A benchmarking exercise tells the contact centre where it stacks up against competitors and internationally, and gives it a baseline for planning. Benchmarking will answer questions like: Where are we? Where are we going? It will also answer the many ‘why’ questions: Why are we performing the way we are? Why are we experiencing problems?
According to The Independent Customer Contact Centre Association, to be recognised as a world class contact centre, a ‘tick in the box’ in the three key areas is required.
First, the contact centre must be aligned with the organisation’s core business strategies and operations, as well as the tactical changes that come from the boardroom.
Second, the contact centre must meet specific standards. It must sustain an external audit and achieve a better than 85% compliance with standards as defined by the organisation. The starting point is for the organisation to create a list of its own operational standards.
The third component is that a world class contact centre is benchmarked against similar operations. At least on an annual basis, it must measure performance, not only against competitors in the local environment, but also with similar operations on a global basis.
The contact centre must achieve at least 85% compliance with what is considered to be best practices on a global basis. It is a process that takes time, with the journey from foundational to world class likely not to be less than three years.
