First Call Resolution is a vital contact center metric that monitors <\/span>accurate and prompt support<\/span>, tracking the number of customer issues resolved within the first support call. Fast-paced consumers want brands to value their time and expect their needs to be met on time\u2014no matter how they get in touch with the brand\u2014 which makes FCR a leading indicator of customer happiness and a direct measure of a call center\u2019s operational efficiency.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In this article, you\u2019ll gain a better understanding of what first call resolution is, how the FCR rate is measured, and discover ways to improve first call resolution.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n You can use the following links to navigate this blog easily.<\/span><\/p>\n The number of customer requests resolved the very first time a customer places a call to a contact center is known as <\/span>first call resolution (FCR)<\/b>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Initially used only as a call center metric, first call resolution has now evolved to a more comprehensive metric considering the rising expectations of the <\/span>digital-first customer<\/span>. No longer confined to the telephony system, consumers reach out to brands through multiple channels like social media, email, website portals, or live chat\u2014bringing into the picture <\/span>first contact resolution<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n First contact resolution rate is used interchangeably with first call resolution and<\/span> is the percentage of customer support requests or tickets completely resolved within the first contact made by the customer from any of these digital channels. This could mean resolution in one live chat session on any messaging channel, closing an issue within one mail from the customer, or just one customer interaction on a Twitter thread.<\/span><\/p>\n According to a recent Forrester study1<\/sup>, 34% of CX leaders use first contact resolution to define their organization\u2019s customer service performance. This shows that CX leaders treat FCR as an actionable metric to measure speedy and effective customer service.<\/span><\/p>\n And why\u2019s that? Because when you\u2019re able to resolve customer issues in one go, customers feel more satisfied getting their concerns sorted with minimal effort from their side. Effortless resolutions reflect positively on customer satisfaction rates and the overall customer experience your brand delivers.<\/span><\/p>\n Achieving good first call resolution rates is highly indicative of robust internal processes, sound team structuring, and well-trained staff with easy access to the right tools and documentation.<\/span><\/p>\n Several factors, such as industry type, issue complexity, and support channels, play a significant role in influencing FCR rates. That\u2019s why measuring first call resolution may get a little complicated. You will need to accurately define what a first contact resolution means \u2013 specifically for your business \u2013 and communicate the FCR policies clearly to your employees.<\/span><\/p>\n First call resolution is generally calculated<\/span> by dividing the number of requests resolved in the first call by the total number of calls handled by the contact center during a specific time period.<\/span><\/p>\n You can measure the FCR using the following formula:<\/span><\/p>\n First contact resolution rate<\/strong> = <\/span>Number of tickets resolved after the first contact made by the customer \/ Total number of tickets resolved in the same time period *100.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Suppose your customer service team resolves 950 queries in a particular month, and 734 of them were resolved in the first contact. Then your FCR rate would be 77.26% (734\/950 * 100). Higher FCR rates denote more successful and effortless resolutions.<\/span><\/p>\n While calculating <\/span>first contact resolution<\/span><\/a>, it\u2019s also essential to agree on the nuances of what is considered a repeat call or repeat interaction. In Freshdesk, FCR is calculated as tickets with zero customer interaction \u2013 leaving out the first description of the query, irrespective of the number of agent responses. Freshdesk also allows you to measure FCR by source channel, request type, or priority.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A good first contact resolution rate is not fixed for every company but varies according to your business\u2019s industry, size, and nature. <\/span>Note the FCR industry standard for your business and aim to maintain the rates consistently within your organization<\/span>. Generally, addressing <\/span>70% to 75%<\/b> of your incoming queries in the first contact keeps customers happy.<\/span><\/p>\n First contact resolution rate aligns closely with important customer experience drivers like customer happiness, brand loyalty, and other vital CX metrics like CSAT, NPS, or CES. How you interact with customers in their first contact significantly impacts their <\/span>overall customer experience<\/span><\/p>\n Related resource:<\/strong> <\/span>How the number of interactions per ticket impacts CSAT scores<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n First call resolution measurement varies based on the industry, the complexity of the queries you receive, and how your support team defines the FCR metric. <\/span>Iron out the differences in how FCR is measured and settle on a comfortable method for both your agents and customers.