Courteous and empathetic interaction with a service representative can mean the difference between losing or retaining a customer. A quality assurance scorecard serves as a checklist of questions that companies can use to measure the quality of customer service interactions.
Scorecards help show if agents are working at their best and if they positively engage customers. The data collected helps monitor performance progress, optimize training, and improve customer service.
Building a quality monitoring scorecard is all about paying attention to an organization’s processes, goals, and objectives. Here's how:
STEP ONE - Identify the Overall Purpose
Focusing on purpose gives clarity and helps determine what to measure, making the end results more effective. Some questions to consider:
- What is the endgame of using scorecards?
- What weaknesses in the call center need to be targeted?
- Is there a need for more focus or systematization for coaching agents?
STEP TWO - Solicit the Input of Agents
Asking support agents and stakeholders for input can help create a more effective and accurate scorecard. This is because agents are most familiar with the call center and its processes, and therefore may have suggestions on how to serve customers better.
STEP THREE - Seek Input from Customers
Companies should use surveys to identify what criteria customers care about the most. For instance, if customers emphasize that they dislike long wait or response times, managers should focus on improving employees' responsiveness and first-time resolution.
STEP FOUR - Choose the Criteria to Measure
Scorecard measuring criteria should take inspiration from a company’s goals and objectives, to ensure results are aligned with wider company targets. A few examples of the performance criteria that might be relevant to a call center include:
- Knowledge of products and services
- Conflict resolution
- Problem-solving
- Follow-up service
KPIs that give a snapshot of the interaction's overall effectiveness should also be developed.
STEP FIVE - Design the Scorecard
Call center scorecards must be concise and easy to complete by customers and other stakeholders. A scorecard with 10 to 20 points can be more accessible for customers to fill out than longer questionnaires, and also make it easier for the organization to analyze results.
Finding a balance is essential. Too few questions, and a slight change in a single KPI could throw off the whole score. Too many, and an entire area can suffer significantly without causing a visible impact on the overall score.
