What Is Call Center Benchmarking?

Call center benchmarking is a process by which the activity and productivity of a location is evaluated to determine how well employees are performing. A number of different values can be used for this process, though common statistics include the length of each call and downtime between calls. Surveys and internal reviews can also be used for call center benchmarking to determine how happy customers are with the service they receive and the methods used by employees. Information determined from this process can be used to better allocate employees to calling times that are most effective and to establish best practices and goals for sales.

The process of call center benchmarking typically involves the use of monitoring internal or external data to determine various numbers about calls being made. These different pieces of information are referred to as "metrics" and can be used to find a wide range of issues at a location. For example, call logs can be used to establish the average time for each employee on a call, and then compare that to the average of the company as a whole. This sort of call center benchmarking allows a business to easily set up the goal for call times, and then evaluate each employee based on their individual metrics when compared to it.

Call center benchmarking may, for example, determine that employees have a higher success rate for reaching customers at a certain time of day. If this is established, then a location can have more employees working in those hours than at other times. This increases the effectiveness of the location as a whole, and provides employees with more chances to be successful. Call center benchmarking is often used during employee reviews, with statistics and metrics evaluated as a means to determine if promotions or increases in pay are deserved.

External companies are often used for call center benchmarking, which are hired by a company to evaluate the performance of employees and managers. These companies can conduct customer surveys to determine how happy people are with the service they receive from a business. This is especially common for inbound call centers in which customers call the company, rather than the location calling out to people. Industry analysis and awards may be given by these third-party companies, allowing different businesses to compare their metrics and compete for the highest performance. The use of call center benchmarking can establish goals within the industry that individual companies can then strive to attain.