INTERNATIONAL ISO

STANDARD 18295-1
First edition
2017-0 7

Customer contact centres —

Part 1:
Requirements for customer contact
centres
Centres de contact clients —
Partie 1: Exigences relatives aux centres de contact clients

Reference number
ISO 18295-1:2017(E)

© ISO 2017
ISO 18295-1:2017(E)

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 ISO 18295-1:2017(E)

Contents Page
Foreword ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ iv
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. v
1 Scope ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 1
2 Normative references ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 1
3 Terms and definitions ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 1
4 Customer relationship requirements ............................................................................................................................................. 2
4.1 General ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 2
4.2 Communication of information to customers .............................................................................................................. 2
4.3 Measuring and monitoring of customer experience .............................................................................................. 3
4.4 Complaints handling .......................................................................................................................................................................... 3
4.5 Customer protection .......................................................................................................................................................................... 3
5 Customer-focused leadership ................................................................................................................................................................. 4
5.1 General ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4
5 .2 C us to mer exp erience des ign and delivery ...................................................................................................................... 4
5 .3 f
E mp loyee s atis actio n/engagement ..................................................................................................................................... 4
6 Human resources ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 5
6.1 General ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
6.2 Functions ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
6.3 Agent competencies............................................................................................................................................................................ 5
6.3.1 General...................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
6.3.2 Communication and customer service competencies ..................................................................... 6
6.3.3 Technical competencies ............................................................................................................................................. 6
6.3 .4 C lient- s p ecific co mp etencies ................................................................................................................................. 6
6.4 Skills development............................................................................................................................................................................... 6
6.5 C o mmunicatio n o f f in o rmatio n to emp loyees ............................................................................................................. 6
7 Operational processes .................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
7.1 General ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
7.2 Customer-related processes ........................................................................................................................................................ 7
7.3 Workforce planning ............................................................................................................................................................................ 7
7.4 Quality as s urance related to cus to mer interactio ns ............................................................................................... 7
8 Service delivery infrastructure ............................................................................................................................................................. 8
8.1 General ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8
8.2 Handling customer interactions .............................................................................................................................................. 8
8.3 Customer data.......................................................................................................................................................................................... 8
8.4 Work environment............................................................................................................................................................................... 8
8.5 Continuation of service .................................................................................................................................................................... 8
9 Client relationship .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 8
Annex A (informative) Metrics — Guidelines ........................................................................................................................................... 10
Annex B (informative) Client/CCC relationship ..................................................................................................................................... 15
Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 16

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ISO 18295-1:2017(E)

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work o f preparing International Standards is normally carried out
through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical
committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work.
ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters o f
electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular the di fferent approval criteria needed for the
di fferent types o f ISO documents should be noted. This document was dra fted in accordance with the
editorial rules o f the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso . org/directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some o f the elements o f this document may be the subject o f
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identi fying any or all such patent rights. Details o f
any patent rights identified during the development o f the document will be in the Introduction and/or
on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www.iso . org/patents).
Any trade name used in this document is in formation given for the convenience o f users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation on the voluntary nature o f standards, the meaning o f ISO specific terms and
expressions related to con formity assessment, as well as in formation about ISO’s adherence to the
World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) see the following
URL: www.iso . org/iso/foreword .html
This document was prepared by ISO/PC 273, Customer contact centres.
A list of all the parts of ISO 18295 can be found on the ISO website.

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 ISO 18295-1:2017(E)

