The primary objective of all call centers is to provide impeccable customer service, often for organizations that support and manage a huge number of products and services. Most companies are challenged by the task of providing enhanced customer service along with order management and technical support for a large and diverse number of products and services. Best Practices, LLC undertook this study to identify the benchmarks of leading companies as to what are the key call center models/structures, operational efficiency metrics, knowledge resources and management to support productivity, complaint resolution, and differentiated service levels for key customer groups.

1. Best Practices, LLC Strategic Benchmarking Research
Call Center Excellence: Customer
and Performance Management

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Table of Contents
Project Background
 Project Overview
 Summary of Key Insights and Observations
 Benchmark Class Profile
Study Findings
 Call Center Structures
 Call Center Performance Metrics
 Differentiated Service for High Value Customers
 Complaint Resolution Management
 Knowledge Management
 About Best Practices, LLC

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Fifty-eight representatives from 56 companies – including many leading bio-
pharmaceutical, financial, and insurance firms – participated in this research. Most
participating call centers support national or global organizations.
Participating Companies Cover Healthcare,
Financial, Insurance & Other Key Sectors
3M
Abbott Laboratories
Allstate Financial
Amway Global
Augsburg Fortress
Aviva Global Services
BD Biosciences
Caribbean Customer Care
Solutions, Inc.
CenturyLink
Coca-Cola Hellenic
Delta Dental of Illinois
Emoneyadvisor
EPAC
ESI Canada
Farm Credit Canada
Federal Reserve Bank of
Kansas City
Foster's
GlaxoSmithKline
Graco, Inc.
Pinnacle Financial Partners
Praxair
Progressive Medical, Inc.
Protective Life
Royal Bank of Scotland
Safeguard
Schnuck Markets, Inc.
Sherry Laboratories
Shire Pharmaceuticals
Softline Pastel
Solvay
Standard Bank South Africa
Stanley Black & Decker
Stryker
Telecom New Zealand
TELUS Health & Financial
Solutions
Triple i/MediMedia USSA
United Air Care, Inc.
XO Communications
Graco, Inc.
Great Lakes Educational Loan
Services, Inc
Ibercom
Johnson & Johnson HCS
LaCrosse Footwear
Linde Gas China
M.I. Hummel Company
Massey University
Medrad, Inc.
Merck
Merial
MetLife
MMSI
Nalco
NextGenTel
NMS Labs
Petrodar Operating Company
Pfizer
PGG Wrightson Ltd.

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Leadership Roles of Research Participants
Research data and insights were contributed by a seasoned and diverse range of call
center leaders, from executives and vice presidents to directors and managers.
Benchmark respondents work in such functions as customer and client services, sales,
order management, and operational excellence.
Senior Vice President, Client Service Center
Vice President, Customer Service
Associate Vice President
Associate Vice President, Call Center Administration
Associate Director, CRM - Business Operations
Director, Customer Service Center
Director, Client Services
Director, Client Support
Director, Customer Care
Director, Customer Service
Director, Customer Services
Director, Customer Services & Order Management
Director, Customer Support
Director, Global Customer Support and Satisfaction
Director, Sales
Director, Supply Chain
Director, Wholesaler Channel Operations
Managing Director, Customer Care
Call Center Supervisor
Floor Manager, Customer Service
Head, Sales Contact Centers
Senior Manager, Client Services
Manager, Sales
Manager, Associate Training and Development
Manager, Call Center Operations
Manager, Channel Reporting
Manager, Contact Center
Manager, CRC
Manager, Customer Service
Manager, Customer Access
Manager, Customer Care Center
Manager, Customer Responsiveness
Manager, Customer Service
Manager, Help Desk Operations
Manager, Quality & Training
Manager, Sales and Marketing
Manager, Sales Call Center
Manager, Strategic Support Services
Operations Manager, Customer Service
Remote Services Manager, Customer Support
Senior Manager, Client Services
Benchmarking Manager, Operational Support
Business Manager
Support Manager
Business Process Leader, Customer Care
Senior Analyst, Contact Center
Senior Analyst, Workforce Management
Client Services Analyst

