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Reducing Average
Handle Time (AHT)
in Multi-Channel
Contact Centres
White PaperContains 12 Tips for Reducing Average Handle
Time Without Impacting Customer Experiences
puzzel.com
About this White Paper
Average Handle Time (AHT) describes the amount of time it takes a contact centre agent to complete an interaction with a customer. It is calculated as the total of an agent's talk time, hold time and wrap-up time divi ded by the number of calls handled. It does not take into account the time a customer spends waiting to be answered (i.e. 'ring time' and 'queue time'). AHT is an important measure of contact centre success. The lower an agent's AHT, the more contacts they can handle in any given time period. And with people costs typically accounting for around two-thirds of all contact centre operating costs, any reduction in AHT can equate to a significant cost saving. However, while maintaining a low AHT is a good indication of an efficient operation, it does not necessarily indicate an effective one. An operation delivering a low AHT may not, for example, deliver great Customer Experiences (CXs) or a high percentage of First Time Fixes (FTF). While every organisation would love to think that they could deliver first time fixes, each and every time, with great CX scores and a low AHT, it's not always that easy. Targeting a low AHT can sometimes result in contacts being rushed, and that can negatively impact both
CX and FTF scores.
So how do you reduce AHT without negatively
affecting customer experiences?
That is the question posed by this White Paper -
and we offer 12 tips to help organisations on their way.
12 Tips for Reducing Average Handle Time
Without Impacting Customer Experiences
Cut down on the number of unnecessary customer
contacts, and simplify the customer engagement process, by figuring out why people make contact in the first place. Use Demand Categorisation to analyse the contacts you receive, and group them into 'types' of contact. For example, customer contacts that: 1.
Deliver value effectively to both parties
2.
Create opportunities to deliver new
products/services 3.
Occur when a process or product/service
went wrong 4.
Represent waste or demand generated
by third parties.
Demand types 1 and 2 represent new opportunities
that can be progressed, while 3 and 4 reveal product, process and third party issues that need to be fixed.
By categorising customer demand, you can approach
the task of improving contact handling processes (see tip 2) in a more structured way, while focusing on goals such as improved CX, lower cost and shorter AHT. 1 TIP
Analyse the nature
of customer demand
Business process transformation can also have a
dramatic impact on efficiency and CX. After tackling a Demand Categorisation exercise (as described in tip 1), address inefficiencies and fix broken processes that are inflating AHT and preventing the delivering of good CXs: 1.
Remove agent requirements that don't directly
impact the CX (such as having to report on every aspect of contacts) 2.
Examine scripts and remove timewasting questions
3.
Reduce time wasted during wrap-up time by using
wrap-up codes to categorise contact 'types' (i.e. types of enquiry handled, next steps etc.), and.. 4.
Streamline agent workflows and processes to
improve efficiency. Ensure that agents are involved in this process by asking for their ideas on how they believe service quality can be improved.
Business process transformation can not only
dramatically reduce unnecessary contacts but also lead to shorter and more productive ones. 2 TIP
Review business
processes in light of your analysis By gaining a better understanding of why people are making contact, removing the need for unnecessary contact, and rationalising processesand workflows, it's highly likely that you will also identify opportunities to move customers to self-service: 1.
Introduce web and phone self-service solutions
where customers have a need for simple and repetitive information (e.g. opening hours, account balances etc.) 2.
Use automated menu systems that allow
individuals to navigate their own way to the most appropriate resource to handle their query (see tip 4) 3. Use intelligent self-service technologies to deliver more personalised self-service experiences.
These technologies may include chatbots, speech
avatars and real time analytics. By enabling customers to self-serve, you cannot only get customers to the answers they require quicker but also handle more contacts and reduce overall AHT. 3 TIP
Switch customers
to intelligent self-service solutions
Intelligently route customers to the resources
most suited to deal with their queries: 1.
Enable customers to select the best routing
for their own query by providing automated menus, regardless of the channel used.
