10 Important Call Centre KPIs to Monitor

Aksheeta Tyagi at Sprinklr explores 10 crucial call centre KPIs that can serve as a guiding light in the competitive and chaotic call centre space.

Immersed in the hectic routine of a call centre, it’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture.

The art of customer service isn’t just about handling complaints, it’s also about building customer relationships and turning single transactions into lasting engagements.

That’s where tracking the right call centre key performance indicators (KPIs) can guide you through the chaos.

Call centre KPIs measure your achievements, expose areas for improvement and drive accountability. Armed with these insights, you can make informed strategic decisions that boost revenue for you and your end clients.

Why Should Enterprises Track These Call Centre KPIs?

Modern call centres are under immense stress to answer fast, maintain call quality, and stay efficient, and the situation becomes worse for enterprise call centres.

Enterprise call centres are often expansive in operational capacity and hard to manage. Call centre KPIs make managing them a tad bit easier. Let’s look at the reasons why enterprises and large businesses need to track call centre key performance indicators.

Better Experiences From Yesterday

For enterprises, customer experience is a direct reflection of their brand’s credibility and values. Their large-scale operations often mean navigating customer interactions that fall at either end of the spectrum – from straightforward queries to convoluted problems.

This is where tracking metrics spotlight friction points that otherwise go undocumented. For enterprises, this could open up a window to dramatically improve customer experiences with pre-emptive solutions driven by insights from call centre KPIs.

Well-Oiled Operational Engine

In an enterprise setting, inefficiencies cost more than money – they risk brand reputation. They need finely tuned systems to handle the sheer volume and complexity of customer interactions.

Call centre KPIs reveal inefficiencies, such as staffing mismatches or delays in resolution workflows – that could otherwise be invisible at a smaller scale but could cost them customer goodwill and consequently, their standing in the market

Data Driving Strategic Decisions

Enterprise-level decision-making requires precision and foresight. Metrics change subjective debates into objective, actionable insights.

Data clarifies whether strategic shifts – like blending new call centre technologies or expanding teams – are delivering the intended results.

Across multiple teams or regions, metrics enable consistent benchmarks, unifying operations under shared goals. Informed decisions backed by metrics and careful risk assessment also strengthen accountability and create confidence among stakeholders of publicly listed companies.

Performance Propelled By Agent Well-Being

Enterprise agents often must juggle many high-pressure customer service scenarios while empathizing with customers throughout. But they can only perform their best when they are well taken care of by the higher-ups.

Call centre KPIs help leaders identify where agents thrive and where they might need call centrE training, emotional support or downtimes.

KPIs also highlight workload disparities, helping you ensure fair scheduling across large teams so you can proactively prevent call centre burnout.

With pertinent tools and training informed by data, agents feel more confident and equipped to succeed, leading to stronger interactions.

The 10 Key Call Centre KPIs That All Businesses Should Track

Here are the 10 call centre KPIs to foster a thriving customer-centric environment:

1. Net Promoter Score (NPS)

The Net Promoter Score or NPS reveals how strongly a customer feels about your services and functions as a loyalty meter. It is a tool for measuring your customers’ loyalty and serves as a barometer for your brand’s popularity.

It simply sums up responses to one crucial question, namely, “How likely are you to recommend a company to a friend or colleague?” The responses are marked on a scale of 0-10.

Let’s take a look at how customer responses can be categorized based on the Net Promoter Score (NPS):

• Promoters: These are the real champions of your brand. They give a glowing score of 9-10 and genuinely endorse your brand with enthusiasm and support.
• Passives: Customers in this category give a score of 7-8. They may not be actively promoting your brand, but they’re also not speaking negatively about it. They fall somewhere in the middle, with a neutral stance.
• Detractors: Unfortunately, there are customers who score 0-6, indicating they are not satisfied or happy with their experience. These individuals have the potential to impact your brand’s image if they resort to public forums to express their negative opinions. That’s why it’s essential to address their concerns and turn their perception around.

The NPS score is derived from this simple formula:

• NPS = % of Promoters – % of Detractors

The resulting figure serves as a clear indicator of customer satisfaction. It may be a number, but it tells a story about customer experience, loyalty and brand perception.

2. Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)

Customer Satisfaction Score measures how satisfied customers are with a product, service or experience. It’s typically calculated by asking customers to rate their satisfaction on a scale, often after an interaction or purchase.

To compute your CSAT score, you can ask your customers to fill out a survey form, rating their product/support experience on a pre-defined scale. A sample survey question can be “On a scale of 1-10, how satisfied do you think you are with our brand’s support?“

Based on the scores, respondents can be classified into different categories such as:

• Very Satisfied: This indicates that the customers had a fantastic experience with your service and they are extremely satisfied. You probably exceeded their expectations and turned them into your enthusiastic brand advocates.
• Satisfied: Customers in this category had a good experience with your service. They are content and feel that their expectations were met. While they may not be raving fans, they are generally happy with the service you provide.
• Neutral: These customers had an average experience. They neither feel strongly positive nor negative about your service. It was satisfactory but didn’t leave a lasting impression. It’s important to note that they may be easily swayed by other options.
• Unsatisfied: Unfortunately, these customers had a less than satisfactory experience. They expected more and feel let down by your service. Addressing their concerns and finding ways to improve their experience is crucial to retaining these customers.
• Very unsatisfied: These customers are possibly frustrated with a highly unsatisfactory experience. Their negative feedback can greatly impact your brand’s reputation. It’s essential to address their concerns promptly and provide effective solutions.

Understanding and addressing customer feedback across these categories can help improve your service and cultivate positive experiences.

To calculate your CSAT score objectively, use this easy formula:

• CSAT = (Number of Satisfied Customers ÷ Total Number of Responses) x100

Remember, this number is not just a score but a narrative – a tale of your team’s ability to delight customers. Therefore, engage, understand and keep delivering service that brings smiles.

3. First Call Resolution (FCR)

FCR is the percentage of customer issues resolved during the first call. It’s the magic moment when a customer sighs with relief, as their problem is solved without follow-up or the need for an escalation.

The essence of FCR is captured in this formula:

• FCR = (Total Number of Calls Received on a First Call ÷ Total Number of Calls Handled) x100

But why does FCR matter? Because it reflects the principle of “doing it right the first time.” It prevents the frustration of multiple callbacks or transfers, creating happier customers.

So, keep an eye on FCR. Make it your guiding star.

4. First Response Time (FRT)

First Response Time (FRT) measures the time it takes for a company to send its initial response to a customer inquiry or issue.

Imagine stepping into the shoes of a customer, eagerly reaching out for assistance. What would you hope for? A warm welcome, right? Well, that’s exactly what the First Response Time (FRT) aims to achieve.

Calculating the FRT involves a simple formula:

• First Response Time = Total Time Taken to Respond to all Initial Customer Contacts ÷ Total Number of Initial Customer Contacts

Whether it’s a live chat support or a phone call, customers expect quick resolutions. While FRT is about speed, it’s also about understanding the customer’s thirst for instant help and meeting it head-on.

Improving customer response times also sets the tone for a hopeful customer journey. So, strive to keep your FRT minimal.

5. Percentage of Calls Blocked

The Percentage of Calls Blocked represents the proportion of incoming calls that encounter a busy signal, signaling potential issues in handling call volumes.

Here’s how to calculate this metric:

• Percentage of Calls Blocked = (Number of Calls that Fail to Reach Agents ÷ Total Number of Incoming Calls) x100

Imagine calling for help and being met with nothing but a busy signal — it’s a moment of pure frustration for your customers and a lost chance for your business to build trust.

This is why the percentage of calls blocked matters. It’s a measure of missed opportunities to assist and leave a positive impression.

A high rate here signals trouble. It could mean your call centre is understaffed, leaving customers without answers or your call centre software isn’t equipped to handle the volume, resulting in dropped connections.

6. Call Abandonment Rate

The Call Abandonment Rate KPI refers to the number of customers who disconnect before reaching an agent.

The formula to calculate this call centre KPI is:

• Call Abandonment Rate = ((No. of Inbound Calls – No. of Calls Abandoned in 5 Seconds or Less – No. of Calls Successfully Handled) ÷ (No. of Inbound Calls – No. of Calls Abandoned in 5 Seconds or Less)) x100

When customers abandon a call, more than just a missed call, it’s a missed relationship. Each hang-up represents a time where frustration outweighed their willingness to wait, hinting at deeper operational barriers that need attention.

