Inherited the contact centre? A first-90-days guide for non-CX leaders

Why is the contact centre different?

Contact centres run on their own language, maths and rhythms. Demand changes by the half hour, small changes in staffing have big effects on wait times, and the numbers on a dashboard can look healthy while customers are frustrated.

None of that is hard to learn, but it pays to learn it before you make decisions. Many of the mistakes I see from new leaders come from acting on a measure they don't yet fully understand.

It also helps to know who you're inheriting. In my experience, around three in four contact centre managers started on the phones, and many have only ever worked in one contact centre. They know the operation inside out, but may not know the global best practices that apply to every contact centre, or how to link it to the organisation's strategy. That's often why they're putting out fires all day.

Days 1 to 30: learn how it really works

Your first month is for understanding how the operation really works, not how the org chart says it works.

• Sit with agents. Listen to calls, read emails and chats, and watch which systems they use. An hour beside an agent will teach you more than a week of reports.
• Meet every team leader one to one. Ask what gets in the way of their team doing a good job, and what they'd change first.
• Read what customers say. Complaints, feedback and the most common reasons for contact tell you what customers are experiencing.
• Learn the language. Get comfortable with the core measures before you set any targets.
• Learn what good looks like. Contact centres are a global industry with defined best practices, such as the global Contact Centre CX Standards. They apply whatever your size.

Six measures that will help you avoid costly mistakes

• Service level: the share of contacts answered within a target time
• Abandonment: how many customers give up before they're answered
• Average handle time: how long a contact takes, including after-contact work
• Occupancy: how much of agents' available time is spent handling contacts
• Shrinkage: the paid time agents aren't available, such as leave, training and meetings
• First contact resolution: how often a customer's issue is resolved the first time

The ACXPA contact centre glossary explains these and hundreds of other terms.

Days 31 to 60: find out what's really happening

With the basics in place, start testing what you've heard against the data.

• Demand: is it forecast and rostered by interval, or does the contact centre react on the day?
• Repeat contact: what makes customers contact you again about the same thing?
• People: what are turnover and absence like, and how long do new starters take to become fully competent?
• Quality: does the quality framework reflect what customers value, or mainly compliance?
• Stakeholders: what does the rest of the business expect from the contact centre, and is it getting it?

Days 61 to 90: set direction and take quick wins

By now you should know where the biggest problems are. Use this month to agree priorities and show momentum.

• Rank the issues by impact on customers, staff and cost, not by how loudly they're raised.
• Pick two or three quick wins your team has been asking for. Fixing a known frustration builds trust quickly.
• Agree a short list of measures you'll lead with, balancing customer, people and efficiency.
• Link the contact centre to the strategy. Agree what the organisation needs from it, and make sure its priorities and measures trace back to that.
• Share what you've learned with your own leaders, including what the contact centre can tell the business about its customers.

Which mistakes can you avoid?

• Cutting staff to cut costs before you understand demand. Wait times rise, customers call back and the savings disappear.
• Chasing handle time. Pushing agents to be faster often creates repeat contact and complaints.
• Changing everything at once. Contact centres need stability to perform. Change in waves your team can absorb.
• Relying only on the dashboard. The numbers tell you what is happening, not why.

Want a faster way in?

If you need to understand what you've inherited quickly, an independent view helps. A call centre health check gives you an expert assessment in days, with a prioritised plan you can take to your executives.

It's also a good way to support the contact centre manager you've inherited, with an independent view and a prioritised plan you can both work from. Book a free 30-minute call to talk it through.