Case Study: Reducing Staff Attrition by 17% at a FTSE100 Insurer
In this case study, read how The Modular Analytics
Company (“TMAC”) revolutionised a FTSE 100 insurer’s operations salesforce with
a new approach to people management grounded not just in data, but the right
data, reducing staff attrition by 17%.
The Context:
Working in call centres can be as difficult as it can be
rewarding. But many often see the former side of that proposition more
frequently than not; stress, anxiety and mental health related absences are
very common in large call centres across the country, and this leaves operation
centre leaders with a difficult challenge to solve. How can the environment be
adjusted or the management approach developed to create a new, less stressful
approach for agents so that work seems more rewarding than difficult?
The Challenge:
Many call centres use average handling time (AHT), abandonment
rate (AR) and net promoter score NPS) as key metrics to gauge agents’
performance. This seems logical but creates significant issues in moments of
peak demand. In an ideal world, agents would have low AHT, low AR and high NPS but
how possible is this? On the one hand, NPS is a function of the outcome of the
call and whilst it’s not always true that long calls=great outcomes, more often
than not short calls do not create great outcomes. Yet agents are incentivised
to get off the phone as quickly as possible to keep AHT And AR low. These
conflicting outcomes are confusing, conflicting and stressful.
To make matters worse, Net Promoter Score (NPS), a quantitative
indicator of customer satisfaction, where a customer will answer a survey based
on their willingness or propensity to promote the brand in question. But NPS is a metric riddled with issues, only
one of which we are concerned with here: how do operations managers train agents
to improve when one number is meant to represent not only consumer feelings
about the core product, but also the experience of using it, the agent’s
response to any issue, the solution defined by the agent or the amount of time
the customer waited on the phone?
The reductive quality of NPS means that the answer, for many
businesses, is that it just isn’t the right metric. This was the case for a
large FTSE 100 insurer that turned to TMAC for assistance with a very familiar
challenge: how might they improve agent well-being, reduce stress and in turn
improve outcomes for customers?
TMAC’s Work:
Our coaching strategists worked closely with our analytics specialists
and hand-in-hand with the client team to develop a new metric which was still
easy to understand as one number, but far more representative of the entire
customer experience. TMAC’s consultants are outcome-focused and believe that
data needs to be used effectively for it to mean anything, so it was important
to deliver on the challenge well. But what parts of the customer experience
needed to be represented?
The first objective was to choose metrics that would
represent only the customer’s experience of contacting the brand, rather than a
proxy for product satisfaction. For example, one indicator of customer
experience was the proportion of customers that were transferred to another
agent; no one likes to speak to multiple people when trying to solve a problem,
so it made sense to monitor this metric. It also added a layer of specificity
for managers so that when coaching agents, they could refer to a specific
improvement area.
These metrics were then (re-)framed for agents; average
handling time became “Talking to Your Customer,” whilst the percent of
customers transferred became “Customer Journey.” And, rather than confusing AHT
or AR, adherence became “Being There for Your Customer” and was paired with
“Contact Closure” (formerly wrap time).
Each of these metrics are scored, weighted and aggregated
into a top level metric that made it easy for agents and managers alike to
address and train agents to meet consumer needs in a more robust way, rather
than just meeting their needs. But the way the information was being presented
to agents was also important, so TMAC created a bespoke dynamic dashboard that
adjusted its view based on which agent was using it, ensuring both agent and
manager focus on the relevant metrics to improve performance.
The Results
In only 35 days, with clearer metrics that had clear
corresponding behaviours, managers were able to train agents more effectively
and create growth plans with more specific milestones to meet, reducing anxiety
and stress amongst the salesforce. This led to:
- · 17% reduction in attrition 2019 v 2018 and
lowest since 2016
- ·
A reduction in AHT
- ·
Engagement score up 9% (related to time spent
being coached)
- ·
Manager time spent coaching increased 60%
Get in touch with TMAC here.
In this case study, read how The Modular Analytics
Company (“TMAC”) revolutionised a FTSE 100 insurer’s operations salesforce with
a new approach to people management grounded not just in data, but the right
data, reducing staff attrition by 17%.
The Context:
Working in call centres can be as difficult as it can be
rewarding. But many often see the former side of that proposition more
frequently than not; stress, anxiety and mental health related absences are
very common in large call centres across the country, and this leaves operation
centre leaders with a difficult challenge to solve. How can the environment be
adjusted or the management approach developed to create a new, less stressful
approach for agents so that work seems more rewarding than difficult?
The Challenge:
Many call centres use average handling time (AHT), abandonment
rate (AR) and net promoter score NPS) as key metrics to gauge agents’
performance. This seems logical but creates significant issues in moments of
peak demand. In an ideal world, agents would have low AHT, low AR and high NPS but
how possible is this? On the one hand, NPS is a function of the outcome of the
call and whilst it’s not always true that long calls=great outcomes, more often
than not short calls do not create great outcomes. Yet agents are incentivised
to get off the phone as quickly as possible to keep AHT And AR low. These
conflicting outcomes are confusing, conflicting and stressful.
To make matters worse, Net Promoter Score (NPS), a quantitative
indicator of customer satisfaction, where a customer will answer a survey based
on their willingness or propensity to promote the brand in question. But NPS is a metric riddled with issues, only
one of which we are concerned with here: how do operations managers train agents
to improve when one number is meant to represent not only consumer feelings
about the core product, but also the experience of using it, the agent’s
response to any issue, the solution defined by the agent or the amount of time
the customer waited on the phone?
The reductive quality of NPS means that the answer, for many
businesses, is that it just isn’t the right metric. This was the case for a
large FTSE 100 insurer that turned to TMAC for assistance with a very familiar
challenge: how might they improve agent well-being, reduce stress and in turn
improve outcomes for customers?
TMAC’s Work:
Our coaching strategists worked closely with our analytics specialists
and hand-in-hand with the client team to develop a new metric which was still
easy to understand as one number, but far more representative of the entire
customer experience. TMAC’s consultants are outcome-focused and believe that
data needs to be used effectively for it to mean anything, so it was important
to deliver on the challenge well. But what parts of the customer experience
needed to be represented?
The first objective was to choose metrics that would
represent only the customer’s experience of contacting the brand, rather than a
proxy for product satisfaction. For example, one indicator of customer
experience was the proportion of customers that were transferred to another
agent; no one likes to speak to multiple people when trying to solve a problem,
so it made sense to monitor this metric. It also added a layer of specificity
for managers so that when coaching agents, they could refer to a specific
improvement area.
These metrics were then (re-)framed for agents; average
handling time became “Talking to Your Customer,” whilst the percent of
customers transferred became “Customer Journey.” And, rather than confusing AHT
or AR, adherence became “Being There for Your Customer” and was paired with
“Contact Closure” (formerly wrap time).
Each of these metrics are scored, weighted and aggregated
into a top level metric that made it easy for agents and managers alike to
address and train agents to meet consumer needs in a more robust way, rather
than just meeting their needs. But the way the information was being presented
to agents was also important, so TMAC created a bespoke dynamic dashboard that
adjusted its view based on which agent was using it, ensuring both agent and
manager focus on the relevant metrics to improve performance.
The Results
In only 35 days, with clearer metrics that had clear
corresponding behaviours, managers were able to train agents more effectively
and create growth plans with more specific milestones to meet, reducing anxiety
and stress amongst the salesforce. This led to:
- · 17% reduction in attrition 2019 v 2018 and
lowest since 2016
- ·
A reduction in AHT
- ·
Engagement score up 9% (related to time spent
being coached)
- ·
Manager time spent coaching increased 60%
Get in touch with TMAC here.
