{"id":42489,"date":"2020-04-16T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-16T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/customer-service-kpi\/"},"modified":"2025-03-13T06:27:38","modified_gmt":"2025-03-13T13:27:38","slug":"customer-service-kpi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/us\/en\/blog\/customer-service-kpi\/","title":{"rendered":"Customer service KPIs: what exactly should you be tracking?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It can be tricky deciding how to measure customer service quality at your small business. There are so many different approaches, so many different customer service measurements\u2026 Where should you start?<\/p>\n<p>One reliable way to start measuring customer service performance is by using KPIs, or key performance indicators. If this isn\u2019t a term you\u2019ve heard before, or even if you need a refresher in customer support KPIs, we\u2019ll get you up to speed.<\/p>\n<p>In this post, we\u2019ll cover:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"table-of-content\">\n<li><a href=\"#What customer service KPIs are\">What customer service KPIs are<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#\u201cCustomer service KPIs\u201d vs \u201ccustomer analytics\u201d\">\u201cCustomer service KPIs\u201d vs \u201ccustomer analytics\u201d<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#Best practices for tracking and measuring customer service KPIs\">Best practices for tracking and measuring customer service KPIs<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#8 customer service KPIs to track\">8 customer service KPIs to track<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u2b50\ufe0f\u2b50\ufe0f\u2b50\ufe0f\u2b50\ufe0f\u2b50\ufe0f<b>\u00a0<\/b>Ready to offer 5-star customer service?<b>\u00a0<\/b>Get strategies for every stage of the customer journey with this <b>free eBook<\/b>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\n<div class=\"download-form-widget standart-download-form\" data-url=\"https:\/\/assets.ringcentral.com\/us\/ebook\/long-live-customer-service.pdf\" data-id=\"69d0f2ef292f9\" id=\"69d0f2ef292f9\">\n\t\t<button tabindex=\"on\"  on=\"tap:69d0f2ef292f9.toggleClass(class='open')\" class=\"open-modal-download-action download-form-button\" type=\"submit\">\ud83d\udcd9 Get the eBook<\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"download-form-modal\">\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-body\">\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-content\">\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-title\">\ud83d\udc40Get this free eBook to learn how to win in customer service.<\/div>\n<form class=\"download-form SMB\" method=\"post\">\n<div class=\"download-form-part\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input class=\"download-form-input\" aria-label=\"Full Name\" aria-required=\"true\" aria-invalid=\"false\" type=\"text\" name=\"fullname\" placeholder=\"Full Name\" data-dl-events-hover=\"true\" data-dl-element=\"text\" data-dl-additional-info=\"download form\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"download-form-part\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input class=\"download-form-input\" aria-label=\"Email (please enter a work email address)\" aria-required=\"true\" aria-invalid=\"false\" type=\"email\" autocomplete=\"on\" name=\"email\" placeholder=\"Email (please enter a work email address)\" data-dl-events-hover=\"true\" data-dl-element=\"email\" data-dl-additional-info=\"download form\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"popup_form\" value=\"1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"Lead_Entry_Source__c\" value=\"RC Blog\" class=\"download-form-input\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"download-form-part\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"download-form-submit\" type=\"submit\" data-dl-element=\"button\" data-no-auto-dl=\"true\" data-dl-additional-info=\"download form\" data-dl-name=\"Get it now\">Get it now<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<button on=\"tap:69d0f2ef292f9.toggleClass(class='open')\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\"  class=\"download-form-modal-close\"><\/button>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-thank\">Enjoy!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><a name=\"What customer service KPIs are\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>What are customer service KPIs?<\/h2>\n<p>As Maria Von Trapp would say, \u201cLet\u2019s start at the very beginning,\u201d with how KPIs are defined in general.<\/p>\n<p><i>Key performance indicators<\/i>, or KPIs, are the measurements used to indicate how well your team is doing in relation to their set goals. \u201cPerformance\u201d here isn\u2019t just about quality or speed of work; it\u2019s specifically tied to the pursuit of a goal.<\/p>\n<p>With this definition, you can probably see that <i>customer service<\/i> <i>KPIs <\/i>(or <i>customer engagement KPIs<\/i>) are the measurements used to show if your service team\u2019s performance is helping the business be successful and reach its goals.<\/p>\n<p><i>\u200b<\/i>[ebook-download title=&#8221;How customer-obsessed is your business?&#8221; link=&#8221;https:\/\/netstorage.ringcentral.com\/documents\/quiz_how_customer_obsessed_your_business.pdf&#8221; cta-text=&#8221;Take the quiz&#8221; src=&#8221;&#8221;]<br \/>\n<a name=\"\u201cCustomer service KPIs\u201d vs \u201ccustomer analytics\u201d\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>\u201cCustomer service KPIs\u201d vs \u201ccustomer analytics\u201d<\/h2>\n<p>Maybe you\u2019ve heard the term <i>customer service<\/i> <i>KPI<\/i> used interchangeably with <i>customer analytics<\/i>, or even <i>customer<\/i> <i>metrics. <\/i>Before we get any deeper into this post, let\u2019s clear up any potential confusion:<b><\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Customer metrics <\/b>are objective data about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/customer-interactions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">customer interactions<\/a>, generated by any number of processes.