Quality assurance (QA) programs are designed to make sure customers receive consistent, high-quality service every time they get in touch with a contact center or an agent gets in touch with them. Data collected through QA programs provide the contact center with information needed to plan training and incentive programs for individuals and teams.
Monitor Agent Conformance Questions Using Speech Analytics
Speech analytics can be used to monitor conformance-related agent tasks for each call, including:
• Greeting
• Call Recording Disclaimer
• Verification of Name
• Verification of Account Number
• Verification of Mailing Address
• Verification of Contract Terms
• Empathy
• Closing
While speech analytics cannot be 100% accurate due to factors like accents and poor call quality, they can still be used to show the estimated percentage of calls where each phrase was or was not said. Speech analytics can be used to monitor the conformance questions on the QA scorecard, allowing analysts to manually record and focus on more important agent skills, such as accuracy, tone and product knowledge.
Shift How Contact Center Agents View QA Evaluations
It’s important for agents to see that QA evaluations aren’t punitive, but that they help companies provide customers with better service. Explain how calls are selected and ask for input about QA scorecard questions. When agents understand the benefits of a QA program, they’re less likely to get defensive and more likely to work with the company toward a common goal.
Training New Contact Center Agents
When hiring new agents, set them up with a Boot Camp QA Scorecard for the first month or two of their employment. Instead of standard “yes” and “no” questions, make each question subjective by giving options like “excellent” and “needs improvement.” There can also be a section for agents to make additional notes. This will help them understand the aspects of calls that matter most and give them a way to track their progress.
Flagging Calls: The Good and the Bad
Agents should be allowed to flag two types of calls: ones that are especially challenging and ones that they think they performed highly on. When a call is difficult, agents can flag it to ask for coaching. These calls should not be scored. When a call goes particularly well, agents can flag it to be reviewed and added to a best practices library. Excellent calls can be used for training purposes and can also help agents compete in QA contests. Great calls should be celebrated and agents should get feedback about what went especially right during the call.
Weekly vs. Monthly QA Evaluations
Often, QA evaluations are due at the end of each month, which means the last few days of the month are prone to an overload of monitoring and feedback. Instead, have a couple of QA evaluations due weekly. Agents will get feedback consistently throughout the month, which will help them avoid repeating mistakes over and over until their next evaluation.
Quality Assurance Self-Evaluations
Allow agents to self-evaluate a percentage of their calls each month. If you’re going to go over a call with an agent, let them review it ahead of time. They’ll be better prepared do discuss what went well and which aspects of the call could be improved. You can also provide them with the QA evaluation prior to the meeting. If they received a low score, giving them the evaluation beforehand will offset any shock they may experience during the meeting, clearing the way for you to have a productive coaching session.
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