\u00a0<\/span>As suggested by the SQM group4<\/sup>,<\/span> who are leaders in benchmarking and tracking call center FCR, you might have to look into details like \u2013\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If first contact resolution is a priority at your organization, make it a regular practice to track and instill FCR as a key performance indicator (KPI) for your customer support agents. Once the measuring mechanisms are set in place, carefully track the improvements and drops in <\/span>FCR performance<\/span> biweekly or monthly.<\/span><\/p>\n As much as speaking the language of the customer is about empathizing and reflecting the tone of a customer, communicating in the customer\u2019s first language is of greater importance. Research indicates that 79%5<\/sup> of contact centers have customers who don\u2019t speak the primary language the center serves, and 60% of those customers expect service in their native language<\/span>3<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n Similarly, you may have a group of agents trained in handling certain technical support requests that other reps might not have expertise in. <\/span>Knowing your customers\u2019 language preferences and the nature of queries and routing them to the right agent groups in their very first interaction avoids unnecessary call transfers and brings you closer to achieving FCRs.<\/span><\/p>\n Domain and product knowledge prove invaluable for customer service agents to address customer needs confidently. When an anxious mother rings up to check if a particular pastry is gluten-free, a confused voice from the other end is not what she wants to hear.<\/span><\/p>\n Equipping agents with detailed information on the products and services you offer and sound knowledge of customers\u2019 expectations enable them to understand customer issues clearly and shortens resolution times.<\/span><\/p>\n Instill a sense of ownership and <\/span>accountability<\/span> amongst agents to take up a customer\u2019s issue and drive it to closure right from the first contact. Recognize agents who collaborate with teams to provide a solution rather than simply pointing their fingers at a coworker and getting the issue off their hands, which further affects first call resolution.<\/span><\/p>\n Winning adds an element of thrill, excitement, and accomplishment to any activity \u2013 not just on Super Mario. Recognizing agents who consistently close tickets in their first contact with customers underlines the significance of first contact resolution and motivates agents to strive for better FCR rates.<\/span><\/p>\n Freshdesk\u2019s <\/span>leaderboard<\/span><\/a> identifies agents with high FCR rates with a \u2018Sharpshooter\u2019 trophy and gives the flexibility to calculate award points according to the industry and company.<\/span><\/p>\n Ask your customers how easy it was to get their issue resolved once their problem is fixed. There are many types of <\/span>customer satisfaction<\/span><\/a> surveys \u2014 CSAT, Customer Effort Score (CES), Net Promoter Score (NPS) \u2014 that measure different aspects of support and help you find if a customer was happy with the service offered.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Framing the right <\/span>questions<\/span><\/a> in the customer feedback survey will allow you to measure and also find if there were any roadblocks that a customer faced during the issue resolution process. A simple survey question like \u2018Was your issue resolved in the first call with the agent?\u2019 is an example of the external measurement of FCR.<\/span><\/p>\n Related resource: <\/strong>Your guide to customer satisfaction surveys<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Even if your agent didn\u2019t get the answer right in the first call, encourage them to reach back to unhappy customers and find out what could have gone better. This signals that you listen to customers\u2019 frustrations and helps you get closer to first contact resolution when you manage the same customer again or while your team faces customers in similar situations.<\/span><\/p>\n Related resource: <\/strong>How to gather customer feedback effectively<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n In the fast-paced digital environment, customer issues pour in from different channels, which turn stressful for call center agents to resolve promptly. Automating the call and ticket handling process eases support activity and improves your agents\u2019 productivity.