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All you need to know about ASA in the call centers

ASA stands for “Average Speed of Answer”.

ASA is a call center key performance indicator (KPI) typically referenced by managers while assessing their team’s performance, efficacy and degree of accessibility to their callers. It is a term pertaining to the service industry where it is also known as “Average Seconds to Answer” and “Average Time to Answer” (ATA). It is further defined as the average waiting time for a caller before he is acknowledged by a service representative.

The mathematical formula is:

Average Speed of Answer = Total Waiting Time for Answered Calls/Total Number of Answered Calls

ASA
ASA

Factors affecting ASA:

1. Customer satisfaction:

Customer satisfaction is associated with an average speed of answer. This is because the time spent queueing is one of the main factors that affect how customers judge the level of service. Low waiting times do not automatically indicate high CSat. Customer satisfaction is understood from the contact center’s perspective. It starts from the instant when the customer is placed in a queue after they have navigated IVR. As a matter of fact, long or confusing IVR processes can lead to a bad customer experience. This is because lengthy IVR processes cause frustration in the customers. Moreover, they make the customer experience much more drawn out than the ASA figures would ideally indicate.

2. Call abandonment rate:

Call abandon rate is yet another factor that affects the average speed of answer data. In the cases where customers end the calls before they are connected to an agent, their calls do not count towards the ASA figure. Various factors may be responsible for the agents abandoning a call. Of all the possible reasons, a prolonged wait has the highest probability of triggering call abandonment. As a result, the worst offenders, in terms of answer speed, are often discounted from the understanding of the actual figure.

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All you need to know about workforce management

Workforce management is a term used for an institutional process that maximizes performance levels and competency for an organization. This process consists of all the activities needed to maintain a productive workforce, such as field service management, human resource management, performance and training management, data collection, recruiting, budgeting, forecasting, scheduling, and analytics. In other words, workforce management is an integrated set of processes that call centers use to optimize the productivity of its agents on the individual, departmental, and entity-wide levels. It also includes determining and providing schedules, forecasting, and adherence for a workforce in their future events.

Workforce management
Workforce management

The process provides a common set of performance-based tools and software for the service optimization in corporate management, front-line supervisors, store managers and workers across manufacturing, distribution, transportation, and retail operations.

Workforce management 2
Workforce management 2

The solutions using this management process can be deployed enterprise-wide and through mobile platforms. By using a software solution for demand-oriented workforce management, planners can optimize staffing by creating schedules that obey the forecasted requirements at all times. Moreover, it helps users to observe all relevant legislation, local agreements and the contracts of individual employees including work-life balance guidelines.

Workforce management solutions
Workforce management solutions

These efficient solutions are meant to satisfy the reality of the work that is being presented to agents. These solutions help the agents to inculcate a pool of in-depth and specific talent to be available in order to satisfy customers fully. Some of these talents include:

i) good listening ability

ii) familiarity with keyboard and IT skills and a

iii) knowledge of the business they are working in

iv) familiarity with either specific customers or customer subsets

v) specific technical knowledge

vi) exceptional customer experience and empowerment for the customer

vii) language skills (both in domestic and international markets)

viii) ability to deal with multimedia interactions

ix) Similar regional accent to the caller (where applicable).

Workforce management solutions
Workforce management solutions

 

 

 

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Benefits of co- browse technology: III

1. Increased grade of customer engagement:

An increased grade of customer engagement is one more benefit offered by co- browse technology. Co-browsing teaches customers how to do things rapidly and effectively. Moreover, proactive invitations to shop together drive customer engagement, giving agents the ability to make offers, answer questions, and provide the help needed to close more sales as actively engaged customers convert. Co-browsing feature is of potential use to serve the customers that aren’t tech savvy.

Customer engagement
Customer engagement

2. Boosted e-commerce sales:

Co- browsing is not just meant for instant query resolution or instant guidance through the purchase process. In fact, agents engaged in a co-shopping session can be trained to up-sell, cross-sell, and encourage opt-in for future sales opportunities. These offers may include joining a mailing list, connecting on social media, subscribing newsletters and more.

Increased sales
Increased sales

3. Identify the weak points and help in customer service improvement:

Co-browsing can actually be used to monitor or keep a track of customer queries through screen shots of issues. These screen shots can be used for knowledge base, training, or bug fixes. It helps companies maintain real-time visibility into the customer experience and further assist in improving the customer service.

Co- browsing screenshots
Co- browsing screenshots

4. Enhanced buyer experience:

 

According to a study conducted by Forester, co-browsing has the highest customer satisfaction ratings of any customer support tool. The study shows that live-assist communication channels like phone, chat, co-browse have much higher satisfaction ratings than asynchronous electronic channels such as email, web self-service. Satisfaction ratings as stated by the above mentioned study are as follows: phone (74%), chat (69%), co-browse (78%), email (54%), and web self-service (47%). Thus, the study clearly proves that with co-browsing the customer achieves another level of customer service. Many a times it is seen that the customers ask the agent to co-browse because they understand that co-browsing will easily resolve the issue that too faster.

Enhanced buyer experience
Enhanced buyer experience