twelve solutions

This month we take a look at First Contact Resolution and its effect on the customer experience.

First Contact Resolution (FCR) can be defined as the ability to resolve a customer’s complaint completely on his/her first contact attempt with an organisation and is usually used in some call centres as a performance measure.

While many contact centres see it as having an impact on caller satisfaction, they do not understand the huge impact it has on the units’ budget. CSR’s are the interface to handle customer issues and if they are not properly trained, empowered and well equipped to handle customer issues and be a sounding board when internal processes and procedures fail, the impact can be a bit overwhelming.

To achieve a high first call resolution rate, organisations must ensure that their internal processes empower and allow the CSR’s to completely resolve the customers complaint at the initial contact point. Some organisations are unable to achieve a high first contact resolution rate due to flaws in their internal processes. If your processes are not customer friendly then you will find that your CSR’s will be unable to resolve the customers’ complaint at the initial point of contact. A resolution of a complaint means the complaint is closed and the customer goes away extremely satisfied – no need for escalations before the customer is informed of the next line of action. Empowerment of the CSR’s is also strategic in attaining a high first contact resolution rate. Empowerment should be backed with appropriate control measures to deter any form of abuse.

Measurement of FCR is also an issue for most organisations. But no one can answer the question better than the customer. Since the customer is the one being “knocked around” go directly to him and ask him how you’re doing. Chances are high that they’ll tell exactly what level of service they are receiving and would like to receive.

So as an organisation do we consider the FCR rate as a measurement criterion? How are we currently measuring our ability to serve our customers at the very first point of lodging a complaint?

Last month we looked at Attitude and its effect on customer service. This month we shift our focus to POSTURE and its effect on our productivity as CSR’s.

A sight we see very often at call centres, and always feel uncomfortable with is agents slouched in their seats and moving around the office in flip flops and generally giving off the impression of “since the customer can’t see me it doesn’t really matter”.

However, one factor we often forget to consider is that our body language can say more than words. Research has shown that over 55% of what we learn from others comes from their body language. It is often not what you articulate but how it is presented. What you wear and how you express yourself has a lot to do with how what you say is received. Your body posture can show if you have an attitude or are overbearing or if you are interested in listening to what the other party has to say.

The following tips apply to our non verbal communication:

Smiling – facial expressions sets a positive tone before you even begin speaking. Nothing beats a smiling and relaxed face welcoming a customer. This can immediately disarm a disgruntled customer. It is rather hard to smile at a customer and have him or her still come at you with a lot of anger.

Your Posture – how you sit or stand affects your vocal cords and ultimately your speech. Customers hear you speak and can decipher if you’re ready to help or not. If you slouch and speak, your voice may sound muffled and the customer may translate that to mean tiredness. Not maintaining good posture and adequate back support can also add strain to muscles and put stress on the spine. All of these can be major contributors to back and neck pain, as well as headaches, fatigue, and possibly even concerns with major organs and breathing.

How you look - personal grooming has a big impact on how you feel, sound and how your customers see or hear you.

So let’s make an effort to dress appropriately, sit or stand upright, speak professionally and really be ready to help.

As we already know, we never have the opportunity to change the customer’s first impression and it may just be the deciding factor between choosing you or your competition.