If you ask C-level leaders of a company what is the key performance indicator (KPI) for determining if the call center is operating effectively and efficiently, most will say service level, some will say customer satisfaction, and even fewer will say First Call Resolution. But in the pandemic era, are those KPIs the most important? That is not to say these KPIs are not important; they are, but maybe it’s time to shift focus to call center turnover as the most important KPI.
The quiet quitting and great resignation in 2022 have brought us a seemingly-endless onslaught of call center issues, such as poor customer experience (CX) and higher operating costs. In addition, recent SQM Group research shows that “47% of managers feel their biggest problem operating a call center effectively and efficiently is high agent turnover and absenteeism”.
According to SQM’s CX research, First Call Resolution (FCR) and Customer Satisfaction (Csat) for the call center industry significantly decreased in 2022. SQM also believes that the number one problem in 2022 to achieving a high call center Csat and FCR rate is the historically high agent turnover rate of 38%, and there are no signs of slowing down the employee turnover rate any time soon.
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The high agent turnover percentage is staggering, but they don’t tell the entire story. SQM’s 2022/23 benchmarking data shows some call centers have agent turnover as low as 20% and as high as over 200%. In addition, compounding the agent turnover issue is that 81% of agents prefer the work-from-home model (WFH), 16% want the hybrid model, and only 3% prefer the call center. By all accounts, the WFH model has been one of the main contributors to high agent turnover.
As a result of the higher agent turnover, job burnout, absenteeism, operating cost, and lower FCR and Csat, you can strongly argue that call center turnover is the most important KPI. This belief is because call center turnover KPI is crucial for helping manage a call center’s operating practices efficiently and effectively.
With such low unemployment, agent job dissatisfaction, and the WFH model making it easy for agents to job-hop, it is no surprise that call center turnover is high. The average call center agent turnover was 35% in 2021 and 38% in 2022. In addition, the 2022 agent turnover is an astonishing 58% higher than in 2020. Based on call center turnover for the last two years, the industry standard for call center turnover is 35% or lower.
- Overall job dissatisfaction working in a call center
- Low unemployment rate and the WFH model provide more options to job hop
- Government financial assistance is available for individuals not working
- Undesirable work schedule, repetitive work, and being confined to a desk
- Poor career opportunities, skills underutilized, and limited skills development
- Not appreciated or valued and not enough motivation, recognition, and rewards
- Personality conflicts with supervisors, poor supervisor coaching skills, and lack of autonomy
- Dealing with dissatisfied customers, the pace of work is too fast, and low pay for job responsibilities
- Emotional disconnection from co-workers, WFH not conducive for developing friends from work
It is widely believed that the decreasing FCR and Csat trend in the call center industry over the last three years is mainly attributed to the agent’s great resignation and quiet quitting. In addition, a declining unemployment rate and a favorable job market have made it challenging to find, engage, and retain agents.
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