Metric of the Day? Try Metric of the Year!

When call center professionals are asked what their most important “Metric of the Day” should be, their first thoughts probably spin around service level, response times, or abandonment rates. But more and more of us are realizing that it is indeed Customer Satisfaction (CSAT).  If not CSAT; it should be.  In today’s world of limitless possibilities of who to do business with, and the global visibility created by Social Media, customer satisfaction has become top priority for most companies.  Without our customers, where would we be?   Not only should CSAT be the metric of the day, but it should be the metric of the week, month, and year!

Here at iContact, CSAT is our driving force behind the day-to-day operations of our team.  We are so heavily focused on CSAT, that we have a running counter on our website dedicated to the metric.  Anyone can see how we’re doing at any point in time.  If we’re not doing so hot, EVERYONE sees it; and that’s okay.  If we need to improve, we need to improve.  We also need to be held accountable.  On the other hand, if we’re doing great; EVERYONE sees it! Of course we like that too.  

When we’re doing a great job, we not only recognize the team as a whole, but we also recognize each individual on a daily basis through various channels.  It might be a verbal “pat on the back”, a formal token of appreciation, an email that our upper-level management team is copied on, or my personal favorite…the Global Call Center of the Year Award!  In 2011, iContact was the winner of the ICMI Global Call Center of the Year Award for Small to Medium-Sized Call Centers.  Instead of keeping it in a display case, we pass it around based on performance.  Whoever has excelled with CSAT gets to display the award on their desk.   Our Product Experts are the ones, who truly earned the award, so why shouldn’t one of them have the opportunity to display it each and every day?    

Overall, Customer Satisfaction is not only the Metric of the Day, but it’s what keeps each of us going.  Whether it’s helping a small business get on their feet by sending out their first Email to 100 customers, or helping a large business send to 1,000,000 customers, the goal is to make someone’s life easier and to help their business grow.  If you can do that with a smile on your face before, during, and after the call, you’re going to enjoy your day, and you’re going to feel that you’ve accomplished something.  So not only is CSAT important for the business need, it’s important for the Expert’s needs as well.  CSAT should forever and always be the metric of the day, week, month, and year.  If it’s not, you’re doing something wrong.