Call center quality assurance (QA) is vital for optimizing agent performance in customer service environments. By leveraging QA metrics effectively, organizations can ensure consistent service quality, identify areas for improvement, and drive agent development. This blog explores how to use call center quality assurance metrics to boost agent performance, supported by examples and research.
What Are Call Center Quality Assurance Metrics?
Call center quality assurance metrics are quantifiable data points used to measure and evaluate the performance of customer service agents based on customer interactions. For QA metrics to capture a true reflection of agent performance, the requested behavior must be within the agent's control. Common QA metrics may include:
Clarity and Tone: Evaluates how well agents communicate and maintain professionalism.
Problem-Solving Effectiveness: Measures how efficiently agents resolve customer issues based on interaction outcomes.
Active Listening Indicators: Tracks how well agents acknowledge and respond to customer concerns.
Adherence to Compliance: Ensures agents follow company protocols and regulatory requirements during interactions.
Why Use Call Center Quality Assurance Metrics?
Call center QA metrics provide actionable insights into agent performance. According to a Deloitte study, companies prioritizing QA see up to a 25% increase in customer retention. Metrics highlight strengths and weaknesses, enabling targeted training, coaching, and rewards programs.
Steps to Use Call Center Quality Assurance Metrics for Performance Improvement
Define Clear Objectives + Relevant Metrics - Begin by identifying specific goals for your QA program. Select metrics aligned with your business objectives. For example, a tech support center might prioritize problem-solving effectiveness and compliance adherence, while a retail call center may emphasize empathy and sales conversion.
Align Training Resources - It is vital that the agents understand and are confident they can deliver on the behaviors you are measuring. Align your training content/resources with your metrics to ensure agents have the knowledge and skills they need to be successful.
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Use Balanced Scorecards - Develop scorecards that weight various metrics. For example, a typical scorecard might assign:
- 25% weight to problem-solving effectiveness
- 25% weight to adherence to compliance*
- 30% weight to empathy and ownership
- 15% weight to active listening
- 10% weight to clarity and tone
*Failure to follow all compliance standards could result in an 'Auto-Fail', where the QA Score defaults to zero.
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Conduct Regular Monitoring - Monitor agent interactions consistently. Use call recordings, chat transcripts, or email threads for a holistic review. The timeliness of the monitoring is vital for both improving and sustaining agent performance.
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Provide Feedback and Coaching - Feedback should be specific, timely, and actionable. For instance, if an agent struggles with empathy, review interaction recordings to identify gaps and provide targeted training. Pair high-performing agents with those needing improvement for peer mentoring. Leverage e-learning to train new hires in what is expected and also to renew training for existing agents.
Set Up Continuous Improvement Loops - Establish a feedback loop where QA insights directly inform training modules, process improvements, and individual development plans. For example, a quarterly review of QA data can highlight emerging trends and drive strategic adjustments. It can identify what skills are most effective in turning around upset customers or identify opportunities for self-serve.
Reward Excellence - Recognize top-performing agents through rewards or acknowledgment programs. This not only helps to reinforce consistently high performance, but also acts as inspiration for others.
Agents who receive regular feedback are 3x more likely to feel
motivated and engaged. (Gallup)
Leveraging QA for Non-Agent Related Metrics
While QA metrics are invaluable for agent performance, they also offer insights into broader operational areas. Given that achieving success in these areas may not be entirely within an agent's control, it is important to weight them and/or track them differently (see 3 - Balanced Scorecards). These may include:
First Call Resolution (FCR): Measures the percentage of issues resolved during the first customer interaction.
Sentiment Analysis: Assesses the emotional tone of customer interactions, highlighting positive or negative trends.
Customer Effort Score (CES): Tracks how easy it is for customers to resolve their issues, identifying areas where processes can be streamlined.
Escalation Trends: Identifies recurring problems that require escalation, offering insights into systemic challenges.
Conclusion
Call center quality assurance metrics are powerful tools for improving and sustaining agent performance and operational efficiency. Organizations can create a feedback-rich environment by defining clear objectives, selecting the right metrics, and leveraging technology. This approach ensures improved agent performance and enhanced customer satisfaction and loyalty. Investing in QA processes pays dividends in long-term success.
VEREQUEST's goal is to help organizations keep the promises they make to customers and employees alike. Our third-party, quality monitoring service pairs VereQuest’s highly-skilled Coaches with our proprietary quality monitoring technology VQ Online™ to capture the level of detail you need to understand the experiences customers have when interacting with your call center agents — across all of your channels (calls, email, chat, video, etc.). The result is specific, actionable coaching insight that lifts and sustains performance. VQ Online™ is also available in a hosted SaaS model for internal quality monitoring teams.
The VereQuest Check-Up™ e-learning program is customizable for service, sales, and chat/email agents and the Coaches who support them. SCORM-compliant modules enable you to host your learning on your own LMS (or ours). Importantly, you pay no individual learner fees.
Get in touch with us today for a no-obligation demonstration and test run of our highly rated quality monitoring and e-learning - info@verequest.com
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