9 Actionable Tips for Call Center Cost Reduction

A call center management is more than just handling customers’ queries over the phone, and it requires a proper functioning of agents’ performance and other parameters, such as software, chatbots, call handling, productivity of agents, and compliance.

They might counter challenges in cost management, such as employee salaries, infrastructure, technology, and training. The average cost of handling a customer is approximately $2.70 to $5.67, and cost management is a major headache for COOs (Chief Operating Officer). Call centers must deliver fast and efficient assistance, putting intense pressure on agents.

The COOs can use some actionable tips to cut costs on call handling and maintain sustainable growth without breaking the bank. They can use actionable parameters, such as improving the average handling time (AHT), first call resolution, and productivity of agents, to ensure streamlined operations. They can also implement AI and automation software, and chatbots to experience call center cost reduction.

Employee Management Software can be the perfect solution for COOs to boost the productivity of agents without breaking the bank. It automatically monitors employees, trains them to focus on the clean desk policy and security compliance. It also automatically captures screenshots and tracks the location of agents to provide real-time data and boost their performance.

This blog will guide you through 9 actionable tips that can help COOs cut costs on call center expenses.

Calculating Average Call Cost of Call Center

It is crucial to know the exact call handling cost before implementing the actionable tips to reduce operational costs. The calculation for average cost depends on various factors, such as:

• Salary of agents
• Average Call Duration
• Call Holding Time

You can use this simple formula to calculate the average call-handling cost:

Average Call Handling Cost = Total Operating Costs ÷ Total Number of Calls.

For example, let’s assume an agent named Sam handles 10 calls daily, and his operational cost is around $100, the Average Call Handling Cost is:

$100 / 10 = $10.

Top Secret Tips to Reduce Call Costs

It is crucial to find smart ways to lower call center expenses without compromising service quality. Prioritize improving Average Handling Time (AHT) and First Call Resolution (FCR), conducting regular agent training, leveraging AI-driven chatbots, employing remote workers, and implementing self-service portals.

1. Improve Average Handling Time (AHT)

The average call handling time is 6 minutes. It increases efficiency and cost savings. Train agents for rapid and concise responses, use scripts and knowledge bases, and reduce hold times by keeping systems updated to reduce AHT.

2. Enhance First Call Resolution (FCR)

COO can improve FCR by training agents to know customer requirements and providing complete responses, simplifying processes, and making information easily accessible. Monitoring FCR regularly detects problems for early resolution, which benefits customers and call center teams.

3. Provide Regular Training to Agents

Systematic training improves call center agents’ skills, confidence, and familiarity with policies and customer service procedures. Training helps you handle calls efficiently with fewer errors, saving the business money.

Training must cover difficult customers, the use of software, and security procedures, in addition to communication, problem-solving, and product knowledge.

4. Use AI-based Chatbots and Voice assistants

AI-powered chatbots and voice assistants are affordable call center solutions that respond to routine customer inquiries, allowing agents to deal with more complicated problems. They are present 24/7, eliminating waiting time and enhancing efficiency. As AI tools improve continuously, they can learn to solve more problems, reducing costs and enhancing customer experience.

5. Hire Remote Employees

Remote employees can cut call center expenses by avoiding the need for office space, reducing rent, utilities, and equipment. Remote agents have increased job satisfaction, lower turnover, and can be recruited from locations with lower labor costs. Cloud-based software and communication tools facilitate collaboration, ensuring better service than in-house staff.

6. Monitor Employee’s Performance and Compliance

Monitoring measures such as AHT, FCR, and customer satisfaction rate are areas of concern. Adherence to company policies, such as data privacy and confidentiality, is also vital. A Clean Desk Policy, constant audits, and training keep agents maintaining strict standards.

7. Use Self-Service Portal to Cut Inbound Calls

It provides FAQs, troubleshooting instructions, account management, and order tracking to resolve basic issues at their convenience. 24/7 access enhances customer satisfaction and lowers wait times, enabling agents to concentrate on complex cases.

8. Regularly Monitor the KPI of Agents

Key performance indicators (KPIs) such as Average Handling Time, First Call Resolution, and Customer Satisfaction are essential for call center productivity and cost savings. They provide areas for improvement, feedback, agent training, peak call volumes, and top issues.

9. Optimize Call Scheduling AI-powered Employee Management Software

AI-powered Employee management software optimizes call center scheduling by forecasting high call volumes and automatically allocating the optimal number of agents. It uses previous data to adjust in real-time, minimizing idle time, honoring service level agreements, and decreasing overtime expense.

How wAnywhere’s Innovative Employee Management Software can help Call Centers in Cost-Cutting

wAnywhere is a one-stop platform that offers solutions like productivity monitoring and AI compliance security. With this, you can track how, when, and where your employees work to get actionable workforce analytics in real-time. These detailed productivity and performance metrics will help identify call center productivity bottlenecks, agents’ work patterns, and their activity at every moment—from login to logout.

In addition, wAnywhere’s AI compliance solution monitors compliance every second to flag real-time data breaches and unusual activities, and it also provides automated incident responses in real-time so that you can take proactive measures for data safety. With wAnywhere, get proof of work on how your agents handle sensitive data at every moment of their work to ensure they are complying with global compliance standards. No matter whether your workforce works remotely, in a hybrid model, or in an in-office environment, wAnywhere is compatible with every team and easily integrates with your tech stack to ensure smoother operations.

Having in-depth breakdown activity reports of every employee, you can measure how much time agents spend on calls, how many breaks they take, how many calls are productive, and what the overall efficiency is on a daily basis. These features streamline operations and optimize resources, resulting in enhanced cost-efficiency.

wAnywhere provides real-time performance monitoring, enabling call centers to monitor critical metrics such as AHT and FCR. This allows managers to evaluate individual agent productivity, determine areas for improvement, and provide instant feedback, maximizing team output, avoiding errors, and guaranteeing customer satisfaction, resulting in enhanced cost control and service levels.

wAnywhere seamlessly integrates with call center software, minimizing the requirement for expensive software upgrades and manual data entry. This increases workflow efficiency, abolishes redundancy, and accelerates call resolution. Centralized data enables call centers to maximize processes, minimize costs, and improve productivity.

Conclusion

Reducing call center cost doesn’t mean that you have to compromise on the quality of your operations. COO can implement these nine actionable tips for successful call center cost reduction, like improving Average Handling Time (AHT), increasing First Call Resolution (FCR), and adopting AI tools, into practice. From enhancing AHT and FCR to embracing automation, remote work, and self-service options, each technique can help you to make your call center operations more agile and less resource-consuming.

Furthermore, platforms like wAnywhere ensure cost-efficiency without sacrificing service excellence.