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/customer-experience-analytics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Customer experience analytics<\/a> <\/strong>are the interpretation of trends in these metrics, most often used to create projections and predictions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Customer service KPIs<\/strong> <i>also <\/i>use those metrics, but to track performance on set goals related to customer service.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To put it even more simply, both analytics and KPIs use metrics, but in different ways: one to make predictions, and the other to specifically track goal performance.<br \/>\n<a name=\"Best practices for tracking and measuring customer service KPIs\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Customer service KPIs: best practices<\/h2>\n<p>Now that we have the semantics cleared up, let\u2019s get into the reason you\u2019re really here: to learn how to use KPIs for customer service\u2014and do it well.<\/p>\n<p>For starters, here are some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/customer-service-best-practices\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">customer service best practices<\/a> when it comes to measuring KPIs that will serve you well, no matter what your goals are:<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Adopt the KPIs that are right for your small business<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>KPIs aren\u2019t one-size-fits all. Just because other companies or industries are using a certain set of KPIs for their customer service team doesn\u2019t mean you need to, too.<\/p>\n<p>Ignore the peer pressure. Think about what success looks like for your specific business as you plan your KPIs, and implement what makes the most sense for you and your team.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Set realistic goals<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Ambition is a beautiful thing. But sometimes, shooting for the moon ends up feeling more like shooting yourself in the foot. Set goals that seem within reasonable reach of your customer service team so they aren\u2019t constantly chasing the finish line and falling short. A goal should be a challenge, but not an unwinnable one.<\/p>\n<p>How can you figure out the right level of ambition for your goals? If this is your first year measuring customer service KPIs, be conservative; this is a time for creating your benchmarks. You could even forego formal KPIs for the first half of the year as you take and analyze some base-level metrics, then set your KPIs for the latter half of the year and measure against the benchmarks as you plan for the year to come.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Clearly communicate your KPIs\u2026 then do it again<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Does your customer service department know what their goals and KPIs are for the quarter or year? Upfront and ongoing communication about your objectives and how you measure them is the best way to keep your team informed and working toward a common goal.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Balance KPIs with your other goals<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Customer service KPIs are important, but they aren\u2019t everything. There are so many plates spinning in the air when you\u2019re a small business owner\u2014if you\u2019re only focused on the customer service plate, your other departments could suffer.<\/p>\n<p>The easiest way to ensure you\u2019re thinking of everything, and not doubling people\u2019s work, is to directly align your KPI\u2019s with your strategic goals for the year, and do the same with every team\u2019s goals. That way everyone is on the same page, and everyone\u2019s goals and performance indicators relate back to the business\u2019s overall objectives.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Use reliable data to build (and monitor) your KPIs<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>If your goals aren\u2019t data driven, that\u2019s a recipe for measuring the wrong performance indicators and falling short of the target. When building out your customer service KPIs, make sure you\u2019re relying on historical metrics and input from your customer support team so the next year\u2019s objectives reflect the reality of your business and what you can reasonably work to achieve in the next 12 months.<\/p>\n<p>Your KPIs aren\u2019t set in stone, only to be addressed annually. They should be living, breathing measurements that you can adjust when the need arises throughout the year. Maybe it becomes clear that the way you\u2019re tracking one KPI isn\u2019t taking all factors into account, or maybe it\u2019s not serving your objectives at all. Don\u2019t be afraid to pull your team together during the year to make your KPIs more meaningful.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Automate reporting for customer service KPIs<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The best way to stay on top of your team\u2019s performance is to find a tool that does the work for you. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/best-customer-service-software\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Customer service software<\/a> like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/office\/features\/analytics-portal\/overview.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">RingCentral&#8217;s Contact Center<\/a> come with easy-to-read-and-customize performance dashboards, where you can track your numbers (like <a class=\"waffle-rich-text-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/call-center-metrics.html\">call center metrics<\/a>) and receive email alerts about the most important reports:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/netstorage.ringcentral.com\/datasheets\/contact_center_live_reports.