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CALL CENTER CONTROL MEASURES

Call Center Control Measures

Team A
MGT/521
17 August 2015
Mr. James Reding

CALL CENTER CONTROL MEASURES

Call Center Control Measures

This team reflection involved a simulation wherein members discussed performance
controls pertaining to employee performance within a timeshare customer call-in center. Absent
definitive direction of prevailing controls at the center, and first assuming the task intends focus
on internal controls, heed of further suppositions was fundamentally necessary. To that members
considered performance measurements from both a quantitative and qualitative standard. While
each has valid precedence for controls in the industry, team members ultimately focused on the
qualitative function of the exercise. Not to disregard significance of quantitative analysis,
essential aspects of such performance measures garnered considerations. Some of the notable
quantitative measures discussed by the team, but ultimately disregarded for inclusion in this
reflection, are as follows:

Blockage/availability
Self-service availability (voice response system (VRS))
Queue delays
Service levels
Abandon rates
Scheduling
Handle times
Information systems functionality/efficiency

Charisse
I have worked in a call center environment with NV Energy and, Providian Financial
assisting the Platinum Credit Card Customers. Working with these two companies; there are a
few things we used when monitoring calls of an employee exercising several effective measures.
I found a great online article called Seven Metrics to Watch for Call Center Success. This was
similar to the measures we used in the call center. Below is some of what we utilized at NV
Energy at the time I was employed there:

CALL CENTER CONTROL MEASURES

First Call Resolution-If a customer had a dilemma, responsibility to fix the issue
promptly/before the end of the call
If it could not be resolved within that timeframe, it was to be settled within 1-2
business days
Response Time and Awarded for Service Level-Calls had to be answered on the 1st or
2nd ring or we would be docked points re: service level
Accuracy of Information given to customer-All of the call center representatives were
taught the same rules and regulations regarding call procedures
100% call accuracy was awarded by local Chamber of Commerce Awards
"Never Unplug"-Policy with belligerent customers: "Stay plugged-in"- maintain power
over the call by not engaging in derogatory dialogue
Customer Satisfaction-The customer is always right
Tanisha
The most effective way to evaluate our entire time-share call center and in conjunction
manage the efficiency of each employee is by using external and internal benchmarking. Our
industry is filled with competitors such as www.BuyATimeshare.com/Worldmark,
www.sellmytimesharenow.com, and www.timesharesbyowner.com. Most of these companies
have already developed control measures that has keep them competitive for many years. The
most cost effective way to manage our call center is to use what has been proven by our
competitors to be the most effective. In doing so, we can ensure that our employees will be
content to work at our facility and our customers, most of all, will be adequately serviced for
many years to come. Managers in such diverse industries as health care, education, and
financial services are discovering what manufacturers have long recognizedthe benefits of
benchmarking, which is the search for the best practices among competitors or non-competitors
that lead to their superior performance (Robbins & Coulter, 2010, Chapter 18).
Elias

CALL CENTER CONTROL MEASURES

Managers can implement controls before an activity begins, during the time the
activity is going on, and after the activity has been completed. The first type is
called feedforward control; the second, concurrent control; and the last, feedback
control (pg. 494)
The feedforward control is a great method to use in the preventative aspect to avoid
catastrophes that could be devastating to a call center where customer service must be provided
clearly due to the disconnect of physically interacting with the customer. Feedforward control
prevents problems before they take place, but in a call center not all scenarios can be anticipated.
There are standard operating procedures that can be followed for the most common scenarios
that may help the employees be more efficient. But, situations are always individually different
even though they may coincide with the core issue.
An efficient employee may take several calls within an hour and a supervisor or manager
cannot efficiently manage if they are always hovering over the one employee. Without the
resources and time to dedicate to recording data to be utilized from issues previously solved, then
other control measures would be a better fit for the call center.

Val
The feedback control, which is the most popular control measure, would be the only
viable type of control. For many companies, customer feedback is paramount to the success of
their business. The information gathered through feedback is a way for companies to find out
their customers wants and needs. Additionally, this allows customers to provide suggestions and
comments about the company that could possibly help them improve.

CALL CENTER CONTROL MEASURES

As managers for a timeshare vacations call center, feedback control is one of the best
ways for us to determine how efficient and effective an employee is. For every customer who
contacts our call center, they will have the option to participate in completing a five-question
survey at the end of their call. With the help of our customers, we will be able to monitor our
customers feedbacks and use this control to adjust performance accordingly.
Meylonn
The control measures for a call center could be the concurrent control. Concurrent control
involves direct supervision. The manager can accomplish this by using management by walking
around, which is when a manager is in the work area interacting directly with employees
(Robbins & Coulter, Management, 11th edition). A manager in a call center can possibly watch
an employee and make sure they are doing productive work, and correct any mistakes while
activity is in progress. According to Barnat (1998-2014), Concurrent control is designed to
ensure that employees work activities produce the correct results (para. 1). If there are
disgruntled customers on the telephone or the representative cannot help the manager can then
intervene. Managers can also check to see how many customer calls each employee takes in
given increments to evaluate the employees and the productivity and performance.

CALL CENTER CONTROL MEASURES

References
Barnat, R. (1998-2014). Strategic Management: Formulation and Implementation. Retrieved
from http://www.strategic-control.24xls.com/en106
ICMI. (2015). ICMI. Retrieved from http://www.icmi.com/Resources/Metrics/2011/02/SevenMetrics-to-Watch-for-Call-Center-Success
Robbins, S. P., & Coulter, M. (2010). Management, 11th Edition. [VitalSource Bookshelf
version]. Retrieved from http://online.vitalsource.com/books/9781269357937/outline/6