4 call center QA trends changing the game in 2021

It’s one of the great puzzles of the customer success world: How do I measure quality assurance (QA)? We’ve all tried to solve for this in one way or another over the years, incorporating solutions like post-call surveys, real-time agent scoring (ouch!), and reviewing a small sample of calls each month—all with varied results. Unfortunately, with the volume of interactions most reps handle these days, QA is really hard. But we have good news for contact center leadership: The next generation of call center QA is here.

These four cutting-edge call center QA trends are set to revolutionize the way we think of QA in the coming months… and generate unprecedented returns for the leaders that hop on board. 

1. Broadened Data Horizons

Most of the time in QA, you work with a very limited set of data, maybe 2-4 calls out of 100. Not anymore! With the advent of sophisticated AI-based call monitoring tools, you can “listen” to all 100 calls, and mine insights from every single one. All that data, now available at your fingertips, gives you the power to identify costly high-friction pain points and take immediate action to address them.

2. Renewed Emphasis On CX 

If your call center QA scorecard emphasizes primarily cost-saving measures, adherence to compliance, or just proper service language… You’re doing it wrong. The customer, and the customer experience, should be front and center on your scorecards, with at least 30% of the scorecard devoted to CX ratings. Why? Our research on customer effort indicates that 96% of customers who’ve had a difficult experience report back that they are unlikely to repurchase and very likely to spread negative word of mouth. As such, it is absolutely essential to track CX as part of QA. 

96% of customers who’ve had a difficult experience report back that they are unlikely to repurchase and very likely to spread negative word of mouth.

3. Adding Context Cues

Many QA questions, ratings, and surveys are, historically, very binary. Yes or no questions, red or green buttons, happy or sad faces. But the truth of the matter is that most situations just aren’t that black or white. How do you measure an interaction where the customer might say that their issue is resolved—because they’re tired of talking to you, not because the problem was actually fixed? In a binary QA system, this nuance would be lost. With a smart listening platform, you can not only acquire more data through context cues, but have those instances automatically flagged and brought to your attention on occurrence. 

4. Emphasis On Accountability

One incredibly common complaint of call center reps is complaints about cherry-picked results. As mentioned above, we now have the tools to evaluate 100% of the data, which effectively eliminates this problem. When you listen to 100% of calls, you are better able to hold reps accountable, coach effectively, and ultimately drive better results. 

These four trends in call center QA are just the beginning of what we believe will be a full-scale transformation in the coming years. With the digital age beginning to reach its full potential, there is so much more that we can do to identify and anticipate effort for our customers and work to mitigate or even prevent it. And that’s money in your pocket.

Here at Tethr, we’re so excited to be working to transform call center QA, and we would love to share our findings with you. Request a demo to get started.