sitemanager

August 19 - Teaching by example is probably the best way to communicate your point during coaching sessions with as little effort as possible. You could spend countless hours talking about the issues in service quality and end up finding that little has changed. The other, more practical route is to demonstrate relevant examples to your team from real recordings of customer conversations. This approach enables you to highlight the issues in a clearer way and improve the agent’s performance. You can then test your agents by playing other recordings and asking them to point out what went wrong or could’ve been handled more effectively. Further, you can make your agents learn how to handle customers in complex situations by allowing them to listen to conversations conducted by top performers at your company. Note: This tip is provided by Chris Kontes of Balto. He may be reached at chris@balto.ai.  For more [...]

August 12 - Preparing for your coaching sessions beforehand is important to maximize their benefits. Your agents probably don’t want to waste their time attending coaching sessions that barely bring anything new to the table. In fact, preparing for your coaching sessions should constitute around 70% of the time you dedicate to them, while only 30% is dedicated to actual teaching. Before you inform your agents about the upcoming training session, make sure that you set measurable and achievable goals for the session to put you on track. It’s also important to develop a detailed structure for the session and incorporate a mix of theory and practice, as well as activities that encourage collaboration, such as team workshops. Consider each agent’s performance over the most recent period and tailor your training materials accordingly. Use data and insights collected from sentiment and conversational analytics platforms to identify patterns and trends and place more emphasis [...]

August 5 - What’s happening with contact center workload? Is the work handled by agents declining as AI capabilities become more robust and prevalent? Are calls being supplanted by digital channels and self-service? These are important questions—the answers will impact your budgets, hiring, workforce plans, investments, really everything. Let’s get right to it. Workloads are increasing Many industry experts are predicting that self-service and AI-fueled capabilities will reduce the workload requiring human agents. But for now surveys (e.g., from ICMI, McKinsey, and others) reveal that a sizable majority of contact center leaders expect workloads to increase over at least the next couple of years. What to do now? My overall advice to customer service and customer experience leaders is twofold. First, use your customer access strategy to define work you’re getting, how it’s evolving, and where and how you can harness new capabilities such as AI. (A customer access strategy defines the ten [...]

July 29 - I am currently in the process of developing a 30-, 60-, 90-day program for my contact center.  I thought it would be helpful to share my insight on the importance of this program with the hopes of having others share theirs! With guidance from my leadership team, I understood that the purpose of a 30-, 60-, 90-day program in a Sales contact center is to ensure that new hires are effectively onboarded and understand expectations within their new roles. Creating 30-, 60-, and 90-day Goals and Milestones ensures that New Hires become familiar with the company culture, and develop into effective and confident Team Members. Here’s what I’ve used to help me get started: Skill Development within the first 30 days - Progressively builds the necessary skills and knowledge required for their role. We start by focusing on training and learning the products and systems, and then implement [...]

 July 22 - Every day in organizations throughout the world, promises are being made to customers. How do you ensure customers are receiving the right treatment, being provided with the correct information, and that we are keeping the promises we make? This is an essential function of the Quality Assurance (QA) Team. The QA Team is responsible for (and should be directed to ensure while they are evaluating contacts that Agents are: Reviewing and addressing account notes Paying attention to whether this is the customers first contact and escalating appropriately when they have reached out multiple times Connecting customers with products and services of value and benefit Informing customers of self-enablement opportunities as well as walking them through the process These business rules should be integrated into the QA process and adapted to the goals established for measuring the progress and performance for both Agents and the QA Team. For this [...]

July 15 - Does your quality monitoring team work effectively with your training team in your center on quality score issues? Sometimes there is a problem that is coming up on a significant percentage of calls monitored, either for a single agent or for the population as a whole.  When it is a single agent issue, then coaching is the appropriate remedy.  But if it is coming up on multiple agents, then it is probably a training issue that needs to be addressed across the center. Can you tell if you have a systemic problem easily?  How is it communicated from QA to training?  A review of these processes can help to focus the right fix on problems that show up in quality scoring.

July 8 Some companies spend a significant amount of money to do benchmarking studies against their competition’s call centers.  But you may be looking in the wrong places to determine if you’re meeting the customer’s service expectations. Unless they’ve been doing some comparison shopping, your customer has probably not talked to your competition recently.  If you’re a cellular provider, chances are your customer hasn’t talked to the competition in the past week.  And if you’re a utility call center, how likely do you think it is that the caller on the line is actually comparing your service to that of another utility? The fact is that most of your customers are comparing the service they receive from you to what they encountered in their last, best service experience.  It may have been while making a hotel reservation, ordering from their favorite catalog, or getting a problem with their printer solved. So [...]

