Customer Contact Metrics That Actually Matter In 2024 & Beyond

Significant investments into AI technology. Mission statements about the importance of customer centricity. Promises to cultivate “happy agents” who are capable of creating “happy customers.”

Despite all these financial and conceptual commitments to improving the customer contact operation, customer and employee experiences continue to lag. Nearly 55% of consumers say their experiences have gotten worse over the past year, while more than 80% of agents continue to exert too much effort on the kind of low-value tasks that cause churn and inefficiency.

Why are customer contact operations not progressing? Why are businesses not taking advantage of the opportunity to “compete on the customer experience” and win lasting loyalty? Why are contact center cultures falling short on their promise of empowering agent delight and productivity?

There are many answers, but one of the biggest is an inadequate vision for the purpose of the contact center. Despite their promises of customer centricity, brands continue to set the wrong objectives for their customer contact operations – and then exacerbate that mistake by focusing too intently on antiquated metrics.

Indeed, if contact centers are to finally improve in the latter half of 2024 and beyond, it will be by reassessing their purpose – and identifying metrics that matter most to that vision. These metrics will not only grade performance against customer- and employee-centric objectives but account for recent industry trends, such as the rise of digital and AI-driven engagement.

This report, the first in CCW Digital and Foundever’s Contact Center Elevation Series, is your ticket to analyzing the contact center through the eyes of your customers and employees.