Tag Archives: erlang-theory

5 Pitfalls When Setting Your Call Center Service Levels

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5 Pitfalls When Setting Your Call Center Service LevelsThe forecast says there’s a 20% chance of rain tomorrow in your city. Does that mean that it will be raining 20% of the time? Or that there’s a 20% chance there will be at least some rain? Or something in between?

And what in the world does this have to with call center metrics?!

The forecast problem illustrates how difficult it can be to work with probability. The most common performance metric used by call centers is the “service level”, which measures how quickly calls are answered. It is defined as a pair of numbers: a percentage value and a time value in seconds. So, for example, an “80/20″ service level means 80% of calls answered in 20 seconds. Like the forecast of rain, this is a probabilistic measurement and can be misleading if not understood properly. Continue reading →

How WFM & Virtual Queuing Create Smooth Operations for the Call Center

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How WFM & Virtual Queuing Create Smooth Operations for the Call CenterA contact center can’t operate smoothly without a properly optimized workforce. It is simply impossible to deliver a satisfactory customer service experience without the right amount of agents, with the right skills, on duty at the right time. More than ever, companies need to deliver a top notch experience every time because consumer expectations are very high. In fact, 76% of customers say just ONE unpleasant contact center experience is enough to make them take their business elsewhere.

If you ask consumers what can ruin the call center experience for them, “waiting on hold” is consistently at the top of the list. So it’s clear that you have to reduce hold time (“Average Speed to Answer” or ASA). Obviously, an understaffed call center will not yield a good ASA. But adding staff isn’t always an option. A properly tuned virtual queuing solution, combined with an optimized Workforce Management (WFM) solution can work wonders.

Let’s see how. Continue reading →

The Danger of the 80/20 Service Level Continues

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The Danger of the 80/20 Service Level ContinuesOf all the myriad call center metrics, one that is universal is the “service level”. This metric is defined as a pair of numbers: a percentage value and a time value in seconds. So, for example, an “80/20″ service level means 80% of calls answered in 20 seconds. That exact combination is considered by many to be an industry standard.

Many people assume this standard is based on careful analysis which revealed that 80/20 was a good target to set. But that assumption is wrong and adhering to it blindly is not a wise choice. Sadly, the “myth” of the 80/20 standard is now deeply rooted in the industry, like an urban legend that can’t be debunked. Continue reading →

Erlang in a Nutshell for Call Center Folks

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Erlang in a Nutshell for Call Center FolksWe’re in the middle of a series of posts exploring the ROI of adding call-backs to your call center. Each post looks at one of the paths to cost reduction or revenue lift. Part 1 looked at reducing abandon rates, Part 2 at decreasing handle time and Part 3 at reducing telco cost.

Part 4 (coming next week) will look at how call-backs can redistribute call traffic throughout the day to smooth-out spikes. This is a very powerful effect of call-backs, but also the most difficult to discuss and calculate. The benefit of redistributing calls can’t be measured by looking at a single variable, like “abandon rates”. Instead, you have to start by looking at how uneven call volume impacts service levels and agent efficiency. Then, you can see the impact of shifting portions of the call volume to different parts of the day.

It’s impossible to examine this issue properly without a basic understanding of Erlang calculations. So before diving into Part 4, we’re going to take a short detour today (consider it “Part 3.5”) to demystify this topic. Continue reading →

Finding the Right Service Level for Your Call Center  

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Finding the Right Service Level for Your Call CenterOne of the most commonly used metrics in the modern contact center is the “service level”. This metric is composed of a pair of numbers: a percentage value and a time value in seconds. So, for example, an “80/20” service level means 80% of calls answered in 20 seconds.

Last week I wrote about how many call centers adopt a service level without a very rigorous process. Some simply adopt “80/20” because they feel it is some kind of industry standard. But this metric is too important to be chosen without proper consideration.

Your target service level should be based on what your call center can reasonably achieve given your staffing level and the expected call volume. So lets say you have assembled the necessary data, how exactly do you get from staffing numbers and call volume numbers to service level numbers? The answer is with the lost art of Erlang. Continue reading →