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-6966 size-large\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/image3-143-1024x606.png\" alt=\"RingCentral customer engagement solutions\" width=\"840\" height=\"497\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>And these aren\u2019t just static dashboards. With RingCentral Live Reports, you\u2019ll see trends across your team and be able to drill down to analyze queues, user performance, and call flows with visual call maps.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Review your KPIs on a regular basis<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Don\u2019t just set it and forget it! When you establish your customer service KPIs for the year, schedule out biweekly or monthly meetings to go over your dashboards and measure progress.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Reward and support your customer service team<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>KPIs are a great way to keep track of who stands out and who needs some additional training or encouragement. Using key performance indicators to reward good <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/customer-service-teamwork\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">customer service teamwork<\/a> and follow up with team members who need assistance reinforces the importance of these indicators to the whole team and can improve the overall employee experience for them. And that might just pay off in higher <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/employee-retention-strategies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">employee retention<\/a> rates and better customer service all around.<\/p>\n<div class=\"box\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>How customer-obsessed is your small business? <a href=\"https:\/\/netstorage.ringcentral.com\/documents\/quiz_how_customer_obsessed_your_business.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Take our quiz to find out.<\/a>\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n<p><a name=\"8 customer service KPIs to track\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>8 customer service KPIs to track<\/h2>\n<p>Here is a rundown of the top customer service KPIs that most businesses track. Remember: this isn\u2019t a \u201ccollect the whole set\u201d contest! Be sure to set meaningful, achievable goals for these indicators that tie directly to your team\u2019s performance and what matters most to your business.<\/p>\n<h3>1. Customer satisfaction (CSAT)<\/h3>\n<p><b>What it is: <\/b>This one\u2019s pretty straightforward. Customer satisfaction is the level at which your customers are happy with the products and services you provide.<\/p>\n<p><b>Why it matters: <\/b>If you want to grow (and who doesn\u2019t?), customer satisfaction should be a cornerstone of your metrics. For a small business, customer satisfaction is crucial. Happy customers lead to steadier revenue and more reliable referrals.<\/p>\n<p><b>How to track your customer satisfaction score as a KPI: <\/b>There are lots of ways to measure how satisfied your customers are, but here are two automated ways to do it that save time and money:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>End-of-interaction surveys<\/b>: After each call or messaging conversation, send a quick, one-question survey to the customer (\u201cHow satisfied are you with your experience today?\u201d). Some contact center platforms like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">RingCentral<\/a> include ways to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/automated-customer-service\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">automate customer service<\/a> and automatically send these <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/customer-survey\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">customer surveys<\/a> and build reports, so you can easily track this important metric.<\/li>\n<li><b>Track customer sentiment<\/b>: A contact center tool that\u2019s worth its salt today will include the ability to measure customer sentiment through text speech analytics. This allows you to spot customer trends, issues, and changes quickly by reviewing customer conversations for key topics and phrases. This cool new feature comes standard with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/contact-center\/analytics.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">RingCentral\u2019s customer engagement solutions<\/a>:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/contact-center\/analytics.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-6967 size-large\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/image1-200-1024x789.png\" alt=\"RingCentral\u2019s customer engagement solutions\" width=\"840\" height=\"647\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Use the data you gather from these surveys and sentiments to decide on a reasonable, achievable improvement to your customer satisfaction numbers that your team can work toward over the next year.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re planning to measure your customer satisfaction rate via an end-of-interaction survey, be sure to ask the same exact question year over year, so you know the data is controlled.<\/p>\n<h3>Net Promoter Score<\/h3>\n<p><b>What it is: <\/b>Your Net Promoter Score (NPS) sounds complicated, but it\u2019s simply how likely customers are to recommend (or promote) you to the people in their lives. If you\u2019ve ever filled out a survey that asked \u201chow likely are you to recommend us?\u201d, you\u2019ve helped a company determine their own NPS.<\/p>\n<p><b>Why it matters: <\/b>Word of mouth is critical to any business, since people trust their friends\u2019 and fellow consumers\u2019 opinions more than they trust advertisements. This goes double for small businesses who have to work hard for every new fan. Your Net Promoter Score should show you if you\u2019re on the right track to turning customers into ambassadors singing your praises.