Analysys Mason has developed the ‘best-in-class’ framework to enable managers to understand how the key characteristics of their contact centre operations compare with those seen in the best organisations.
Standards being achieved in best-in-class centres have been pre-identified and these form the starting point for an assessment of the centre being reviewed.
Figure 1: The Best in Class Framework
There are four key areas where best-in-class benchmarking is crucial to performance:
- Customer experience: how does the service provided by the contact centre compare to that of competitors? Are the ways that a customer can contact the company appropriate given developments in the market? How is customer experience monitored? Can this be done more effectively?
- Financial performance: how do the costs incurred in running the contact centre compare with others in the industry? H
- Human resources: what can be learnt from comparison with other companies about best practice in the areas of recruitment, training and staff retention?
- Business processes: is the technology fit for purpose, or are others employing better systems? Can we learn from others in key areas such as resource planning and management of change?
The performance of the contact centre is assessed against 50 criteria for each of these modules. Managers are encouraged to undertake self-assessments of their own contact centre operations which can be compared to our assessments, giving valuable insights into the differences between internal and external perceptions.
Figure 2: Best in class assessment
Outputs are presented in graphical style, enabling managers to quickly identify where gaps between their organisation and Best in Class exist. This facilitates the development of action plans and the design of activities to help improvement.
By completing ‘Best-in-Class’ assessments on a regular basis, an understanding of progress being made becomes apparent.
Figure 3: Best in class assessment
