5 Best Practices for Enhancing Call Center Quality Management

“This call may be monitored or recorded for quality assurance.” Like most people, your customers probably don’t give much thought to this automated statement. But as you know, there’s a whole world of finely-tuned orchestration behind these words, ensuring every customer interaction exceeds expectations.

Truth is, call center quality monitoring should be a key part of your approach to achieving your business goals. Keep reading for some of our favorite tips, proven methodologies, and cutting-edge tools that help your team provide an engaging, valuable, and on-brand experience—every single time.

What is Call Center Quality Management…and Why is it Important?

Call center quality management ensures customer interactions meet your established quality standards. This means monitoring, reviewing, and improving the various facets of customer service—think contact center agent performance, adherence to quality standards, and the overall customer experience.

When it comes to customer-centric businesses, the importance of call center quality management cannot be overstated. According to the American Customer Satisfaction Reference, the average customer satisfaction score is around 73%. But we can do better. By consistently delivering high-quality customer service, businesses can differentiate themselves, build a positive brand reputation, and easily navigate customer issues.

Call Center Quality Management vs Quality Assurance

While call center quality assurance (QA) is a subset of call center quality management, the two terms are often used interchangeably. However, they are not the same. Quality assurance typically focuses on specific processes, such as call monitoring and adherence to predefined quality standards. On the other hand, call center quality management is a broader concept that encompasses quality assurance but extends beyond it to include holistic strategies for improving overall call center performance.

5 Call Center Quality Management Best Practices

We’re not in the business of gatekeeping. Here are some of our favorite current call center quality management best practices and optimization techniques.

1. Embrace omnichannel support In today’s digital age, customers expect seamless interactions across various channels. Implementing an omnichannel approach in call center quality management ensures that quality standards are maintained consistently, whether customers reach out via phone, email, chat, or social media.

2. Focus on First Call Resolution (FCR) FCR is a crucial metric that directly influences customer satisfaction from the start. By emphasizing prompt issue resolution during the initial contact, your organization can minimize customer effort, improve the customer experience, and boost overall call center efficiency.

3. Leverage real-time insights Real-time analytics empower call centers to monitor and address issues as they happen, which allows for immediate intervention—ensuring that customer interactions align with quality standards in real-time.

4. Implement coaching sessions Bridge the gap between QA and coaching by empowering supervisors to take immediate action with connected coaching conversations and integrated coaching actions (example: launch an individual performance challenge, send a learning mission, or recognize improvement with a kudos or badge).

5. Inspire improvement with quality KPIs Motivate agents to improve quality across the KPIs that matter most to your business with real-time visibility into quality scores and a gamified experience that challenges them to improve daily.

Call Center Quality Management Trends

Several key trends are shaping call center quality management. First, there’s a significant shift toward automation. From call recording to dynamic evaluation forms, automation improves workflows and maintains a consistent adherence to quality standards throughout the processes.

Another noteworthy trend? Integration with CRM Systems. By seamlessly integrating call center quality management with customer relationship management (CRM) systems, information can easily flow throughout. This integration not only creates a clear understanding of customer interactions, but also facilitates the delivery of personalized and relevant services.

Finally, motivate agents to improve quality across the KPIs that matter most to your business with real-time visibility into quality scores and a gamified experience that challenges them to improve daily. It’s important to drive continuous improvement with KPIs tied to personalized microlearning and continuous coaching so they can implement corrective actions, optimize processes, and refine their customer service strategies over the long run.

Solutions that Drive Success

To effectively implement contact center quality management, organizations need the right solutions. One key strategy is the integration of a gamified performance management system, which transforms call center quality management into an engaging and motivating experience. By infusing game-like elements and ongoing rewards, this approach inspires call center agents to perform better. (Who doesn’t like receiving kudos, enjoying learning, and embracing their competitive spirit?)

Then there’s AI-powered analytics, which provide in-depth insights into agent performance, customer feedback, and overall call center operations. Generating reports and analyzing data helps you identify trends, patterns, and areas of improvement within the contact center. This data-driven approach empowers organizations to make informed decisions and implement targeted improvement strategies.

And the adoption of automated QA scorecards and benchmarks streamlines the evaluation process, ensuring consistency and objectivity. Establishing benchmarks allows organizations like yours to measure performance against predefined standards, noting areas of improvement and getting you closer to your goals.

Implement Call Center Quality Management at Scale

Implementing call center quality management at scale requires a strategic and scalable approach. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

Take a modern approach Look for ways to better evaluate quality assurance processes and employee performance. For instance, consider customizable evaluation forms that better reflect elements such as employee experience and better identify the root cause behind poor performance.

Define clear standards: With so many agents talking to many customers, ensuring consistent quality across all interactions can be difficult. Through robust training programs and materials, implement effective quality monitoring processes to establish comprehensive standards that align with your organizational goals and customer expectations.

Invest in smart solutions: Choose call center quality management tools that cater to your specific needs. Many are looking toward holistic solutions with personalized gamified performance management and AI-powered analytics that enable their frontline workers to get the job done right the first time around, and quickly at that.

Develop training programs: Design and implement ongoing training programs to enhance agent skills, product knowledge, and adherence to quality standards. Also encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing among agents through peer reviews and team feedback sessions.

Gamify the experience: Don’t limit gamification to agents and supervisors – include your quality assurance managers, who like to have fun like everyone else! Gamifying their experience helps alleviate the role’s tedious, transactional, and disconnected nature. Quality assurance managers can turn their work into a game, perhaps with KPIs for completing required evaluations that can earn them redeemable points to keep them motivated and engaged.

Create a continuous feedback loop: Foster a culture of continuous feedback, enabling agents to learn from their experiences and improve over time. Customer satisfaction scores, Net Promoter Scores (NPS), and customer comments provide valuable insights into the quality of customer interactions and overall satisfaction levels.

Meet Centrical — #1 Performance Management Gamification Platform

In the realm of call center quality management, Centrical stands out as the number one performance management gamification platform. By combining advanced gamification with AI and incorporating quality-boosting elements such as microlearning, real-time performance insights, and augmented coaching, Centrical empowers organizations to elevate agent performance, enhance customer interactions, and achieve unparalleled success in call center operations.

Summary and Key Takeaways

As the call center industry continues to evolve and customer expectations continue to rise, staying ahead of trends and adopting innovative solutions will be key to delivering exceptional customer experiences and achieving business goals.

• When it comes to customer support, call center quality management is a cornerstone for success that, when done right, enables your team to provide an engaging, valuable, and on-brand experience.
• By embracing best practices (things like agent training and key performance indicators), organizations can elevate their call center quality management strategies, exceed customer expectations, and secure a competitive edge in the market.
• One key initiative to consider is the integration of a gamified performance management system, which transforms call center quality management into an engaging and motivating experience through a smart gamification platform.
• Implement call center quality management at scale by defining clear standards, investing in smart solutions, developing fun training programs, and promoting constant feedback.

For over a decade, Centrical has helped organizations across industries and the globe enhance employee and customer experiences. To learn more about Centrical and how we can help elevate your organization’s QA processes, watch our platform in action with a quick preview and request your personalized overview today!