Creating a Call Monitoring Policy

If your call center monitors customer calls, you should have a formal quality monitoring policy in place. 

You should first research the laws about one-party and two-party notification in your state to ensure you comply with legal guidelines. Much of the policy will outline the process by which employees will be notified of the call monitoring guidelines, both during the hiring process, as well as on an ongoing basis.

The policy will also describe the tools and instruments to be used and how scores of calls will be communicated to the staff. 

The top ten items to include in a quality monitoring policy are summarized below:

Top Ten Considerations for a Quality Monitoring Policy

1. Research specific state regulations with respect to monitoring calls to define who must be notified that monitoring will occur.
2. Inform potential employees about monitoring policy during interview/hiring process.
3. Inform agents on a regular basis when they are to be monitored in accordance with legal guidelines.
4. Inform agents why they are being monitored – the purpose of the monitoring and how it will be used.
5. Obtain agent signatures on monitoring consent forms and post written monitoring policies
6. Use a standardized evaluation form that follows flow of call and gathers most critical performance information.
7. Monitor all agents periodically and set objective standards for varying the number of calls monitored based on performance.
8. Determine how monitoring scores will be communicated – how often, by whom, what communications channel, etc.  Outline what information, if any, will be posted publicly and inform staff of posting procedures.
9. Permit only qualified personnel and those with a legitimate business reason to access monitoring capabilities.
10. Establish an objective calibration process that includes representation from all staff involved in the contact handling process.