7 Strategies to Achieve First Call Resolution in Your Customer Support

Many businesses have turned to tools such as IP phone services to provide higher levels of customer support.

16:01 07 December 2021

Customer satisfaction is everything in business. Without happy patrons, how can we build brand loyalty? The answer, of course, is that we can’t. That’s why many businesses have turned to tools such as IP phone services to provide higher levels of customer support.

 

Underlining this, 61% of consumers say that they have stopped transacting with a business after a poor service experience. Without brand loyalty, we will fail to sell products or services and our businesses will not survive.

 

You might say “tell me something I don’t know”. But, are you certain you’re providing the best levels of customer satisfaction you can? 

 

A huge part of your customer service may come via call center support. Now more than ever, customers want fast and fulfilling experiences over the phone. They don’t want to be waiting around or making multiple calls to solve a problem.

 

To be sure that you’re providing the best customer support in your call centers, you need two things; a way of measuring the happiness of customers, and the ability to gauge the success of your call center agents. Luckily, First Call Resolution (FCR) provides both of these.

 

What is First Call Resolution?

As the name suggests, FCR measures a call center’s ability to resolve issues for customers on the first call. High levels of FCR mean that customers are leaving satisfied.

 

Keeping an eye on FCR is a no-brainer for businesses that provide customer service over the phone.

 

How do I Calculate FCR?

Luckily, it’s pretty straightforward to calculate FCR. Take the number of customers whose inquiry was resolved during a first call, and divide it by the total number of unique customers who made inquiries. Then times by 100, to get a percentage.

 

Alongside other metrics such as your online retail analytics, your FCR level can be a useful indicator of overall business success as well as the effectiveness of your call center. But what can your business do to achieve a high FCR score? 

 

These seven simple steps will set you on the right path:

 

1. Look for Common Complaints 

 

 

Your call centers will take on a variety of calls talking about many issues. It’s tempting to focus on areas of success. Take a moment, however, to assess the calls where things aren’t going to plan. Despite the multitude of issues tackled by your customer support teams, there may be some similarity in calls that are failing to achieve FCR.

 

Once you’ve found a list of common complaints that are holding back FCR, you can start to look at solutions to prevent them. Perhaps there’s a glitch with a certain product, and your agent is not equipped with the information that properly helps a customer. In this situation, you can present agents with instructions for resolving the issue.

 

When your agents are unable to provide first call resolution, too, there are still steps that you can take to prevent customers from having to make a second call. For instance, you could invest in a call-back system that alerts a client that their issue has been resolved.

 

1. Don’t Make Customers Wait

As anyone who has ever had a bad experience with customer service knows, little is more annoying than being transferred from call to call. It can be time-consuming and extremely frustrating. If a customer has to wait too long between calls, they may hang up. Things get even worse when a client is transferred to the wrong department!

 

Every time one of your agents transfers a call, it should be seen as a moment of reduced customer satisfaction. Make sure that a call transfer is seen as a last resort for agents. Ensure that they have been equipped with the appropriate knowledge to handle customer issues.

 

Another issue that irritates customers is having calls that end unexpectedly due to poor phone lines. This forces customers to make a second call. 

 

To improve call quality and reduce the risk of crashing, invest in VoIP technology. You may ask, what is VoIP technology? VoIP uses the internet to provide a cheaper and higher quality alternative to traditional telephony. 

 

1. Don’t Forget to Educate

 

If you’re truly serious about increasing your FCR score, education can be a valuable option. Remember, education doesn’t just have to apply only to FCR. By taking the time to grow their knowledge, employees can improve a whole range of business metrics.

 

There are few (if any) people that don’t require some form of learning. Training should be seen as a benefit, not some sort of punishment. Even agents that excel at their jobs can benefit from additional skills.

 

You should allow time for your agents to read learning resources. Make education as engaging and accessible as possible. One option is to utilize the cloud to create a space where employees can easily access materials. Have employees look at a consumer profile. By better understanding customers, they will be able to solve their problems more easily.

