How do you use SLA and KPI data to improve your contact center performance and quality? (original) (raw)

Last updated on Jul 28, 2024

If you run a contact center, you know how important it is to measure and improve your performance and quality. But how do you use the data from your service level agreements (SLAs) and key performance indicators (KPIs) to achieve your goals? In this article, we'll explain the difference between SLAs and KPIs, how to set and monitor them, and how to use them to identify and solve problems in your contact center operations.

How to set and monitor SLAs and KPIs?

To set and monitor SLAs and KPIs, you need to have a clear understanding of your contact center's mission, vision, and strategy. You also need to consider your customers' needs, expectations, and feedback. You should align your SLAs and KPIs with your business goals and industry standards, and review them regularly to ensure they are relevant and realistic. You should also use a reliable and accurate system to collect, analyze, and report your data. You can use tools such as dashboards, reports, alerts, and scorecards to track your performance and quality.

To improve contact center performance and quality, set and monitor SLAs and KPIs by balancing the call center's vision and strategy with customer expectations. For a luxury brand, where customers demand high quality, it's crucial to use accurate tools for monitoring metrics. Collect and analyze data, leveraging real-time dashboards to track performance. This approach ensures that SLAs and KPIs are aligned with both organizational goals and customer expectations, driving continuous improvement and maintaining excellence in service.

How to use SLAs and KPIs to improve performance and quality?

SLAs and KPIs are not just numbers, they are insights that can help you improve your contact center performance and quality. You can use them to identify and diagnose issues, such as low customer satisfaction, high attrition, or poor efficiency. You can also use them to evaluate and optimize your processes, policies, and practices, such as call routing, scripting, training, or coaching. You can also use them to motivate and reward your agents, by setting clear and achievable goals, providing feedback, and recognizing achievements. By using SLAs and KPIs to improve performance and quality, you can enhance your customer loyalty, retention, and advocacy.

Setting SLAs and KPIs help you understand your goals. Without this tracking, there cannot be performance opportunities. It's like flying blind. The KPIs or SLAs that will be important to your organization is always dependent on your requirements and business needs, but as this article outlines, there are a plethora of data that can be gathered, such as individual as well as team performance insights.

Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

If your SLA and/or KPI is not meeting expectations, determine if this is a one time issue or an ongoing issue. Look for root cause to answer the questions: Do we need to hire more people? Are there unnecessary steps that can be eliminated? Are our goals unattainable at this time and if not, why? If you are in a situation where the SLA is normally low, do not set KPI's and SLA's to an unreachable amount. It is unrealistic to expect a "normal" SLA of 3% to go to 80% overnight and stay there. There must be adjustments made to make this accommodation and in this adjustment needs to be clear communication and expectations to agents on the why and how these metrics need to change and their impact to it.

Contact Center Operations

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