Introduction
The ongoing success and development o f any organization relies on its understanding o f the expectation
levels and perceptions o f its customers. The results o f specific consumer research by ISO’s Consumer
Policy Committee (COPOLCO) prompted an initial request to member bodies to assess the interest in a
customer-focused contact centres standard.
Service standards are an important element o f service management excellence; they help clari fy
expectations for clients and employees, enable per formance management, and support client and
customer satis faction. This document specifies requirements and gives guidance for in-house (captive)
contact centres and outsourced contact centres (third party providers). It is intended to be used for any
customer interaction with a customer contact centre (CCC).
Implementation of this document and ISO 18295-2 can create value for the customer, the client, the
employee and the CCC, improving the robustness and e fficiency o f the service and the client/CCC
relationship, therefore enabling the CCC to deliver a higher level of customer experience on behalf of
the client.
ISO 18295 comprises two parts (see Figure 1).
This document specifies requirements for customer contact centres (CCC) which are either in-house
or managed by an outsourcer. It deals with certain aspects o f products and services which remain the
responsibility o f the client organization, rather than the CCC.
ISO 18295-2 specifies requirements for the client organization that mandates the CCC (in-house CCC
and/or the outsourcer). A CCC is not responsible for certain aspects o f products and services which
remain the responsibility o f the client organization.
ISO 18295-2 aims to ensure that customer expectations are consistently met through the provision and
management of appropriate arrangements with CCCs meeting the requirements of this document.

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ISO 18295-1:2017(E)

Figure 1 — Relationship between ISO 18295-1 and ISO 18295-2

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INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 18295-1:2017(E)

Customer contact centres —

Part 1:
Requirements for customer contact centres

1 Scope
This document specifies service requirements for customer contact centres (CCC). It specifies a
framework for any CCC that aims to assist in providing clients and customers with services that
continuously and proactively meet or exceed their needs.
This document is applicable to both in-house (captive) and outsourced (third party operator) CCCs o f
all sizes, across all sectors and all interaction channels, including inbound and outbound. It specifies
performance metrics (KPIs) as and where required.
2 Normative references
There are no normative references in this document.
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes o f this document the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at http://www.iso . org/obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at http://www.electropedia .org/
3.1
agent
CCC staff member who handles customer contacts
3.2
accessibility
usability o f a product, service, environment or facility by people with the widest range o f capabilities
3.3
campaign
set of custom-designed initiatives (interactions and activities) that target prospective or existing
customers (or both) for desired outcomes
3.4
channel
means by which a customer is able to interact with a CCC
EXAMPLE Web-chat, e-mail, voice.
3.5
client
organization which commissions the CCC to deliver customer interactions on its behalf
Note 1 to entry: A client can be part o f the same organization as the CCC as well as an organization that outsources
part or all of its CCC activities.

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3.6
customer contact centre
CCC
in-house or outsourced organization which provides customer contact services, on behalf of a client
organization, to their customers
3.7
customer
organization or person that receives a product or service
Note 1 to entry: A customer can be internal or external to the organization, existing or potential, e.g. consumer,
end user, beneficiary or purchaser.
3.8
complaint
expression of dissatisfaction made to an organization, related to its products or service, or the
complaints-handling process itsel f, where a response or resolution is explicitly or implicitly expected
[SOURCE: ISO 10002:2014, 3.2, modified]
Note 1 to entry: In this document complaints are related to CCC interactions and client product(s)/service(s).
3.9
inbound
<contact with the CCC> initiated by a customer
3.10
outbound
<contact with a customer> initiated by the CCC

4 Customer relationship requirements

4.1 General
Customers who interact with a CCC have a variety o f needs. The CCC shall, on behal f o f the client, deliver
positive customer experiences which meet their customers’ needs.
The CCC shall ensure that it is accessible, reliable and responsive to customer needs and that it handles
all customer interactions consistently across its available communication channels.

4.2 Communication of information to customers

The CCC shall ensure that all in formation it provides to customers is accurate, relevant and easily
understood. When communicating with customers, the CCC shall take into account and act appropriately
in response to customers’ communication needs, for example language, literacy and impairments. The
CCC should consider where and in what format it presents information.
When the CCC cannot immediately resolve a query it shall provide the customer with appropriate
information, for example:
a) the estimated time- frame for a response/resolution;
b) the department/role/function that will be responsible for response/resolution;
c) regular status updates;
d) an amended time- frame and action plan when delays are incurred.

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4.3 Measuring and monitoring of customer experience

The CCC shall take action to understand the experience customers have when interacting with the CCC.
This should include overall customer satisfaction and satisfaction with how the agent handled their
i nterac tion . T he C C C shou ld en s u re it u nders tand s the key re a s on s for the s e re s u lts .