 

Using the cloud means that resources are online 24/7, and available to anyone in the workplace (or working remotely).

 

1. Utilize Training to Improve Effectiveness

Reading and other learning resources can be extremely useful, but sometimes, you might need to go the extra step.

 

On the job and cross-training can be a fantastic option. Not only can it improve FCR rates, but also boost employee engagement; 92% of employees said that well-planned employee training programs positively affect their level of engagement.

 

If you’re unfamiliar with the term, cross-training refers to exposing employees to a variety of different roles within the workplace. When it comes to FCR, there will be some calls that certain agents will be unable to resolve. This doesn’t mean that these callers cannot be helped, but rather that an agent does not yet have the skills to help them.

 

Cross-training can help broaden the knowledge of your workers, allowing them to resolve more calls the first time around. Although it may cost a little extra, you should never underestimate the value of training. If you need to cut costs, elsewhere, look at cost-efficient tech alternatives, such as hosted VoIP PBX.

 

1. Dedicate Teams for Tougher Calls

There will always be some calls that cannot be resolved without a follow-up. These calls can often take longer, meaning that customers with simple calls have to wait longer. Long wait times are never ideal, damaging a customer’s experience before they’ve even reached an agent. The simple solution is to allocate separate teams for more complex calls.

 

This means that callers with simple problems are not forced to wait, and those with complex issues can be given the time and expertise that they need. Make use of pre-recorded messages with IVR voice, to make sure customers are sent to the correct team. 

 

1. Take Time to Listen

 

One of the biggest factors in preventing FCR, is the failure of an agent to properly take in what a customer is saying. It might be tempting for an employee to rush through a call so that they can move on to the next. 

 

In reality, this will probably have the opposite effect to what was intended. By rushing, an agent might miss key information meaning that the call takes longer to complete.

 

Promote active listening by your employees to get the best results. Active listening involves taking the time to hear, not only the words being said, but the complete message being communicated. 

 

For maximum clarity, your agents should frequently ask questions. Agents should also repeat a customer’s statements to be sure that they heard them correctly.

 

By paying attention and practicing active listening, agents stand a much greater chance of resolving an issue on the first call.

 

1. FCR Doesn’t Just Apply to Phone Calls

Gone are the days when the phone call was the only option for communicating with customers. Today, businesses have a multitude of options for creating dialog. To achieve success, an organization must give equal priority to all of its communication channels.

 

Whether you’re dealing with a customer issue via email, social media, or text chat, you should ensure that you are providing a fast and effective service. This means investing in faster fiber optic internet to facilitate quick responses to queries, among other tech improvements.

 

No customer will be happy if they’re forced to deal with a long string of emails. Instead, they will be left with the same bad taste as someone who has had to sit through multiple calls.

 

A business should establish FCR (in this case, First Contact Resolution) goals for each method of communication. Allocate specialists in each area to provide the best FCR levels. You could also track othercustomer experience KPIs to be sure that you are providing the best service across all channels, as well as maintaining FCR levels.

 

Make FCR a Priority

If it isn’t already, FCR should be central when dealing with any form of communication with customers. No customer wants to be left waiting around for a resolution to their problem. Without a strong FCR score, you will have low levels of customer satisfaction and a reduced reputation.

 

So, start working on your FCR goals across all channels—you can even utilize task management software to ensure you’re on the right path.

 

If you don’t maintain high levels of FCR, it’s a sure thing that your competitors will. If you’re not careful, you might find your customers going elsewhere. So don’t underestimate the importance of FCR. If you follow the simple steps here, you’ll be well on your way to providing the best level of customer support.

 

Bio:

John Allen - Director, SEO, 8x8

John Allen is the Director of SEO for 8x8, a leading communication platform with integrated contact center, voice, video, call tracking pris, and chat functionality. John is a marketing professional with over 14 years experience in the field, and an extensive background in building and optimizing digital marketing programs across SEM, SEO, and a myriad of services. This is his LinkedIn.