By Lauren FenthumThink back to the last time you called customer service. Before you reached the operator, you may have heard a message saying that “the call will be monitored or recorded for quality assurance.” Why are companies monitoring phone calls between customers and service operators, and what options will be taken based on that conversation?
Call quality measures the efficiency and effectiveness of conversations between customer service members and consumers. High-quality calls are polite, professional and timely. The customer should hang up feeling that they had a positive interaction, with a sound solution and knowing how to deal with the issue, should it happen again. This is the process of observing and analysing customer service calls, which looks at multiple factors such as employee attitude, effectiveness of problem solving etc.. This ensures the financial return of a call centre, based on the customer representative it determines how the consumer felt about interacting with the brand and could lead to consumer churn if not done well.
Hire a team to monitor call quality - The team should have good and clear insights about your business. They should be the people that know your company the best and have more experience with customers.
Develop Scorecards - The scorecard should highlight factors that agents will be evaluated on. This could include factors like; how long the call lasts, how well the agent listens to the problem, amongst other things. Include your agent in this process. Ask them how they felt during the interaction, this will help them better understand why they are being monitored and will commit to reaching those benchmarks.
Differentiate Monitoring - Not every phone call will be the same and not every problem will be the same. Some calls will be reactive and some will be proactive. One quality assurance scorecard cant accurately measure every type of customer service call. An agent shouldn’t be receiving poor scores because they had to deliver bad news.
Recognize Successful Behaviours - It is easy to get wrapped up in the shortcomings and mistakes. But focusing solely on negatives may hinder your teams long-term success. Balancing the good with the bad is a good way to reward employees and present them with opportunities for improvement.
Save Prime Phone Calls As Future Examples - This is when the agent ticks all the boxes and leaves the customer feeling delighted. Note specific choices the agent chose to make and how they created a more positive consumer experience.
Improve Processes, Not Just Employees - Remind your reps that all customers need help and its okay to follow up with them if the case is complex. Try investing in customer service tools that will automate your support process and improve your team's overall efficiency.
Hold In-Person Reviews - Offer feedback to your agents on how you observed them and what you scored them. Your employees should understand and implement your feedback moving forward. It is important to meet with your employees in person as they could miss an online review, or misinterpret information. Establish a relationship where your employee feels comfortable opening up to you.
