Improve Your Call Center Quality Score With These Scorecard Templates

Call center agents play a pivotal role in a customer’s overall experience of a business or organization.

When a consumer makes a phone call, they expect to receive the highest standard of service. This is easier said than done though. Call center agents may lack the necessary training, knowledge or technical abilities to actually resolve the customer’s problems exactly as they would like.

Sometimes, this is due to unreasonable behavior on the caller’s part. At other times, though, the call center has failed to give agents the expertise they need to cultivate the best customer experience they can.

Good QA is essential to keep your call center running at its most efficient and effective. Call center quality scorecards are a terrific tool, containing a wealth of key metrics to measure agents’ performance. By checking the outcome of calls, you can see which employees are leading the pack and identify those in need of extra training.

However, measuring the right areas is vital. If you want to improve your overall quality score, the following metrics should be included in your call center quality scorecard templates.

Call Center Quality Scorecard Template Metrics

Greeting the Caller

Every call has to be started off on the right foot. Nothing will put callers in a negative mood more than an agent who answers the call while speaking with someone else or without confirming that they have reached the right person/company.

A good greeting should be polite and to the point. In your call center quality scorecard templates, you should consider the following greeting metrics:

Did the agent follow the standard script?
Did the agent introduce themselves by name?
Did the agent adapt their greeting if the caller had been transferred from another department (such as thanking them for their patience and/or confirming that they are the right agent to resolve the issue)?
Did the agent request the caller identify themselves?

Account Verification

Verifying accounts is crucial today, especially in relation to banking or anything finance-related. Agents must take steps to ensure callers are who they say they are, to avoid fraudulent activities. The following should be in call center quality scorecard templates:

Did the agent request the necessary details to confirm the caller’s identity, such as their account number/reference, their credit card number, the number of prior bills or recent purchases they may have made, and more?
Was the agent able to get into the caller’s account using said details and confirm all necessary information?
If the agent’s suspicions were raised, did they follow proper procedure?

Handling the Problem

The way in which agents speak to callers, the tone they use and their problem-solving skills should all be considered for call center quality scorecard templates:

Was the agent sympathetic and compassionate, apologizing for any inconvenience or frustration caused?
Did the agent ask relevant questions to identify the problem?
Did the agent follow the scripted resolution/response for the issue?
If the caller became angry and insulted the agent at a personal level, did the agent retaliate or handle the situation with the utmost professionalism?
Did the agent consult the necessary resources or seek assistance from a colleague/manager if they were unable to resolve the call themselves?
When the issue was resolved, did the agent ask the caller if they had any other problems that needed to be discussed?

Customer Satisfaction

Customer satisfaction is the main aim of your call center’s operations — even if a caller’s problem cannot be solved in a single conversation (or at all) they should at least end the call feeling more positive and satisfied.

Customer satisfaction metrics are essential to effective call center quality scoreboard templates:

Did the customer become frustrated or agitated during the call?
If the customer sounded in a bad state of mind at the beginning of the conversation, did the agent help them to calm down by the end?
Were there many moments of silence, and if so, were they due to the agent’s inability to handle the call?
Did the agent address the customer by their name to help build a bond and make them feel more valued?
Did the agent sound interested or engaged in whatever the customer had to say?
Did the agent make an effort to see the problem from the customer’s point of view?

Metrics Across Different Areas of Customer Service

Call centers can take calls from customers looking for help in multiple areas. For example, one department may focus on complaints, another on general inquiries, another on sales, another on refunds, and so on.

The nature of calls across different departments will vary, as will their goals. Call center quality scorecard templates have to be adjusted to suit.

Below, we focus on two such departments to illustrate how other metrics can be introduced.

Sales

Regarding a sales department, call center quality scorecard templates should include:

Did the agent present new offers or deals in an organic, non-intrusive way?
If the answer to the above is ‘no’ did the customer take offense to the attempt at further sales?
Did the agent take the chance to upsell according to proper procedure?
Was the agent able to answer all questions related to a specific product/service?
Did the customer say or suggest they felt they had received a good deal?

Complaints

Did the agent apologize on behalf of the company?
Was the agent willing to let the customer vent their frustration without feeling the need to interrupt?
Did the agent stay professional even if the customer started to verbally attack them?
Was the agent able to resolve the issue following standard procedure, or did they have to seek an impromptu solution?
Was a follow-up call planned, and was it made on schedule?
Did the customer feel their complaint had been noted and would be followed upon.

All of the metrics explored above are integral to effective call center quality scorecard templates. By focusing on these areas you can work toward boosting your quality score and leaving customers truly satisfied.