This transformation is prompting organizations to rethink their communication strategies and embrace a variety of digital media channels to stay competitive and responsive.

The decline of voice traffic

Several factors contribute to the decline in voice traffic to contact centers. The rise of digital communication platforms such as social media, chatbots, and messaging apps has fundamentally changed how customers prefer to interact with brands. Consumers today seek quicker, more convenient ways to resolve issues, and they are less inclined to pick up the phone.

Additionally, younger generations, who are increasingly becoming the primary consumer base, are more accustomed to text-based communication. This shift is not merely a trend but a fundamental change in expectations and behavior. As a result, organizations are finding that traditional voice-based contact centers are no longer sufficient to meet the evolving needs of their customers.

Rethinking traditional reporting: Adapting to email, SMS, and chat

As contact centers evolve, so do the communication channels they manage. In addition to traditional voice interactions, channels such as email, SMS, and chat are rapidly becoming integral components of an organization’s customer service strategy. This shift brings new challenges, particularly when it comes to reporting and analytics.

Historically, contact centers have relied on well-established metrics and reporting systems that focus predominantly on voice interactions. However, as digital communication channels gain prominence, these traditional reporting methods no longer provide a complete picture of customer service performance. To effectively manage and optimize a multi-channel contact center, organizations must rethink their reporting strategies.

The changing contact center landscape

Voice calls have long been the backbone of contact center operations, and metrics such as Average Handle Time (AHT), First Call Resolution (FCR), and Call Abandonment Rate were crucial for measuring efficiency and customer satisfaction. However, the increasing adoption of email, SMS, and chat has introduced a new set of expectations and behaviors from both customers and agents.

Unlike voice calls, which typically require real-time interaction, digital channels like email and SMS allow for asynchronous communication. Customers can send inquiries at their convenience and receive responses without being tied to the phone. Chat, on the other hand, offers a middle ground, providing real-time responses but in a text-based format that differs from the immediacy of voice communication. These differences necessitate a new approach to reporting and performance metrics.

Why traditional reporting falls short

Traditional voice-based reporting focuses on real-time performance and resolution. Metrics like queue times, hold times, and call transfers are relatively straightforward to track in a voice-centric environment. However, these same metrics are not directly applicable to digital channels.

For example, Average Handle Time (AHT), a key metric in voice interactions, may be difficult to measure in asynchronous channels like email or SMS, where conversations can span hours or even days. Similarly, metrics such as First Call Resolution (FCR) must be redefined in the context of multi-step, ongoing conversations that happen across multiple channels.

Moreover, traditional reporting often fails to capture the nuances of digital interactions. In channels like chat, the quality of responses and customer satisfaction may not be reflected purely in time-based metrics. As a result, contact centers need new tools and methodologies to properly assess agent performance and customer satisfaction across multiple channels.

Adapting reporting for a multi-channel world

To ensure accurate and actionable reporting in a contact center that leverages email, SMS, and chat alongside voice, organizations must take a more holistic approach. Here’s how reporting can be rethought and adapted for the modern, multi-channel contact center:

1. Channel-Specific Metrics

While some metrics like customer satisfaction and resolution rates are universal, others need to be tailored to each communication channel. For example, with email, reporting should track response times, ticket escalation, and email threading to gauge the efficiency of email support. For SMS, metrics should focus on message clarity, response speed, and customer engagement across potentially shorter interactions.

In chat, reporting should include metrics like concurrent chat management (the number of chats an agent can effectively handle at once), chat duration, and resolution time, while also factoring in elements like proactive chat engagements initiated by agents.

2. Multi-Channel Resolution Rates

In a multi-channel contact center, customers may start a conversation on one channel and move to another before their issue is resolved. For example, a customer might start a chat session but eventually escalate the conversation to a phone call. Reporting should account for these cross-channel interactions by tracking multi-channel resolution rates—how many interactions span more than one channel before reaching resolution. This metric helps organizations identify inefficiencies and areas for improvement in channel integration.

3. Response Time Across Channels

Speed of response remains a critical factor in customer satisfaction, but expectations differ across channels. While customers expect immediate responses in chat, they may tolerate longer response times in email. Reporting should reflect these varying expectations by tracking channel-specific response times and setting appropriate benchmarks for each communication mode.

For example:

• Email might have a benchmark of 24-hour response times.
• SMS could require faster responses within minutes or hours.
• Chat demands real-time responses within seconds to a minute.

4. Agent Workload and Utilization

In a multi-channel environment, agents often handle different types of interactions simultaneously. An agent could be responding to an email while managing a live chat session and dealing with SMS inquiries. To optimize agent productivity, reporting should track agent utilization across channels, including how many interactions an agent is handling at once and how effectively they are managing these interactions.

Additionally, organizations need to monitor channel balancing—whether agents are spending an appropriate amount of time on each channel relative to demand and urgency. This will help ensure agents aren’t overwhelmed by one channel while others go unaddressed.

5. Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) and Quality of Service (QoS)

While time-based metrics are important, they don’t tell the whole story of customer satisfaction. CSAT scores and Quality of Service (QoS) metrics need to be incorporated into reporting across all channels. These qualitative metrics can be gathered through post-interaction surveys, allowing organizations to gauge how customers feel about the service they received, regardless of the channel used.

6. Sentiment and Contextual Analysis

Advanced reporting should include sentiment analysis and contextual analysis to understand the tone and intent behind digital interactions. AI-driven analytics tools can process customer interactions to identify trends in sentiment, such as frustration or satisfaction, providing a deeper understanding of the customer experience. This type of analysis is especially useful in email and chat interactions, where emotional cues may be less obvious compared to voice.

Integrating data for a unified view

For reporting to be effective in a multi-channel contact center, organizations must integrate data from all communication channels into a unified reporting platform. This ensures that interactions, regardless of the channel, are recorded, analyzed, and compared against a consistent set of metrics. Unified data allows businesses to have a comprehensive view of their customer service performance and make data-driven decisions that improve both efficiency and customer satisfaction.

As contact centers expand beyond voice interactions to include email, SMS, and chat, traditional reporting methods must evolve to keep pace. By implementing channel-specific metrics, tracking cross-channel interactions, and leveraging new technologies such as AI and sentiment analysis, organizations can gain a complete view of their customer service operations. Rethinking reporting is essential to effectively manage a multi-channel environment and ensure that customers receive the best possible experience, no matter how they choose to interact.