July 1 - If you’re considering the purchase of a new technology or just switching to another vendor for your current system, make sure you cast a large net as you fish for information. Invite all qualified vendors to present their products. Insist on a detailed demonstration and ask lots of questions about how the package would work in meeting your center’s specific mode of operation.  Remember you’re looking both for full range of functionality in addition to ease of use. You should plan to see and hear what each has to offer since features and functionality change rapidly.  And be sure to match up against your specific needs, taking care not to be overly impressed by features that you may not need now or in the future. Once you narrow your field to two or three vendors, plan to settle in and spend some quality time with them seeing a [...]

June 24 - Coaching involves helping individuals to identify new ways of improving their performance, achieving their objectives and finding solutions to workplace challenges. Coaching is very different to managing, and it is important to know what the key skills and behaviors of a good coach are before getting started. Here are some tips to help you get started: Build rapport and trust -- For coaching to be successful, it is vital for there to be trust and rapport between you and your coachee from the outset of your relationship. Be a great listener -- To be a good coach, it is essential to be a great listener. Listening carefully during a coaching session will give you a clearer understanding of the issues affecting your coachee. Ask challenging questions -- You should ask questions that prompt your coachee to engage in some genuine self-reflection. This should help them to achieve greater [...]

June 17 - Here’s a bit of a math refresher to ensure your quality monitoring process is working effectively. Remember that call calibration is really about working towards consistency. Consistency translates into fairness and even trust as it is experienced by the agents you monitor. And to your customers, consistency gives them confidence and trust in your service. The best way to measure calibration is by tracking the standard deviation of calibration evaluation scores. This will give you a numerical value that represents how consistently you apply your performance standards. Gathering the Scores To get the most comprehensive data sample, everyone involved in call monitoring, evaluation and coaching needs to complete an evaluation form and submit their scores on pre-selected calls. Therefore, you need to circulate the calibration call to all the supervisors, quality monitoring specialists and possibly team leads if quality monitoring is one of their job responsibilities. Once you [...]

June 10 - Looking to climb the ladder in contact center QA? Mastering your craft is essential, but there's more to it. Here are key skills to cultivate for your next career move: Contact Center Savvy: Dive deep into the unique challenges of contact centers and how they function. Understand call routing, performance metrics, and customer experience best practices. Communication Ace: Sharpen your written and verbal communication. Clearly document call evaluations, collaborate effectively with agents and supervisors, and provide constructive feedback. Data Master: Build, use, and build further your analytical skills. Become able to Identify trends in call quality data, pinpoint root causes of issues, and recommend improvements to enhance the customer experience - in either process or practice. Learning Machine: Embrace continuous learning. Explore new QA focused technology specific to contact centers, attend webinars, conferences, and do everything to stay up to date on best practices. Coaching Champion: Develop your coaching skills. Provide agents with clear and actionable feedback, guide them towards improvement, and help them reach their [...]

June 3 - Businesses are social organizations, full stop.  In-person gatherings, whether they be one-to-one or formal/informal meetings with a few or many attendees, hold tremendous value.  Most people have a burning desire (on varying levels) to look others in the eyes and express themselves both verbally and through body language.   Imparting energy, expressing joy or disappointment, entertaining and having fun, are all components of the business of social interactions. Leaders who are implementing the same sorts of social exchanges on the virtual front are avoiding the risks of disengagement, and they are actually experiencing a cultural and commitment boost.  A productive social system is shaped by leadership - not by location. Is it possible for leaders to create strong social capital without being co-located in an office?  The answer is yes, many leaders (including me) have been doing it for decades.   And for a scaled Work From Home program to [...]

May 27 - Are your training programs hitting the mark? Focused audits, based on Kirkpatrick's four-level training evaluation model, can provide sharp insights. This is a powerful approach: Level 1: Reaction: Audits assess trainees' immediate reaction to the training. Did they find it engaging? Clear? Level 2: Learning: We delve deeper to see if knowledge and skills were gained. Can trainees now apply what they learned? Level 3: Behavior: Focused audits go beyond the classroom. Did the training translate to positive changes in on-the-job behavior? Level 4: Results: We track the ultimate impact. Did the training lead to improved performance metrics relevant to your call center? By focusing audits on these levels, you gain a multi-dimensional view of training effectiveness. This allows you to identify areas for improvement and ensure your programs deliver the results you need. Remember, focused audits are like a magnifying glass for training excellence! Bonus Tip: Pre- and Post-training Assessments:  To truly measure learning, consider using pre- and post-training assessments. This allows you to see the tangible knowledge gain achieved through your training programs. With focused [...]

