Contact center quality management programs help managers build teams that get better week after week. When agents have the right training and tools to do their best work, issues get resolved faster, escalations are reduced, and a happier customer base can be built.

In this blog, we discuss contact center quality management, why it matters, and the best practices for improving service across voice, chat, email, and more. You'll also get a glimpse into how AI is changing the game and learn how to set up a quality management program in your own contact center.

What is contact center quality management?

Contact centerquality management is the process companies use to monitor and improve agent performance. The end goal is to give customers the best experience possible.

The four key components for successful contact center quality management are: monitoring, evaluation, feedback, and improvement.

First, managers analyze and review the quality of each agent's interactions using tools like call recordings and speech analyticssoftware.

This helps them spot recurring issues, such as gaps in agents' skills or knowledge, or agents sounding too rushed or scripted - problems that can lead to poor outcomes.

Team leaders can then share this valuable feedback with their agents and provide personalized training to correct these issues. With awareness and training, there's a better chance that they'll consistently hit their KPIs and provide customers with a positive experience. In the past, contact center quality management was a time-consuming ordeal, but recent advancements in AIhave automated the process, taking the heavy load of interaction analysis with accuracy and speed. This gives managers time back to focus on upskilling their teamto improve the service they provide.

Benefits of call center quality management

Reduced compliance risk

Contact center quality monitoring programs help you stay compliant with industry regulations, such as:

• HIPAA:Effectively and securely store and encrypt recorded calls on-site or in the cloud with a cloud contact center
• Do Not Call (DNC):Keep an updated DNC list to prevent unlawful telemarketing calls
• PCI DSS:Accept payment while having payment information masked to avoid having customers disclose payment details in recordings

Complianceis incredibly important, particularly given the increasing number of data privacy and protection lawsin the U.S. and around the world.

A single breach can lead to legal trouble, fines, and reputational damage. Stay on top of these issues to protect your business.

Data-driven insights

The software that powers contact center quality assurance programs collects valuable data across different teams, channels, and contact types.

For example, speech analytics tools can monitor calls and warn you about problems like rising frustration over delivery delays and a recurring problem with a product or service. Contact center dashboards can also alert you to rising drop-offs, such as agents not picking up calls that IVRs, chatbots, or colleagues route to them.

Data-driven insights give you the information you need to correct emerging problems before call volumes increase and agents start missing targets.

Quality management tools and technologies

To find the gaps in your service and take action to remedy them, you need the right solution. Here are the different types of tools and technologies that can provide you with the visibility you need:

• Omnichannel QM software: Review how agents handle conversations across voice, chat, email, social media, and other channels to reveal whether your agents deliver the same high level of care and attention at every touchpoint.
• Call recording systems:Listen to call recordings to check whether your agent followed the script, included key compliance phrases, and managed the situation effectively.
• Screen recording software:Watch how your agent uses their CRM system, unified communication platform,and other apps to see if it's slowing them down or making their jobs more difficult.
• Speech analytics:Flag issues like multiple customers asking the same questions and objections that sales reps find hard to manage. Update your team scripts and back them up with coaching to help agents handle objections more confidently and resolve recurring issues faster.
• Automated quality monitoring software:Get an alert when an agent skips a key requirement, such as reading out compliance statements. Let the system do the searching rather than you having to listen to hundreds of call recordings looking for issues.
• Customer survey platforms:Automatically send post-call surveys so customers can tell you about their experience with your agent while it's still fresh in their minds. Most systems let you match survey answers to individual calls so you can find out why a call went well poorly.
• Agent self-assessment tools: Ask agents to review their own scores to better understand where they think they struggle. When managers see the world through their agents' eyes, this can lead to better coaching and faster improvement.
• Multi-channel monitoring solutions:Track interactions across all communication channels. Find out if your agents are as helpful and consistent in chat, SMS, email, and social media interactions as they are over the phone to prevent issues down the line.
• Performance analytics dashboards: Monitor KPIs like average handle time, first call resolution, customer satisfaction, and QA scores in real time. Give agents their own contact center analyticsdashboard so they can track their progress and take ownership of their performance.

Best practices for contact center quality management

Contact center quality management aims to build a repeatable process that keeps your customers happy, helps your agents continuously improve, and spots potential problems before they affect your CSAT score or revenue.

Follow these seven best practices to build the best contact center quality management framework for your business:

Set clear and measurable performance standards

Start with a scorecard for each channel, like voice, email, SMS, social media, live chat, and more. Measure your agents:

• Technically:Did they follow their script, leave helpful notes for coworkers, go through the "Know Your Customer" process properly, and so on? Do they use correct grammar and spelling in text conversations?
• Personally:Did they come across as friendly and approachable?

Share these goals with your agents so they're clear on what's expected of them. Being precise also makes it easier for agents to identify the exact issues they need your help with.

Use a balanced approach to evaluate agent performance

Metrics like calls answered per hour and first call resolution show you when there's an issue, but they don't always explain why.

For example, you might think an agent is taking too long on their calls. But when you listen to their recordings, you can tell that they take that long because they're following their scorecard's technical and personal standards to the letter.

Let your team know that when you write up their reviews, you don't see them as numbers - you see them as individuals. Be as clear as you can be on how you judge their performance. It's hard for agents to hit their targets if they're not entirely sure what they're aiming for.

Track and analyze performance data for trends

Performance dashboards give managers extra insights that can drive team improvements forward.

Zoom out and look at data over longer periods to see whether certain departments or individuals are more responsible for escalations. Or does call time shoot up when customers call about a particular product?

The goal isn't to catch anyone out. It's to identify patterns and determine what you need to do better as a business. Tackle the root cause of every issue you uncover to better help agents hit their targets and make life easier for them and your customers.