If you’ve ever looked at a dashboard and thought, “Neat graphs—none of this tells me what I actually need to know,” you’re not alone. Plenty of contact center tools make it easy to track generic stats but a pain to monitor the stuff that actually matters to your team. If you want to move past canned reports, set up custom KPIs, and get real insights in your Contactbird dashboard, this guide is for you.
Whether you’re a contact center manager, ops lead, or just the unlucky soul responsible for reporting, I’ll walk you through how to set up—and actually track—KPIs you care about. No fluff, no marketing. Just the steps, the gotchas, and a few real-world tips.
What You Can (and Can’t) Do with Contactbird Dashboards
First, a quick reality check: Contactbird gives you a flexible dashboard, but it’s not a business intelligence tool like Tableau. You can set up custom KPIs, filter data, and build widgets, but you can’t run wild with SQL or build deeply custom visualizations. That’s fine for most teams—but if you want full-on data science, you’ll need to export your data elsewhere.
That said, Contactbird’s dashboards are solid for: - Tracking call volume, response times, and agent performance - Creating your own KPIs using built-in metrics and simple calculations - Setting targets and alerts so you know when things go sideways
What you can’t do (yet): - Build KPIs from external data sources without integrations - Set up complex, multi-step calculations (think: “weighted averages across segments”) - Automate sending dashboards outside Contactbird beyond basic exports
If that sounds fair, let’s get practical.
Step 1: Nail Down the KPIs That Matter
Before you even log in, decide what you actually want to track. Don’t just copy the default metrics or chase “industry best practices” unless they fit your team.
Questions to ask: - What are the outcomes you actually care about? (e.g., happier customers, faster resolution) - What’s broken or unclear in your current reports? - Who’s going to look at this dashboard—and what do they need?
Examples of useful custom KPIs: - First contact resolution rate for top 3 issue types - Average response time for VIP customers - Percentage of calls resolved without escalation
Pro tip: If everything’s a KPI, nothing is. Pick 3–5 metrics to start. You can always expand later.
Step 2: Find the Right Data in Contactbird
Once you’ve narrowed your KPIs, you need to see if Contactbird tracks the raw data you need. Most common data points—call duration, tags, agent, queue, disposition—are there. But for more niche stuff (like NPS, if it’s from a separate tool), you might be out of luck unless you’ve set up integrations.
How to check: - Go to the “Analytics” or “Dashboards” section in Contactbird. - Use the data explorer to view available fields. - Cross-check your desired KPIs with what’s available.
Watch out for: - Data that’s only available at a summary level (hard to drill down) - Metrics that update with a lag (some stats refresh hourly, not instantly) - Missing context (e.g., if you want to track “repeat callers,” you need a unique customer ID on every call)
If you’re missing data: Before you build anything, talk to your Contactbird admin about enabling or integrating the data you need. No point designing a metric you can’t actually track.
Step 3: Build Your Custom KPIs
Assuming you’ve got the data, here’s how to create custom KPIs in Contactbird:
1. Create a New Dashboard (or Edit an Existing One)
- In the dashboard section, click “Create Dashboard” (or pick one you want to update).
- Name it something obvious. (“Q2 KPIs” beats “Dashboard 14” every time.)
2. Add a New Widget
- Hit “Add Widget.”
- Choose a widget type: Number, chart, table, etc. For KPIs, number widgets are great for single metrics; charts help you see trends.
3. Set Up Your Custom Metric
Here’s where you actually define your KPI: - Select your data source (calls, chats, tickets, etc.). - Use filters to narrow down (e.g., only calls tagged “VIP” or from specific agents). - Choose your calculation: count, average, sum, % resolved, etc. - Give it a clear label (“Avg. Response Time — VIPs” is better than “Widget 7”).
Example:
To track “First Contact Resolution Rate for VIP customers”:
- Data source: Calls
- Filter: Tag = “VIP”
- Calculation: % of calls closed without a follow-up or escalation
4. (Optional) Set Targets or Alerts
- Some KPIs matter more when they go off the rails. You can set thresholds (e.g., “Flag if response time > 2 minutes”) so they turn red or send a notification.
- Don’t go overboard—alerts are only useful if you act on them.
5. Save and Arrange Your Widgets
- Drag your widgets around so the most important metrics are up top.
- Remove anything you don’t need—clutter kills dashboards.
Step 4: Share and Automate (Where Possible)
You’ve built your dashboard—now make sure it gets seen.
- Use Contactbird’s sharing options to invite teammates or execs. You can usually give view-only or edit access.
- Set up scheduled exports if someone needs a regular email snapshot (not as slick as a live dashboard, but it does the job).
- For teams that live in Slack or Teams, see if you can push key numbers there via integration. (This usually requires admin help.)
Honest take: The sharing/export features get the job done, but they’re not magic. If you need dashboards to show up in a different tool or on a TV screen, you might have to get creative with browser tabs or screen shares.
Step 5: Review, Refine, Repeat
No dashboard is perfect on day one. Here’s how to keep your KPIs useful:
- Check in with users: After a week or two, ask if the KPIs actually help. If not, tweak or drop them.
- Trim the fat: If you never look at a metric, get rid of it. Focus is your friend.
- Keep definitions tight: Make sure everyone agrees what “first contact resolution” or “VIP” means—no room for fuzzy math.
Stuff to ignore:
Don’t obsess over tracking every possible metric. More data doesn’t mean better decisions—just more noise.
Pro Tips and Pitfalls
- Start simple. You can always add complexity later, but nobody complains about a dashboard that’s easy to read.
- Document your logic. Write down how each KPI is calculated. If you leave or someone else takes over, this is a lifesaver.
- Watch for data lag. Some numbers don’t update in real time. Make sure you know what’s “live” and what’s yesterday’s news.
- Don’t treat targets as gospel. Use them as guideposts, not handcuffs.
Keep It Simple, Iterate Often
Custom KPIs can help you cut through the noise and actually improve your contact center—but only if you keep things focused and flexible. Start with a handful of actionable metrics, check if they’re helping, and adjust as you go. The best dashboards aren’t the fanciest—they’re the ones you keep using.
If you get stuck or Contactbird’s built-in features don’t cut it, don’t be afraid to ask your admin or reach out to support. And remember: the point isn’t to have “perfect” data—it’s to make better decisions, faster.