Examine the use of visual IVR technology
to provide consistent customer experiences across different channels and cut down on the cost of development 2.
Use natural language speech recognition
technology to allow people to describe their own issues (rather than relying on automated menu systems to provide the right options) 3.
Create contact routing rules that take into
account agent skills and knowledge, and hence their ability to handle particular queries.
Ensure that your contact handling technology
can support a broad range of routing options (from agent hunt groups to least idle, least occupied, skill level and service level routing).
Then use the option, or series of options, that
are most appropriate to each service you're providing. 4 TIP
Create more
efficient contact routing When customer conversations are managed with a silo mentality (i.e. with little integration between phone, email, SMS and social media systems), it can be very difficult for agents to grasp on-going customer issues that have involved multiple interactions and multiple channels over a period of time. The result can be lengthy conversations and poor experience.
To resolve this issue:
1.
Invest in omni-channel technology solutions
that give agents a single view of customer activity across all channels and time periods 2.
If you can immediately identify that a
customer making contact is one with an outstanding service issue (from their phone number or email address, or from information entered into a self-service system), then route them to the agent that's been handling their query, or a suitably skilled agent 3.
Give agents full access to recordings
(i.e. emails, SMSs, call recordings etc.) and enable them to share recordings with customers if appropriate.
All of these actions can have a positive impact
on reducing AHT. 5 TIP
Provide agents with
a single view of the customer conversation regardless of channels used
In tip 2, we discussed cutting out unnecessary
questions within call scripts. Another way to reduce
AHT is to shorten customer greetings that, while
pleasant, have no real impact on customer experience. So rather than say "Good afternoon
Madam, how are you doing today?", try "Good
afternoon Jackie, how can I help you?"
This will encourage customers to get to the point
quicker. Also consider giving agents easy access to rich Customer Relationship Management (CRM) data - such as details of purchased products and previous service queries. In this way, organisations can further shorten elements of the conversation, and deliver greater personalisation. 6 TIP
Shorten customer
greetings
Scripting has many advantages. It's a great way
of ensuring customers receive consistent service, whoever they speak to. It's also a useful way of ensuring inexperienced agents comply with industry regulations during customer conversations. However, insisting on agents following tight scripts can result in over-lengthy customer conversations. To remedy this, have different levels of scripting for different situations. For example, give experienced agents the leeway to resolve customer issues in the way they see fit, confident in the knowledge that they know what their compliance obligations are, and know exactly what it takes to deliver a great customer experience. 7 TIP
Adjust scripting
depending on nature of the contact and agent knowledge Take note of the information provided within every customer contact and use it to improve future interactions. Record all contacts, regardless of channels used. Collect information about customers and their preferences at every opportunity - at registration, when they complete service interactions, when they visit your web site etc. and use automated tools to analyse this information for nuggets of useful data. Also gather feedback on what they think of your products and services, the quality of your service operation, their preferences and behaviours, and their future intentions.
Then use automated analytics techniques to assess
agent performance and identify bottlenecks that may hamper the delivery of service quality. Furthermore, use quality monitoring to assess the quality of recorded contacts. Make maximum use of this information to plan how to service needs better in the future, especially through proactive service.
By anticipating customer needs - for example
by predicting when an issue will become a problem - you can drive up first contact resolution and cut down on time spent dealing with unnecessary contacts. 8 TIP
Learn from past
experiences Use continuous training to improve agent skills and performance. This should include 5 key elements: 1.
Technology training: enabling agents to make
best use of CRM, contact handling, self-service,
PCI compliance and other systems.
2.
Agent coaching: one-to-one coaching focused
on performance improvement and career development. Sessions should make use of actual contact recordings to teach best practice, overcome hurdles and facilitate an open 2-way discussion. 3.
Customer service skills training: this should
occur at every stage of the agent's training programme, from induction to advancedquotesdbs_dbs17.pdfusesText_23
AHT Syngas Technology NV AHT Services GmbH Group