T he C C C c an u s e a va rie ty o f me tho d s to u nders tand and mon itor th i s , i nclud i ng:

a) the C C C ’s qua l ity eva luation;

b) employe e fe e db ack;

c) customer feedback;
d) s p e e ch ana lytics;

e) complai nts a na lys i s;

f) social networks feedback;

g) customer recommendations.
T he C C C sh a l l agre e with the cl ient b e fore u nder ta ki ng any d i re c t c u s tomer contac t to gather thei r

feedback.
NOTE Guidance on monitoring and measuring can be found in ISO 10004.
4.4 Complaints handling
T he C C C s ha l l e s tabl i s h a n e ffe c tive a nd e fficient pro ce s s for ha nd l i ng compl ai nts ab out the C C C a nd

ab out cl ient-relate d pro duc t(s) /s er vice(s) .

The CCC and the client shall agree the conditions under which the complaints handling process is to be
applied.
T he C C C s ha l l provide c u s tomers with cle a r and re ad i ly avai lable i n formation ab out where and how to

complain, and about how complaints are handled.

T he C C C sh a l l acknowle dge a l l compl ai nts . T he C C C sh a l l en s u re that a l l compl ai nts , a s defi ne d b y the

CCC and the client, are:

a) lo gge d and c ategori ze d corre c tly;

b) investigated and acted on within the set resolution time-frames, which are communicated at
regular intervals;
c) e s c a late d, when ne ce s s a r y, with i n the s e t ti me - frame s;

d) closed with appropriate feedback provided to the customer on the resolution and outcome achieved.
T he C C C s ha l l u s e i n formation from complai nts to i mprove s er vice del iver y.

NOTE Guidance on complaints handling can be found in ISO 10002.

4.5 Customer protection
T he C C C s ha l l en s ure that the identity o f the cl ient i s made cle a r i n e ach i nterac tion (u n le s s the identity

o f the cl ient cou ld i n fluence the pu rp o s e o f the i nterac tion e . g. ma rke t re s e a rch) .

T he C C C s ha l l en s u re th at agents on ly sh are con fidentia l i n formation with the corre c t c u s tomer.

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ISO 18295-1:2017(E)

T he C C C s ha l l pro ac tively provide c u s tomers with cle ar i n formation ab out any i ncre as e d ch arge s they

cou ld i nc u r when i nterac ti ng with the C C C . T he C C C sh a l l no t conce a l any cha rge s .

T he C C C s ha l l en s u re it de a l s with a l l c u s tomers e th ic a l ly. I t s ha l l provide cle ar i n formation ab out any

fi nanci a l, lega l a nd contrac tua l i mpl ic ation s o f de ci s ion s c u s tomers ma ke relate d to i nterac tion s with

the CCC.
The CCC shall not use pressure selling tactics and shall not exploit customers. It shall not disguise
s a le s/marke ti ng i nterac tion s a s marke t re s e arch .

T he C C C sh a l l pro te c t the privac y o f c u s tomers , thei r i n formation and data .

The CCC shall ensure that for outbound interactions:

a) it fol lows nationa l or lo c a l ‘do no t contac t’ r u le s a nd legi sl ation and a ny op t- out re que s ts;

b) it advises the client to remove the customer details from the database when a customer requests to
be removed from the database;
c) it m i n i m i z e s ab andone d contac ts b y a d i a l ler;

d) the correct customer has been contacted and gives them an option to continue the interaction;
e) it gives the purpose of the contact at the beginning of the interaction;
f) it terminates a contact the customer does not want, and does not contact the customer again;
g) it ma ke s telephone contac ts with i n nationa l ly accep te d ti me - frame s , e xcep t where the c u s tomer

has requested a different contact time (within agreed operating hours).

Waiti ng ti me s/queuei ng s hou ld b e fre e o f cha rge for the c u s tomer.

5 Customer-focused leadership

5.1 General
T he C C C le aders h ip sh a l l ta ke overa l l re s p on s ibi l ity for i mplementi ng the re qu i rements o f th i s do c ument

and the c u s tomer exp erience s trateg y o f the cl ient. I t s ha l l e s tab l i s h c u s tomer- fo c u s e d s trategie s that

wi l l re s u lt i n p o s itive exp erience s for c u s tomers when they i nterac t with the C C C .

