Getting Customer Satisfaction and Quality in Sync

By Sean Hawkins

There's no getting around it! Support teams dislike the QA team! This seems to be problem particularly when someone received a score that is lower than they expected. Depending on the number of agents, and the number of interactions reviewed each week or month, this can be quite difficult to manage.

I am constantly reminding everyone how important the QA team is to the contact center's success. Some see it as a group of fault finders. Others see it as a necessary evil. Lastly, there are those few who have no idea what QA is all about.

As for me, I see quality assurance as an advocate for the customer, and an aide for the support team. The quality of service must be such, customers are always impressed. At the same time, the role of discovering gaps in service provides agents with an opportunity to grow.

However, many fail to see the unique role quality and satisfaction have on one another. I am a firm believer that as one increases, the other should. Of course the inverse is true as well. If one decreases, the other should. Why is this the case? Quality produces satisfaction. A poor product or services will result in dissatisfied customers. Therefore, it is necessary that contact center leaders align quality and satisfaction.

One way to do this is through QA calibrations. Essentially a diverse group of team members get together, review an interaction, and discuss the individual scores. The goal is ensure everyone is thinking on the same page. However, take this a step further. Have the group take the satisfaction survey for the interaction as well. If the interaction returned a CSAT survey, review it as well.

Additionally, compare your QA scorecard with your satisfaction survey. Are THEY in sync? Are they asking the right questions and highlighting what is important to you? Most often, each of these programs are created independent of one another. As a result, they may be working against one another. Fortunately, this unforced error can easily be corrected by bringing them together under a common purpose. What is that? Well, that is for you to decide.

I have over 15 years of progressive call center leadership and experience in the public, private and government sectors.

I have led or consulted contact centers of various sizes across numerous industries. Additionally, I’ve implemented new technology and products, while maintaining award-winning contact centers.

Connect with me on LinkedIn and Twitter.