Operations: Two industry veterans share their insights on using Benchmarks & Best Practices

Kislik: Or he uses the number as a prod to try to force his operations to some level of performance. That tactic can have consequences that can be very damaging.

CS: Can you give an example?

Kislik: Agent talk time. Sometimes when companies track that they end up with draconian supervisory techniques. They do all kinds of harsh things to keep people in seats. But employees will find ways to rebel. They’ll pace themselves, so they get lost in calls; their call time gets very long, which can lead to lots of calls in queue and bad customer service. They’ll take their breaks while on the phone.