Contact Center Metrics: Cost per Call

In previous posts we have discussed two of the major contact center metrics used worldwide, the Average Handling Time (AHT) and the First Call Resolution (FCR). We will now discuss, over this post and a subsequent one, two more important metrics are introduced, that are tightly related to each other: Cost per call and Revenue per call. These two metrics can also be combined with AHT and produce the equivalent metrics of cost per minute and revenue per minute that can be also used alternatively.

Cost per Call is calculated by dividing the total operational costs for a period of time by the total number of calls handled by the contact center during this time period. Operational costs can be divided in two categories: the costs of the human resources needed for operating the center and the cost of the equipment and the software required to support them. Reducing cost per call is, naturally, an ongoing goal of almost all contact centers. However the first step before decreasing something is actually measuring it. Most contact center software vendors nowadays include this feature in their standard statistics package offerings, but it needs a lot of effort and organizing to actually measure all the possible cost components accurately for each individual company.

There are various methods to decrease the cost per call:

• Use call monitoring and coaching to improve agent performance. A well – trained agent is capable of providing quality service in low amount of time, thus greatly increases all efficiency metrics.
• Use self – service options such as IVR where it is convenient to do. Well – designed IVR cost is substantially lower than labor costs.
• Improve scheduling and adherence. This can be achieved by using workforce management software.
• Consider outsourcing the software part of the contact center (SaaS). It might be more efficient to do so, especially when the contact center is related to a new venture and you don’t have the data to plan your own efficient in – house solution.
• Use part – time customer service representatives for peak periods.

There are other commonly used methods to decrease cost per call that have to do with dropping the service levels or quality of service. While these methods were commonly used in the past, today smart companies avoid resorting to such measures, as the revenue decrease that results from utilizing such methods can be potentially far higher than the cost savings. Similarly to AHT, cost per call reduction must be performed very carefully, to avoid negatively affecting other, more crucial conditions.