What is call volume?

Call volume is a call center metric used to measure the number of inbound calls in a given period. Call center volume is usually measured in different time intervals – hourly, daily, or weekly. Many contact centers categorize call volume into the total number of telephone calls handled by an agent and the total number of calls handled by an automated system (e.g., IVR).

Call center managers put a lot of focus on call volume for several reasons:

Call volume impacts the agents’ workload, drives call center staffing requirements, and dictates call center expenses.
This metric helps determine how effective your agents are at working with callers.
The increase in the current level of your call volume leads to missed calls and a higher call abandonment rate. It has been estimated that call abandonment can cost as much as 40% of lost potential revenues annually.
Mishandling high call volume results in longer call queues, increased hold times, and your call center’s inability to provide adequate service levels.

What is a high call volume and how to identify it?

Your call center is experiencing high call volume (also called a call volume spike) when the number of your inbound calls is significantly higher than the predicted volume. That basically means the number of incoming calls is more than the actual volume your call center representatives can efficiently handle without compromising your customer satisfaction levels.

Ipinahihiwatig ng pagasasaliksik na ang pamantayan ng industriya para sa mataas na dami ng tawag ay 10% na mataas sa normal na lebel. Ngunit, ang pigurang iyan ay maaaring kapansin-pansin na mas mataas para sa mas maliit o katamtamang sukat na negosyo dahil sa kawalan ng magagamit na mga tauhan.

This dramatic increase in the number of incoming customer calls can be short-term or can last for several hours, days, or even weeks. In addition, call volume usually varies by time of day – e.g., a call center could experience heavy call volume during business hours and light call traffic in the evenings. Other than that, a call center can typically be faced with an increased number of call center inquiries due to one or more of these factors:

Seasonal spikes: Many businesses experience these spikes annually during holidays or busy periods specific to their industry (such as the Christmas shopping season for retailers).
Internal issues: Unexpected service outages, website malfunctions, insufficient staff, poorly trained call center operators – that can all lead to increased call volumes.
Marketing initiatives: Massive promo campaigns or new product launches can also cause high call volume spikes.

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How to deal with the high call volume

When call volumes are high, wait times increase, and customer satisfaction drops. Not to mention agents become overwhelmed by a large number of incoming calls and have to work in a stressful environment. This is why high call volume means challenging times for call centers. Here is how businesses can efficiently tackle a high volume of inbound calls utilizing help desk software with a built-in call center such as LiveAgent:

Provide additional service channels

By integrating more channels into your call center software, you can ensure customers interact with your business on their channel of choice while also preventing high call volume. Consider adding a real-time live chat that can also help you adopt a more proactive communication strategy and reduce the number of incoming inquiries altogether.

Develop self-service resources

Creating accurate and comprehensive self-service resources (like a knowledge base and FAQs) can reduce the need for customers to get on the phone in the first place. This is particularly helpful when agents typically receive repetitive questions over and over again. These questions can be answered in your FAQ section, especially if it’s visible and easily accessible on your website.

Optimize your IVR

Along with automatic call distributor (ACD), Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems can help businesses gain complete control over the flow of inbound calls by efficiently routing them to the most appropriate agents. In times of high call volumes, you can additionally optimize your IVR by directing callers to your self-help resources and allowing them to leave a voicemail. Doing so can reduce the number of calls agents have to answer.

Offer a call-back option

Call volume spikes can also be eliminated by enabling a callback option that is available with most call center solutions. In LiveAgent, for instance, when a caller requests a call back, their phone number is kept in a call queue and automatically dialed once the agent can handle their call.

Analyze your call center data

By keeping close tabs on your call center analytics, you can get a better sense of when call volume spikes occur and how each call center agent performs during busy times. Track key call center metrics and KPIs (such as average handle time, average speed of answer, missed calls) and use this historical data to look for any patterns and trends of spikes in call volume. This will help you plan agent scheduling more efficiently and ensure you have enough staff to meet all your call center service needs.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Ano ang dami ng tawag?
Ang dami ng tawag ay isang mahalagang metriko ng call center na binigyang kahulugan bilang ang kabuuang bilang ng papasok na mga tawag na tinatanggap ng isang call center o isang contact center sa isang binigay na panahon. Ang mga tagapamahala ng call center ay nagibigay pansin sa metrkong ito dahil ito ay nagdidikta ng pag-iiskedyul at mga pangangailangan sa paglalagay ng tauhan, habang ang maling pamahahala ng malaking dami ng pagtawag ay maaaring magresulta sa mahabang pila ng mga tawag, mas mahabang oras ng paghihintay, hindi nasagot o iniwan o inabanduna ang mga tawag, at sukdulang pagbawas ng kasiyahan ng kustomer.
Ano ang isang mataas na dami ng tawag at paano aalamin ito?
Ang mataas na dami ng tawag ay nangangahulugan na ang call center ay nakararanas ng mas maraming mga pagtawag kaysa sa karaniwan nitong kakayahan na pangasiwaan. Sa pangkalahatan, ang pamantayan ng industriya ng call center para sa mataas na dami ng tawag ay 10% na karagdagan mula sa karaniwan na dami. Subalit, para sa maliit at katamtamang laki ng mga negosyo, ang pigurang ito ay maaaring mas mataas. Bilang karagdagan, ang dami ng tawag ay maaaring magbago nang makabuluhan sa loob ng isang araw. Ang mga call center ay maaari ring makaranas ng pagtaas ng dami ng tawag dahil sa mga spike ng panahon (habang sa panahon ng kapistahan), dahil sa panloob na mga isyu (hal., hindi sapat na mga tauhan), o pagsisimula ng pagmemerkado (paglulunsad ng isang promosyon).
Paano makikitungo sa mataas na dami ng tawag?
Ang mga spike ng dami ng tawag, pareho ang hindi inaasahan at inaasahan, ay maaaring mawala sa balanse ang call center. Subalit, maaari mong mabawasan at mahusay na pamahalaan ang mataas na bilang ng papasok na tawag na may ilang taktika at estratehiya: pagdagdag ng mas maraming mga pansuportang mga channel sa iyong contact center pagbuo ng malawakang mga pagkukunan ng tulong sa sarili paggawa na pinakamainam ang iyong mga menu ng IVR, pag-aalok ng pagtawag muli paggamit ng magagamit na datos ng call center upang makagawa ng mas may kaalaman na pag-eempleyo at pag-iiskedyul ng mga desisyon.

Balik sa glossary Gumawa ng LIBRENG account

Matapos mong basahin ang tungkol sa dami ng tawag, maaaring gusto mong alamin pa ang tungkol sa call center phone. Dito, malalaman mo ang iba't ibang uri ng telepono at kagamitan na kailangan para sa isang call center.

Isa pang kapaki-pakinabang na paksa ay warm calling. Alamin kung paano ito gumagana at kung ano ang pinakamahusay na sasabihin kapag gumagawa ng warm call upang mapabuti ang iyong customer engagement.