5.2 Customer experience design and delivery

The CCC leadership shall, in consultation with the client, determine the desired customer experience
f
to b e del ivere d b y the C C C . T he C C C le adersh ip i s re s p on s ible or del iveri ng the de s i re d e xp erience

through the CCC.

The CCC leadership and the client shall agree relevant performance measures for the CCC to monitor its
performance and support it in delivering the desired customer experience (see Annex A). It shall agree
with the client review frequencies for these measures.
5.3 Employee satisfaction/engagement
E mploye e s ati s fac tion/engagement d i re c tly i mp ac ts c u s tomer s ati s fac tion, there fore the CCC

le adersh ip s ha l l c re ate a worki ng envi ron ment wh ich encou rage s h igh level s o f employe e engagement.

T he C C C s ha l l e qu ip its employe e s with the s ki l l s a nd re s ou rce s ne e de d to del iver the de s i re d c u s tomer

experience.

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 ISO 18295-1:2017(E)

T he C C C sh a l l i nte grate employe e engagement i n relevant C C C ac tivitie s . I t sh a l l p erio d ic a l ly me a s u re

employe e s ati s fac tion/engagement to u nders ta nd employe e ne e d s and ta ke ac tion to i mprove as

ne ce s s ar y. T h i s sha l l fo c u s on:

a) A.2, metric 9);

overa l l employe e s ati s fac tion/engagement (s e e

b) agent experience in handling customer interactions.

6 Human resources
6.1 General
The CCC shall provide and schedule the right staff with the right competencies at the right time across
f
i nterac tion cha n nel s to u l fi l the re qu i rements defi ne d with the cl ient. I t s ha l l a l s o provide a s u itable

work environment (see 8.4) in order to deliver the desired customer experience.
6.2 Functions
T he CCC s ha l l s p e ci fy the re qui rements for all role fu nc tion s . It sha l l en s u re that all employe e s

understand the performance requirements of their role.

T he C C C sha l l b e s upp or te d b y the fol lowi ng fu nc tion s and s ha l l en s ure that tho s e who del iver the s e

functions are competent to do so:

a) leadership;
b) hu m a n re s o u rce ac ti vitie s (re c r u itment, re tentio n, emp loye e s ati s fac tio n / engagement, wel l-

being etc.);
c) skills development;
d) s upp or t s ys tem s - i n formation, com mu n ic ation and te ch nolo g y ma nagement e tc . ;

e) qua l ity a s s u rance;

f) CCC operations management;

g) client relationship management;
h) compliance - knowledge of relevant legislation and regulation, including customer rights and data
protection;
i) c ap ac ity ma nagement - work force plan n i ng , s che du l i ng and mon itori ng;

j) C C C management i n formation s ys tem s a nd rep or ti ng;

k) s ubj e c t matter exp er ti s e rel ate d to the C C C s er vice o fferi ng;

l) pro duc t/s er vice knowle dge and content m anagement.

6.3 Agent competencies

6.3.1 General
T he C C C s ha l l en s u re that agents are on ly as s igne d to de a l with i nterac tion typ e s for wh ich they are

s uitably comp e tent.

The CCC shall ensure that agents have the following competencies and behaviour and have an
understanding of the performance requirements of their role in order to handle customer interactions.

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ISO 18295-1:2017(E)

6.3.2 Communication and customer service competencies

The CCC shall ensure that agents have the following communication and customer service competencies:
a) customer-focused attitude;
b) listening, communication and comprehension skills;
c) adap tabi l ity i n ha nd l i ng d i fferent s ituation s a nd cu s tomers , i nclud i ng vu l nerable c u s tomers;

d) goal-orientated attitude;
e) problem solving skills;
f) business-writing skills, where applicable.
6.3.3 Technical competencies
The CCC shall ensure that agents have the following technical competencies:
a) s ys tem s and te ch n ic a l knowle dge;

b) data capture skills;

c) C C C - s p e ci fic pro ce s s knowle dge and s ki l l s .

