Monitoring call quality and agent performance is crucial for customer satisfaction in a call center. Call center monitoring allows you to record or listen to calls to aid in evaluation, assessment, and feedback. In recent years, we have also seen improvements in call center quality monitoring due to artificial intelligence (AI) features that automate the process of monitoring and assessing calls.
According to a Metrigy customer experience survey, successful businesses incorporate AI-powered tools like sentiment analysis to help understand customers’ emotions and how they influence call quality. Therefore, this guide provides insight into how call center monitoring works and how you can use it to improve customer satisfaction and support.
How call center monitoring works
Call center monitoring is the regular process of assessing call quality through various features, such as call recording, transcription, and listening, along with feedback tools like whisper and barge technology. It also involves tracking key call metrics to evaluate agent, supervisor, and customer interactions.
While many VoIP providers offer call center quality monitoring, RingCentral provides an intuitive interface for accessing features like call recording, barge, whisper, and takeover. Supervisors can use each feature to assist agents on calls from the dashboard and make changes to call monitoring in the admin portal.
Choose from multiple call monitoring features in the RingCentral dashboard. (Source: RingCentral)
What it tracks
Call monitoring is often used to track key call center metrics and performance indicators through agent productivity and customer feedback. These metrics are calculated by tracking the number of calls a call center receives and then using that information to compare different call metrics.
For example, you can track changes in call volume by monitoring the times when calls come in or follow shifts in agent performance by assessing the number of calls that lead to a resolution. The following list includes some of the most common metrics collected by call center quality monitoring software.
Customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores | Measures how satisfied a customer is with their agent, service, or experience |
First call resolution (FCR) | The percentage of calls that are resolved after the initial call |
Average handle time (AHT) | The average time a caller is left on hold or waiting in a queue. |
Call abandonment rate | The percentage of calls dropped before an agent can answer the call |
Average speed of answer (ASA) | Measures how long it takes for an agent to answer a call |
Average talk time (ATT) | The average amount of time that an agent takes on a call |
Net promoter acore (NPS) | Measures the likelihood that a customer will recommend a service or business after a call. |
After call work (ACW) | The amount of time that an agent takes in-between calls |
Script compliance or adherence | The extent to which an agent follows their script when interacting with callers |
By monitoring these metrics, you can identify areas where your agents and strategies excel and where improvement is needed. These metrics can then be paired with various call monitoring methods to enhance your call center’s overall performance and ensure effective supervision and support to boost your call metrics.
Top 5 methods of call monitoring
Most call monitoring features provide real-time feedback and archival methods, allowing supervisors and analysts to evaluate call quality and agent performance. For example, call transcription can make it easier to evaluate a recording by offering a detailed report of agent interactions. Some additional methods of quality monitoring in call centers are as follows:
The simplest way to monitor calls is by recording each interaction between agents and customers. Whether you listen to a random sample of recordings or use software to select which calls to evaluate, these recordings will provide a clear insight into how your agents perform and reveal any call quality issues.
It is essential to choose call center software that offers both call recording and transcription features and adequate cloud storage for accessing recordings. This is especially critical for industries that require long-term data retention, such as healthcare and finance, to comply with legal regulations.
Call listening is one of the best ways to assess agents’ real-time call handling. This call monitoring method allows a supervisor to listen in on a conversation between an agent and a caller to take notes, provide feedback, or offer additional assistance to a new agent. This method can also be paired with other call monitoring features like barging or whispering for more hands-on guidance.
While most call monitoring methods involve less hands-on interaction with agents, call barging allows supervisors to enter or “barge in” on a call when an agent needs more guidance. Instead of providing direct feedback, the supervisor can take over the call and interact with the customer. This method works best for complicated customer interactions or when an agent is less confident handling calls independently.
Call whispering is another real-time call center monitoring feature that allows supervisors to provide feedback to agents on a call. Instead of entering the call, the supervisor can “whisper” suggestions to the agent without the customer being able to hear it. This feature works well when coaching an agent through their first call or improving adherence to a call center script.
While some methods of call monitoring require human oversight, the use of artificial intelligence in call center software means that you can gain clarity on call quality without the help of humans. With speech analysis, an AI will use sentiment analysis to assess a caller’s emotions and provide feedback on where the calls fall from positive to negative. AI can also pick out specific keywords and phrases to flag for review.