It begs many grave questions. How smooth is your customer journey? Are wait times stretching too long? Is customer self-service falling short? Digging into these patterns lets you find the root causes and reimagine the experience.

7. Average Speed of Answer (ASA)

Average Speed of Answer (ASA) measures the average time it takes for a customer service agent to answer incoming calls or inquiries.

As a customer, waiting for a call to be answered can feel like an eternity. Time seems to stretch endlessly, and impatience starts to creep in.

Here’s the formula:

• ASA = Total Wait Time For All Calls ÷ Total Number of Answered Calls

ASA isn’t just about holding music; it covers the time spent waiting in queue till the agent picks up the call. Though it excludes the IVR navigation time, it clearly shows the team’s efficiency.

It’s similar to First Response Time (FRT), spotlighting the swift addressing of customer calls. However, ASA carries a specific weight. It conveys how quickly your team moves to bring a hopeful resolution to a customer’s concern.

8. Average Handle Time (AHT)

Average Handle Time (AHT) measures the average duration of customer interaction, including talk time, hold time and post-interaction tasks. The calculation is as follows:

The calculation is as follows:

• AHT = ((Total Talk Time + Total After Call Work) ÷ (No. of Inbound Calls – No. of Calls Abandoned in 5 Seconds or Less)) x100

AHT is a valuable gauge to set performance benchmarks for the entire team and to identify who may need more customer service coaching.

It’s a metric that matters: a low AHT can indicate efficiency, leading to better productivity and happier customers. However, it’s essential to balance this speed with quality solutions. After all, the aim is to help customers effectively, not rush them through the process.

9. Customer Effort Score (CES)

Customer Effort Score is a critical call centre KPI that measures how much effort a customer has to put in to get their issue resolved.

Originally developed by Gartner, CES is said to be 40% more accurate at predicting customer loyalty as opposed to customer satisfaction, says the consulting firm’s Senior Principal in Advisory Andrew Schumacher.

The question of getting input can be formed in various ways. Commonly, it’d go something like: How easy was it to solve your problem?

Users would most likely be asked to rate it on a scale of 1 to 7 or 10, with a higher digit connoting greater ease of resolution.

The score is then calculated as follows according to the customer responses:

• CES = Total Sum of Effort Ratings ÷ Total Response Time

Every extra step that customers have to take to find an answer – a long queue, multiple transfers – signals inefficiency and tests patience. A low-effort experience reassures customers they’re valued, with swift resolutions that respect their time.

10. Customer Churn Rate (CCR)

Customer Churn Rate reveals the percentage of customers who’ve stopped using your services within a specific period. Keeping a pulse on the CCR is vital in the call centre KPI scorecard.

Use this formula to calculate the CCR:

• Customer Churn Rate = ((Customers at the Beginning of the Period – Customers at the End of the Period) ÷ Customers at the Beginning of the Period) x100

A high churn rate often signals something deeper – inefficiencies in managing escalations, misaligned customer expectations or lack of follow-through. It shows that there are pain points that are going unaddressed causing people to leave.

Doubling down into these patterns can then help you create sharp strategies of combat, which could be pre-emptive outreach or exclusive support tailored to at-risk segments. That is how, instead of reacting to churn, you take control, building stickiness before issues escalate.

Role of Call Centre Technology in Tracking Call Centre KPIs

Technology has come a long way since call centres came into existence. Today, you can find unified customer service software that helps you analyse raw interaction data into actionable insights to lead data-backed customer service strategies. An enterprise-ready call centre software would typically include:

1. Conversational Analytics Solution

Conversational analytics tools turn hours of calls into practical insights. It’s really just a tool that helps you analyse your customer conversations in real-time and retrospectively- maybe you see repeated mentions of “waiting too long” or “unclear instructions” pop up in the data.

Over time, it’s about the patterns: unresolved or overlooked complaints, confusion over policies or even gaps in agent training.

These tools also measure sentiments in real-time, alerting managers so they can step in before issues spiral, by features like barge-in.

2. Call Routing Systems

Call routing systems act like traffic directors, ensuring every customer ends up in the right place. For example, returning customers with unresolved issues are directed straight to an agent familiar with their case. VIP clients are routed to experienced representatives, ensuring they are well-attended.

