Call Center Quality Assurance: Why Quality Matters?

Call center quality assurance is a process or set of actions aimed at analyze, monitoring, and evaluating the performance of agents as well as the overall customer service experience.

Call center QA’s major purpose is to ensure that customers have a consistent and high-quality experience when interacting with call center agents.

As per a survey, 97% of consumers in the US believe that customer service plays a crucial role in retaining their loyalty.

Providing lousy service to your customers is enough to chase them away, even if it occurs only once. 

As a call center leader, you can’t afford to overlook the quality of interactions your agents are offering. 

In other words, how your agents treat your customers and handle interactions will determine your business success. 

Customers today have high expectations of resolving their issues in the first call itself.

While aiming for quick customer service, you also need to maintain the quality of the calls. 

A. What is call center quality assurance?

Call center quality assurance is a process that consists of call monitoring, evaluation, and agent coaching with an objective to improve the quality of customer conversations.

Quality assurance (QA) involves evaluating how successfully call center agents assist customers.

Listening to calls ensures that agents are polite, follow the rules, and solve problems correctly.

The goal is to keep customers satisfied while also improving agent performance through feedback and training based on the call.

Enthu.AI is a software that does all in one place.

B. Quality Control vs Quality Assurance

Quality Control

Quality Assurance

C. Top 16 call center quality assurance best practices

Here are some top practices for contact center quality assurance. They can help you provide outstanding service.  

1. Recruitment and selection error

At the onset, recruitment, and selection of agents may not seem like the responsibility of the quality assurance team. 

It’s very important to hire the right person for the service you need.

The Quality team can team up with HR. They will help HR understand which candidates best match the job profile.

2. Provide early and regular training

A big mistake many call centers make is putting new hires to work without proper training.

Indeed, companies are always swamped with work, facing tight deadlines.

Putting employees into operations without showing them around will create more problems.

Train agents on your customer service expectations. Then, show them how to exceed those expectations.

Only then should they be allowed to interact with customers independently. 

3. Involve agents in the development of the quality program

The concept of quality can have a negative connotation for agents.

To change how people see call center quality management, involve everyone in building the QA program.

Agents should work alongside quality specialists to develop benchmarks for their performance level. 

This matters a lot. It helps agents know what’s in the scorecard and why it’s important to follow it.

4. Providing feedback to agents

Regular feedback is key to improving agent performance and keeping them motivated.

While evaluating, make sure to jot down specific notes and be as detailed as possible.

Make sure that while giving them feedback, you appreciate them for their good work too.

Also, you should give them pointers for coaching and training so that they can improve.

5. Have a quality assurance scorecard

Without a well-designed scorecard, all your efforts to ensure quality will go to waste. 

Here are a few things to keep in mind while creating a QA scorecard– 

• Evaluate the performance by concept, i.e., excellent, good, regular, and bad. his helps you spot the best agents and train the average ones.
• Assign different weight numbers to different items in the list. The idea is simple: the heavier item matters more when we measure the operation’s quality.

6. Ensure problem resolution

Quality control also helps keep the problem resolution rate high.

Agents must be accountable for resolving issues. They also need the authority and training to assist customers effectively.

7. Agent engagement is a must during the quality evaluation process

Agents must have a clear knowledge of all the metrics that are being evaluated. 

Set a realistic target for evaluation to ensure quality monitoring and assessment.

They should be aware of what a quality interaction constitutes. 

8. Think like a customer

To create quality evaluation forms, think like your customer. Put yourself in their shoes.

This will help you understand why customers call. You’ll learn what they look for first and how they think.

Identifying these topics helps you create your scorecard. You can then assign weights to each item.

Most important is to empathize with your customers; don’t consider them as crying babies.

Recognize that they have a real problem affecting them. Your job is to solve it effectively.

9. Agents must do self-evaluation

You should promote self-assessment to improve call center efficiency.

There is a period of time each week when agents evaluate their own calls. 

They will listen to the calls. Then, they will analyze them for customer satisfaction and service quality.

Self-assessment will help them identify their own mistakes and improve their communication skills. 

10. Include all contact center-supported channels in the quality program

A QA program should check customer interactions across all service channels. This includes email, social media, chats, and more.

This is because a bad interaction on any channel can ruin your company’s reputation. 

11. Use gamification as positive reinforcement

Employ gamification to recognize and reward agents for a job done well.

This will not only motivate agents but also promote engagement and loyalty. 

This game mechanism makes things fun. Agents want to reach their goals.

12. Allow for growth

Have a long-term strategy to allow employee growth within the company.

This will help you retain the best talent in your company. 

Design a career plan for your service team that will help them improve and grow as an individual. 

13. Do not make your agents read a script

Scripts guide call center representatives during customer interactions.

Adhering to the script ensures the quality of the call. 

It’s also important for your agents to go off-script when needed.

Otherwise, they might end up sounding like a robot. 

14. Customer contact plan

Devise a contact plan for reaching out to your customers in specific cases e.g. when they leave a bad review.

You can talk to them to understand what went wrong and how you can improve it. 

Or you can even make a post-purchase call to see if they are facing any difficulty and how you can help. 

Always put your customers first if you want your business to succeed. 

15. Think like an agent

When checking an agent’s performance, make sure to match tasks to their skills.

You don’t want an agent to solve a problem about which they don’t have any knowledge. 

When scoring your agents, focus on their performance. Don’t let customer satisfaction affect your judgment.

16. Focus on low-performance employees

Best agents are already well aware of the standard of the call center service program.

So, focus more on low-performing employees than on agents working from home or the office. Give them feedback and provide the coaching and training they need to improve their quality.

D. Why quality assurance in the call center is important?

The process of QA is designed to help you enhance the quality of your customer-facing team.

It is the core of every call center. It helps you stand out from your competitors.

