Why You Need a Call Center Quality Monitoring Scorecard

Quality Management in Call and Contact Centers can be executed in a variety of ways and can serve a variety of purposes. Quality Management (QM) or Quality Assurance (QA) is the process of reviewing interactions with customers (calls, chats, emails, etc.) and assessing how closely they align with expectations.

So why do you need a scorecard?

Let's start with the people we're assessing - agents, customer service representatives (CSR), specialists - whatever you choose to call them - they need to be engaged to perform at their best. One of the first items to rate on a typical employee engagement survey is:

I know what's expected of me at work

One of the best ways to help agents know what is expected of them is to have a robust quality scorecard!

Next, let's address the people doing the assessing. Whether you have a team of Quality Analysts, Team Leaders, or someone else tasked with evaluating interactions, having an objective standard that clearly communicates the expectations drives consistency in the assessment process even when someone is brand new to the function. A well-defined scorecard also helps mitigate bias.

What should be on a Quality Monitoring Scorecard?

Every business is different and what's important to success for one business may not be important for another. That said, there are a number of criteria that are commonly found on scorecards that most contact centers might consider having on their scorecard. The following is hardly an exhaustive list, but if you want to see if you're just getting started or considering overhauling your existing scorecards, this is a great starting point.

Determining Needs

This can be as simple as understanding the customer's reason for contacting you, sometimes referred to as customer intent or call driver. For sales departments, a customer's needs might be more complex and require a number of probing questions so that an appropriate customized recommendation can made.

Willingness and Ownership

Willingness is typically introduced by simply saying something like, "I'll be happy to help" but can be expressed throughout the interaction. Ownership is typically demonstrated by the use of first person language and a focus on solutions - what can be done rather than what cannot be done.

Call/Chat Control

Lack of efficiency is often tied to call control - the agent's skill at keeping the conversation moving (pacing) and on topic. Call control can encompass a wide range of specific behaviors like signposting, asking quality probing questions, redirection, and effective transitions.

Dialog Skills and Professionalism

The tone and formality of the language used should align with your brand but I've yet to meet a customer who didn't respond well to active listening and warm, friendly language. You may find the use of empathy here or on its own. Either way, if you're looking for empathy, make sure it doesn't become a "check the box" behavior because customers can not only spot fake empathy a mile away, it can often escalate a situation.

Sales Behaviors

While they may not apply to all departments / call types, making a recommendation, asking for the sale, overcoming objections, up-selling, and cross-selling are all critical components in sales program scorecards.

What should NOT be on a Quality Monitoring Scorecard

Among the biggest mistakes organizations make (assuming they a Quality Management process in place) is placing focus on things that don't matter much in the grand scheme of things or are out of the agent's control.

Handle Time

Yes, Average Handling Time can be an important metric, even at the agent level, but it should never be applied to a single interaction. Instead, focus on behaviors that impact handle time like Call Control, system navigation skill, effective use of questions, etc.

Using the Customer's Name X Times

There is no doubt that addressing people by name is impactful, but if you're not careful, it becomes a "check the box" exercise instead of a way to create a memorable customer experience. And if the requirement is a specific number, agents will inevitably try to cram it in as quickly as possible. Overusing a person's name can come across as manipulative or simply sound scripted.

Asking for a Callback Number

Once upon a time, this may have made sense. In some, very specific use-cases, it still might make sense. But modern CCaaS platforms that capture and display the ANI (Automatic Number Identification) make this a waste of time.

Tips for Establishing a Quality Monitoring Scorecard

Specific is Terrific!Be detailed about what you're looking for and what good sounds like. If you're using a rating scale more granular than met/not met (binary), provide guidance for each level of performance. Use suggested verbiage to provide clear expectations.

Did you know that traditional Quality Assurance often reviews less than 2% of all customer interactions? Happitu's AI-powered Quality Assurance can analyze up to 100% of customer interactions nearly instantly and for far less than you might think. Don't rely on a tiny sample size to indicate agent performance! Let us show you how Happitu can work for you!