subject: First Call Resolution and Call Center Certification [print this page] First Call Resolution and Call Center Certification
First call resolution is considered by many call center consultants to be the most important metric in the call center industry. The following is a short list of reasons for this:- First call resolution is tightly correlated with customer satisfaction. A 1% increase in first call resolution usually leads to a 1% increase in customer satisfaction. - A 1% increase in first call resolution leads to an average operational savings of $276,000 per year. - Improving first contact resolution also improves employee satisfaction and increases selling opportunities. - A customer whose issue is resolved on the first call is far less likely to defect to a competitor.In any industry, it can be a challenge to find the most important metrics to benchmark. For the call center industry, this challenge has been made easy through contact center research and consulting firms who have empirically shown that first contact resolution is positively correlated with the main call center metrics (Csat, Esat, and operating cost).What is first call resolution?At its simplest, first contact resolution, or FCR as it is often called, is the percentage of customer calls that are resolved on the first try. I know it sounds easy enough, but it is quite difficult to make happen.In order to make improvements in FCR, all levels of the call center have to be held accountable for improving it. Upper management has to be dedicated to giving middle management the resources to coach CSRs and supervisors on the proper processes to improve FCR. Likewise, CSRs and supervisors have to be focused on trying to resolve each call that is received and they must be given the tools to do so.Too often CSRs are restricted access to tools that they would need to resolve a call, so they have to transfer the call to a specialized CSR instead. There are myriad call center processes that directly and indirectly influence your call center's ability to facilitate first call resolution. One of the most difficult tasks is finding out which business practices in your call center is not pulling its weight in regards to FCR improvement. Fortunately, you do not have to go it alone. There are third party, independent research firms that will track, benchmark and analyze your contact center's performance in regards to the most important metrics. These firms often have decades of experience in helping call centers identify underperforming processes and how to improve them effectively. If you have hopes of your call center bringing home awards and recognition via call center certification and awards programs then you definitely have to get to work on first call resolution.
