The central focus of call centres is to have excellent customer service over the phone. But how do you know if the call centre is providing excellent customer service? To see how the agents are treating clients in a manner that meets their needs, you must examine your call centre measurements in detail, such as first call resolution.
The first call resolution (FCR) metric shows whether the team is good at delivering the best response to your consumers the first time they approach you. It’s an important indicator of consumer loyalty, and it’s more complex than you would expect. It can also reveal what you do well and how to improve first call resolution.
What is First Call Resolution
So, what is the concept of first call resolution? It’s all in the name. The first touch resolution rate (FCR) is a statistic that measures how well your contact centre answers your customers’ issues, concerns, and needs during the first meeting, regardless of the communication medium. The secret to first-call settlement is that there is no need for follow-up (or escalation).
First call resolution is a metric for customer loyalty that is commonly expressed as a percentage: the higher the percentage, the happier your consumers are. FCR is also a metric for measuring operating quality and success, allowing you to save money by ensuring that your agents waste less time on non-essential customer service.
Although first call resolution seems straightforward, it is actually quite complex, making it one of the most difficult KPIs to accurately determine. The key is to explicitly define what FCR means for your company and then create a system to track it over time.
What is the Standard for First Call Resolution?
Since FCR rates vary between companies and support staff, it’s challenging to provide a concrete answer to this. It also depends on the number of clients you have, the amount of money you spend on customer service training, and the complexity of your product.
According to analysis from Metricnet , the industry standard for first call resolution is about 74%. This, of course, depends depending on the type of the applicant, the requested medium, the market, and other factors. FCR rates near 90% are considered high, while FCR rates below 40% are considered poor.
Why is First Call Resolution Important
First call resolution best practices enhance customer service in the following ways:
- Higher Customer Satisfaction Rates
82% of consumers would abandon a business because of poor customer service. Unresolved grievances are one of the most important causes of consumer frustration. An inadequate first call resolution will be the difference between holding and losing a client.
- A greater degree of customer loyalty
Disappointed customers will tell up to 15 other people about their poor experiences with your business. As a result, it’s critical to make and relationship as constructive and beneficial as possible. You will transform dissatisfied customers into happier customers by quickly responding to their complaints.
- Increased Call Center Productivity
By resolving your customers’ issues the first time they reach you—whether by phone, email, talk, or social media—you will avoid repetitive calls over the same problem. This ensures fewer calls, chats, and emails can be handled by the agents, resulting in faster wait times and more productive and effective customer service staff.
- More money spent by customers
People will pay 17% more for improved customer service. Furthermore, 93% of consumers are more likely to make regular transactions from businesses that they believe offer outstanding customer support.
- Lower Contact Center Operating Costs
It costs five to twenty-five times more to acquire a new client than to keep a current one. Reduce your internal contact centre expenses by focusing on delivering best-in-class customer support for your current clients by first call resolution.
How to Improve First Call Resolution
High employee engagement leads to high-performing employees, which results in better financial performance and outcomes. There are various methods to improve employee capability, including teaching and coaching in routine work and creative problem-solving approaches. It’s important because it gives workers the tools to question the status quo and take responsibility for their issues when servicing customers.
Employees are enthused and engaged because they have the expertise, insight, and approval from their bosses to make a real difference in their work regularly.
Employees who undergo the proper instruction in strategies and skills to become “FCR problem solvers” will help the company improve by encouraging them to:
- Create a list of concerns you notice.
- Discuss the problem to figure out what’s behind it.
- Create novel solutions
- Check them out to see how they work.
- Deploy and embed the modern way of working.
This methodical approach has the greatest chance of enhancing the first touch resolution KPI. Still, workers must have the requisite skills and expertise to effectively deploy them and leadership support to help embed a new way of operating.
