What is MIS in Call Centre, and How Does it Work?

With the numerous terms and abbreviations used in contact centres and BPOs, it’s essential for industry professionals to have a clear understanding of their meanings.

Which is why, we wanted to share the answers provided by our Community of industry professionals when Shantanu asked for clarity on what is meant by the term MIS in a call centre:

I am a little confused as I am trying to set up a MIS system in my company. But I need a few tips to know what is MIS with reference to a call centre, and what is done in a MIS department, or how do you set it up and what are the modules that are required.

What is MIS in a Call Centre?

In call centres and BPOs MIS stands for Management Information System, and refers to a system that gathers, processes, and provides information to help managers monitor, control, and optimize call centre operations.

A MIS collects data from various aspects of the call centre, such as call volumes, agent performance, customer satisfaction, and service levels, to aid in decision-making and improve overall efficiency.

A MIS helps contact centre:

• Improve performance monitoring by offering detailed insights into agent productivity, and enabling targeted coaching and performance improvements.
• Improve resource allocation by assisting with forecasting call volumes and staff allocation to manage high or low traffic efficiently.
• Improve customer satisfaction by identifying where CX may suffer, such as long wait times, allowing for corrective actions.
• Improve decision making by providing data to make informed decisions about processes, staffing, and technology.

How Does a Management Information System (MIS) Work

To understand how Management Information Systems (MIS) function in a call centre, it’s important to break down the key processes involved.

MIS operates through a series of steps, from collecting data to providing real-time insights. These steps help managers optimize performance, improve decision-making, and ensure that service levels are met.

Here’s a closer look at how MIS works within a call centre environment:

1. Data Collection

It captures data from various sources, including Automatic Call Distributors (ACDs), Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, and workforce management tools, and also gathers metrics like call volume, average handling time (AHT), first call resolution (FCR), hold times, and agent activity.

2. Data Processing

The software helps convert the raw data into meaningful reports and dashboards, highlighting key performance indicators (KPIs) such as service levels, call abandonment rates, and customer wait times.

3. Reporting

It provides visual reports in the form of charts, graphs, or tables, that are often customizable to reflect different time periods (daily, weekly, monthly) or specific team/individual performance,

4. Support

The data helps in strategic planning, and allows managers to identify inefficiencies, forecast call volumes, adjust staffing levels, and refine training programs for agents, whilst ensuring that the call centre meets its service level agreements (SLAs) and customer satisfaction goals.

5. Real Time Monitoring

MIS tools provide real-time data on call queues, agent availability, and system performance, allowing managers to make quick adjustments, such as reallocating staff during peak call times or addressing technical issues immediately.

Thanks to Robyn

The Role of the MIS Team

Managing Information Systems (MIS) is unique to every organisation and its business needs.

The idea of having an MIS Department or an MIS system is to have a central repository to manage information flowing in and out of the organization, and rendering it useful for the growth of an individual, process and organization.

That’s the basic role and responsibility of the MIS department or system. Not everyone, can understand figures or data and apply it to the individual’s and / or organizations growth.

This team specializes in utilizing statistics, software and data management tools to provide the organization with an understanding of what’s happening in and around the org, feed the necessary processes with analysis and data.. and suggest improvements.

The different modules:

• Data Mining
• Data Analysis
• Data Reporting
• Software Management (Inbound ACD / Outbound Dialler etc)
• Process Improvement suggestions
• Staffing Calculation

With thanks to Swapnil

Using MIS in Decision-Making and Optimisation

MIS refers to any information that supports decision-making within an organization. The type of decisions and the frequency of review dictate how information systems are structured.

Buzzwords like data mining and data warehousing are ineffective without the processes to capture, analyze, and apply insights from various sources.

Management typically seeks to understand profit margins, asset performance, and resource optimization.

When implementing an MIS system, it’s crucial to first define the desired outcomes. Once the system’s deliverables are clear, relevant data sources can be identified to generate actionable insights.

With thanks to Vedula

What Data Could MIS Cover?

MIS is a very generic term used, and it would depend on every organization to determine what the individual requirements would be.

Any kind of data management and reports is normally defined under MIS. In a call centre or BPO MIS could cover the following:

1. Switch Related Data
2. Quality Data
3. Attendance Data
4. Initiative Data
5. Appraisal Data
6. Online Test Data
7. Training Data

All of the above, and any thing else, should be typically stored in a common database, which would facilitate easier data retrieval and access

With thanks to Pushkar

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 information on the terms used in contact centres and BPOs, read these next:

• What Is a Lost Call and Why They Matter
• What Is a Knowledge Base? – With a Definition, Uses and Mistakes to Avoid
• What is a Dashboard?

Author: Jonty Pearce
Reviewed by: Robyn Coppell