Gain Greater Perspective With Data Insights
Hindsight is 20/20.
It’s easier to look back at a decision after the dust has settled and the pressure from project managers and stakeholders has passed. In today’s world, technology is getting smarter – filled with automation and data that keeps getting bigger. This translates to a smaller margin for error, meaning that quick decisions based on facts and data insights are crucial.
The hindsight perspective is very relevant when discussing all the decisions call centers need to make daily to run effectively and efficiently. There is no time to look back, so we must look forward.
Let’s look at a few ways call center operators can define, develop, communicate and gain greater perspective with call center data insights.
How do I get the most out of my call center data?
Start by defining your goal and make a plan to build around questions you need answering.
Without a clear goal, your team’s plan to analyze data and find answers to questions like…
“What agents are dropping calls?”
“What type of products create more value and customer satisfaction?
“What products are getting returned the least?”
…can end in a confusion of insights and endless questions.
Creating a hypothesis for these scenarios will help frame your data in the context of the questions you are trying to answer. For example, a query may be…
“What effect does agent availability have on customer retention?”
“What type of conversations convert to sales; email, voice or chat?”
“What day of the week are my agents the busiest?
The latter question can help open the door to asking the “Why?” From there, you can start to build scenarios for a complete story.
Knowing the answers to these questions can push you to understand your customers and make plans to drive higher retention and profits.
A quick look at history teaches us the value of data and looking for the why.
During World War II, fighter planes would come back from battle with bullet holes. The Allies found the areas most commonly hit by enemy fire and sought to strengthen the most commonly damaged parts of the planes to reduce the number that got shot down.
A mathematician, Abraham Wald, pointed out that perhaps there was another way to look at the data. Perhaps some planes came back with certain areas not covered in bullet holes because the planes that were shot in those areas did not return. This insight led to reinforcing the armor on the plane’s parts with no bullet holes, which undoubtedly reduced the total number of casualties in the war.
The story behind the data is arguably more important than the data itself. More precisely, the reason behind why we are missing certain pieces of data may be more meaningful than the data we have.
Don’t only listen to what is being said; listen more to what is not being said.
Develop a Data Insights Analysis Plan
Generally speaking, every data insight is different – context, story, purpose and starting questions all play a considerable role in approaching each data insight. You must be flexible in your approach to analyzing the data.
Here are a few basic ways you can do this:
- Collect and clean: Every call center is swimming in data — agent conversations, consumer transactions and customer data, to name a few. Using software tools like call center business analytics can help your contact center stay organized.
- Appoint specialized personnel: While not everyone can afford a dedicated team for data collection, analysis and process, you should aim to have an individual take point. This will help later with communication.
- Look at the obvious: Addressing the most apparent data trends upfront may be the answer you are looking for, so don’t be scared to address that up front. It doesn’t need to be complex or profound.
Let the data tell the story, and don’t form your opinion before digging into what the data holds. This will help you avoid any bias you may have before looking at the complete picture.
Communicate Data Insight Deliverables
After executing the plan, it’s time to bring it all together. Look at trends and create your calls to action around those, and you will often uncover insights into what is really going on, good and bad. As mentioned before, a call center can find those data nuggets to help improve their customer experience and even help drive additional profit.
So share the results and takeaways with your call center managers, operations and stakeholders to help achieve your goals for improvement. They will help build a framework and culture of decision-making and process improvement.
Thousands of call centers use TCN’s software, Operator, with its robust data and business intelligence solutions to overcome data analysis challenges.
For a closer look at TCN, be sure to request a demo and start leveraging the most powerful contact center platform in the industry.
About the Author:
Mckay Bird is the Chief Marketing Officer for TCN, a leading provider of cloud-based call center technology for enterprises, contact centers, BPOs, and collection agencies worldwide. Mckay oversees all marketing operations, campaigns and conferences including; content production, email marketing, and other inbound marketing activities.