How Do You Measure Repeat Call Rate?

Measuring Repeat Call Rate (RCR) in a call centre is essential for understanding the quality of service and customer satisfaction.

The RCR helps track how often a customer calls back for the same issue within a specified time frame, usually 7 days. However, the definition of “repeat” can vary, depending on how you categorize customer interactions.

We wanted to share the advice our Community of industry professionals gave to Julian when they asked:

What’s the best way to figure out repeat call rates? Should we track calls from the same customer over a set period, like 7 days, and do we count both calls before and after the initial one?

Also, what if the caller reaches out for a different reason—how do we handle that in our data to make sure we’re still getting accurate insights?

How to Measure Repeat Call Rate (RCR)

Repeat Call Rate (RCR) is a key performance indicator (KPI) used in customer service and call centres to measure how frequently customers call back within a certain time frame for the same issue.

It indicates whether the customer’s issue was fully resolved during their first interaction or if additional follow-up was needed. A high RCR may suggest poor problem resolution, leading to customer dissatisfaction.

So here are a few steps to follow to calculate Repeat Call Rate:

1. Define What a Repeat Call Is

First, it’s important to establish whether a repeat call refers to a customer calling about the same issue or simply any additional interaction.

For example, if a customer calls their bank one day about a credit card issue and then calls back a few days later about an investment account, these would not generally be considered repeat calls. Thus, your team must clearly define the parameters for what constitutes a “repeat.”

Some call centres aim to resolve all issues during a single call, using the opportunity to address any potential future concerns.

This approach can reduce repeat calls by proactively resolving customer queries. However, others may only classify calls as repeat when the customer contacts them again for the same specific issue.

2. Establish the Time Frame

The most common window for measuring RCR is 7 days. This means you measure whether a customer calls back within 7 days of their initial contact about the same issue.

However, there’s a key question here: Do you only look backward, or do you measure both forward and backward from the initial call?

For instance, if you’re measuring January’s data, should you look back into December to capture calls made for unresolved issues, and extend into February to catch lingering issues from January?

For accurate measurement, you may need to consider both perspectives—backward to capture prior unresolved calls and forward to identify new issues.

3. Gather and Analyse Data

Use your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system or call centre software to track when a customer contacts you, categorizing the call by issue type. The software can automatically link repeat calls to the same account and issue, helping you distinguish between unique and repeat interactions.

4. Use this Formula to Calculate Repeat Call Rate

Once your data is collected, the formula to calculate Repeat Call Rate is:

Repeat Call Rate (RCR) = (Total Number of Calls ÷ Number of Repeat Calls) × 100

For example, if your call centre handled 1,000 calls in a week and 100 of those were repeat calls for the same issue within 7 days, your RCR would be 10%.

Repeat Call Rate (RCR) = (1000 ÷ 100) × 100 = 10%

5. Track by Day

To provide more granularity, you can break down your repeat call data by days after the initial call. This means you track how many customers call back after 1 day, 2 days, etc., up to the 7-day mark.

This analysis will help identify whether most repeat calls happen shortly after the first interaction or later within the window.

Handling Different Reasons for Repeat Calls

When tracking repeat calls, it’s essential to differentiate between calls for the same issue and calls for new, unrelated issues.

To maintain accuracy in your data, use clear categorization or tagging based on the reason for each call.

This allows you to track only calls for the same issue as repeat calls, while logging unrelated issues separately. This distinction prevents skewing your repeat call rate (RCR) and keeps your data focused on unresolved customer needs.

Additionally, if your system allows it, marking multi-issue calls can be helpful. When a customer has multiple inquiries in one interaction, label each to clarify whether subsequent calls are follow-ups or new.

Regularly reviewing and refining these categories based on customer needs and service trends will further enhance data accuracy.

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Handling Repeat Calls

There are many ways to measure repeat call rate, and a lot depends on what your service offering is and the different reasons why your customers may call you back.

For example, If I call my bank about a mysterious credit card transaction one day and then call about my investment account 2 days later, is that a repeat call? You would have to determine the rules ahead of time.

Some centres take the approach that you should review all aspects of the customer’s account when you have them on the call. This tactic could potentially reduce their need to call you back. Other centres will only count it as a repeat call if it is the same customer calling about the same issue.

Your team should think about the rules you want to apply to your study. Document all of the assumptions you are using, so when people start to review your data, they will understand the context of what they are seeing.

The time frame of seven days is a good base measure. What you should measure is the number of days from the first call and the second call. You have to wait until the second call happens before you can count the days.

Example: Track all the calls that you receive on February 1. Then measure how many of those customers called you back between February 1 and February 7.

There would be added value to your data if you could show what percentage of repeat callers (those that contacted you within the 7 days) reached you after 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 days.

Contributed by: Clive

This article was made possible due to the great community of experts we have at Call Centre Helper, to get involved just join our LinkedIn Community and and if you aren’t already make sure you are following us on LinkedIn to see our latest content.

For more articles to help with repeat calls, read these next:

Author: Jonty Pearce
Reviewed by: Robyn Coppell

Published On: 12th Apr 2022 - Last modified: 25th Oct 2024
Read more about - Call Centre Questions, Metrics, Repeat Calls