<\/p>\n<p><b>How to track your Net P Score as a KPI:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Much like customer satisfaction, NPS is usually best measured directly following an interaction with your company, when the customers\u2019 feelings about it are still fresh. Send a one-question survey asking how likely the customer is to recommend you to their friends and colleagues.<\/li>\n<li>Analyze the data from a specific period of time, maybe four to six months, to get a good swatch of your buyers\u2019 input. Find your average Net Promoter Score by adding all of the ratings together and dividing by the number of customers surveyed. (Hint: some customer engagement solutions like RingCentral calculate your NPS for you!)<\/li>\n<li>Use this data to set a reasonable, achievable goal for your team to work toward for the next year.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>3. Customer retention rate<\/h3>\n<p><b>What it is: <\/b>Your customer retention rate is the average length of time that someone stays your customer.<\/p>\n<p><b>Why it matters: <\/b>Loyal customers are the lifeblood of small businesses. They do consistent business with you and sing your praises to their friends and family. Plus, it\u2019s a lot cheaper to keep a customer than woo a new one. That\u2019s why <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/customer-retention\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">customer retention <\/a>metrics are an important one to track, no matter what industry you\u2019re in.<\/p>\n<p><b>How to track your customer retention rate as a KPI:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Find out how many customers you have at the end of a given period (week, month, or quarter).<\/li>\n<li>Subtract the number of new customers you\u2019ve acquired over that time.<\/li>\n<li>Divide by the number of customers you had at the beginning of that period.<\/li>\n<li>Then, multiply the result by one hundred for your percentage.<\/li>\n<li>If possible, do this same equation for the prior year; by how much did this number improve, or slip?<\/li>\n<li>Use this historical data to determine a reasonable year-over-year goal to set as a KPI.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>[(# of customers at the end of a given period &#8211; # of customers acquired over that time) \/ # of customers at the beginning of the period] x 100 = customer retention rate<\/p>\n<div class=\"box\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Wondering if you have a good retention rate?<br \/>\n<\/b>Read more: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/customer-retention-rate\/#How%20to%20calculate%20your%20customer%20retention%20rate%20in%204%20steps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">How to Calculate and Improve Your Customer Retention Rate<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>4. First call resolution (FCR) rate<\/h3>\n<p><b>What it is: <\/b>Your first call resolution rate (or first contact resolution rate) shows the amount of customers you\u2019re able to help within their first interaction, whether it\u2019s on the phone or via email, social media, or other contact.<\/p>\n<p>For example, someone calls you because a product they bought from you just broke. Your team is able to get a replacement sent out that day. Problem: solved, in one phone call alone.<\/p>\n<p><b>Why it matters: <\/b>Put yourself in your customer\u2019s shoes. How great is it when all it takes is one phone call? That\u2019s why racking and improving your first call resolution rate can make a big impact on customer satisfaction and retention.<\/p>\n<p><b>How to use first call resolution as a KPI:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Use your contact center analytics portal to find out how many customer requests were resolved in a single interaction at the end of a given period (month, quarter, or year).<\/li>\n<li>Divide by the number of requests you received during that period.<\/li>\n<li>Then, multiply the result by 100 for your percentage:(# of customer requests resolved in a single interaction in a given period \/ # of requests) x 100 = FCR rate<\/li>\n<li>If you have the historical data, see how your FCR has improved or slipped over time. Use this data to determine a reasonable goal your team can work toward over the next year.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<div class=\"box\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>See how your FCR rate stacks up<br \/>\n<\/b>Read \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/first-call-resolution-industry-standard\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">First Call Resolution Standard: Impress Your Callers in Minutes<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>5. Unresolved issues<\/h3>\n<p><b>What it is: <\/b>This KPI is about the number of active or open issues your service team has in your customer contact system at any given moment.<\/p>\n<p><b>Why it matters: <\/b>Tracking active issues can be one way to tell if your support team (especially important if it&#8217;s a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/remote-support-team\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">remote support team<\/a>) has the resources and knowledge they need to best assist customers who reach out. If there are dozens of open, unresolved issues in the queue, it\u2019s likely your folks are overwhelmed and in need of rescue, in the form of more training or potentially more hands on deck. This number is probably more important for businesses in industries that offer urgent assistance, like healthcare and insurance. But any business probably wants to improve at closing issues as quickly (and effectively) as possible.