<\/span><\/p>\n A few instances of workload automation include \u2013<\/span><\/p>\n Though customers generally prefer live support, a well-thought self-service strategy will leave a customer feeling empowered and accomplished in finding the solution with minimal effort. <\/span>39%6<\/sup>of consumers agree that they can resolve issues faster with self-service options compared to other support channels, as per our recent research<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n Curate commonly asked customer questions as simple FAQs in an easily accessible knowledge base that customers can refer to without any confusion. In-depth product tutorials, community forums, and embedding chatbots within chat and messaging channels are other customer self-service strategies you can implement.<\/span><\/p>\n Identifying common issues, visualizing the resolution steps, and implementing the correct workflows on Interactive Voice Response(IVR) systems and AI-powered chatbots make a self-service implementation highly effective.<\/p>\n Related resource: <\/strong>Is zero-contact resolution possible with an effective self-service strategy?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n A detailed and well-compiled internal knowledge base helps agents find the information they need faster and speeds up the resolution process. Collect and store product guides, troubleshooting workflows, and answers to common queries in a centralized location to boost the productivity of your <\/span>customer service representatives<\/span><\/a>. An agent-facing knowledge base is also a great tool for onboarding new members to your support team.<\/span><\/p>\n Structure and organize your knowledge base meticulously for ease of search. Add video tutorials and screenshots to explain solutions better and update your solution articles when you make feature changes, modify company policies, or encounter other common problems that need support documentation.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span>In Freshdesk, you can create solution articles and set the visibility to \u2018Agents\u2019 for building an internal knowledge base. Using <\/span>agent-assist bots<\/span><\/a> \u2013 like Freddy, to recommend relevant solution articles and canned responses for agents to add in support tickets further saves time in the resolution journey.<\/span><\/p>\n Related resource: <\/strong>How to build an effective internal knowledge base<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Customers would like to know they are valued and acknowledged in every interaction with your brand. Being sensitive to customer emotions and psychology helps you empathize with their situation and offer meaningful support. It\u2019s then important to invest in agent training and upskill your call center agents on critical support etiquette and communication skills that\u2019ll avoid irking or frustrating your customers on their resolution journey.<\/span><\/p>\n Here are a few first call resolution tips for agents to improve FCR rates \u2013\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWhat is First Call Resolution (FCR)?<\/b><\/h2>\n
Why is FCR so important?<\/b><\/h3>\n
![\"Sign](\"https:\/\/blog-assets.freshworks.com\/freshdesk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/06131823\/Sign-up-banner-FCR.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nHow is FCR measured?<\/b><\/h2>\n
First call resolution formula:<\/b><\/h3>\n
![\"First](\"https:\/\/blog-assets.freshworks.com\/freshdesk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/22065106\/First-contact-resolution-rate-in-Freshdesk-300x138.png\")
Benefits of first call resolution measurement<\/b><\/h2>\n
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<\/span><\/li>\n7 First call resolution best practices<\/strong><\/h2>\n
#1 Define how your business measures FCR<\/b><\/h3>\n
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#2 Route calls based on customers\u2019 preferred language and <\/b>agents\u2019 specialized skills<\/b><\/h3>\n
#3 Ensure agents have adequate domain and product expertise<\/b><\/h3>\n
#4 Focus on total contact ownership for agents<\/b><\/h3>\n
#5 Incentivize good FCR rates<\/b><\/h3>\n
![\"FRC](\"https:\/\/blog-assets.freshworks.com\/freshdesk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/22071033\/Sharpshooter-in-Freshdek-300x75.png\")
#6 Use post-call or support surveys<\/b><\/h3>\n
#7 Follow up and listen to dissatisfied customers<\/b><\/h3>\n
How to improve first call resolution: 5 FCR tips<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Tip #1: Automate to simplify call and request handling<\/b><\/h3>\n
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![\"Skill-based](\"https:\/\/blog-assets.freshworks.com\/freshdesk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/22070227\/Freshdesk-skill-based-ticket-assignment-300x127.png\")
Tip #2: Increase and enhance self-service options<\/b><\/h3>\n
![\"self-service](\"https:\/\/blog-assets.freshworks.com\/freshdesk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/05180609\/cjj0hefu7008022fzw08q4syd-self-service-portal.full_.png\")
Tip #3: Keep an up-to-date internal knowledge base<\/b><\/h3>\n
![\"Agent-assist](\"https:\/\/blog-assets.freshworks.com\/freshdesk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/22071404\/Solution-article-recommendation-300x162.png\")
Tip #4: Train agents on support etiquette and people skills\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n
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