At an enterprise level, intelligent routing simplifies complexity – matching calls by language, region or issue type. This avoids unnecessary transfers, accelerates resolutions and keeps both customers and agents on track for faster resolutions.

3. Quality Management Systems (QMS)

Managing hundreds – or even thousands – of agents and ensuring quality in customer service is no small task. That’s a typical day for a large-scale call centre for an enterprise.

A robust quality management tool can review calls systematically, flagging trends like unresolved problems or missed follow-ups. For enterprises, this consistency is invaluable across global teams.

Beyond evaluating individual agent performance, a QMS uncovers sentiment, intent and CSAT trends across all interactions.

For instance, a case analytics interface might instantly highlight why a team’s CSAT is dipping, showing shifts in customer mood or recurring unresolved issues.

Supervisors get a complete picture – what’s working, where agents need support and which processes require an overhaul – all without drowning in manual reviews.

4. Customer Feedback Tools

Customer feedback tools turn every interaction into a learning opportunity. Post-call surveys can reveal recurring frustrations, like long hold times or agents lacking the right information. For enterprise-scale operations, AI-enhanced tools go further – scanning written feedback to find trends.

For example, repeated phrases like “misunderstood my request” might signal a training gap. This data is your customers speaking directly to you, helping leaders prioritize where to focus: be it smoother processes, better resources for agents or more intuitive self-service options.

Make Insights From Your Call Centre KPIs a Company-Wide Cheat Code

To truly understand and improve your customer service, you need more than data – you need clarity.

That’s where call center KPIs come in.

When assessed through a strong call, nay, contact center analytics tool that covers metrics from each customer touchpoint a contact is made, there’s simply no guesswork needed.

Now you know what’s working and what’s not.

Why are customers waiting too long? What’s causing repeat calls? Where are agents getting stuck?

Frequently Asked Questions

How Often Should Call Centre KPIs Be Reviewed and Updated?

Call centre KPIs should be reviewed and updated regularly, ideally on a monthly or quarterly basis, to ensure they remain aligned with business goals, evolving customer needs and industry best practices.

Additionally, KPIs should be adjusted as necessary based on performance trends and feedback from stakeholders.

What Methods Do Businesses Use to Identify the Appropriate KPIs For Their Call Centre Operations?

Here are a few that might help:

• Look at the bigger picture – what does success mean for your business and how can your call centre contribute?
• Talk to your customers – feedback and surveys reveal what they care about most.
• Check what others are doing — benchmark against industry standards to stay competitive and relevant.
• Involve the people on the ground – agents and supervisors know what really works and what needs measuring.

In What Ways Can Large Enterprises Align Their KPIs With Their Call Centre’s Goals?

These ways can help large enterprises align their KPIs with goals.

• Balance speed with quality – track both operational metrics, like abandonment rate and customer-centric ones, like customer effort score.
• Use data to connect the dots – advanced analytics can show which KPIs directly impact your broader goals, like retention or revenue.
• Break silos – ensure KPIs align across teams by combining feedback from your call centre, marketing and other teams.
• Stay flexible – keep refining KPIs as your call centre evolves, so they always match its strategy and purpose.

Which Innovative Techniques Can Help Visualize Call Centre KPI Data For Better Decision-Making?

A few ways that can help visualize call centre KPI data for better decision-making are:

• Interactive dashboards with real-time data updates and drill-down capabilities.
• Heat maps to highlight peak call times or areas with high customer satisfaction.
• Trend analysis charts to track KPI performance over time and identify patterns.
• Gamification elements to encourage agent engagement and performance improvement.

What are Some Common Pitfalls When Setting KPIs For a Call Centre Agent?

Here are some pitfalls you might want to look out for:

• Setting KPIs that solely prioritize speed over quality.
• Failing to include customer-focused metrics that miss key drivers of satisfaction.
• Using generic KPIs for all agents that ignore their unique roles and skills.
• Setting KPIs without offering tools or guidance leaves agents unprepared to meet expectations.

This blog post has been re-published by kind permission of Sprinklr – View the Original Article

For more information about Sprinklr - visit the Sprinklr Website

Call Centre Helper is not responsible for the content of these guest blog posts. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of Call Centre Helper.

Author: Sprinklr
Reviewed by: Megan Jones