CONTACT CENTRES PUT CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS AT RISK WARNS STUDY

COMPANIES are risking damaging customer relationships through their contact centres, a study warns today.

Contact centre agents - being ordered to keep conversations short to meet call handling targets are leaving customers feeling rushed and confused, increasing the risk of losing them to competitors.

The danger, according to the report by Vocalis, lies in the paradox between companies setting objectives for their contact centres that focus on customer service and actually measuring their success on call handling statistics.

Vocalis' findings, detailed in the Voice of Business Report, show:

• A third of businesses say the prime purpose of their contact centres is to provide customer service, however only 4% actually measure the success of the contact centre based on customer satisfaction
• Over two-thirds measure success based on call handling volumes, and one third measure by minimising the duration of the call

Paul Wright, CEO of Vocalis, said: "This paradox of stated aims and actual measuring criteria is unhelpful to the contact centre business. If the aim is to provide a high level of customer service then the focus for the contact centre operation should be on that and not just meeting call handling targets.

However there is no reason why, by focusing on the customer service aspect, the overall operation cannot be efficient and other measurement criteria used, in the form of more qualitative methods such as customer surveys on the service levels.

Wright continues: "A contact centre is now a prime tool for communicating the brand values of a business and inspiring customer loyalty. If customers feel they are not getting the quality of service they require and are not valued, they will move. They certainly wont recommend the business to others.

As a performance measure, shifting calls is typically sixteen times as important as delivering a good customer experience. So some call agents are being motivated to deliver volume rather than focus on customer service aspects."

Vocalis works with organisations to build their brands and businesses through their contact centres. Its Voice of Business Report, published in full in January 2003 examines a range of issues surrounding contact centres and how businesses can use them to build their brands to achieve commercial success.

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