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(n=55)
Best Abandonment Rates Are As Low As 1%
Across all call centers, low abandonment rates are evidence of good performance! At the
same time, nearly all product-size call center segments also reflect wide performance
ranges and abandonment rates many time higher. The number of products handled is not a
high driver of abandonment rates.
Question 9. What percentage of calls are abandoned by customers (prior to call pick-up by agent)? Segmented by
Number of Products Supported in the Call Center
1%
1.2%
1.5%
2%
2%
3.5%
5%
7%
15%
1%
2%
2%
2%
3%
3.5%
4%
6%
1%
1%
1.2%
1.4%
1.5%
2%
2.5%
2.8%
4%
5%
5%
5%
5%
8%
9.5%
15%
18%
1%
1.6%
2%
3%
4%
5%
10%
1%
1.5%
2%
2%
2%
2.5%
4%
9%
20%
36%
1%
2.9%
1 to 10
Products
11 to 100
Products
101 to 1000
Products
1001 to 10,000
Products
10,001 to 100,000
Products
+ 100,001
Products
Key Stats
1 to 10
Products 11 to 100 Products 101 to 1000 Products 1001 to 10,000 Products 10,001 to 100,000 Prod. +100,001 Products
Median 2% 3% 4% 3% 2% 2%
Mean (Avg.) 4% 3% 5% 4% 8% 2%
1.0%Min
4.9%Average
36.0%Max
Abandonment Rate (%)Total Group

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(n=56)
Most Companies Do Not Track Multi-Call Resolution
Question 12: Do you track the percentage of
requests / orders / interactions that require multiple
calls to be fully resolved?
Only 39% of benchmark call centers track the percentage of customer interactions that
require multiple calls to be fully resolved. According to this group, 29% of all customer
interactions on average require multiple calls to achieve full resolution.
61% 39%
Yes
No
%
Maximum 100
75th Percentile 40
Mean 29
Median 25
25th Percentile 10
Minimum 1
(n=21)
Question 13: If you do track the percentage of requests
/ orders / interactions that require multiple calls to be
fully resolved, what is your multi-call resolution rate?
Multi-Call Customer Interactions Tracking Multi-Call Resolution Rate

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Differentiated Service Targets High Value and
“Strategic” Customers
% Rated "Highly Effective"
50%
37%
33%
13%
25%
Lifetime value of customer/account
Strategic customers (important to market or thought
leadership or referrals)
Total annual value of account
Product ownership type (customers of most
expensive products)
Other
To deliver superior service, companies segment customer groups often around account
value. Fifty percent of participants rated lifetime account value as a highly effective
segment, as did 33% for annual account value. Differentiated service for strategic customers
-- who can influence certain markets, serve as thought leaders, and drive referrals -- was
also rated highly effective by 37%.
Question 18: If you provide different service levels to customer groups, please rate the effectiveness of segmenting
your most valued customers along the following lines in order to provide higher service levels to them:
n=16
n=19
n=18
n=16
n=4
“It is hard to keep
current on „elite‟
customers due to
the dynamics of
the market.”
--Director of Customer
Support, Large Medical
Device Company
“We base service on the needs
of the customer rather than the
value. By doing so, we take
great care of our top customers,
and promote future business
from lower end customers.”
--Director of Customer
Service, Large Medical
Device Company

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Effective Software Systems Produce Versatile
Agents
Question 26: Which of the following business functions does your software system support?
(Please check all that apply)
(n=53)
In addition to customer service, agents must often manage orders, complaints, technical
help, and sales issues. Software systems should account for the multi-faceted role of
these users in their design, facilitating cross-functional interfacing and practical data
management.
Business Functions Supported
57% 55%
51%
36% 34%
89%
Customer
service
Order entry and
management
Knowledge
management
Complaint
management
Technical
helpdesk
Sales
management
Voices from the Field:
“Having the system do too much can make it bulky
and slow. However, not integrating the systems
(i.e., having multiple stand alone applications)
makes agents work clumsily, reduces productivity
and communication, and slows network speed.”
--Director, Customer Service Center

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Internally Developed Software Systems Are More
Common than Any Single “Big-Name” Platform
Question 25: What software system / knowledge management applications does your call center
use to assist agents during calls? (Please check all that apply)
(n=48)
In total, 77% of benchmark call centers use branded external software and CRM systems,
while more than half use homegrown systems. This means that almost half (45%) of the
benchmark class have adopted multiple platforms to meet their knowledge management
and service needs, usually pairing an internally developed system with an external one.
35%
6%
8%
10%
10%
17%
21%
52%
Internally Developed
System
SAP
Oracle (Siebel)
Microsoft (Dynamics)
Oracle (Peoplesoft)
JD Edwards
Salesforce.com
Other
Successfully fusing
one‟s business model
(and internal systems)
to a sophisticated
external system is an
ongoing process – and
a source of acute
distress to call center
leaders who, when
facing system
compatibility
roadblocks, may
come to feel that such
a transition does more
harm than good.

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Best Practices, LLC
6350 Quadrangle Drive, Suite 200
Chapel Hill, NC 27517
919-402-0251
bestpractices@best-in-class.com
www.best-in-class.com
About Best Practices, LLC
Best Practices, LLC is a research and consulting firm that conducts work based on the
simple yet profound principle that organizations can chart a course to superior economic
performance by studying the best business practices, operating tactics, and winning
strategies of world-class companies.
Link for Report: Customer & Performance Management Benchmarking Report