<\/p>\n<p><b>How to track unresolved issues as a KPI:<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Lean on your contact center metrics to find the average number of unresolved issues in the queue each day, week, or month. Look back on historical data; has this number increased from last year at the same time period? If so, this might be a good KPI to tie to your goals.<\/p>\n<p>RingCentral\u2019s customer engagement platform tracks your team\u2019s activity across channels and gets a full picture of their performance so you can optimize strategy and improve KPIs, like the number of open issues there are and how many your team has closed in a given period of time:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-6968\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/image2-172-1024x662.png\" alt=\"RingCentral\u2019s customer engagement platform\" width=\"840\" height=\"543\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Use the current and historical data to set a reasonable bar: maybe it\u2019s five open issues, or 15. We won\u2019t give you a number, since every small business is so different. The goal might be per agent or for the entire team during the day or week. Whatever you decide, make it a clear goal that everyone can help to monitor.<\/p>\n<h3>6. Average response time<\/h3>\n<p><b>What it is: <\/b>How long does it take for a customer to have their issue solved? That\u2019s your average response time, or ART.<\/p>\n<p><b>Why it matters: <\/b>People feel cared for when you make their question or concern a priority. The ability to resolve more customer outreach more quickly can really improve your patrons\u2019 feelings about your business. And in the experience economy, that\u2019s the dream.<\/p>\n<p><b>How to use ART as a KPI: <\/b>Again, you\u2019ll need the right tools for the job. A great customer engagement platform can help you easily find and track your team\u2019s average response time over any given period of time.<\/p>\n<p>If quick turnaround is important to you and your customers, this might be a perfect KPI to align to your business goals for the year. Use the data you gather to decide a reasonable reduced ART that you want to shoot for. Emphasize this number with your team, as they hold the key to success in their interactions, and update them on progress regularly to encourage them to keep up the good work.<\/p>\n<h3>7. Escalation rate<\/h3>\n<p><b>What it is: <\/b>The escalation rate is the percentage of customers who end up asking to speak to a manager during their interactions with your first-line customer service team. The lower this rate is, the better, because it frees up your managers to deal with only the most complex and high-priority customer requests.<\/p>\n<p><b>Why it matters: <\/b>Your escalation rate is a good indicator of how well trained and courteous your service team is. If your customers are routinely getting frustrated and asking to speak to a manager, that usually means they feel like they\u2019ve hit a brick wall with your agents.<\/p>\n<p>A high escalation rate could also signal trouble in sales; it could mean that there\u2019s a real problem with a product or service you\u2019re offering, if lots of folks are calling demanding exchanges or returns that only a manager can authorize.<\/p>\n<p><b>How to use escalation rate as a KPI: <\/b>If you aren\u2019t already tracking how many calls get escalated to supervisors, start now! Create a custom field in your CRM that your team can check off whenever a call escalates above them.<\/p>\n<p>In six months\u2019 time, measure that field against your total calls, and you\u2019ll have a well-informed percentage point to use to set benchmarks and future goals. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/contact-center\/integrations.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">RingCentral\u2019s customer engagement platform integrates seamlessly with dozens of popular CRMs<\/a> like Salesforce, Hubspot, Zoho, and more, so you\u2019ll have all of your KPI tracking in one place.<\/p>\n<p>Like most of these other KPIs, it\u2019s best to use your own data to determine what your reduced escalation rate should be for the coming year, especially as you\u2019re starting out. Industry standards are great, but don\u2019t be discouraged if you have a ways to go. Try to beat your own personal best and set goals that are within reach.<\/p>\n<h3>8. Employee satisfaction<\/h3>\n<p><b>What it is: <\/b>We\u2019re sure you know about employee satisfaction, but we can bet you didn\u2019t expect to see it on this list!<\/p>\n<p>Employee satisfaction is the degree to which your team is happy to work for you.<\/p>\n<p><b>Why it matters: <\/b>Think back on your own job history. When did you do your best work? Was it when you took pride in the place where you worked, or when you had to drag yourself kicking and screaming to the office?<\/p>\n<p>Happy employees are likely to be more engaged, more proactive, and more pleasant to speak with as a customer. It stands to reason that happier employees will lead to happier customers, and happy customers\u2014and employees\u2014stick around.<\/p>\n<p><b>How to use employee satisfaction as a KPI: <\/b>The easiest way to measure employee satisfaction is with an employee engagement survey. Keep it anonymous, so people feel comfortable telling the truth, even if it\u2019s hard to hear. Let your team know how you will use the results, too, so they know their voice makes a difference.<\/p>\n<p>An employee satisfaction survey can be as simple as one question: \u201cHow happy are you to come to work?\u201d or \u201cHow satisfied are you with working here?\u201d Or, if you want to do more than just take the temperature, you can do a more formal, long-form survey to gather information on areas in your culture that are in need of improvement.<\/p>\n<p>Whatever style survey you choose, be sure to keep at least one direct question about employee satisfaction the same every time, so you can monitor a change in the results over time and set reasonable goals to measure against.