Reporting – is your contact centre using the best?
28 March 2011
By: Paul Fick, MD of Spescom DataFusion, a Jasco Group company
Contact centres are dealing with increasing complexity in a highly competitive arena. To be profitable, operations need to be cost efficient and outputs need to meet performance goals and promises. Reporting is core to achieving this.
Without accurate, relevant and timely reports on performance, whether that be people, campaigns or technology, it’s hard for contact centre managers and administrators to manage and control operations and to get the best, most cost-efficient results. Even though reporting is built into most contact centre solutions, it’s important to continuously assess whether the reporting solution you use is optimum.
There are three key report classes you cannot be without – historical reports, real-time reports and custom reports. Each has its benefits. A historical report will enable retrospective assessment of setup, operations and strategy, and allow for forward planning. Real-time reports allow for assessment of current performance and, if necessary, adaptation on the fly.
Custom reports will ensure key indicators or thresholds are set and monitored, or specific data sets are generated to ensure informed decision-making on critical issues.
Real-time reporting is especially important, giving contact centre management immediate insight into key metrics – for example, how many calls are in the queue or whether agreed Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are being met. Historical reporting, on the other hand, is very useful for planning.
Annual campaigns offer a useful example: with historical statistics on hand, the expected number of inbound calls can be predicted, which assists in planning how many agents will be needed.
However, for call centre managers the most useful reports are, without doubt, those that can consolidate what is happening across platforms, systems, channels and priorities.
Reporting software should be able to monitor and measure identified KPIs regardless of whether agents are doing inbound or outbound calls or a hybrid of these, and whether they are communicating with clients using voice or multimedia channels. In addition, agents should be able to add information, such as call classification, for use by the reporting solution. This will aid in providing information as to whether the contact centre is achieving first call resolution, and gives the call centre manager insight into key events, like what kinds of calls are coming in and whether agents are able to appropriately manage the calls.
Another key element of reporting is agent performance assessment and workforce management. Data and reports generated by contact centre specific solutions need to be able to integrate with business intelligence and performance management solutions, as well as the company’s HR applications and databases. This calls for open systems and platforms.
Reporting facilitates decision-making. Accurate, timely and relevant reporting – and a reporting solution that can integrate with other key data and applications — enables good decision-making. Ensure your solution meets basic standards and compare them to the best. Proven and highly rated reporting solutions are available and can add value to any contact centre
operation.- like the solutions of Presence Technology a strategic partner of Spescom DataFusion – provide a good benchmark.
About Spescom
Spescom (Pty) Ltd is a South African company recently acquired by Jasco. It has developed and delivered a number of world first technologies, as well as innovative products and services to both local and global markets.
Spescom’s core focus is to deliver integrated business communication solutions that enhance the way businesses communicate with their customers’
and leverages voice, video and data technologies through its four divisions:
Spescom DataFusion; Spescom DataVoice; Spescom Media IT and recently created NewTelco South Africa – a carrier-neutral co-location service provider creating a telecoms interconnection hub for sub-Saharan Africa. The deep technical expertise and considerable industry know-how housed in these four divisions combine to deliver world-class solutions including integrated contact centre platforms and applications, a range of voice application technologies, as well as telecommunications and broadcast solutions. ‘Smart People. Clever Solutions’ reflects who we are and why we are positioned to leverage current and future technology trends and developments to meet the dynamically shifting requirements of our customers and ensure their continued competitiveness.
The company has a staff complement of 258 with offices located in
Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and London (UK).
For more information about Spescom visit www.spescom.com.
About Presence Technology
Presence Technology is a leading provider of specialized Contact Centre software. Presence’s Solutions allow Contact Centres to optimize their resources and increase productivity between the business-client interfaces.
Manned by highly qualified professionals, Presence works with numerous world class companies and boasts a vast network of partners throughout South Africa, Europe, Latin America and the U.S. who stand behind and provide support for any project around the world.
For more information about Presence Technology visit www.presenceco.com
Follow us: www.twitter.com/presencetech
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For further information contact:
Stuart Vey
Group Executive: Marketing and Communications Spescom Limited
Tel: 011 266 1701
Or: 011 266 1754
Fax: 011 266 1553
Email: svey@za.spescom.com
Issued by:
Evolution PR
Sarah van Staden
Tel: 011 462 0679
Mobile: 0843276007
Email: sarah@evolutionpr.co.za
