up processes.
Improve first contact resolution rate
First contact resolution rate is a key performance indicator for many contact centers today. However, many companies have found that improving the first call resolution rate increases handle times. This trade-off does not imply that first call resolution rate should not be a goal for the center. On the contrary, providing customers with the right information the first time and closing the contact is exactly the right goal. The challenge is how to accomplish this goal without adverse affects in other areas.
Contacts that are not resolved on the first contact can be categorized in two ways:
- insufficient information available from customer
- non-performance by the call center agent(s) or subsequent work processes
Strategies for improving first contact resolution should focus on these two root causes.
Improve contact closing and validate next steps
The contact closing process is important to reduce repeat contacts. In many cases customers will call right back to the call center if they forgot to ask a question, did not fully understand the resolution, or did not understand the next steps to be taken.
Use pro-active follow-up
In many cases of repeat contacts, the customer is following-up on a previous contact looking for status or updates. These types of repeat contacts can be reduced by:
- Proactively notifying the customer via automated email or fax systems.
- Providing easy-to-access status information on websites.
- Providing outbound telephone calls during off-peak calling periods.
- Use workflow applications to ensure that post-call work is completed as committed and the proactive notifications are provided to the customer.
Coming next - selecting and prioritizing cost reduction initiatives for your call center
Related Resources
About the toolkit:
Controlling the Cost of Call Center Operations provides a systematic approach to reducing your call center costs. With this toolkit, you will critically examine multiple channels for reducing expense. The outcome is a set of identified and prioritized cost saving initiatives that are most suited for your contact center. The toolkit includes worksheets and templates for reducing your costs and prioritizing your initiatives."A truly comprehensive guide for reducing call center costs.
A resource with this perspective is long overdue."Gerald Tschikof, Founder of Center Partners
Other resources:
Call center bookstore and reference library
Send questions to callcenters@prosci.com
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