<\/p>\n<div class=\"box\" style=\"text-align: center;\">Read more: \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/employee-engagement-survey-questions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">30 Questions to Improve Your Next Employee Engagement Survey<\/a>\u201d<\/div>\n<h2>Customer service KPIs: rally your team<\/h2>\n<p>Clear communication is critical to any business, especially when it comes to your goals. Key performance indicators are a powerful way to rally your customer service team around a common finish line, measure meaningful success, and boost morale.<\/p>\n<p>So now, it\u2019s time to reflect: what pieces of customer service are the most important indicators of success to you and your business? Which of the KPIs above, if given focus and energy for a year, could really <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/improve-customer-experiences\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">improve customer experience<\/a> and retention? Pull a team together, look at metrics, and decide which KPIs to bake into your next strategic plan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It can be tricky deciding how to measure customer service quality at your small business. There are so many different approaches, so many different customer service measurements\u2026 Where should you start? One reliable way to start measuring customer service performance is by using KPIs, or key performance indicators. If this isn\u2019t a term you\u2019ve heard &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17901],"tags":[743,402,18300,18301,15541,18302],"class_list":["post-42489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business-leadership","tag-customer-experience","tag-customer-service","tag-customer-service-kpis","tag-customer-service-metrics","tag-cx","tag-cx-kpis"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v19.3 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Customer service KPIs: what exactly should you be tracking? | RingCentral Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn about key performance indicators (KPIs) for customer service, how they&#039;re different from &quot;metrics,&quot; &amp; the best KPIs to track for your small business.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/customer-service-kpi\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Customer service KPIs: what exactly should you be tracking?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn about key performance indicators (KPIs) for customer service, how they&#039;re different from &quot;metrics,&quot; &amp; the best KPIs to track for your small business.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/customer-service-kpi\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"RingCentral Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ringcentral\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-04-16T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-13T13:27:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/web_home_HOME_def.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"RingCentral Team\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ringcentral\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ringcentral\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"RingCentral Team\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"17 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/customer-service-kpi\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"\/us\/en\/blog\/customer-service-kpi\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"RingCentral Team\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/65a168321317ffd562e0d77745f1b358\"},\"headline\":\"Customer service KPIs: what exactly should you be tracking?\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-04-16T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-13T13:27:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"\/us\/en\/blog\/customer-service-kpi\/\"},\"wordCount\":3481,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"customer experience\",\"customer service\",\"customer service KPIs\",\"customer service metrics\",\"CX\",\"CX KPIs\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Business &amp; leadership\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"\/us\/en\/blog\/customer-service-kpi\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/customer-service-kpi\/\",\"name\":\"Customer service KPIs: what exactly should you be tracking? | RingCentral Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-04-16T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-13T13:27:38+00:00\",\"description\":\"Learn about key performance indicators (KPIs) for customer service, how they're different from \\\"metrics,\\\" & the best KPIs to track for your small business.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/customer-service-kpi\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/customer-service-kpi\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/customer-service-kpi\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"\/us\/en\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Customer service KPIs: what exactly should you be tracking?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"RingCentral Blog\",\"description\":\"Intelligent Communications\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"RingCentral\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ringcentral-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ringcentral-logo.png\",\"width\":2048,\"height\":309,\"caption\":\"RingCentral\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ringcentral\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/ringcentral\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/ringcentral\/\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ringcentral\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/65a168321317ffd562e0d77745f1b358\",\"name\":\"RingCentral Team\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9a8d989fa7e72af5bd5cf487cf7080318b695de4be89de382c5e64305dd0249c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9a8d989fa7e72af5bd5cf487cf7080318b695de4be89de382c5e64305dd0249c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9a8d989fa7e72af5bd5cf487cf7080318b695de4be89de382c5e64305dd0249c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"RingCentral Team\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\"],\"url\":\"\/us\/en\/blog\/author\/ringcentral-team\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Customer service KPIs: what exactly should you be tracking? | RingCentral Blog","description":"Learn about key performance indicators (KPIs) for customer service, how they're different from \"metrics,\" & the best KPIs to track for your small business.