May 6 - One of the keys to time management for call center supervisors is to identify what tasks can be delegated to others to free up more time for the supervisor's most important activity — one-on-one coaching. Here are a few things to consider when deciding what can be delegated to other members on the team. Time.Analyze how you spend your day. Are you doing some things over and over that someone else on your team could do just as easily and perhaps even enjoy the added variety and responsibility? Use delegation to free yourself up so you can concentrate your efforts on activities that take your team members forward. Business processes.You need to establish concrete procedures and processes as your team develops. When you find yourself directing every activity (or trying to and failing), it’s time to start documenting important practices so your workforce doesn’t have to depend on [...]

 April 29 -  A common problem in training classes is that you have some “advanced learners” who are way ahead of the rest of the class.  There always seems to be one or two people who learn quickly and are ready to move on while the rest of the class is still struggling through the material. You don't want them bored, so it's important to keep them engaged. One way is to pair them with some of the folks that are taking a little longer to learn — this works especially well if they're learning the computer system and a more advanced person can help others along by providing some one-on-one assistance. You can also ask them to help out by writing some review questions for the material just covered. You may also want to keep some additional review materials or readings they can do if finished earlier than everyone else. [...]

April 22 - As a follow up to last week’s tip on investigating attrition, you may want to include an evaluation of the attrition in your center specific to front line supervisors or team leaders. Compare attrition numbers for each supervisor team.  It may be an issue at the supervisor level.   All too often, a great agent will be promoted to a supervisor based on agent skills.  Some do well but others fail miserably, not due to lack of technical skills but more around soft skills like the abilities to coach, teach, and just talk to team members from a supervisory perspective.  This can lead to attrition issues and you may not realize the cause. When you promote a new supervisor, ensure they get training to develop leadership skills.  They need to learn when, how and where to have discussions with their team members.  Teach them how to conduct meetings, counsel agents, and just be [...]

April 15 - Attrition is a crucial measurement to managers interested in keeping costs down and customer satisfaction high.  Customer satisfaction suffers when a steady stream of inexperienced CSRs handle calls, and the cost of replacing an agent can approach 150 percent of the employee’s annual salary.  Other costs associated with attrition take the form of call escalations, repeat calls, and, potentially, customer attrition. Employee morale can be difficult to quantify but attrition can be used as a good indicator.  Poor morale has consequences for customer service levels, productivity, and overall performance.  It can also lead to higher attrition rates. Attrition measurements depend on the contact center’s location, industry, and objectives.  In order to measure attrition so that a contact center can properly plan replacements for those who leave and identify the cause of controllable attrition, the following should be considered: State the percentage of the workforce that has left in [...]

April 8 - Today’s call center systems including ACDs, WFM, QM, and IVR, have so many capabilities that most of us are only using a very small percentage of the possibilities.  We may not even know what is possible and the folks in IT are often so busy it is up to us to figure it out. So designate a person on your team to learn all they can about one of your systems.  That person then needs to do a mini-training at your team meeting or write a short email to everyone on the team explaining what that feature or function is, what it does, why it might be useful, and how to use it.  The next week, the team reports back on how they tested out the new feature or what their ideas are for how to implement it in your operation and another feature is covered. After a [...]

April 1 - Leveraging Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) in the training environment is a valuable strategy to ensure the training programs are accurate, effective, and relevant. Here are some tips on how to utilize SMEs in your training process. Identify individuals within the organization with expertise in the subject matter to be covered during training.  This could be specialists or experienced employees. Involve them in the development of the curriculum.  Working together to outline the objectives, content, and the order in which the topics should be covered. Collaborate with the SMEs to create training materials, including presentations, online learning modules, and assessments.  The SMEs are here to provide real-world examples to make the content more relevant. Make sure that the SMEs review and validate all training materials for accuracy and relevance.  They can also verify that the content aligns with the company’s best practices. Their involvement can enhance the learning experience [...]

