The complete guide to First Call Resolution (FCR)

First Call Resolution (FCR) is a key indicator of call center and customer service performance. It measures the ability to resolve customer problems at the first point of contact.

Let's explore together the impact of the FCR, how to measure this KPI, and what actions to put in place to improve it.

The benefits of a good RCF

Achieving good First Call Resolution (FCR) significantly improves the customer experience by reducing the effort needed to resolve problems. As a result, customers are more satisfied, which boosts their trust and loyalty to the brand.

Loyal customers are more likely to share their positive experience with others, thus improving the Net Promoter Score (NPS).

It's also an opportunity touse resources more efficiently. Solving more problems on the first call reduces the number of incoming calls, which means the support team can handle more requests and improve the quality of customer relations.

Finally, a good FCR can have a positive impact on employee satisfaction, which often leads to better customer service.

Causes and impacts of poor first-contact resolution rates

According to a study byAccenture, having to contact a company several times for the same reason is the leading cause of customer dissatisfaction.

Poor FCR can be due to several factors, such as :

• Problem complexity: Some problems may be too complex to be solved in a single call, requiring several interactions for complete resolution.
• Insufficient internal documentation: The absence of clear, accessible documentation on common problems and their solutions can prevent agents from providing effective responses.
• Agent training issues: Poorly trained agents may lack the skills or knowledge needed to solve customer problems on the first call.
• Lack of monitoring and analysis: Failing to monitor and analyze the reasons for repeated calls can prevent the identification of recurring problems and the implementation of effective solutions.

Failing to respond quickly to their needs has multiple consequences, such as reduced customer satisfaction, which in turn affects brand reputation and long-term customer loyalty.

40% of customers switch to a competitor because the RCF has not been met by their original supplier.

What's more, the extra influx of support requests leads to higher operational costs, as more resources are needed to manage the increase in support tickets.

Agents can suffer from high stress due to the increased workload, which can lead to a drop in productivity and an increase in turnover. This results in additional costs for recruiting and training new employees.

We discuss this in more detail in our article on the impact of a high customer redial rate.

How do you measure your customer service CRF?

Calculating the RCF (with example)

The RCF is calculated by dividing the number of requests resolved on the first call by the total number of calls received, multiplied by one hundred.

Imagine a call center that receives 1,000 calls and resolves 720 on first contact. The rate would then be 72%.

According to the SQM Group, a good first-contact resolution rate is between 70% and 79%, while the average is just under 70%.

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The different measurement methods

To maintain or improve your quality of service, regular evaluation of your performance is essential. There are many ways to get a realistic overview of your FCR performance, such as :

• Post-call telephone surveys
• Post-call e-mail surveys
• Inbound and outbound post-call IVR (Interactive Voice Response) surveys
• Inquiries by an advisor during the call
• Automatic detection of multiple calls
• CRM and ticket management
• Speech Analytics (artificial intelligence for automated quality monitoring)

None of these methods is perfect on its own. It is therefore essential to combine several methods to overcome their respective weaknesses.

We detail the advantages and disadvantages of each method in this article to help you make your choice.

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How can you improve your First Contact Resolution score?

Anything that isn't measured can't be improved. That's why the first thing to do is to get access to phone call data to implement concrete strategies.

You can turn to a speech analytics solution like Batvoice, which automatically analyzes all your customer relations center calls to derive actionable data. In doing so, we can automatically identify your customers' recurring problems and evaluate the quality of exchanges to adjust your FCR strategy.

In our article on our 5 tips for improving FCR, we recommend that you focus on the following actions:

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1. Identify recurring problems in your customer journey

By analyzing call topics, we can trace recurring elements of customer discourse, such as frequent questions and irritants, and categorize these topics for a better understanding and improvement of the customer journey.

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2. Prioritize customer requests with a high risk of churn

Thanks to artificial intelligence technology like Batvoice AI, you can use semantic and emotional criteria to identify customers at risk of churn. This will enable you to prioritize callbacks according to the intensity of the irritants detected, and thus avoid losing customers.

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3. Set up a real-time alert as soon as a high-risk call is detected

Detect risky calls by defining relevant criteria, such as CSAT score or specific keywords, to be alerted in real time and act quickly. For example, keyword detection rules can be used to track calls in which critical terms are mentioned.‍

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4. Offer training tailored to your consultants' needs

Identify and offer targeted training to call center agents to better manage the situations at the root of customer re-calls. This makes for smoother processes, thanks to better customer relations.‍

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5. Monitor the impact of your actions regularly

Create a dashboard to monitor over time or over a given period the impact of your actions on the FCR, customer irritants, and the quality of your advisors' discourse, so you can adapt your strategy as your performance evolves.