When I joined a unique BPO organisation, client churn was high and a lot of complaints related to either billing issues (due to excessive call handling times) or quality. Churn was creeping up to around 4%. Key clients were frustrated and trust was low. We’d already reduced average handling time and cut a chunk of billing complaints through clearer KPIs and better behaviours, but we were still seeing a high volume of complaints from more complex clients. Most of these were caused by operator errors: the same advisors were handling simple and very complex accounts, and the call centre structure didn’t reflect different levels of client complexity or operator competence.

I needed to reduce error-driven complaints from complex clients and stabilise churn, without simply adding more headcount. That meant structuring the call centre more intelligently around skills and complexity, and improving quality at each level.

I partnered with the CTO and Head of Quality to design and implement a tiered structure in the call centre based on operator competence and client complexity. Concretely, I:

• Built a skills matrix that defined the competencies required at each tier, including product/process knowledge, accuracy, and call control.

• Defined expected AHT and wrap times per tier, so we had realistic benchmarks for simple vs complex work.

• Mapped which clients belonged in which tier, so our most complex clients were handled by our most competent operators.

• Strengthened call quality monitoring by tier, so we could spot and address issues specific to each level.

• Reviewed and improved legacy script layouts, simplifying flows and adding guardrails to reduce error rates.

• Introduced more specialised training per tier and gave new operators more time and support to become competent at one tier before progressing to the next.

The tiered model dramatically reduced operator errors on complex clients and, alongside the overall AHT reduction, had a significant impact on complaint volumes. Complaints from complex clients dropped, service became more consistent, and client churn reduced and then stabilised. The team also had a much clearer progression path, which helped with development and expectations. Within 4 months, complaints dropped from ~200 per month to under 40, billing complaints reduced by 70%, and churn halved from ~4% to ~2%. Key accounts stabilised and internal teams had a much clearer view of what was driving dissatisfaction.

• Behavioural Change
• Business & Operational Analysis
• business change
• Business Change Management & Communication

• BI & Analytics

• Business Services