Business owners know that their success depends on customer satisfaction. No clients – no sales. That is why they also understand that giving everyone quality customer service is essential. So the contact center is a crucial element of it.
But how to determine whether your clients are satisfied and how efficient your managers are? There are a lot of different call center metrics which you can use, but FCR was recognized as one of the main among them.
FCR stands for first call resolution. This is the percentage of customers who resolved their issues during the first contact with the support center. Thus, they do not need to call or text you again to try to solve the concrete problem.
There is a concept of a good level of FCR. It is commonly about 70-79%. Many call center leaders have this one, but 5% of those have a rate up to 80%. If a company has an FCR lower than 70%, its leader must consider improving it. We will talk soon about the reasons why to do this.
As you know, the percentage indicates what proportion of something larger is the part we have chosen. In our case, we are looking at the total number of inbound calls and finding those which have solved customer inquiries from the first attempt.
So, the formula of FCR is:
FCR = customers whose issues were resolved at the first call / all customers who had unique inquiries * 100%
Let’s simulate a situation. You had 1000 inbound customer calls in total last month. 700 of them were resolved during the first call. Then, your FCR is 70%, which is quite good, congratulations!
But what if your rate is less than expected? Where should you try to find the problem?
SQM Group singled out 3 primary error sources and even found their frequency.
We can make an exciting and encouraging conclusion by looking at that data.
On the one hand, there are a lot of factors you cannot influence. For example, no matter how hard your managers try to explain something to the customers, there is always a chance someone will misunderstand and call back.
But on the other hand, you are capable of influencing several difficulties. First, we talk about the last source of errors. Your company’s policy is all in your arms if you are the business owner. If you are working as a head of the support department, you also have the power to improve your team’s workflow, which would strengthen your FCR.
Are you not sure if you need to improve your FCR index and if it’s worth it? We have 5 compelling and well-reasoned arguments for you:
And one more thing. Some statistics show that 70% of those companies that track FCR have a 1 to 10% annual increase. And every 1% improvement gives an average of $286,000 in operational savings.
You already know why you should measure first call resolution, don’t you? Now it is time to talk about how to do that in practice.
There are two main methods, internal and external measurement.
This approach is based on the company’s opinion about whether the FCR rate has been achieved.
Commonly the main criterion is the customer’s callback for the same reason within a substantial period, on average 30 days. But it is sometimes difficult to choose the appropriate callback time, and there is no standard for this measurement. So, if you want to use it, you must create your system, depending on your business characteristics.
Another problem you may encounter is a conflict with external data, that is, the customer’s opinion about the success of your support center. When you use only internal measurement, you make your service less customer-focused. Thus, you risk falling into the category of poor customer service.
But there are also positive aspects of using this approach:
In this case, customer feedback plays a crucial role in calculating the FCR indicator. Call centers with the external method use post-call and post-contact email surveys, or agents could ask customers if their inquiry was resolved at the end of the conversation.
The benefits of this type of measurement are:
But external measurement is the most expensive method. You should also follow government guidelines to record calls or collect personal data.
Another issue is that some customers will refuse to complete quality of service surveys due to lack of time or other reasons. You can try to motivate them by saying that their feedback will help you to become better or just giving them small gifts.
Improving the FCR rate is a complex task. So, you should be consistent and persistent in this process. We outlined five main stages and gave several recommendations for the implementation of each of them.
Every path starts from the first step. But in which direction should you do it? You will find the answer only when you know where exactly you are at the moment. The following 4 questions will help you.
Look at the number of repeating calls from one number within a specific period. Ask your customers whether they resolved their issues with one call or if they had to call again. Collect as much data as possible to have a complete picture of what is happening.
For example, you found out your rate is 50%. We understand you are disappointed, but there is no time to be upset. So you need to take the next step because you lose your money and clients daily!
So, you should determine why your FCR is the way it is. Why do your clients call back?
In general, there are 5 main reasons for customer service inquiries:
What is your variant?
All customers’ issues could indeed be segmented into several types. For example, tech trouble, price concerns, or lack of instructions that came with your product. When you see that many inquiries are the same, you should solve the problem, so your support center will receive fewer calls.
If you are deciding what method to select, remember your main goal. For example, do you want to give good customer service or improve the efficiency of your support team?
The answer to this question will help you to choose the proper method. The external approach is more reliable and effective for improving customer service, and internal measurement will be enough to make your support department more professional.
Your main priority will also determine the KPIs which are matter. You should label them very clearly for your agents to avoid conflicting priorities.
If you receive many calls with questions about your product, prices, or company, your customers do not have enough information. It shouldn’t be so. Instead, you need to determine at what stage you can answer these questions, so your clients will not call your support.
For example, give more information on your website. Write a few articles about your product, and provide instructions on how to use it and what benefits it offers. You should also have a clear catalog and explain how to order, pay and receive your product in detail. You can also use social media or send regular emails with helpful news.
If the customer calls despite your improvements, your manager should give all helpful information or clear instructions on solving his problem. Moreover, he should repeat it twice and ask if everything is clear.
Don’t be afraid of those clients who are dissatisfied with the quality of your service or product. Firstly, this experience is temporary, and you can work with it to change for the better. Secondly, dissatisfied people will give you a lot of feedback, which will help you work on your mistakes. Thirdly, it will show those clients that you care about their troubles and will help you get closer to them.
Sometimes, the support center is unaware of promotional offers, marketing initiatives, or nuances for the delivery or payment of goods. Don’t let that happen. Your agents must be armed with information and understand the details of the work of other departments.
Use tools to record calls, so you can analyze them and change your strategy if it needs. Then, you need to convey this information to your employees so that each client receives the same quality service.
For example, you can use the Call Recording tool from Ring.io, which records all calls automatically and makes them easily accessible in your CRM system.
Make sure that every manager follows the main instructions. If they are not, find out why it is so and try to solve the problem. For example, train that person properly or hire a new one if you see that there is no other way.
Don’t forget to encourage your employees so that they have a greater desire to develop, learn, and work efficiently. Ideally, your managers should be interested in the success of your business like you are.
Every agent has their own strong and weak sides. For example, someone knows everything about your product so that he can solve any inquiries about that. And another one is patient enough to explain why the price is ‘so high’.
So, organize your workflow to segment callers into several categories and route their calls to the appropriate managers. You can use interactive voice responses for this purpose. Ring.io also has an IVR feature that can even greet the caller by name and play audio descriptions of your company.
You should be oriented on automation of all possible processes in general. The first reason is to make it more comfortable for your customers. They want to solve their problems quickly and efficiently, so help them do so. The second reason is to make your working process more productive and effective. Be sure that all your investment in automation will pay off handsomely.
Use any effective ways in your case (we’ve discussed them before). But try to get as much feedback as possible to calculate the most accurate first contact resolution rate.
Customer service team members have the most important thing they can share – their experience. So, they could give an objective assessment of the work of their colleagues. But it is essential to organize the work of the team in such a way as to maintain respectful and friendly relations.
And the last thing we want to say. Don’t be afraid to change your approach to work if you want to improve. Follow our recommendations; your FCR will grow, and all costs will pay off.
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