13 sharable statistics on call center priorities. Surveys covering performance, productivity, technology, idle time, shrinkage, workforce management

1. Knowlagent Surveys on
Contact Center Productivity
Knowlagent – a leading agent productivity solution for the world’s 10 million
call center agents – conducted two surveys designed to better understand
key issues around managing contact centers and how these challenges
impact overall business goals. The surveys focused on:
• performance and productivity • technology
• training and coaching • corporate culture
Productivity: Priority #1
The majority of call center executives say increasing agent productivity is their top contact
center management challenge for the year ahead. They report their concerns in 2012 are:
59% Increasing productivity
41% Aligning corporate goals and call center staff goals
40% Budget/funding restraints
30% Integrating online inquiries
with existing call center staff
20% Allocating staff resources
to online channels
6% Don’t know/unsure
2% Other Multiple responses permitted

2. Knowlagent Surveys on
Contact Center Productivity
We Want Outperformers!
An overwhelming number of respondents, 96%,
say improving performance of contact center agents is
“very important” or “important.” Call center executives When measuring agent performance, contact center
are seeking to improve agent performance to: executives draw on many metrics, including:
Increase customer satisfaction Average time handling a call
81% 78%
Increase first call resolution Quality assurance scores
72% 69%
Improve agent satisfaction Customer satisfaction levels for customers whose calls they handle
65% 61%
Make better use of agents’ idle time Total time they spend handling calls
37% 42%
Reduce agent turnover Time spent on after-call work
30% 40%
Improve customer effort scores Percentage of calls they transfer
27% 27%
Increase time agents spend on training Value of sales made
26% 19%
Increase time agents spend on coaching Net promoter scores for customers whose calls they handle
26% 17%
Increase time agents spend on answering calls Training scores
24% 14%
Reduce agent head count Percentage of calls they place on hold
19% 14%
Increase net promoter scores Amount of time they spend on training
19% 9%
Increase time agents spend answering other client needs
17%
Satisfy regulatory requirements
14% Multiple responses permitted Multiple responses permitted
Every Second Counts
Agents have an overall average of 49 minutes of
idle time – wait time between calls – daily, according
to contact center executives. They reported the amount of The majority of idle time occurs in less than three-minute
idle time per employee per day is: time slots. When it does occur, the reported occurrence is:
27% Less than 15 minutes
Don’t less than
know 1 minute
19% 16 to 30 minutes
more than
13% 12%
5 minutes
11% 31 to 60 minutes
4 to 5
7%
2.5 minute
minutes 1 to 2 average
16% 1 to 2 hours 7% minutes
29%
3 to 4
minutes
6% More than 2 hours
7%
2 to 3
minutes
20% Don’t?know/unsure ? ? ? ?
? ? ? ?
18%

3. Knowlagent Surveys on
Contact Center Productivity
Utilizing Agent Idle Time
Contact center executives have a number of activities
they’d like agents to complete during idle time, including:
56% Doing other
off-phone work
56% Doing other
off-phone work
by a workforce
management
40% Responding to interactions
via other channels
system
17%
40% Responding to interactions
via other channels by agents by supervisors
31% Receiving coaching
These tasks
are allocated:
making their
own decisions
59%
31% Receiving coaching 24%
20% Receiving online
training
20% Receiving online
training
But 40% of those polled say they are unable to allocate
tasks to agents who are idle because... Don’t 1 hour
know 6%
15% Timing is too
unpredictable
11%
15% Timing is too
unpredictable Agent idle time
The smallest 1 shift
14% Timeframes unit of time 18% 15 minutes
occurs on average
are too short used to 33%
in 2V minute
14% Timeframes
are too short
increments.
schedule agent
activity is:
11% No process
in place
30 minutes
32%
11% No process
in place
Multiple responses permitted
Organizing Off-Phone Work
Contact center leaders vary in how they structure off-phone work. When asked how structured, they report:
30%
28%
21%
16%
Highly structured:
Moderately structured:
Work is scheduled,
Lightly structured:
Work is completed
Not structured:
Work is completed 11%
Work is scheduled, but agents make during downtime, during downtime, Miscellaneous
with specific task their own decisions with specific task at agent’s Don’t know/unsure
instructions. on prioritizing work. instructions. discretion. Other
HIGH LOW

4. Knowlagent Surveys on
Contact Center Productivity
Training Gaps in Organizations
Training is one way for agents to utilize idle time, Call center leaders say agents are not receiving their
especially since almost half of call center leaders say targeted allocation of training because:
their agents do not receive training often. When asked
Service level requirements don’t allow enough time
about training frequency, they say agents receive it: 73%
Training is not available
Don’t know
27%
Time slots available for training aren’t long enough
/not sure
3%
Never Very 20%
4% frequently Supervisors are unable to identify training requirements
10% 18%
Training is too difficult to access
7% Multiple responses permitted
Not too Frequently
frequently 37%
46% Training agents has a positive impact on these six areas,
according to call center leaders:
Customer satisfaction
69%
Staff performance (results, sales)
62%
Staff productivity (efficiency, volume)
56%
Staff morale
48%
Regulatory compliance
45%
Staff turnover
33% Multiple responses permitted
About the Surveys
In 2011, Knowlagent commissioned Ventana Research and Unisphere Research to conduct
two separate surveys designed to better understand contact center operations. Survey
respondents included nearly 500 call center managers, executives and operations leaders
representing a mix of small to large, national and global companies across a wide range
of industries. All of the respondents managed inbound call centers, with many providing
support in a service center or help desk capacity. The majority of those questioned
managed full-time, on-site employees.
If you’re interested in a complete report with key findings from the surveys, visit
http://info.knowlagent.com/fastfacts.html.
About Knowlagent
Knowlagent, Inc. Knowlagent provides the only call center software that increases agent utilization by
11800 Amberpark Drive delivering shrinkage activities during idle time. Knowlagent creates active wait time
Suite 200
through dynamically delivered sessions for common shrinkage activities between customer
Alpharetta, GA 30009
888.566.9457 phone interactions. Knowlagent’s solutions are on-demand, easy to use and require no capital
678.356.3551 fax expenditures. More than 300,000 agents and managers around the world use Knowlagent’s
www.knowlagent.com solutions every day. To learn more about Knowlagent, visit www.knowlagent.com.