This type of monitoring is excellent for providing call assessments and selecting call recordings for additional evaluations or quality management. For example, if you have an issue with customer satisfaction or first-call resolution, dive deeper into calls with a negative sentiment instead of assessing every call recording to understand the problem.
Benefits of call center quality monitoring
Call center monitoring offers several advantages for small businesses, concentrating on enhancing customer service, agent productivity, and data-driven decision-making. Some of these benefits include:
- Predictive analytics and forecasting: The best part of call center monitoring is how the data generated from a phone system is used. Most software includes detailed reporting and analytics, which can be used to trace changes in call metrics and agent performance over time and predict future trends.
- Greater transparency and visibility: When assessing call center metrics, you can make the areas where growth is required more visible. This will allow you to see how to improve your processes to correct call quality or customer satisfaction concerns.
- Routine quality assessment and control: Monitoring your calls ensures that the quality of each call is in line with your business standards. You can also use call monitoring software to regularly audit your evaluation standards and reliability to improve the calibration and effectiveness of assessments.
- Oversight and regulatory compliance: For businesses that need compliance with specific regulatory standards, call center monitoring software makes it easier to set clear standards for your business that are upheld in how agents handle calls, such as creating clear criteria for conducting and evaluating calls.
- Improved customer satisfaction: By analyzing your call metrics and agent performance, you can identify ways to enhance the customer experience by linking feedback data with key performance indicators. This information can then be utilized to boost customer service.
- Tailored feedback and training: After collecting data on agent performance, you can act on those insights by tailoring input and training to improve whatever areas your agents are struggling in. For example, agents who struggle to resolve calls could benefit from call whispering.
Common call center monitoring mistakes (& and how to fix them!)
Whether overspending on unnecessary software or misinterpreting data, even the most experienced call center operators can make mistakes. To help you navigate these challenges, I’ve included some common issues small business owners face when navigating call monitoring tools. If you’ve experienced any of these pitfalls, I’ve also provided guidance on addressing these concerns in the tabs below.
Misinterpreting call center analytics & reporting
With the rise of automation and AI, most providers offer call center solutions with customizable dashboards, advanced reporting features, and agent productivity tools. However, with all these data sources, it can be easy to misinterpret your metrics and the root cause of issues with call center performance.
If you lack experience interpreting data, don’t rely on the software’s analysis. Be sure to hire or involve experts, such as data analysts or quality assurance specialists, to help you make informed decisions. Relying on their expertise will enhance the likelihood of making effective, data-driven decisions.
Downplaying the importance of agent performance
Although call center monitoring focuses on call data and analytics, that is only one piece of the puzzle. When there are issues with customer satisfaction or call resolution, there are likely some issues with agent performance or supervision. Therefore, you should not undervalue the importance of workforce management.
If you notice recurring issues with your call center metrics, it is important to consider how to address these issues by improving agent performance. This might look like developing new training modules that address scheduling, script adherence, or other common concerns. You can also use call monitoring features, like call whispering, to give real-time feedback.
Neglecting customer feedback & journeys
While it can be easy to assume that issues with call metrics reflect your business or employees, that is not always the case. Sometimes, your problems can be related to the type of customers you receive or how you handle calls.
Instead of focusing solely on call metrics or agent productivity, you should also look to customer surveys and feedback to determine if there are any issues with your call routing strategy or customer journey. For example, if customers are navigating an overly complex call menu or waiting in a long queue, these things can negatively influence their experience and result in lower scores.
Overspending on quality assurance software
Many VoIP providers have expanded their offerings regarding quality assurance and call monitoring, so many business owners are encouraged to update their subscription plans or providers to reflect these changes. However, just because a provider offers an interesting technology or feature does not mean you need to spend more money on new subscriptions or add-ons.
Before you rush to acquire the latest and greatest call center monitoring software, conduct a cost-benefit analysis to ascertain whether the financial investment in the new software will yield additional benefits for your business. If the new tool comes with a high price tag, and you’re unable to determine if the software will reduce your operating costs or boost sales, it’s likely not worth the investment.
Focusing on call monitoring with a contact center
When comparing contact centers vs call centers, it is important to note that the type of call monitoring you need will depend on your support channels. While call centers focus on call quality, omnichannel contact centers often prioritize tracking the quality of interactions, including calls.
To avoid this problem, note whether you need call center monitoring or another type of quality monitoring. For example, contact center software measures agent performance across support channels using interaction recording. In contrast, a call center quality monitoring tool should work for you if you are invested in supervising agents on phone calls.
Creating a call center monitoring strategy that works
With all of the features and analytics that come with a business phone system, it can be challenging to determine what metrics to monitor or how to turn data into clear decisions. To help you develop a strategy, I have created a step-by-step guide to introduce some call center best practices that make monitoring calls and improving call center performance easier.
Step 1: Assess your goals & outcomes
The first step in creating your strategy is determining the why behind your call center monitoring. While some businesses are invested in complying with regulatory standards, others are more interested in improving agent performance. Assessing your business goals can help you understand what metrics you need to monitor.
Use SMART goals to create clear and measurable outcomes for your call center.
Additionally, you should have clear objectives and measurable outcomes in the form of SMART goals. So, instead of improving agent productivity, you should consider the “Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound” (SMART) method of achieving that goal based on call center data. The next step focuses on choosing the right metrics for your goals.
Step 2: Identify key metrics & features
Once you know the reason behind your monitoring, you can choose which metrics and features match those goals. For example, if you need call monitoring for compliance, you should prioritize call recording features and adherence to agent scripts. In contrast, those invested in agent productivity should focus on metrics like average talk time (ATT) or first call resolution (FCR).
View call center metrics with Nextiva’s analytics dashboard. (Source: Nextiva)
After identifying the metrics and features that best suit your business, ensure that your software has those features available and turned on. Then, you can begin collecting data through call reports and dashboards.
Step 3: Create an evaluation criteria
The best way to get the most out of your metrics is to establish clear evaluation criteria for your call quality. Specifically, you can use call metrics to create a rubric or scorecard for each area you want to assess. Depending on your software, you might have access to evaluation templates and agent or quality assurance scorecards that simplify developing evaluation criteria.
Use Dialpad artificial intelligence (AI) to generate agent scorecards. (Source: Dialpad)
Additionally, you must establish criteria to calibrate your scoring system throughout the scoring process. Scoring is an inherently subjective process, and the scores can differ if multiple people evaluate calls. Therefore, having review sessions or using an external tool to score calls will ensure that your quality assurance tests are as objective as possible.
Step 4: Analyze your data
To monitor calls, you should set a schedule for collecting and analyzing the data based on your goals and metrics. Depending on the size of your business, you can choose a random selection of calls to evaluate daily, weekly, or monthly. For some companies, this means picking a specific number of calls per agent to review regularly, while others might choose to review specific types of calls.
JustCall offers artificial intelligence scoring of agent calls. (Source: JustCall)
When evaluating call monitoring data, you will need to listen to calls, review transcripts, and then use your rubric or scorecards to assess the quality of each call. This includes comparing the call metrics to the data from call recordings and transcripts. Over time, you can begin seeing trends in your data or pinpoint any potential problems with how agents handle calls.
Step 5: Implement an action plan
Once you interpret and understand your data, you can start making decisions based on that information. For example, conducting a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis is an excellent way to connect the dots between your data and insights. This analysis identifies the fundamental reasons behind specific patterns or problems with call center performance, while also recognizing where your business is doing well and how to capitalize on that growth.
Once you have completed the SWOT analysis, you can create an action plan and start making changes to help you achieve your goals, such as offering more hands-on training to specific agents or using skills-based routing to match agent skills with customer inquiries.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Call monitoring involves various features and strategies in a call center that enable supervisors or quality assurance specialists to assess interactions between agents and customers. Call monitoring features typically include call recording, listening, barging, or whispering, which allow supervisors to oversee calls and provide feedback.
When a call is monitored, it usually means that it is being recorded or listened to by a third party to assess the quality of customer service. In some cases, the monitoring occurs in real time, while other times, calls are recorded and archived for future evaluation.
The primary way to monitor performance is to use call center software that tracks specific metrics and key performance indicators. Most providers offer call reporting and quality assurance tools that allow you to track metrics like customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores and agent productivity over time.
Bottom line
As more VoIP providers enhance their automation and artificial intelligence offerings, call center operators could benefit from utilizing these tools. Specifically, call center monitoring tools can improve agent performance and customer satisfaction by evaluating call quality across key metrics. You can also maintain compliance standards or company policies by establishing a clear plan for assessing your call center data.