Information is critical. Keep a thorough database of every call, when it arrived, how long it took to answer, how long it lasted, who answered it, how many times it was transferred and to whom, and (very important) the category of the call. It is also vital to score and measure performance on calls. Too many call centers are obsessed with productivity metrics and don't focus on how their agents actually perform on the phone. This is bad. Use a tool that scores calls like LogMyCalls or HyperQuality.;
, There will always be some kind of “miscellaneous” bucket in the database for calls that don’t fall into one of the predetermined categories. Make sure the Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) make good notes on all calls, but especially the miscellaneous ones; you’ll use these notes to determine if new categories need to be created. Remember that calls in different categories will take differing amounts of time to handle.
 As your categories develop, you can route different types of calls to the CSR pool most adequately trained to handle them. This will reduce the amount of time needed to handle individual calls. Depending on the size of your call center you might have anywhere from a few to a few dozen different staff categories (many people will be cross-trained in multiple categories).
 This is stating the obvious, but you will typically use a combination of Call Volume, Call Duration, Time-to-Answer and SLO Percentage to estimate the staff you need at any given hour.


An Erlang-C calculator is an excellent tool to help determine how many staff you need based on volume, duration and SLO (Erlang-B calculators are used to determine how many incoming trunks you need).
The results can also be used to predict abandon time and percentages.
 You absolutely must have staff that reviews recorded conversations. Those people are process improvement specialists that help identify what went right and what could be improved on the calls. The work product is a list of training improvements that will help the CSRs serve the callers better and faster.
 Keep your CSRs trained. One training session before they start is just not enough. The CSRs need to be regularly trained on the improvements developed by the process improvement specialists. One or two days of training each quarter is a reasonable place to start, to keep training new and interesting.
 There is some data to indicate that when the call statistics displayed so the CSRs can see them, performance spontaneously improves. The rationale behind this is the human psychological desire to compete and win. People feel naturally rewarded when their game improves. There are many vendors that sell light boards that will interface with your systems.
 In bigger call centers, hundreds of clients can call simultaneously. Therefore, it is important that the calls be queued and while the call is on hold, play a relaxing music.
 There are cases when the agent is not able to resolve the customer’s problem and then the agent has to be able to forward the call to a technician.


Call center software is good if it is able to handle a large amount of simultaneous calls as well as containing functions essential for the agent’s work, such as call queue, hold, transfer, call recording, IVR menu and e-mail handling.
 Every bigger call center has an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) menu that removes a lot of strain from the agents, because it helps the customers with basic services, usually with their account transactions or they can get their billing information.


Call centers have many functions that make the everyday life of their agents easier, such as auto dialer applications and the screen pops with useful information.
 This means not only by phone but by e-mail and fax too.
Measure.
Categorize the calls appropriately.
Use skill-based routing.
Roster staff based on volume.
Monitor, record and review.
Update training.
Display call status prominently.
Ensure that the call center is able to handle large amount of simultaneous calls.
Ensure an ability to transfer and forward calls.
Get a response menu.
Keep in contact with customers.
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