First Contact Resolution is a key metric for customer service teams. After all if you can satisfactorily deal with an incoming query or complaint quickly, without needing to follow up then it benefits everyone. The customer is happy as they have their answer and don’t need to escalate their query while the contact centre can close the file without needing to call back, delivering an efficient service that reduces costs without compromising quality. Of course not every query can be resolved on a first contact – many are too complex or require too much research to provide an immediate, straightforward answer.

However in the past high First Contact Resolution rates have been relatively easy to achieve – as there were a relatively small number of channels for the contact centre to monitor. Phone queries needed answering in real-time while emails could be responded to within a specified timeframe.

This has…