6.3.4 Client-specific competencies

T he C C C sh a l l en s u re, to ge ther with the cl ient, that agents are comp e tent to fu l fi l the tas ks i nc u rre d b y

the cl ient’s ma ndate and to me e t c u s tomer exp erience obj e c tive s relate d to it. T h i s sha l l i nclude at le a s t

the following:
a) pro duc t/s er vice and brand knowle dge;

b) knowledge of and skills to handle the customer related processes;

c) appropriate language skills;
d) relevant knowledge of the regulations and legal requirements.
6.4 Skills development
T he CCC sha l l review the comp e tencie s o f agents at le as t an nua l ly. It sha l l provide agents who

are identi fie d as b ei ng no t fu l ly comp e tent with the appropri ate ski l l s development a nd le arn i ng

interventions to address skill gaps.

T he C C C s ha l l provide a l l agents with conti nuou s development s o they a re wel l e quipp e d to del iver the

expected customer experience and to meet the required competencies.

6.5 Communication of information to employees
T he C C C sh a l l en s ure that a l l relevant employe e s are i n forme d o f the i n formation they ne e d s o they c an

de a l with c u s tomers as re qui re d . I t s ha l l en s u re employe e s u nders tand th i s i n formation .

It shall ensure this information is:

a) re ad i ly acce s s ible;

b) del ivere d i n a ti mely and e ffe c tive ma n ner;

c) consistent;

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 ISO 18295-1:2017(E)

d) communicated using appropriate methods across all CCC locations;

e) up to date with on ly authori z e d i n formation .

7 Operational processes

7.1 General
The CCC shall put in place operational and support processes to enable it to deliver the desired customer
experience and the requirements of the client.
7.2 Customer-related processes
T he CCC sh a l l , in agre ement with the cl ient, defi ne the pro ce s s e s re qu i re d to ha nd le c u s tomer

interactions and deliver the desired customer experience.

It shall design, document and implement the following processes:
a) customer interaction handling;
b) escalation;
c) complaints handling;
d) s er vice re cover y;

e) customer data and information handling.

7.3 Workforce planning
The CCC shall have a forecast and scheduling process in order to deal with customer demands in a
ti mely man ner. T he pro ce s s sh a l l b e agre e d with the cl ient.

T he CCC s ha l l base its s ta ffi ng re qu i rements on the fore c as te d c ap acity pl an n i ng and re qu i re d

competencies so it can deliver the requirements agreed with the client.

The CCC shall have plans in place to deal with unexpected peaks of workload or lower than forecast
agent avai labi l ity.

7.4 Quality assurance related to customer interactions

T he C C C sha l l e s tabl i s h a qua l ity as s ura nce pro ce s s to control and i mprove c u s tomer i nterac tion s .

It shall take client requirements into account when designing this process. The process shall include
measuring, monitoring, evaluating and action-planning.
T he C C C s ha l l me as u re and mon itor c u s tomer i nterac tion s for a l l chan nel s a nd s er vice typ e s . T h i s sh a l l

include:
a) adherence to customer-related processes;
b) acc u rac y o f data c ap tu re;

c) abi l ity to re s olve c u s tomer i nterac tion s e ffe c tively and e ffic iently;

d) agent comp e tenc ie s a s defi ne d i n 6.3.

T he C C C sh a l l en s ure con s i s tent a s s e s s ment o f s er vice qua l ity. I t s ha l l eva luate the re s u lts and ta ke

appropriate action to improve customer experience and ensure it delivers the client’s requirements.

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ISO 18295-1:2017(E)

8 Service delivery infrastructure

8.1 General
The CCC shall provide infrastructure to meet the mandate of the client and customers’ expectations.
8.2 Handling customer interactions
T he CCC sh a l l h ave the appropri ate re s ource s/s ys tem s (e . g. h ardwa re, s o ftware, web -b a s e d) for
handling customer interactions. This shall include the following features:
a) i nterac tion h i s tor y to c ap ture and re tai n re cord s o f c u s tomer i nterac tion s;

b) i nterac tion de tai l s , wh ich are e as i ly acce s s ible and ava i l able to agents;

c) acce s s to relevant d ata a nd i n formation to enable agents to de a l with c u s tomers e ffe c tively;

d) data rep or ti ng for the C C C c u s tomer contac t- s p e ci fic ac tivitie s .

8.3 Customer data

The CCC shall handle, store and retrieve customer data in a secure, access-controlled and monitored
environment.
T he C C C s ha l l ke ep c u s tomer data private a nd on ly sh are them with authori z e d p a r tie s . I t s ha l l dele te

data that are no longer required.

8.4 Work environment
The CCC shall provide a suitable work environment, taking into account factors including ergonomics,
noi s e, ro om s i z e, s e ati ng l ayout and u s e o f te ch nolo g y.

NOTE See ISO 9241 (all parts).

8.5 Continuation of service
T he C C C sh a l l en s u re conti nu ity o f s er vice, accord i ng to the term s it agre e s with the cl ient.

If services are interrupted, the CCC shall inform the client and, where possible:
a) inform customers;
b) provide alternative contact channels;
c) advise when the service will be reinstated.
9 Client relationship
T he C C C sh a l l en s u re that it del ivers a con s i s tently h igh level o f s er vice to c u s tomers , wh ich me e ts the

c u s tomer e xp erience s trate g y o f the cl ient.

T he C C C s ha l l en s u re th at the term s o f the s er vice a re s p e ci fie d with the cl ient, i nd ic ati ng de s ignate d

responsibilities.
NOTE 1 A Service Level Agreement (SLA) can be used for this purpose; see Annex B for guidelines.

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 ISO 1 82 95 -1 : 2 01 7(E)

The CCC shall monitor performance against the performance measures agreed with the client. It shall
ana lys e any deviation s f rom the targe t i n order to d i s cover the c au s e, a nd sh a l l ta ke releva nt corre c tive

actions. It shall report deviations and the action taken to the client.
NOTE 2 See Annex A.

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ISO 18295-1:2017(E)

Annex A
(informative)
Metrics — Guidelines

A.1 General
The CCC should monitor per formance against the metrics (KPIs) specified in this annex to identi fy
continuous improvement initiatives.
These metrics may be measured by the CCC or the client.
All metrics should be measured at determined intervals, e.g. 15 min, 30 min, hourly, daily, weekly,
monthly, annually.
Metrics should be measured across all applicable interaction channels.
All reporting is done across both inbound and outbound unless otherwise specified.
A level o f confidence should be ensured where either a statistically relevant sample or an entire
population base is engaged. This should be agreed with the client.
NOTE See ISO 2859-1.

A.2 Metrics
1. Customer experience (CX)
Definition/Formula: Customer’s perception of the degree to which their requirements have
been fulfilled. Any direct contact with the customer to gather their feedback needs to be agreed
with the client. There are numerous methods by which to measure CX, e.g. customer satis faction,
voice o f the customer, customer e ffort score, sentiment analysis, social media data collection,
customer feedback, speech analytics, complaints analysis, social networks feedback, customer
recommendations.
Recommended best practice: Use more than one method to measure.
Recommended: Client and CCC specific.
Recommended reporting: Inbound and outbound interaction, by Client, Business unit, Campaign,
Channel, specific to the CCC.
2. Customer interaction quality
Definition/Formula: Customer interaction quality has two measurement areas to consider:
actual accuracy and interaction handling.
f

2.1 Factual accuracy

Definition/Formula: The accuracy/completeness o f in formation provided to the customer and the
necessary tasks or steps to close the interaction according to process/procedure. The percentage
o f transactions monitored that have achieved the client-specific factual accuracy target.
Recommended best practice/targets: Greater than 95 % compliance against factual accuracy
criteria that are client-specific based.

