Call monitoring can be a useful tool in analyzing the effectiveness of your call center. While it may seem a bit intimidating at first for new calling agents, it can actually build confidence and enhance performance. While a few employees might view it as an intrusion or a knock against their aptitude, below you’ll learn more about why you should use real-time call monitoring in your contact center.
Benefits of Real-Time Call Monitoring
Real-time call monitoring means managers, or more experienced agents, listen in on a call as it occurs. This can be combined with other tools, such as call whispering or call coaching, to provide real-time training.
In addition to helping agents, call monitoring can help managers and customers too. Ensuring proper call ethics can ultimately improve your business reputation and customer experience.
Call Monitoring for Agents
While the thought of having someone stand over your shoulder and monitor your work is daunting at first, it ultimately helps build confidence. Confidence is a key quality for calling agents after all.
Some of the many benefits that agents can experience with call monitoring include:
- Real-time training: Rather than waiting until after a call is complete — or worse, the end of the day — agents get training in the moment. Even if an agent is shown after the call, for instance, what they could have done better, they might not remember the specific instance the manager is referring to. If a manager notices the agent misspoke, provided inaccurate information, or spoke unprofessionally, they can handle it right then and there.
- Improves agent performance: With real-time call monitoring, not-so-great agents can become better, and fantastic agents can earn the accolades they deserve. When people know they are being monitored, it tends to help reinforce a job well-done and discourage bad behavior or actions. In time, agents getting this in-the-moment training will benefit with better overall performance.
- Coaching from managers and experienced agents: Managers and agents who’ve been with the contact center for a long time can impart their knowledge to new agents and agents who might just need a little more direction.
- Enhances interactions with customers and managers: Again, when employees know they’re under scrutiny, it tends to encourage better work ethics and even a bit of friendly competition among employees. Customers get better treatment and attention, and employees and managers enjoy better overall interaction.
Call Monitoring for Managers
Managers need to ensure operations run smoothly. This means that they need to ensure their agents are properly trained and fit to act as a liaison for the company in the customer service department.
Since managers are not on the phones directly, they need to know any new issues or frustrations customers are experiencing as well. This allows them to create new policies and procedures to make the call center run more efficiently.
Call monitoring can help managers:
- Identify customer frustrations
- Ensure compliance standards
- Assess company policy and procedure efficiency
- Provide a training outline for employees
- Determine ways to improve call times
Overall, real-time call monitoring helps you identify the primary areas that need improvement. You can then use the information you learn to proactively train and offer continuing education for your staff.
Are several of your agents all struggling with the same issue or task? Provide the information needed to help them overcome these obstacles. Record your training sessions and create a library. Employees can then turn to this for help when needed. In turn, this saves precious management time when agents encounter the same issue.
Call Monitoring for Customers
Agents and management aren’t the only ones — or even the most important ones — who benefit from real-time call monitoring. Customers also reap the benefits. When agents have better training and managers fully understand the needs of the customer, the customer has an overall better experience.
When a customer experiences a negative interaction, they can provide feedback that will let your business know where improvement is needed. Generally, it’s better to get feedback directly from the customer than to get it secondhand on social media.
Some benefits of call monitoring for customers include:
- Enhanced customer satisfaction
- Improved customer experience
- Offers time and feedback to appropriately revise policy and procedures
- Feedback helps streamline this and other business practices
If you experience no other benefit of call monitoring than customer satisfaction improvements, consider it a “win”. Your agents are the face and voice of your company and brand. When customers call, instant message, or send an email about an issue, they want — no, they expect — fast, helpful responses. If that’s not what they receive, they will do business with your competitors.
Real-time call monitoring can cause discomfort for your agents and even some of your customers. However, it remains a valuable tool to keep your company running smoothly and smart.
