Productivity: Priority #1 The majority of call center executives say increasing agent productivity is their top contact center management challenge for the year ahead. They report their concerns in 2012 are:

Knowlagent – a leading agent productivity solution for the world’s 10 million

call center agents – conducted two surveys designed to better understand

key issues around managing contact centers and how these challenges

impact overall business goals. The surveys focused on:

• performance and productivity • technology

• training and coaching • corporate culture

Knowlagent Surveys on Contact Center Productivity

59%

41%

40%

30%

20%

6%

2% Other

Don’t know/unsure

Increasing productivity

Aligning corporate goals and call center staff goals

Budget/funding restraints

Integrating online inquiries with existing call center staff

Allocating staff resourcesto online channels

Multiple responses permittedOther

Don’t know/unsure

Knowlagent Surveys on Contact Center Productivity

We Want Outperformers! An overwhelming number of respondents, 96%, say improving performance of contact center agents is “very important” or “important.” Call center executives are seeking to improve agent performance to:

Every Second Counts Agents have an overall average of 49 minutes of idle time – wait time between calls – daily, according to contact center executives. They reported the amount of idle time per employee per day is:

81%72%65%

19%

27%

24%

37%

26%

30%

26%

14%17%19%

Increase customer satisfaction

Increase first call resolution

Improve agent satisfaction

Make better use of agents’ idle time

Reduce agent turnover

Improve customer effort scores

Increase time agents spend on training

Increase time agents spend on coaching

Increase time agents spend on answering calls

Reduce agent head count

Increase net promoter scores

Increase time agents spend answering other client needs

Satisfy regulatory requirements

Multiple responses permitted

Less than 15 minutes27%16 to 30 minutes19%31 to 60 minutes11%1 to 2 hours16%More than 2 hours6%Don’t know/unsure20% ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

78%69%61%

14%

27%

14%

42%

19%

40%

17%

9%

Multiple responses permitted

Average time handling a call

Quality assurance scores

Customer satisfaction levels for customers whose calls they handle

Total time they spend handling calls

Time spent on after-call work

Percentage of calls they transfer

Value of sales made

Net promoter scores for customers whose calls they handle

Training scores

Percentage of calls they place on hold

Amount of time they spend on training

When measuring agent performance, contact center executives draw on many metrics, including:

1 to 2 minutes29%

2 to 3minutes

18%

more than5 minutes

7%4 to 5

minutes7%

3 to 4minutes

7%

Don’tknow

13%

less than1 minute12%

The majority of idle time occurs in less than three-minute time slots. When it does occur, the reported occurrence is:

2.5 minute average

Utilizing Agent Idle TimeContact center executives have a number of activities they’d like agents to complete during idle time, including:

56%

40%

31%

20%

15%

14%

11% No process in place

Timeframes are too short

Doing otheroff-phone work

Responding to interactionsvia other channels

Receiving coaching

Receiving onlinetraining

Timing is toounpredictable

by supervisors59%

by a workforcemanagement

system17%

by agents making their

own decisions24%

But 40% of those polled say they are unable to allocate tasks to agents who are idle because...

These tasks are allocated:

The smallest unit of time used to schedule agent activity is:

Knowlagent Surveys on Contact Center Productivity

Organizing Off-Phone WorkContact center leaders vary in how they structure off-phone work. When asked how structured, they report:

30%

16%

28%

21%

11%Moderately structured: Work is scheduled, but agents make

their own decisions on prioritizing work.

Highly structured: Work is scheduled,with specific task

instructions.

Lightly structured: Work is completedduring downtime, with specific task

instructions.

Not structured: Work is completedduring downtime,

at agent’s discretion.

MiscellaneousDon’t know/unsure

OtherHIGH LOW

56%

40%

31%

20%

15%

14%

11% No process in place

Timeframes are too short

Doing otheroff-phone work

Responding to interactionsvia other channels

Receiving coaching

Receiving onlinetraining

Timing is toounpredictable

Multiple responses permitted

15 minutes33%

30 minutes32%

1 shift18%

Don’tknow

11%

1 hour6%

Agent idle time occurs on average in 2V minute increments.

Training Gaps in OrganizationsTraining is one way for agents to utilize idle time, especially since almost half of call center leaders say their agents do not receive training often. When asked about training frequency, they say agents receive it:

Knowlagent Surveys on Contact Center Productivity

Knowlagent, Inc.11800 Amberpark DriveSuite 200Alpharetta, GA 30009888.566.9457 phone678.356.3551 faxwww.knowlagent.com

About the SurveysIn 2011, Knowlagent commissioned Ventana Research and Unisphere Research to conduct two separate surveys designed to better understand contact center operations. Survey respondents included nearly 500 call center managers, executives and operations leaders representing a mix of small to large, national and global companies across a wide range of industries. All of the respondents managed inbound call centers, with many providing support in a service center or help desk capacity. The majority of those questioned managed full-time, on-site employees.

If you’re interested in a complete report with key findings from the surveys, visit http://info.knowlagent.com/fastfacts.html.

About KnowlagentKnowlagent provides the only call center software that increases agent utilization by delivering shrinkage activities during idle time. Knowlagent creates active wait time through dynamically delivered sessions for common shrinkage activities between customer interactions. Knowlagent’s solutions are on-demand, easy to use and require no capital expenditures. More than 300,000 agents and managers around the world use Knowlagent’s solutions every day. To learn more about Knowlagent, visit www.knowlagent.com.

Veryfrequently10%

Never4%

Don’t know/not sure

3%

Frequently37%

Not toofrequently

46%

69%62%

33%45%48%56%

Customer satisfaction

Staff performance (results, sales)

Staff productivity (efficiency, volume)

Staff morale

Regulatory compliance

Staff turnoverMultiple responses permitted

Training agents has a positive impact on these six areas, according to call center leaders:

73%27%20%18%7%

Service level requirements don’t allow enough time

Training is not available

Time slots available for training aren’t long enough

Supervisors are unable to identify training requirements

Training is too difficult to access

Multiple responses permitted

Call center leaders say agents are not receiving their targeted allocation of training because: