RUNNING HEAD: Quality One Call at a Time

Quality One Call at a Time

May 30, 2006

Quality scores in many call centers are on the decline. The main goal of a call center is to provide excellent customer service while delivering accurate information in a timely manner. “Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything.” Wyatt Earp. Wyatt Earp may not have said this quote in reference to managing quality at call centers, but it carries the same relevance. Management at call centers tends to focus on other issues instead of the accuracy of the information that the CSR is relaying to the customer. Thus value is misplaced and the quality at call centers starts to head on a downward path.

One issue that could drive quality scores down is ineffective training. At a call center here in Jacksonville, management decided to pull CSRs out of training after the second day to answer calls because the queue was high. This interrupted the training process and added days to the training schedule. The trainer manager was powerless to prevent this from happening. This happened 6 times over the course of the proposed three-week training calendar. Call center trainers must ensure that their trainees’ learning is not hindered by management’s goal to reduce queue times. The constant yo-yo handling of the CSRs resulted in training not being delivered on all topics, which resulted in low quality scores. This has not been a high topic of focus for most call center management staff.

Another issue that call centers face is employee retention. Call centers faced with high turnover tend to spend more time training additional employees to replace those who have left the company. This may be due to low salaries. Agents working in higher average income areas had more opportunity to secure better paying jobs, thus increasing turnover (Information Please, The Scoop on Call Centers.July 2003). Most call centers face budget restraints that make it impossible to offer higher wages to CSRs. Location is also a factor in determining salaries. Traditionally speaking, CSRs in Northern states are paid much higher than CSRs in Southern states. This could be attributed to the average cost of living for each area. A high turnover rate means less people to answer the calls and an increase in queue times. Both of these attribute to low quality scores.

Lack of effective calibration may also result in low quality scores. Calibration means standardizing a process by determining its deviation from the standard, in order to determine the proper correction factors. In a call center, calibration is the process by which you limit variation in the way performance criteria are interpreted. Calibration is a critical element of improving call-monitoring performance (Connections July/August 2003). In order to effectively calibrate a call, all participants must have an understanding of the quality monitoring process at the call center. Calibrating is a means to ensure understanding of the quality metrics for all parties involved, including CSRs and quality coaches. Calibration is the key factor to high performance in a call center, consistently. When all parties can consistently listen to the same calls and score the same way, you will know that calibration at the call center is successful. This should also mean a reduction of low quality scores. If calibrating is not handled effectively, it could result in inaccurate quality scores, due to misinterpretation of the quality monitoring process. It would also mean that call centers would spend more time refining the calibrating process and less time managing the quality process.

All of these factors can be attributed to low quality scores. Ineffective training can lead to a high turnover rate. Call centers must ensure that CSRs are allowed to complete the training program from the beginning through the end with no interruptions. Employee retention is also a concern for low quality scores. It could be alleviated by offering competitive salaries to CSRs. This could be in the form of additional money per hour or a lucrative benefit package. Effective calibration is another barrier for quality scores. If everyone monitors a call and scores it identically, then you (everyone/he-she) will ensure that everyone understands the quality process in the call center. Management must look at these factors in the same light as the high queue times. A decision to re-direct focus must be made, but not at the sacrifice of the already struggling CSR. Call centers must decide the best possible approach to resolving these issues to ensure that customers receive accurate information in a timely manner, with an emphasis on accuracy.

References

Wyatt Earp. The ISO 9000 Executive Newsletter April 2000. Retrieved May 30, 2006 from www.quality.org/ISO9000/newsletters .

Harold Hunt. Information Please, The Scoop on Call Centers July 2003. Retrieved May 30, 2006 from http://recenter.tamu.edu/TGrande/vol10-3/1623.html

Marcia Hicks.How to Properly Manage your Call Center. Commotions July/August 2003.Retrieved May 30, 2006 fromwww.connectionsmagazine.com/articles/3/065