Do you own, run, or manage a call center? If so, you know that customer service is the very highest priority for your team. Making sure that each call is handled professionally, knowledgeably, and with precision is important to ensure callers are happy with their call and remain or become your customers or clients. In many cases, the most important part of a call is the very beginning of it. However, it can be difficult to track and accurately measure how first contact is handled and if problems are resolved.

Here is more information on what first contact resolution is and how to measure first contact resolution.  

What is First Contact Resolution? 

How to measure first contact resolution is impossible if you aren’t sure what it is. First contact resolution is a metric that measures what percentage of customer problems or questions are resolved or answered during the first call and do not require any follow-up or repeated contact from either the customer or the customer service rep.

First contact resolution is important as it boosts customer satisfaction, increases the efficiency of your call center, and enhances your reputation as people will talk about how quick and efficient their problems were solved, building trust and loyalty.

Best Practices for Measuring First Contact Resolution 

When it comes to how to measure first contact resolution, best practices use the formula FCR. FCR equals the issues resolved on the first contact divided by the total issues handled multiplied by 100. What is a good percentage when it comes to FCR? If you can handle 70-80% of issues on the first contact, you can be assured you have a positive FCR that is creating loyalty and customer satisfaction.

Challenges for First Contact Resolution

There are a few common challenges when it comes to how to measure first contact resolution as well as with the resolution itself. One challenge is that there may not be a uniform definition of what ‘resolved’ means. It’s important that you standardize this definition across all your channels and teams so everyone is on the same page.

Another common challenge is that it  can be difficult to track any repeated contacts or follow-ups, both on the part of the customer and on the customer representative. A solution to this is to use IDs to link all transactions related to a specific customer.

A third challenge is that customer service agents may be using quick fixes that appear to handle problems on the first contact but actually do not resolve the real issues. Training is key when it comes to this challenge so agents know how to take full ownership of an issue and provide resolution rather than just a short-term fix. 

How to Measure First Contact Resolution: Why it Matters  

When it comes to how to measure first contact resolution, it’s important to have real numbers to work with so you can see if your team is measuring up. If your FCR numbers are not high, you can put training practices and other tools in place to increase customer satisfaction.

Also Read: Case Management Software: How to Choose a Tool That Scales With Your Caseload