Measuring the Productivity of Customer Service Agents in a Call Center

Customer service agents provide support services that are the main assets of any call center firm. The key role of a customer service agent is to interact with customers directly and form a good relationship with them. A customer service agents duty is to resolve the queries of a customer. 

Knowledge is the key to checking all issues and then either providing a solution or solving said problem themselves. The goal of excellent customer service can be fulfilled by offering support via web-based transactions, telephone or email. At present, a good call center:

• Responds to phone calls in a polite manner
•  Takes comprehensive messages and orders
•  Searches information for the client
•  Quotes information
•   Accepts and conveys emails and faxes
•   Makes sure that the right client got the message

In today’s world, call center firms have benefited the economy, keeping this in mind there are still some difficulties that can be solved in this industry. When it comes to call centers in Philippine, it is noted that they have advanced revenue rates as they provide 24/7 service. Demand for this kind of talent to give a boost to the call center industry has become a problem.

 To scrutinize the issues that affect the retention and well-being of customer service agents, the center of Organization for Development and Research, “Ateneo” and “Philippine Culture” an institute performed a study among customer service agents in Philippine. 10 call centers participated in the program, i.e. approximately 940 agents. The results showed that one of two call center agents plan to leave their office within a year.

The research is related to:

• Age
• Dedication
• Occupation
• Pleasure with play
• Burn out
•  Job responsibilities
• Superior
• Promotions
•   Concrete organization

Suggestions can be made on how customer service agents can provide superior care in order to maintain the employees by evaluating rewards. The rewards can be provided on significant and aggressive work to satisfy the employees’ wants. Rewards must be managed and well communicated.

A call center often contains a workforce that is very young therefore; the firm must create a helpful and cool work environment to lessen the stress of tedious work. After a well screening, the person is selected for the job so that he or she fits it perfectly and can keep up with the long work hours. Traditionally, jobs such as call centers require new graduated and young workers, as they are restless and itinerant. 

To motivate CSR, higher authority at the call center must improve work design, which includes using reviewing discretion levels and different skills while providing opportunities for moving in different accounts. To motivate its customer service agents, the call center can arrange career development programs that will provide information regarding the employees’ chance in the call center industry and career paths.

With well-communicated and effective policies on promotion, views such as politics and favoritism can be avoided and employees can feel safe and valued in their environment. The duty of the call center’s supervisors and leaders is to direct and supervise the subordinates to become a successful team. This is why in many call centers, new recruits and young inexperienced agents are not promoted at an early stage.

In order to define the productivity of a call center, its operations must be measured and developed so that everyone has an idea on how to perform their duties. A way in which the call center’s productivity can be calculated is to count the number of clients that are served in a time-period and dividing that by counting the total hours an employee operated on the phone system, then subtracting that with the available hours.

The total number of clients served can be counted from the outbound calls, transferred calls, inbound calls, emails, etc. The call center must know that which category the client belongs to. The hours available refers to the time when the customer service agents were logged on the phone system, working and waiting for further calls. Now, the subtracted hours vary. It is mostly out of the customer service agents hands. Although when evaluated they result in the productivity. This helps them to follow a standard. Normally all measurements are done this way like a conversion rate.

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