Five Signs You’re Failing at First-Call Resolution (and what to do)

Believe it or not, 20 to 30 percent of all calls your center receives are from repeat callers. The customer problem simply was not resolved fully the first time. When repeat calling persists, those customers escalate to “at risk” customers and are more likely to defect.

Painfully, poor performance in achieving higher first-call resolution (FCR) rates was the number-one contact center challenge facing more than a third of managers polled in Witness Systems’ 2006 National Customer Service Week survey.

Failing to address FCR rates almost guarantees you will face increasing customer churn and thus hurt the bottom line. Yet, organizations continue to grapple with understanding why higher FCR rates routinely elude their contact centers.

What are the five most important factors behind the lack of good FCR?

1. The ability of the agent is not strong enough, which is either a training issue or a personnel issue.
2. Your company hasn’t provided agents the authority to make decisions that impact the customer, forcing a continued escalation of tedious, time-consuming, repeat calls to people who rank higher in the organization.
3. Your agents cannot easily find information that provides answers or actions for customers. This aggravating situation leads to repeated “look ups” or providing customers incorrect information.
4. Contact center systems don’t properly process changes the agents are making, or the changes are processed so slowly the root problem is unresolved for too long.
5. Customer perceptions and behaviors are often the causes of repeat calls. For example, customers call back trying to find a different result from another agent.

Step 1. Conduct an information-seeking “drill down” with experts who are proven resources. They can help determine the best approach in tackling poor FCR rates head-on.

Step 2. Track repeat calls by analyzing agent logs and the IVR system. Determine if an issue was resolved on the first call and if not, the actual reasons for repeated calls. Look at all customer interface points, because if the customer first contacted you via self-service systems, that counts as a call.

Step 3. Make certain you provide a means to measure FCR from the first day forward. You need useful information to conduct a root-cause analysis. What’s one ideal outcome? Could it be one where you continue to use the technology now in place --- but making it work better for you?

For instance, consider giving your agents on-screen data that allow agents to determine if customers are shopping around to get a better outcome. “I see a colleague of mine talked with you five minutes ago. What did she say?” Additionally, agents can ask the customer if the first call resolved the problem.

By carefully tracking agent information, you identify specific customers and the reasons they are calling. Only then can you realistically determine if this call is a callback.

With IVR systems, customers often find themselves stuck and having to phone back. This is another FCR rate-killer.

Examine IVR transactions and track where calls go. Look at calls and how the IVR is handling them. Far too many customers merely opt to “zero out.” That choice, however, isn’t giving you interpretable data. Callers choose to zero out for numerous reasons, including their desire to speak with a live agent.

Gains in FCR rates needn’t be expensive. One IBM call center receiving one million customer e-mails annually discovered that by making a simple update on the FAQ page on its Web site, it cut e-mail volume in half. How? IBM tracked the types of questions arriving via e-mail and applied a quick solution.

Better FCR rates remain a top but elusive ROI goal at many contact centers. Track repeat calls. Measure and analyze them using root-cause analysis. Put your agents in a commanding “once and done” position, enabling them to resolve any issue within the framework of the first and single call.

Getting your arms around the true causes leading to poor first-call resolution rates is your best initial step in resolving caller issues in the first place. The end result is cost savings and improved customer retention.

By Rob McDougall, president and co-founder of Upstream Works. He has over 20 years of industry experience and is an expert on first-call-resolution strategies for call centers. He welcomes questions at rmcdougall@upstreamworks.com.

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