Reducing Silence Ratio in Call Centers

Problem: Isıl Aybar is a customer representative and works for Merizon Telecommunications Company. Last week, Aybar receives a call from a customer and he explains that he is experiencing an issue with his internet connection and needs assistance. Aybar starts asking the necessary questions to understand and resolve the client's problem. However, after each of his responses, there is silence. When the customer provides answers, Aybar remains silent for a few seconds to process the information or provide accurate guidance.

It is anticipated that this issue may not only be experienced by Aybar but by multiple customer representatives. However, the company is unable to measure whether there is a problem specifically related to silence because they have a large number of customer representatives.

Success scenario: The company's analysts decide to use Knovvu Analytics to determine whether there is an issue with the silence rate, and they create a new category in the Categories submodule. They select the Call Silence Ratio and specify the maximum value that should be allowed. Then, they save the category as Merizon Silence Rate and close the page.

Next, they navigate to the Conversations sub-module under the Analytics module. In the Filters section, they select the relevant Conversation Type, Date, Category as "Merizon Silence Rate," and Agent as "Isıl Aybar" and then click on the Filter button at the bottom.

As the analysts predicted, it has been determined that the selected agent, Aybar, had conversations with customers within the last 1 month where the maximum silence duration was exceeded 20 times.

After analyzing the data, the silence ratios of other agents are checked, and necessary feedback and training sessions are conducted with them. However, to ensure the control of customer representatives, analysts navigate to the Email Reports sub-module under the Reports module and create a New Report. The aim here is to identify agents who still have a silence rate higher than the desired ratio after receiving feedback. To do this, they enter a Report Name, set the Category as "Merizon Silence Rate," choose a Reporting Period such as "Daily", specify the Date Range, and finally select the recipient of the email such as Admin Sys, and click on the Save button to create the report.

Reason of the problem: The continuous silence creates a waiting time perception for customers on the other end of the phone. The client begins to worry and think that the customer representative is indifferent. The customer experience is negatively affected, and his trust in the company diminishes. Although the consumer relies on the customer representative at the call center to solve his problem, this constant silence may frustrate him and makes him impatient. The client starts considering alternatives such as switching to another telecommunications company or filing a complaint.

This situation affects the company's customer satisfaction. If the number of customers like in this scenario increases, the company may lose customers and damage its reputation. It becomes crucial for agents to receive training and guidance to reduce silence durations and maintain more effective communication with clients.

Result: The overall silence rate in the call center, which had previously been averaging around 40-41%, has shown a significant improvement. It has now decreased to 37%, reflecting a notable 3.5% reduction. This decrease in silence rates is not only a positive indicator of improved communication efficiency but also brings about cost advantages. By reducing the average call durations, the call center optimized its resources and enhanced operational productivity. The decreased silence rates contribute to a more streamlined customer service process, allowing representatives to handle calls more effectively and efficiently.

Overall, these improvements in silence durations have positively impacted the call center's performance, both in terms of customer experience and operational effectiveness.