Service Level: Is it Important?

One of the key measurements in most call centers is Service Level (SL), sometimes referred to as grade of service (GOS) – Simply stated how quickly are we responding to customer calls and shown as a percent of calls answered within a specified number of seconds, 80% in 30 seconds.

Is there an industry standard?

During training sessions, I always get asked that question. And my answer is NO. Every organization has their own goals and objectives, based on the customers they serve.

If it is sales center, missing service levels can easily be translated into a missed sale. There are other organizations, such as utility organizations that are mandated by government agencies to meet a specific service level or suffer the consequences of a penalty. Then there is the “wouldn’t it be nice if we could” and “based on our staff this is the best we can do” scenarios.

So getting back to the question is it important, the answer is yes – very important. This basic metric can help define the resources needed in a center. If the service level is so bad that customers are complaining, then a disservice is being done to the agents (who must listen to customer complaints for being on hold for so long), the customer and the organization as a whole.

When everyone is working to the max and service level is still not being met, this would indicate either more agents are needed or other technology needs to be implemented to off load the calls.

How do you know if you are meeting Service Level?

This information can be found on ACD reports, and it should be looked at on a daily basis. If you have an MIS system you can view this in real time, giving you the opportunity to determine the cause and hopefully take action to rectify.

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