March 25 - Creating a rewards system with little to no budget is possible by using creative, non-monetary incentives and recognition.  This can be highly effective in motivating and engaging employees without a significant financial investment from the company. Ways to implement a no-budget or low-budget rewards system: Praise and Recognition:  Offer sincere verbal or written praise for a job well done.  Publicly acknowledge achievements in team meetings and emails. Certificates and Awards:  Design certificates or awards to recognize achievements or milestones. Additional Responsibilities:  Offer opportunities for employees to take on new responsibilities or lead a project.  This recognition shows trust and appreciation. Flexible work arrangements:  Allow flexible work hours, remote work options, or compressed work weeks Professional Development:  Offer opportunities for professional development, such as attending workshops, webinars, or conferences, to help grow in their roles. Extra Time Off:  Grant extra paid or unpaid time off. Peer-to-Peer Recognition:  Implement a system where [...]

March 18 - Collaboration is a critical link between Quality and Training in any organization. Just a few ways they are interconnected: Alignment of Standards: Collaboration between the Quality and Training departments ensures that the training content aligns with the quality standards and expectations of the organization.  Our QA partners provide input on quality, and training is designed to meet those standards. Continuous Improvement:  Collaboration between the quality and training teams facilitates in identifying the areas that require improvement.  Gathering feedback from our QA partners on quality issues can lead to developing targeted training programs to address the issues. Feedback Loop:  Quality teams have insight into areas where the employees struggle to maintain quality.  This feedback loop can inform the design of additional or modified training programs to address specific challenges. Quality Metrics:  Quality and training teams collaborate on defining tracking, and analyzing quality metrics.  Training plays a role in helping employees [...]

March 11 - When it comes to theories and models of design, we all know that well-crafted learning objectives that are aligned to the desired outcomes is key. The objectives impact the learning experience design and the length of programming based on the level of thinking skills required. One of my personal favorite tools to build the bases of objectives and the learning experience is Bloom’s Taxonomy. Benjamin Bloom and his colleagues released the taxonomy in the 1950s and it was later revised by one of its original co-authors and a former student of Bloom. The model builds out 6 levels of behavior with the lower three being associated with lower order thinking skills and the top three associated with higher order thinking skills. Please feel free to click the link below to see an excellent explanation of the Taxonomy with the additional twist of our digital age! Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy [...]

March 4 - Keeping virtual training engaging is crucial to ensure participants remain attentive and get the most out of the learning experience. Below are strategies to make virtual training sessions more engaging: Interactive Content Use a variety of content formats, including videos, interactive quizzes, and polls to break up the monotony of slide presentations. Engaging Visuals Make sure your slides are visually appealing, but not cluttered.  Incorporate images and graphics to illustrate key points. Gamification Integrate game elements such as quizzes, challenges, or leaderboards to make training more fun and competitive Chat and Discussion Encourage everyone to use the chat or discussion feature to ask questions, share ideas, and interact with each other. Breakout Rooms Divide participants into smaller groups for discussions, or group exercises.  This will foster collaboration and active participation. Engaging Speakers Select trainers who are enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and skilled in engaging virtual audiences. Shorter Sessions Break the [...]

February 26 - The ever-evolving workforce landscape means understanding how to engage and develop the next generation of talent is crucial. Gen Z, characterized by their tech-savviness, desire for personalization, and focus on purpose, presents unique opportunities and challenges in quality and training. Let's bridge the gap and empower them to excel! Understanding Gen Z Learners: Ditch the lecture, embrace interactivity: Gen Z craves active learning. Move beyond passive lectures and embrace gamified simulations, microlearning modules, and collaborative workshops. Let them learn by doing, interacting, and competing. Tech is their teacher:Leverage technology platforms they already use. Design mobile-first training programs accessible on-the-go.  Utilize video content, social learning features, and AR/VR simulations to create an engaging and immersive experience. Personalization is key:One-size-fits-all training won't cut it. Utilize data and feedback to personalize learning paths based on individual needs, learning styles, and career aspirations. Offer micro-credentials and badges to recognize progress and achievements. Engaging Gen Z Quality Champions: Make it meaningful:Connect quality initiatives to their [...]

February 19 - A few years back, I was commuting every week from my home on the East Coast to Indiana, where I was working.  My parents lived in Indiana and I was crashing at their house during the work week.  It was very nice.  One day, my mom called me up at my office to say that “all her passwords were stolen and could I help?”  I told her that we would fix them when I got home to her place that evening. Sure enough, her passwords to her accounts were all compromised.  So, I called her banks, Amazon, and her other online accounts, and I was able to change her passwords, with no problem.  Except her cable provider.  It took me seven calls, three chats, and four hours before the last agent told me the right way to change my password.  I wondered, does this company know that most [...]