If you are still not convinced, here are the benefits of ensuring QA within your contact center. 

Wanna know how Enthu.AI helps you track the call quality with minimum effort?

1. Boosts customer experience

Analyzing data helps you gain insights. This is a key step on the road to customer success.

When customer service runs smoothly, and problems are fixed quickly, customers feel satisfied. This leaves a lasting impression in their minds.

The quality process helps the call center keep a steady service level during the customer journey.

2. Maintain call quality standards

The contact center is an important touchpoint for your customers in most businesses.

The behavior of your call center agents can influence relationships with your customers.

Many people judge a business by the way their agents interact with them. 

Quality monitoring practices and call analytics ensure that agents learn the best approach to solve important queries, handle difficult customers, and acknowledge feedback. 

We follow a standard process. This helps us keep a consistent tone when we communicate with customers.

3. Reinforce customer retention

A 10% increase in customer retention can improve profits by 25-30%.

Customer support quality is directly tied to your customer loyalty.

If you want to retain your customers, you need to provide them with a seamless experience. 

It costs five times more to attract new customers. Plus, it’s ten times harder than keeping an old one.

Call centers help keep quality high for customers. This way, they are less likely to switch to competitors.

QA puts customers’ needs on the highest priority list, thereby gaining customer loyalty. 

4. Adhering to compliance

Call centers must follow specific guidelines when interacting with customers.

Not following government laws, like data protection rules, can lead to a big fine.

These laws are set by the government to ensure customer privacy and security. 

Call monitoring is part of QA. It helps ensure agents follow compliance standards and keep data secure.

5. Better call center QA metrics

Measuring call center metrics is an essential aspect of call center quality assurance.

It helps measure customer experience and the overall performance of a contact center. 

A call center manager must understand which metric provides useful insights.

QA metrics are there to help you determine the center’s productivity over time. 

Some of the most common and vital metrics are average handle time, customer satisfaction level, listen-to-talk ratio, first-call resolution, etc. 

6. Help to clarify company values and goals

The QA process helps you determine your department’s goals and values. 

Without a clear objective, agents can find it hard to understand and give customers a great experience.

While defining QA standards, there are specific questions that need to be answered. 

This will help your call reps understand what the brand stands for and the quality of work expected of them.

7. Identify shortcomings in customer service

Call center QA is important. It helps find flaws in your customer service.

Monitoring all your conversations helps you find where your agents need improvement. With good coaching, you can train them to fix these issues.

If your customers aren’t happy, they might quickly look for another reliable company.

E. 5 Methods of call center QA

1. Statistical Process Control (SPC)

This method collects data on production. Then, it uses statistical analysis to monitor and control the process.

This helps spot and fix problems early. It also makes sure the final product meets quality standards.

2. Total Quality Management (TQM) 

TQM is a complete way to ensure quality. It gets everyone in the organization involved in improving continuously.

It highlights the importance of a customer-focused culture. It also stresses using data and analysis to make decisions and improve.

3. Root Cause Analysis (RCA) 

This method is used to identify the underlying cause of a problem in the production process.

RCA means gathering data, analyzing the issue, and finding the root cause. This helps in taking the right steps to avoid similar problems later.

4. Inspection and testing 

Inspection and testing are key elements of quality control.

They include checking the product closely to make sure it meets quality standards. Also, tests are done to confirm the product works as it should.

5. Continuous improvement 

Continuous improvement means always working to make things better. It involves checking and upgrading the production process. This way, we make sure to keep producing high-quality products.

You can use tools like Lean Six Sigma or Kaizen. They help find areas to improve. These changes boost efficiency and cut down on defects.

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F. How is call quality assessed?

The role of quality assurance in call center includes the following methods:

1. Quality monitoring 

This means listening to recorded calls or live monitoring the quality of calls. This helps assess how well call center agents interact with customers.

Calls are checked against quality standards. These include the agent’s tone, use of proper language, and how well they resolve customer issues.

2. Customer feedback surveys 

Send surveys to customers after they talk with a call center agent.

The surveys ask customers to rate their experience. They also want feedback on the interaction quality.

3. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

KPIs are metrics used to measure the performance of the call center.

Metrics can include average call handling time, abandonment rate, and first-call resolution rate.

These metrics can be used to assess the overall quality of the call center’s service.

4. Call data analysis

This means looking at call data to find trends and patterns in the call center’s performance.

The analysis helps find areas to improve. Then, it can lead to changes that boost the call center’s service quality.

5. Scorecards and performance evaluations

Scorecards and performance evaluations assess how well each call center agent performs.

Scorecards give a clear picture of the agent’s performance. They also show where the agent can improve.

Call centers can use these methods to assess and improve their operations effectively.

G. 6 Benefits of quality assurance

1. Improved customer satisfaction

QA helps to monitor and evaluate the customer interactions and ensures that they meet the required standards, which leads to increased customer satisfaction.

2. Enhanced quality of service 

Call center quality assurance monitoring can identify areas of improvement in the customer service process and make necessary changes, leading to a higher quality of service.

3. Better employee performance

QA provides feedback to call center agents, which can be used to improve their performance and increase efficiency.

4. Improved compliance

 QA helps call centers to comply with industry regulations and standards, reducing the risk of legal or financial penalties.

5. Increased productivity

By monitoring and analyzing call center processes, QA can identify areas of inefficiency and make improvements, leading to increased productivity.

6. Enhanced brand reputation

Consistent high-quality customer service contributes to a positive image and reputation for the brand.

Conclusion

quality assurance continuously measures operational and organizational effectiveness. 

Set up a quality scorecard that reflects your company’s values and goals. 

However, not all companies have the same vision for their support, so make sure to craft a unique QA scorecard that aligns with your business objectives and goals. 

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