3rd Party Remote Call Monitoring Feature

Most consumers who use the phone to communicate and have contacted a company via their contact center have probably heard the recorded message that their call may be monitored for training purposes. What comes to mind first is why is so much training required at so many different companies as they all seem to have the same message? On the flip side, are the calls really being recorded?

 

Recording and monitoring calls in the contact or call center plays a key role in the performance of that center. While it is true that some centers are recording only a small percentage of calls and which sometimes are not monitored effectively, progressive and innovative contact center managers understand the organization-wide benefits that call monitoring can provide.

 

To gain the most benefit from monitoring agents’ calls, internal monitoring may not be enough and the contact center can gain additional advantage from a third party. When remote call monitoring is used, the result is objective measurement and impartial feedback which can help to create the optimal training environment.

 

Contact centers face a daily challenge of retaining competent agents for the long-term. One of the key contributors to attrition in this industry is lack of training and confidence for agents on the job. Through proper call monitoring, agents are given the opportunity to learn what is working in their calls and what is not, understand how to read and respond to frustrated customers, learn how to be more efficient in their calls and gain full comprehension of what is expected from each and every call.

 

For contact center supervisors, call monitoring provides them with the tools necessary to properly monitor calls and use this information to coach agents on how to improve performance. The involvement of the third party enables supervisors to spend more time coaching and ensuring goals are met with less time spent on the actual monitoring of the calls. Higher customer service levels can also be attained, helping to drive revenues and reduce the economic impact of customer churn and agent attrition.

 

When agents have a full and complete understanding of not only what is required of each call, but also of how to achieve the required levels, they are able to gain confidence in their job and a feeling of satisfaction in their performance. Research has shown that properly trained contact center agents are more satisfied in their jobs and deliver better customer service. When the customer receives a higher level of service, both the customer and agent are more likely to remain loyal to the company.

Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMC and has also written for eastbiz.com. To see more of her articles, please visit Susan J. Campbell’s columnist page.