Inbound call centres refer to call centres that take calls from their customers or clients. They typically serve to answer questions and assist their callers with queries related to the business they work for. Inbound call centre metrics are unique to the nature of their business. Mostly, their focus will be customer service centred.

Inbound call centre metrics

The following metrics are mostly specific to inbound call centres:

Average waiting time

This refers to the average time a caller waits for an agent to assist them. When someone calls an inbound call centre, they will fall into a queue and their call will be taken as soon as an agent becomes available to answer their call. Tracking the average waiting time will show when the call centre takes the highest number of calls and how long customers have to wait. The aim is to keep the waiting time to a minimum, so if you notice long average waiting times, you might want to appoint more agents or arrange with your agents not to take breaks during that specific time. As the quote above demonstrates, people mostly have a negative view of inbound call centres because of the waiting time; aim to be the exception.

Abandon rate

The abandon rate refers to the rate at which callers abandon their calls. This would be due to long average waiting times. If you notice a high abandon rate, you should work on the average waiting time as mentioned above.

First-call resolution

Your aim should be to resolve customer queries within one call. For this to be effective, you should ensure that your agents are properly trained to handle the queries and give the customer an answer the first time they call.

Self-service accessibility

You should have your agents track the topics of the queries. If you notice trends in the topics, for example, that you are taking high volumes of calls about billing, you can give customers access to a self-service portal where they can see their billing info themselves. This way, your agents will have fewer calls about something the customers can take care of themselves.

Customer satisfaction

You should be measuring customer satisfaction. Two ways you can do this will be either by directing their call where they can measure their satisfaction or by emailing them after the call and asking them to rate your service.