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© 2007 Upstream Works SoftwareAll Rights Reserved

Introduction to First Call Resolution

By Upstream Works

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Agenda» What is FCR?

» What are the effects of FCR?

» Causes of repeat calls

» What can you do?

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90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

100%

70 Ad Hoc

53 SOCAP

67 SQM

75Callcentres.

com.au

80 Ascent

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Examples» A customer calls at 9:30 AM. They call again at 1:45 PM the same day.

» A caller is transferred to a second level agent

» A caller calls back repeatedly for the same thing

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Examples

» A customer calls you, and you have to call them back

» A customer emails the call center, and then, not receiving a reply, calls and speaks to an agent

» A customer calls and gets incorrect information. They don’t call back.

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Defining FCRFirst call resolution is properly addressing the customer's need the first time they call, thereby eliminating the need for the customer to follow up with a second call

From whatis.com

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Properly Defining FCR

» First Call Resolution is properly addressing the customer's need and meeting their expectations for the call.

» Simple definition covers most situations

» Use the simple definition

»Walk before you can run»Low hanging fruit

» Complex FCR will be defined internally and be consistent per contact type

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Effect of FCR

By improving first call resolution rates, you can:

» Reduce call volumes 10% to 15%

» Increase customer satisfaction 10% to 15%

» Increase revenues 5 to10 times more than the money you save on call volumes.

» Reduce customer churn

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One of our customers found that 15% of their overall call volume came from callers who had to call 4 times or more to get an issue resolved

How are YOU doing?

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Why FCR?The most expensive call is the one that loses you customers!

The cheapest call is the one you don’t have to take!

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Effect of repeat calls

» What decisions do your callers make based on the information you provide?

»What is the impact of the information you provide?

» Service has 5 times the impact on customer satisfaction than product or price1

1 – Harvard Business Review Study

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Some More Statistics

» Customer satisfaction drops 15% after the first call

» A 1% increase in FCR will mean 0.6% to 1% increase in customer satisfaction

- Loyalty Effect

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The cost of repeat calls

» For an average call center - with 70% FCR

» Increasing FCR to 85% will mean:

» ~10% increase in productivity» ~10 to 15% increase in customer satisfaction rates» For call centers with churn:

» A 1% to 2% increase in total company revenues

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Causes of repeat calls

» 60 % Agent Call Center

» Authority

» 35% Business Process

» Throughout the business

» 5% Customer

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What can you do about it?

» Measure First Call Resolution Rates

» Live Customer Survey

»Email Survey

»Post Call IVR Survey

»Agent Logging

»Call Recording

»CRM Case Management

»Repeat Call Track ing

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FCR Measurement

» An industry benchmark

» An agent evaluation metric

» A quality tool for ongoing improvement

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Measure FCR Per Call Reason

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FCR as an Agent KPI

» Requires financial commitment

» Eliminate conflicting agent metrics

» Be objective and consistent

»Develop agent’s trust

» Reward on Solve Rate not on FCR Rate

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Solve Rate

Wilma

Barney

Pebbles

Dino

Wierdly

Fred

Not FCR; Not Solved

FCR; Solved

Not FCR; Solved

FCR; Solved

Not FCR; Not Solved

Not FCR; Solved

Not FCR; Not Solved

Fred’s Rating:

Total Calls = 7

FCR: 2/7 = 29%

SR: 4/7 = 57%

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(Extreme) Solve Rate

Fred

Wilma

Barney

Pebbles

Dino

Wierdly

Not FCR; Solved

Not FCR; Solved

Not FCR; Solved

Not FCR; Solved

Not FCR; Solved

Not FCR; Solved

Not FCR; SolvedFred’s Rating:

Total Calls = 7

FCR: 0/7 = 0%

SR: 7/7 = 100%

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Steps to improving FCR

» Agent awareness and coaching» Specific problem determination and resolution

» One-offs» Customer satisfaction measurement

» Ongoing» End to end detail tracking

» Technology/ integration» Quality improvement program

» Ongoing and cyclic

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Some Best Practices

» Agent incentives based on Solve Rates

» Measure» FCR per call type» Customer satisfaction» Use multiple measurement techniques

» Ensure at least one i s completely objec tive

» Report on customer satisfaction

» Detailed interaction information

» Measure to improve

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Inhibitors to FCR Improvement

» Lack of consistency and commitment

» Lack of knowledge of ‘how to’

» Overcoming existing mindsets» Agent and call center management» “But that’s how we’ve always done it!”

» Incentives not in line with desired outcome

» Missing or inconsistent data

» Viewing FCR measurement as a goal rather than as management tool

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Summary

» FCR impacts both efficiency and effectiveness

» FCR can be complex to defined but the simple case will help 80% of the time

» Measure per call type

» FCR helps agent performance

» Solve Rate

» Improving FCR is a organizational quality initiative

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About Upstream Works Software

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Business Interaction Management

Track and save the entire interaction as it happens. It’s easier to use and understand later

Provide in-your-face interaction context that’s role tailored for personalized service

Pre-built best practices analytics

©Upstream Works Software

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Customer Insights

Customer Experience

Performance

Improvement

Performance

Management

Training and Staffing

Process Improvemen

t

All customer channels

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Business Interaction Pain Points

» Problem: No methodology or technology used provides a single comprehensive and auditable view of how customers interact with a business.

» Result: Averages are used to allocate funds to drive customer loyalty and reduce costs across the multiple interaction channels in use today.

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Upstream Solution

» Upstream Works’ Business Interaction Management, makes the collective of customer interactions visible, accountable and controllable

» Combines technology and a methodology to track individual customer interactions across the business

» Links outcomes to supporting interactions

» Puts the collected information into a powerful form

» Compliments existing applications and infrastructure

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Next In Series

» Increasing Call Center Effectiveness with First Call Resolution

www.upstreamworks.com – Download the whitepaper from our website: Increasing Call

Center Effectiveness Through First Call Resolution