According to a October 2010 Gartner study, first-contact resolution is a tried and true metric for the IT service desk with direct correlation to customer satisfaction, but many IT organizations still under-utilize it.

It sounds quite intuitive when you think about it: when a customer’s problem is resolved the first time he calls the Service Desk, his levels of customer satisfaction is likely to higher. But many Service Desks find it a challenge to understand this, instead preferring to measure performance with a slew of traditional measures that have little to do with the customer.

Agents are encouraged to keep call durations under a specific number, and achieving that statistic becomes the all-consuming target of every agent on the floor.

Supervisors are measured by the averages they maintain and coffee-break discussions are all about how teams are performing against the company standard. The problem: does anyone remember what the customer needs?

First Contact Resolution (FCR) is a measure that places the focus squarely on the customer. Research shows that for every 1% increase in FCR there is a 1% increase in customer satisfaction levels.

No other Service Desk measure is as strongly correlated to customer satisfaction as FCR is. When you measure service levels, speed of answer, talk time, calls handled by CSR, abandon rates, occupancy rates, call monitoring scores, the focus rests on the means rather than the end.

First Contact Resolution (FCR) is a measure that encompasses the not only the business inputs going into Service Desk business outcomes of its activities.

Gavin Cooper

Head of Global Marketing
GSS Infotech
Reach me at:
gavin.cooper@gssinfotech.com
Phone: + 1 518-724 3138