Contact centers have evolved from handling customer issues to serving as strategic drivers of customer satisfaction, brand loyalty and even revenue generation. However, as explored in the CX Network report Benchmarking contact center efficiency: Key metrics and best practices, the challenge of choosing the right performance metrics remains.
While customer satisfaction is universally valued, disparate industries such as healthcare, finance and retail require tailored metrics to meet their distinct needs. Each sector requires a nuanced approach in aligning metrics with strategic objectives to drive maximum impact.
Healthcare: Prioritizing patient trust and care quality
In healthcare, where interactions directly impact patient wellbeing, metrics like average handle time (AHT) should take a back seat to measures that assess the quality and completeness of support.
According to Nicole Cable, former CXO of CareMax and chief people and experience officer at Blue Zones Health, AHT can actually be counterproductive in healthcare settings, as it pressures agents to rush through calls, potentially compromising patient satisfaction.
Cable recalls a specific incident to illustrate why AHT may not be ideal for the health sector. An agent at her organization once received a routine call to schedule an appointment but soon realized the patient was in crisis. “Had we had that pressure where the agent felt they had to get off the call, we might have lost somebody that day,” Cable explains.
As this example demonstrates, there is a need for a more patient-centered approach in healthcare metrics – one that places empathy and responsiveness above speed.
Cable emphasizes that healthcare agents often need to spend extra time with patients to fully address their concerns. She believes healthcare organizations should prioritize net promoter score (NPS) and customer satisfaction (CSat) metrics to gauge patients’ trust and confidence in the organization, as well as call abandonment rates.
NPS is an especially helpful tool for understanding how likely patients are to recommend the healthcare provider, which can indirectly reflect the quality of the service provided.
Cable also highlights first contact resolution (FCR) as an especially useful metric in the health sector, as it ensures patients get the answers they need without needing to follow up.
Finance: Building trust through accuracy and resolution
FCR is also a key metric in finance. Trust is obviously paramount in the industry and FCR can help to gauge an organization’s ability to provide precise and comprehensive solutions.
Ledi Lapaj, director of CX at Bank-al-Etihad, notes that customers value quick and accurate problem-solving. By resolving issues on the first contact, financial organizations build credibility and meet customer expectations for reliable support. FCR can also offer insight into whether customers’ high expectations for accuracy and compliance are being met.
CSat is another valuable metric in finance when used to capture immediate feedback on interactions. Real-time surveys, conducted post-contact, allow financial institutions to identify trends and issues early on, providing insights into areas that might require additional training or process adjustments. This immediate feedback loop helps contact centers keep a finger on the pulse of customer sentiment and resolve issues that could affect long-term satisfaction.
Skander Tayach, senior advisor of client experience at the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), highlights the importance of identifying relevant industry benchmarks to keep contact centers competitive. The information can be used as a complement to the ongoing system of call monitoring.
“For this we focus on two sets of data,” says Tayach. “The first is data related to efficiency, which includes accessibility, call duration and number of calls for resolution, from both an operational or productivity standpoint, and because clients value accessibility and efficiency as key satisfaction drivers, too. The other data are more directly related to value and satisfaction, for example agent’s expertise, quality of responses and empathy.”
Beyond customer-focused metrics, Lapaj emphasizes the value of employee satisfaction (ESat) in finance, as satisfied employees are more likely to provide high-quality service.
She adds: “Using quality monitoring through call audits or AI-driven sentiment analysis can uncover insights about customer efforts, compliance, customer needs and agent performance.”
Retail: Balancing efficiency with personalization
In retail, where speed and convenience are primary drivers, AHT is often seen as a way to boost efficiency and ensure customer expectations are being met. Retail customers typically seek quick, effective service and AHT offers a straightforward way to measure response times and operational productivity.
However, echoing her view on metrics for the healthcare industry, Nicole Cable warns against an overreliance on AHT, describing it as a “phantom metric” and warning of the impact on the patient satisfaction score. “That is something we need to be mindful of,” she says.
Farley Fernandes, senior manager of customer experience at Adidas, agrees with Cable on the need to keep an eye on CSat scores, emphasizing that the human touch remains an essential aspect of customer interactions. While tools like chatbots and IVRs improve speed and AHT, Fernandes notes that retail customers still value being treated as individuals.
“Nowadays we have this hype around tools, which is important, but the human side really stands out,” he says. “Even though customers expect self-service, they praise you a lot when they are treated like a person and they can interact with a person who understands them.”
Fernandes also points out the value of training teams to be customer centric, and agent training programs that ensure agents can provide both efficient and empathetic service.
The retail sector is also particularly sensitive to cost-per-contact metrics, which help organizations manage operational costs in a high-volume environment. This metric allows contact centers to analyze expenses associated with customer interactions, from staffing to technology, and make adjustments as needed to improve cost efficiency. However, Fernandes points out that overemphasis on overheads can negatively affect customer experience.
Tailoring metrics to industry needs
The best contact centers do more than track metrics – they leverage them to create a supportive environment for agents and customers alike. As the experts highlight, empowering agents with the right training, tools and support can drive stronger performance across all metrics, from FCR to NPS.
By tailoring metrics to industry needs, contact centers not only improve operational efficiency but also contribute to the broader success of their organizations, reinforcing their role as essential strategic assets.
To find out more, read our full report on benchmarking contact center efficiency via key metrics and best practice. You can also access our webinar featuring insights from Nicole Cable and Edwin Margulies, chief evangelist, Nextiva.