February 12 - According to evaluagent’s recent research, voice still reigns as the primary channel for contact centers, making up about 65% of inbound interactions. Here are some ways evaluagent recommends keeping customers happy on the phone: Always introduce yourself. A friendly way to open a conversation, formally introducing yourself is professional, polite and personable, allowing you to start a rapport almost immediately. Don’t interrupt! If a customer is spending longer than expected explaining their issue, listen patiently. Interrupting is a sure-fire way to making someone uncomfortable or worse, upset. Ask permission to put someone on hold. This takes any element of surprise away – you should also offer a rough estimate of how long they should expect to wait. This week's tip is provided by Chris Mounce of evaluagent. He can be reached at chris.mounce@evaluagent.com.   About evaluagent At evaluagent, we believe that Every Conversation Counts. For over 10 years, we’ve [...]

February 5 - What format do you follow when creating training programs?  If you follow the traditional instructor-led format and you’re looking for something new and engaging, consider the flipped learning format. Flipped learning simply refers to flipping the traditional format and allow learners to be introduced to, study, and learn material outside of the classroom setting as opposed to inside the classroom setting. Once the initial learning takes place outside of the classroom, the classroom setting is used as a forum to ask questions in order to solidify your understanding and a time to collaborate on related projects and activities in order to reinforce the learning. Flipped learning has benefits such as increased flexibility for the learner and the facilitator. The flexibility to learn at your own pace can be extremely beneficial for those with different learning abilities. If you learn quickly, you have the opportunity to go back and [...]

January 29 - Knowing there’s a problem means you’re halfway to solving it! That’s why it’s absolutely vital to analyze complaints when they happen. Pinpointing problems within your business, or contact center, means you can take corrective action to reverse the impact. Our advice? Set up an automated alert system. Make sure you never miss a complaint by setting up a flag that highlights critical issues Enlist generative AI. Generative AI can help tag trigger words and make suggestions – saving you time and giving you more coverage Pass on findings. Transparency makes for a better customer and employee experience – keep your organization in the loop so they’re able to handle known issues consistently. Watch as your insights improve and your team grows in confidence! This week's tip is provided by Chris Mounce of evaluagent. He can be reached at chris.mounce@evaluagent.com.   About evaluagent At evaluagent, we believe that Every Conversation [...]

January 22 - Training programs, barring any outside influences, will generally prove to be successful if you employ the following: Plan – Always have a plan in place that outlines the path you’ll follow from the start of the class to the end, including plans that call for collaboration with business partners. The most common tool for outlining this plan in a training program is a class agenda. Having a robust class agenda not only ensures you’re covering all required topics with your current class, but it ensures you cover the same required topics with all classes. Consistency is vital and minimizes risk in a training environment. Prepare – Once you have your agenda created, take the time to properly prepare for each topic listed in the agenda. Adequate preparation increases your comfort level allowing you to focus more on your learner while facilitating. Keep in mind, your learner’s focus will [...]

January 15 - Empathy is a huge part of the customer service industry – and yet, it can still be undervalued.  But getting this wrong is high risk, with as many as 28% of people abandoning companies altogether due to poor service, according to evaluagent’s latest research with ContactBabel. Train your agents to demonstrably show empathy by: Not always reading from a script. Scripts can be helpful, but knowing when to deviate from one is also a skill – provide training on what these triggers look like. Using the customer’s name. A personalized experience is usually a much better experience. Show your customer they’re not just a call in a queue by engaging with them on a personal level. Apologizing for issues and/or wait times. If a customer is unhappily contacting you, or has had to wait some time to get through, show empathy by apologizing for the inconveniences. Listening properly. [...]

January 8 - As training professionals, it is important to understand there are various ways the brain of any given learner will accept and retain information. Below are some tips to help increase your chances of engaging each learner: Design learning materials that offer information in bite sized, digestible portions. For example, when presenting information using slides, cover one point per slide or two to three points per slide when the information is less complex. Include clear, simplified visuals on your slides that offer a connection to what the learner is hearing from the facilitator. Be careful not to clutter any one slide and be careful not to include visuals that are difficult to interpret or relate to what is being heard. Doing so can potentially cause the learner to become distracted while they shift their focus to making the connection between what they are seeing versus what they are hearing. [...]

January 1 - When was the last time you checked the reading grade levels of your training materials and online courses?  The training experience does not need to feel as though you enrolled in a doctoral program.  The Plain Writing Act of 2010 requires US federal agencies to use clear government communication that the public can understand and use.  (Check out https://www.plainlanguage.gov/guidelines/ for more information and guidelines). While it may not be the law for most of us, we can do the same.  Gone are the days of reaching for the thesaurus.  Today we should use language that is accessible and does not get in the way of learning.  Don’t make your training materials difficult just for difficulty’s sake.  Even if your organization requires a college degree for a specific position, it does not mean new hire training must be writing on a college reading level or higher. Not sure where to [...]