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/customer-service-kpi\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Customer service KPIs: what exactly should you be tracking?","og_description":"Learn about key performance indicators (KPIs) for customer service, how they're different from \"metrics,\" & the best KPIs to track for your small business.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/customer-service-kpi\/","og_site_name":"RingCentral Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ringcentral","article_published_time":"2020-04-16T00:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-03-13T13:27:38+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/web_home_HOME_def.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"RingCentral Team","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ringcentral","twitter_site":"@ringcentral","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"RingCentral Team","Est. reading time":"17 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/customer-service-kpi\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"\/us\/en\/blog\/customer-service-kpi\/"},"author":{"name":"RingCentral Team","@id":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/65a168321317ffd562e0d77745f1b358"},"headline":"Customer service KPIs: what exactly should you be tracking?","datePublished":"2020-04-16T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-13T13:27:38+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"\/us\/en\/blog\/customer-service-kpi\/"},"wordCount":3481,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["customer experience","customer service","customer service KPIs","customer service metrics","CX","CX KPIs"],"articleSection":["Business &amp; leadership"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"\/us\/en\/blog\/customer-service-kpi\/","url":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/customer-service-kpi\/","name":"Customer service KPIs: what exactly should you be tracking? | RingCentral Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2020-04-16T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-13T13:27:38+00:00","description":"Learn about key performance indicators (KPIs) for customer service, how they're different from \"metrics,\" & the best KPIs to track for your small business.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/customer-service-kpi\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/customer-service-kpi\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/customer-service-kpi\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"\/us\/en\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Customer service KPIs: what exactly should you be tracking?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/","name":"RingCentral Blog","description":"Intelligent Communications","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/#organization","name":"RingCentral","url":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ringcentral-logo.png","contentUrl":"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ringcentral-logo.png","width":2048,"height":309,"caption":"RingCentral"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ringcentral","https:\/\/x.com\/ringcentral","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/ringcentral\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ringcentral"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/65a168321317ffd562e0d77745f1b358","name":"RingCentral Team","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9a8d989fa7e72af5bd5cf487cf7080318b695de4be89de382c5e64305dd0249c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9a8d989fa7e72af5bd5cf487cf7080318b695de4be89de382c5e64305dd0249c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9a8d989fa7e72af5bd5cf487cf7080318b695de4be89de382c5e64305dd0249c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"RingCentral Team"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com"],"url":"\/us\/en\/blog\/author\/ringcentral-team\/"}]}},"rc_img_url":"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/ringcentral\/assets\/images\/imgSample.jpg","rcblog_by_author":"<a href=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/author\/ringcentral-team\/amp\" data-dl-events-click=\"true\" data-dl-element=\"link\"><span class=\"image\"><img src=\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9a8d989fa7e72af5bd5cf487cf7080318b695de4be89de382c5e64305dd0249c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\" alt=\"\" width=\"30\" height=\"30\" layout=\"fixed\"><\/img><\/span><span class=\"by-author-name\">RingCentral Team<\/span><\/a>","rc_author_full_name":"RingCentral Team","rc_author_avatar":"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/ringcentral-logo-new.png","rc_author_link":"\/us\/en\/blog\/author\/ringcentral-team\/amp","rc_post_categories":"<a href=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/category\/trending\/business-leadership\/amp\">Business &amp; leadership<\/a>","amp_link":"\/us\/en\/blog\/customer-service-kpi\/amp","excerpt_title":"Customer service KPIs: what exactly should you be tracking?","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42489"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42489\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}