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 ISO 18295-1:2017(E)

2.2 Interaction handling

Definition/Formula: Measuring the customer interaction approach of the agent to achieve the
required customer experience taking into account, for example, empathy, politeness, listening
skills, attention to the individual, and appropriate response to the customer’s needs.
Recommended best practice/targets: Minimum 85 % compliance against interaction quality
accuracy criteria that are client-specific based.
To ensure a high quality output level from the CCC, each agent should be assessed using pre-
determined criteria and an unbiased sample agreed between the client and the CCC.
All assessments should be conducted against set quality measurement criteria that are defined as
two separate measurements for both factual accuracy and interaction handling.
In order for assessments to be objective, calibration sessions shall take place around results using
the calibration variance as the measurement criteria to determine objectivity and alignment on
scoring.
Recommended measurement frequency: Unbiased sample monthly.
Recommended reporting: By campaign, by team, by agent for each interaction type.
3. First contact resolution (FCR)
Definition/Formula: Percentage o f interactions resolved in the first contact from a customer’s
perspective over a representative sample.
Recommended: Client to speci fy target, dependent on process.
Recommended reporting: Inbound interactions, by client, business unit, campaign, agent.
4. Service level (SL)
Definition/Formula: Total interactions o ffered that are answered/responded to by an agent
be fore the threshold time, divided by total interactions o ffered. No exclusions to be factored in such
as abandoned contacts under threshold. A measure to indicate the speed of service for interactions
based on the customer’s waiting tolerance.
Recommended: Client to speci fy target.
Recommended reporting: Inbound interactions that are handled real-time (average speed of
answer / response), by CCC, campaign or interaction channel / service line.
5. Abandonment rate
Definition/Formula: Percentage o f all interactions that are dropped by a customer prior to an
agent responding.
Recommended: Client to speci fy target.
Recommended reporting: Real-time inbound interactions, by CCC, campaign, service line,
interaction channel / service line.
6. Aborted call rate
Definition/Formula: Percentage o f all interactions that are aborted by the dialler or customer
prior to being connected to an agent.
Recommended: Client to speci fy target.
Recommended reporting: Outbound interactions, and CCC, campaign, service line, interaction
channel.

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ISO 18295-1:2017(E)

7. Repeat contact ratio

Definition/Formula: Ratio o f repeat customer interactions for the one and the same query divided
by total number o f interactions received in a given period o f time (intervals). All repeat contacts
should be tracked to assess the ratio of repeat contacts.
Recommended: Client to speci fy target.
Recommended reporting: Inbound interactions, by campaign, service line, interaction channel.
8. Complaint ratio
Definition/Formula: The volume of complaints as a percentage of total customer interactions.
Recommended: CCC to speci fy target.
Recommended reporting: Inbound and outbound interaction, by agent, campaign, service line,
interaction channel, CCC.
9. Employee satis faction/Engagement (ESE)
Definition/Formula: Employee satis faction/engagement measures the employee’s perception o f
how engaged or satisfied they are with the CCC. There are numerous methods by which to measure
ESE, e.g. sta ff satis faction, employee e ffort, employee surveys.
Recommended best practice/target: CCC to speci fy target, use more than one method to measure.

Recommended reporting: By CCC, business unit.

10. Client satisfaction
Definition/Formula: Client perception of the degree to which their requirements have been
fulfilled by the CCC. There are numerous methods by which to measure client satis faction e.g.
surveys, quarterly reviews, client complaints review.
Recommended: CCC to speci fy target.
Recommended reporting: By client, business unit.
11. Average handling time (AHT)
Definition/Formula: Total time spent by an agent handling the customer interaction including
hold time and a fter interaction work (AIW), divided by the number o f contacts handled.
Recommended best practice: This metric should be aligned with the documented and tested
average customer process handling time per interaction type.
Recommended reporting: CCC, by business unit, service line/interaction channel specific.
12. Agent occupancy
Definition/Formula: Total interaction time plus a fter interaction work time, divided by total
available plus interaction time plus after interaction work time.
Recommended: CCC to speci fy target.
Recommended reporting: By campaign, service line/interaction channel, team, agent.
13. Absenteeism
Definition/Formula: Percentage of unplanned absence against the schedule.
Recommended: CCC to speci fy target.

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 ISO 18295-1:2 017(E)

Recommended reporting: By CCC, campaign, service line/interaction channel, team, agent.