 December 25 - Agent retention is a big part of contact center performance, and that means keeping them engaged and motivated. While salary will always be a top priority for employees, a Gallup study found that employee experience was tightly intertwined with retention. Researchers found that engaged employees needed a 31% pay increase to leave their company, while disengaged employees only needed a 22% increase to jump ship. The experience you create in your work culture plays a key role in retaining agents. When agents feel valued and recognized for their efforts, they’re more likely to stay and grow with your company. Agents who become more seasoned deliver outstanding customer experience your contact center strives for. Tip #1: Identify Your Best-Performing Agents  Understand who the top and bottom performers are with the right KPIs. Identifying your best and worst agents will help you figure out how best to engage and motivate [...]

December 18 - Having a call library is not a new or unique concept, but when was the last time you gave it some attention?  When was the last time you updated it or thought about how you use it?  Change is a constant in life and in a contact center, so when was the last time you went through your call library to make sure the calls represent the current environment? Calls in the library should be updated any time there is a new process, system, or technology implemented that would make the current library out-of-date.  Similarly, if your quality form has seen major change, the calls should be reviewed to make sure they represent what the new form includes. In our contact center, we implemented a One-Time Password technology to help verify callers in approximately 70% of our inbound calls.  Since it was brand new to us, our call [...]

December 11 - A happier team of agents will stick with you longer and give your customers better service — and that’s a recipe for true contact center success. But how do you achieve it, especially in a remote or hybrid environment? Transparency, Autonomy, and Flexibility. Create A Culture Of Transparency And Open Communication Part of building a happier, more trusting environment in your contact center is through better communication. When you’re clear with your agents about goals and expectations — and how they relate to the business overall — agents feel more connected to the organization. Measure what matters most to your business. If it is speed, Average Handle Time is an appropriate metric. However, if limiting repeat interactions is critical, First Contact Resolution is a better focus. Meaningful feedback boosted engagement four times more than spending time in the office did. The most impactful feedback sessions will be one-on-one, [...]

December 4 - Could gamification be the silver bullet to your agents’ motivation? Here’s how evaluagent recommends getting started: Identify what motivates your team.  Understand what drives your agents and design rewards that align with those interests for the best chance of success. Create fair and inclusive mechanics.  Ensure all agents have an equal chance to win, and that your game elements cater to different skill levels. Monitor and adjust regularly.  Regularly review the effectiveness of your gamification strategy and make necessary tweaks to keep the program engaging. Integrate with existing processes.  Seamlessly integrate gamification into your existing workflows and processes to ensure a smooth transition (we can help!). As long as you take a considered approach, you should see agent engagement soar! This week's tip is provided by Chris Mounce of evaluagent. He can be reached at chris.mounce@evaluagent.com.    About evaluagent At evaluagent, we believe that Every Conversation Counts. For over 10 years, [...]

November 27 - Did you attend the annual QATC Annual Conference in September and want to make sure that you can attend again next year?  Consider asking for time in an upcoming staff meeting with your stakeholders (e.g., the people who approved your expenses) to share your QATC experience.  If you really want their continued buy in, don’t just run through a bunch of bullet points of all the things you learned – instead, put it in action! Present an action plan of how you plan to incorporate your new knowledge into the QA or training program.  Sending employees to a conference is an investment for any organization, so show your stakeholders what they are getting in return!  The format can vary depending on your needs, but consider dividing up your action plan into immediate and longer term items. This week’s tip is provided by QATC Member Adam Brown of Western [...]

November 20 - We have a 3-in-1 bonus for you!  Here are three scoring tips for new evaluators: 1: Listen to/read the interaction without scoring.  By taking the time to review interactions comprehensively first, you reduce pressure and ensure fair and consistent evaluations. 2: Take it one line item at a time.  Focusing on one item at a time minimizes fatigue, confusion, and stress caused by long lists of interactions. Multitasking isn’t the goal here. 3: Collaboration is key.  Effective communication and discussion helps keep things consistent and fair. Do this through official calibration sessions, as well as sharing your knowledge more informally, too! You can get overwhelmed with quotas to hit and lots of interactions to score, but keep it focused and you’ll be well on your way to delivering meaningful evaluations. This week's tip is provided by Chris Mounce of evaluagent. He can be reached at chris.mounce@evaluagent.com.     About evaluagent At evaluagent, [...]

