Time and again, you hear the number 80/20 when it comes to an ideal service level. Why this target value is used often remains unclear. “That’s just the way it’s always been done” or“it’s the common industry standard” are unsatisfactory but frequent responses. However, it is worth reconsidering the 80/20 rule. What this leads to, is demonstrated by our Best Practice Case at the SBSCOM Service Center. Learn how SBSCOM made the leap into the 21st century, leaving 80/20 behind.
80/20 vs. average waiting time
This service level is familiar to anyone who works in the contact center industry . It sets the percentage of answered calls (e.g. 80%) in relation to a given time (e.g. 20 seconds). This key figure provides information about the service quality of a contact center. Yet, this metric fails to answer the question of exactly what happens to the remaining 20% of callers. Do they have to wait 1 minute or even 10 minutes? 80/20 leaves us in the dark on such issues.
The average waiting time helps here. In contrast to a service level, this metric includes all callers. The total waiting time divided by the total number of callers speaks plain language: the greater the difference between the average waiting time and the service level time interval, the longer the remaining 20%, who are not included in the service level, have to spend waiting.
80/20: a relic from the 80s
This service level was established in a study conducted by AT&T in the 1980s. This was way before the days of IVRs or music on hold. If someone called somewhere, be it a family member or a contact center, they would let it ring three or four times. This took about 20 seconds. At the same time, in the 1980s, it was considered sufficient if 80% of customer inquiries were answered. Of course, this attitude is no longer in line with the times, especially since the user experience is now considered a decisive success factor for companies and every call that is not answered means wasted money.
In 2016, we can confidently say that the 80/20 service level no longer meets today’s requirements. And it doesn’t have to. With the latest software solutions, service levels can be increased without the need for more staff. The Swiss company SBSCOM (leading full-service provider in the field of employee benefit programs) has thus succeeded in raising its service level thanks to virtual queueing (virtualQ), by a double-digit percentage.
Service level beyond 80/20
Find out how SBSCOM managed to fulfill this service dream on Tuesday, the 22nd of November from the virtualQ webinar: “Service Level reloaded – 80/20 was a thing of the past“. We are joining the SBSCOM customer center live! In addition to a live demo and a look at technical aspects, you will gain insights into the key figures and results that SBSCOM has already been able to achieve using virtualQ. The webinar is aimed at service representatives in contact centers and decision-makers in companies who are interested in innovations in the field of service excellence.
