Want to know what your agents are saying to your customers?  Looking for additional insights into your customers’ needs and concerns?

With live call monitoring, you don’t have to guess – you can listen to calls in real time and gain valuable (and actionable) information about your customers, your agents, and your business as a whole.

But, sporadic call quality monitoring alone won’t move the needle for your business or help your agents grow and thrive.  In order to make the most of this powerful tool, you need a strong quality assurance program to back it up.

In this quick guide, we’ll reveal our top 6 tips for how to effectively use call quality monitoring as part of a comprehensive quality assurance program in your call center.

Set the stage for constructive call quality monitoring

Before you listen in on a single call, take a second to stop and put yourself in your agents’ shoes.  At best, the mere idea of being monitored is nerve-wracking.  And at worst, your agents might feel that you are listening for mistakes, not successes.

Make sure that your agents understand that call quality monitoring is about helping them grow, not watching them fail.  You can create a positive atmosphere around call monitoring by bringing agents into the process as early as possible.

Some call center managers even include live call quality monitoring as part of the onboarding process.  For example, you could ask new agents to listen in to live calls and grade them using your standard quality assurance assessment; this not only shows your new agents that monitoring and quality assurance is a team effort, but also provides them with a clear picture of how your call center quantifies quality customer interactions.

Establish a dedicated quality assurance team

Let’s face it – most call center managers don’t have the time to perform consistent quality assurance evaluations and listen in on live calls all day.  But, if you aren’t providing your agents with consistent feedback, they are less likely to grow into the power agents you know they can be.

That’s why it is so important to have a quality assurance team, or at the very least, a dedicated quality assurance specialist.  Your quality control and assurance team (or team member) should use several different methods for measuring and scoring calls and work closely with each of your agents to help them grow and thrive.

Build your quality assurance standards with your business’s KPIs in mind

Without a strong set of business-specific key performance indicators, it’s easy for call quality monitoring to become an exercise in compliance rather than quality.

If you’re an inbound call center, your quality assurance standards should focus primarily on customer service objectives, such as first call resolution (FCR), average hold time, and average speed of answer.

If you’re running an outbound call center, your quality assurance standards will most likely revolve around key performance indicators, like percentage of calls converted or percentage of leads qualified.  (Of course, you’ll still want to focus on many of the customer satisfaction metrics that apply to inbound call centers as well.)

Schedule frequent, bite-sized training sessions for existing agents

Call center agent training doesn’t have to be an elaborate, all-day affair.  In fact, many call center managers and quality assurance teams find that it’s more effective to provide bite-sized agent training sessions on a regular basis.

Mini-training sessions allow agents to focus on small, digestible tips that they can apply to their customer interactions right away.  It’s also easier for agents and managers alike to fit these short and sweet training sessions into an already packed schedule.

Reward agents who follow best practices

Incentivizing positive behavior and growth is an important part of getting agents on board with your call quality monitoring initiatives.  A strong quality assurance program includes rewards for high-quality work, such as “Agent of the Month” awards, or even little gestures, like first choice on days off during busy seasons.

Use quality call monitoring to improve customer service

Every call in your business is different.  Some customers may be interested in purchasing something, while others might have issues with a product or service.  In either case, you should be looking for customer service opportunities for your calls as you’re reviewing them.

For instance, if you hear a call where a customer is obviously experiencing some frustration, follow up with them and see if you can assist them further or gain valuable feedback.  On the other hand, if you hear call with a customer where they’re extremely satisfied, you can touch base with them and possibly receive a positive testimonial for your business.

Implementing call quality monitoring best practices

Now that you’ve heard our top 6 tips for effective call quality monitoring, we want to hear yours! What quality assurance or call monitoring practices have helped your business or call center?