November 13 - Quality assurance and coaching are crucial components of a successful call center operation. They help ensure that our agents provide excellent service and meet performance standards. Here are some tips I’d like to submit for effective call center quality assurance and coaching: Establish Clear Quality Standards:Define the specific criteria and key performance indicators (KPIs) that agents should meet, such as first call resolution, customer satisfaction, call adherence, operational requirements and compliance with company policies. Use Call Monitoring:Regularly monitor calls to evaluate agents' performance. Ensure that monitoring is consistent and unbiased. Score Calls Objectively:Be consistent and objective in your evaluations. Provide Timely Feedback:Highlight both positive and negative aspects of their performance. Constructive criticism is valuable for growth. Offer Training and Development:This could include additional product knowledge, communication skills, navigation concerns or problem-solving techniques. Share Best Practices:Encourage agents to share successful strategies and approaches with their peers. Create a culture [...]

 November 6 - As much as 9.5% of a business's revenue is at risk due to poor customer experience (CX). It is vital to prioritize customer and agent satisfaction to improve customer experience metrics like Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) and Net Promoter Scores (NPS). However, agents' own satisfaction plays a significant role in customer delight or dismay. Disengaged agents offer worse service which results in a high-effort customer experience three times as often as with engaged agents. Pay Attention to Agent Experience A contact center that is managing continual turnover can't deliver outstanding customer service because inexperienced agents are less likely to create the experience that customers desire. Disengaged reps also make customers work harder to resolve issues. To reduce churn and boost revenue, create a contact center environment that agents want to stay in by offering remote work, flexible scheduling, communication, and development opportunities. Leverage AI in Quality Management AI can [...]

October 30 - Many times in training agents in the contact center, we focus heavily on the end customer service skills, and rightfully so.  We should also not forget that our internal associations and groups are key to providing an excellent customer experience and we should utilize the same service skills to enhance the relationships and build loyalty and partnerships. Always providing good information, following up appropriately and professionally, and treating internal groups like we would want to be treated helps foster a collaborative environment and ultimately benefits not only the customer, but the company as well.  Training everyone in the organization on enhancing relationships beyond just the end customer enables us to see all sides of the equation. We sometimes take for granted that every internal group has the same drivers and needs as we do, but in fact, we have to work on the relationships to build that "one [...]

October 23 - The final tip in our series on Coaching will address deepening the coaching relationship.  Once you have started on a coaching journey with someone, developing communication is a two-way street. At the beginning of your relationship, if the individual is new to their role, there may be a need for some directive conversation. As they gain confidence, it’s important to continue to build their investment in the coaching conversation and help them to self-diagnose. One way of engaging them in the conversation is to ask these questions: What do you think? What am I missing? These questions not only engage your employee, but also open the dialogue for them to diagnose the root cause of what may be blocking their progress.

October 16 - For the second tip in our Coaching series, we will focus on how to expand your coaching relationship.  After a coaching relationship is established, at some point the conversation can become stale. Take advantage of this situation by asking the coachee to coach YOU. Here are some ideas to try: Have them watch you do their job and coach you Communicate something you’re working on and ask for their observations Try out some verbiage: “What would you think if I said X?” Coaching is a two-way conversation. This approach increases your permission to coach the employee.

October 9 - Coaching is a really important part of the job for all call center leaders.  The tips for the next three weeks will focus on this topic. Establishing a coaching relationship takes time and the ability to build trust.  This is something that we should work on continuously to build the relationships with agents in our organization. Some ways to build trust include: Inspiring Trust by Sharing: All of us have examples of when we said the wrong thing, or did something less well than we would have liked. Trust is an essential part of a coaching relationship. Share these instances where appropriate: “This was not my finest hour…” It conveys to your employee that you are human, and that mistakes are not fatal. Lean in to the Pause: Often an inflection point in learning occurs in a conversation at the point where the coachee is quiet or appears [...]

October 2 - We have been focusing on feedback the past few weeks.  Sometimes just a few changes in language can make a big difference when you are coaching agents. To minimize the risk of doing more harm than good when giving constructive criticism, make these vocabulary adjustments: Substitute ineffective for bad. Telling people they’ve made bad decisions or done bad things can make them feel stupid and inferior. Instead, explain why their choices may prove ineffective and what they can do to achieve a better outcome. Substitute often/seldom for always/never. Avoid using extreme terms even when dealing with chronic problems. The most persistently tardy workers occasionally arrive on time and the most reliable employees sometimes mess up. If you accuse people of always or never doing something, they may become defensive and point out exceptions to the rule. Or they may decide the situation is hopeless and stop trying to [...]

