If you work in a call center or a marketing and sales team, you know how important it is to deliver high-quality service to your customers. But how do you measure and improve your service quality? How do you know if your agents are following the best practices and meeting the customer expectations? How do you align your teams around the same goals and strategies?
One way to answer these questions is to use call scoring. Call scoring is the process of assessing data from a phone call against a predefined set of performance standards and then giving it a ‘score’. In this blog post, I will explain what call scoring is, how it works, why it matters, and how you can use it to improve your performance and customer satisfaction.
What is Call Scoring?
Call scoring is the process of evaluating how well your agents are performing on each phone call with a customer. You can use different types of data to score your calls, such as:
- The content of the conversation: What did the agent say and how did they say it? Did they follow the script, handle objections, resolve issues, and close the deal?
- The outcome of the call: What was the result of the call? Did the agent achieve the desired goal, such as making a sale, booking an appointment, or providing support?
- The feedback from the customer: How did the customer feel about the call? Were they satisfied, loyal, or likely to recommend your service?
You can use different methods to collect and analyze the data, such as:
- Real-time call monitoring: This method allows you to listen to the calls as they happen and record them for later analysis. You can use this method to check if your agents are following the script, handling objections, resolving issues, and meeting quality standards.
- Analyzing call records: This method involves reviewing the transcripts or summaries of the calls after they are completed. You can use this method to measure key performance indicators (KPIs) such as average handle time (AHT), first call resolution (FCR), customer satisfaction (CSAT), net promoter score (NPS), etc.
- Automated call rating systems: This method uses software or tools that automatically score the calls based on predefined criteria or algorithms. You can use this method to save time and resources, as well as to provide consistent and objective feedback.
Why Does Call Scoring Matter?
Call scoring matters because it can help you:
- Improve your service quality: By measuring how well your agents are performing on each call, you can identify areas of improvement and provide them with coaching, training, or incentives. You can also spot patterns or trends that indicate what works well or what needs more attention.
- Increase your productivity: By tracking how many calls each agent handles per day or per hour, you can optimize their workload and schedule. You can also monitor their availability and utilization rate to ensure they are not overworked or underutilized.
- Enhance your customer experience: By collecting feedback from customers after each call, you can understand their needs, expectations, preferences, and satisfaction levels. You can also use this information to improve your products, services, processes, or policies.
- Align your teams: By sharing the same goals and standards across different departments or functions, such as sales and marketing teams, you can ensure consistency and coordination in your communication strategies. You can also leverage data from multiple sources to generate insights that drive growth and revenue.
How to Use Call Scoring Effectively?
To use call scoring effectively, you need to follow some best practices:
- Define clear criteria: Before you start scoring any calls, make sure you have a clear understanding of what constitutes a good performance level for each metric or KPI. You should also communicate these criteria to your agents so they know what is expected of them.
- Choose an appropriate method: Depending on your objectives and resources, choose a method that suits your needs best. For example, if you want a quick overview of how each agent is doing in general, real-time monitoring might be more suitable than analyzing recorded calls.
- Provide timely feedback: After each call, give your agents constructive feedback on their strengths and areas for improvement. You should also acknowledge their achievements and motivate them with rewards or recognition.
- Continuously monitor: To ensure that your call scoring system is working effectively, monitor its results regularly and make adjustments as needed. You should also review the data periodically and look for trends or anomalies that might indicate problems or opportunities.
Key Takeaways
Call scoring is a process of assessing data from a phone call against a predefined set of performance standards and then giving it a ‘score’. Call scoring can help you improve your service quality, increase your productivity, enhance your customer experience, and align your teams. To use call scoring effectively, you need to define clear criteria, choose an appropriate method, provide timely feedback, and continuously monitor. By following these steps, you can use call scoring to achieve better results for yourself and your customers.