14. Attrition
Definition/Formula: Percentage o f total number o f agents exiting the CCC divided by total number
of agents.
NOTE All agents who exit the CCC whether internally (e.g. being promoted) or exit externally by choice or not.
Recommended: CCC to speci fy target.
Recommended reporting: By CCC, annualized basis, reported monthly.
15. Forecast accuracy
Definition/Formula: Percentage difference between the actual interaction arrival and the
interaction arrival forecast.
Recommended best practice/targets: Maximum 5 % variance above or below forecast, calculated
per 30 min interval.
Recommended reporting: By campaign, service line/interaction channel, interaction types, per
interval.
16. Schedule accuracy
Definition/Formula : Percentage difference between the actual required agents and the
scheduled agents.
Recommended best practice/targets: Maximum 5 % variance above or below schedule.
Recommended reporting: By campaign, service line/interaction channel, by interaction types,
per interval.
17. Schedule adherence
Definition/Formula: Expressed as a percentage of actual workforce adherence against scheduled.
Recommended: CCC to speci fy target.
Recommended reporting: By campaigns, service line/interaction channel, interaction types.
18. Contact back on time
Definition/Formula: Percentage of interactions made on time in response to a customer
request/instruction (scheduled).
Recommended: Client to speci fy target.
Recommended reporting: By campaign, team, agent.
19. Opt-out rate
Definition/Formula: Percentage o f prospect/customer records requesting the ‘Do not contact’
option against success ful contacts (right party contacts).
Recommended: No target
Recommended reporting: Outbound interactions, campaign, service line/interaction channel.
20. Contactability (right party contact)
Definition/Formula: Percentage o f customers that were success fully contacted against unique
customer records.

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ISO 182 95-1:2 017(E)

Recommended: No target.
Recommended reporting: O utb ou nd i nterac tion s , ca mp a ign l i s t, c a mp aign typ e and c a mp a ign .

21. Attempts per contact

Number of attempts per contact.
Definition/Formula:
Recommended: No target.

Recommended reporting: B y c a mp aign l i s t, c amp aign .

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 ISO 18295-1:2017(E)

Annex B
(informative)
Client/CCC relationship

It is recommended that the following details of service are addressed in the documented agreement
between the CCC and the client:
a) s cop e o f the s er vice, s p e c i fic a l ly the p er formance targe ts agai n s t agre e d me tric s , wh ich ne e d s to

b e defi ne d a nd me a s u re d with c a lc u lation me tho dolo g y;

b) Service Level Agreement (SLA) and response for exceeding or not meeting targets;
c) costs associated with agreed scope of service;
d) cl ient- s p e ci fic p ol ic ie s relevant to the C C C mon itori ng and rep or ti ng o f p er formance (e . g. control

me tho d s and fre quenc y, veri fic ation me e ti ngs) ;

e) processes and operational practices (e.g. operational procedures, communication guidelines);

f) contac t s trateg y and i nterac tion chan nel s;

g) operational hours of the customer contact channels;

h) escalation processes;
i) forecasting, scheduling and planning assumptions;
j) role s and re s p on s ibi l itie s o f the C C C a nd the cl ient;

k) bu s i ne s s conti nu ity pla n s .

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ISO 18295-1:2017(E)

Bibliography

[1] Sampling procedures for inspection by attributes — Part 1: Sampling schemes indexed
I S O 2 8 5 9 -1 ,

by acceptance quality limit (AQL) for lot-by-lot inspection

[2 ] I S O 9 2 41 (a l l p ar ts) , Ergonomics of human-system interaction
[3 ] I S O 10 0 02 , Quality management — Customer satisfaction — Guidelines for complaints handling in

organizations
[4] ISO 10 0 0 4, Quality management — Customer satisfaction — Guidelines for monitoring and
measuring
[5 ] I S O 2 2 3 01 , Societal security — Business continuity management systems — Requirements
[6] I S O/I E C 2 70 01 , Information technology — Security techniques — Information security management

systems — Requirements

16 © ISO 2017 – All rights reserved

ISO 1 82 95 -1 : 2 01 7(E)

ICS 03.080.30
Price based on 16 pages
© ISO 2017 – All rights reserved