September 25 - Last week’s tip focused on giving and receiving feedback.  Here are a couple of other tips to help in this process of giving “plusses” and “deltas”: Tip 1:  Use value/impact language.  If you must focus on a specific mistake, try not to use blame language.  Instead of saying, “you did this horrible thing,” focus on a part where everyone agrees on –  say, a specific behavior – and then talk about the impact of that behavior.  “When you do this, it can cause that.”  Or better yet, just focus on values.  “At our company, we try to consider the long term relationship we have with a customer.” Tip 2:  Ask questions.  If you need to give some quick feedback or are focusing on a specific incident rather than general feedback, you can still let people speak for themselves by asking questions.  Instead of saying, “you should have given [...]

September 18 - Nobody likes getting lectured.  Nobody likes thinking they’ve done something wrong.  By making feedback a continuous, normal process you can help your team to hear your feedback and be better equipped to take your suggestions.  You might even get some good feedback yourself! Tip 1:  Focus on growth, not on mistakes.  Speak in terms of “plusses,” or things that worked well, and “deltas,” or things that can be improved.  (Delta is the mathematical symbol for change).  Avoid talking about mistakes, negatives, things that happened poorly.  Rephrase those thoughts into ideas about what a rep can improve upon. Tip 2:  Be specific.  When giving plusses, being specific helps a person to know you are genuine, and that you are paying attention not only when they make mistakes.  When giving deltas, being specific about room for improvement makes it easier to take your feedback.  Being specific also means not giving [...]

September 11 - Realistically some of our agents like to talk more than others. Most agents understand that an interactive engagement should go from the personal to business to personal with the focus on business, but how do you handle the CSR who continuously has the highest AHT because he/she wants to make every customer a friend? The best approach is to handle this one-on-one with the agents from a purely business perspective: Most call centers have a very good idea of the cost of each call -- break it down very granularly. Each minute costs us dollars. Have the agent listen to the call with the focus on the business. Have the agent time the business part of the call and the personal side of the call. Clearly when the personal side of the call is close to equal or longer, there is a concern. Every customer wants to be [...]

September 4 - How do AI and Automation help Quality Management (QM)? Fifty-eight percent (58%) of contact centers plan to invest in an AI solution to monitor agent performance and automate quality scoring.* Automation is a software-directed action based on a set of predefined rules created by humans. Automation removes manual tasks that often aren’t a productive use of a human’s time. Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence demonstrated by machine learning. AI analyzes complex data sets and makes recommendations or takes action based on what it learns. It continually evolves to create increasingly better results. AI solutions remove the complexity of working with large data sets and reveal insights humans can then use to do their work more efficiently. Customers are more fickle than ever — making QM more important than ever. AI and automation can help Quality Analysts be more efficient in their work. Automate routine checks: AI can detect whether or [...]

August 28 - The time has come to prepare for year end reporting, the perfect opportunity to share insights related to your department’s accomplishments. It’s essential to recognize that the value of quality in a contact center goes beyond just agent scores. Documenting accomplishments and showcasing the broader impact of the Quality Assurance (QA) team's efforts is crucial for presenting a comprehensive picture of the team's contribution to the organization. Here are some key points to consider as you prepare your year-end accomplishments: Holistic Performance Measurement: While agent scores are important, they are just a part of the overall customer experience. QA teams should demonstrate their ability to identify and address factors that might impact customer experience beyond agent interactions. This includes areas like product performance, website functionality, and other processes that can influence or cause friction for customers. Early Detection of Issues: QA plays a crucial role in early issue [...]

August 21 - Oftentimes we miss opportunities to ensure our teams are growing and learning throughout the year. This can lead to boredom and burnout, even for those "B" players on your team. Take time to create personal development plans for each teammate and ensure they are owning it but with your direct support. If individuals do not have a long-term career goal/objective, identify ways to encourage learning that enables them to expand their skill set within their current role. Consider stretch project opportunities, job shadowing, on-line learning, webinars, and books in areas they have interest in. This investment can pay dividends over time with morale on your team and enable you to start to build internal bench strength. Have you registered for the QATC Annual Conference yet? Don't miss out on this exciting event designed specifically for Quality Assurance and Training professionals! Register today for the 2023 Quality Assurance & Training [...]