Key Performance Metrics for Quality Analysts and How to Improve Them – Playvox

Any effective quality assurance program hinges on the choice of performance metrics. If you’re not sure which performance metrics are most important, you might not end up with the insights you’re looking for when evaluating customer service agents’ work.

But it’s essential you know which actions to take once you’ve started focusing on the best metrics too. Identifying, and rectifying, performance flaws is the only way to ensure a consistent customer experience. And that’s crucial, with 75 percent of consumers expecting this very thing across all communication channels.

So, which metrics should you use to measure agents’ work and how can you help improve performance?

Let’s find out.

Must-have Performance Metrics for Quality Analysts

Here are the key performance metrics you should use to measure agents’ service. These reveal vital information on staff productivity, customer experience, efficiency and more.

If you want to know how to become a better QA analyst, read on:

1. First-Call Resolutions

 The metric:

Achieving a high rate of first-call resolutions is fantastic for any call center or customer service department.

This performance metric demonstrates agents’ efficiency and skills, giving consumers the positive outcome they need at the first point of contact. First-call resolutions eliminate the need to reach out for help again, saving the customer time (and money, if calls are their preferred channel).

How to improve performance:

Agents should be trained to listen to customers or read their requests carefully to make sure they understand the problem clearly. Trying to fix the wrong issue will only cause frustration and waste everyone’s time.

Having access to information on previous tickets and / or interactions for each customer is a major advantage too. The agent should be able to see what problems the individual has experienced before, which may help them solve the present one faster. Integrating QA software with CRM tools makes this possible.

2. Customer Satisfaction 

The metric:

Customer satisfaction is a fundamental performance metric. You want your audience to feel so happy with agents’ service they keep coming back again and again.

Customer Satisfaction Scores can be gathered through a brief survey following an interaction on any channel. This may prompt consumers to rate their experience using a number between 1 and 10 or with a multiple-choice system (‘it was good’ or ‘it was terrible’).

How to improve performance:

There’s no need for guesswork here — as a quality analyst, you should have access to past interactions at any time. This makes identifying the cause of a low CSAT score easier: just review the relevant calls, live chats or emails to pinpoint where they went wrong.

Once you understand where agents have made mistakes, work with team leaders and managers to devise targeted training strategies. The same applies to interactions leading to good CSAT scores: implement service techniques used by the strongest agents into training for the weakest.

3. Net Promoter Score (NPS) 

The metric:

NPS is related to Customer Satisfaction Scores, but slightly different. This metric gauges consumers’ likelihood of recommending a business’s service to others.

Again, this involves a numerical or multiple-choice system.

How to improve performance:

As with boosting Customer Satisfaction Scores, increasing NPS results depends on knowing what agents should and shouldn’t do.

Match good, bad and neutral NPS results to the respective interactions. Listen or look out for moments when the experience improved or worsened. Offer agents unique coaching and training tailored to their results.

4. Average Handle Time 

The metric:

This metric measures the length of time agents spend on interactions. Ideally, they should be closing tickets quickly to keep productivity high, but they have to make sure customers feel as if they’re receiving the attention they expect without being rushed.

How to improve performance:

If this metric shows certain (or all) agents are taking too long to complete interactions, the problem could be down to various factors. 

• The software agents depend on may be clunky or confusing

• Scripts might be too long and in need of streamlining

• Product knowledge could be poor

These are just a few examples. Take the time to review interactions carefully and figure out which factors are to blame.

5. Average Time for First Response  

The metric:

How long do customers have to wait for an initial response to their request for help?

This should be as brief as possible to avoid customers abandoning their search for answers and looking elsewhere. And that’s a real danger when a survey revealed 57 percent of people had given up waiting for a response after being made to wait too long.

How to improve performance:

Slow first-response times suggest customer service teams may be understaffed or have customers reaching out from regions with different time zones.

You’ll need to work with agents, team leaders, managers and admins to determine how to proceed. This is another important lesson on how to become a better QA analyst.

Taking on extra agents could be the best solution, while implementing 24-hour service would be another possibility.

6. Resolution Rates  

The metric:

As a quality analyst, watch out for the percentage of issues agents are actually resolving from all the tickets submitted.

How to improve performance:

Again, understaffing may be to blame for poor resolution rates: their may simply be too much demand for support and too few agents to handle them.

Managers may need to consider hiring more staff or streamlining processes somehow, to leave agents with more time to actually focus on helping customers. Automating tasks with good QA software and appointing extra admins to assist could make a big difference.

Helping facilitate these changes will show you how to become a better QA analyst too.

Conclusion

Quality analysts in a call center or customer service department have the power to transform performance over time.

A well-planned, well-executed QA program cuts to the root of performance problems and cultivates a stronger customer experience. Focusing on the key performance metrics discussed above gives you the insights you need to pinpoint the main customer experience issues and help agents improve.

Consistency is key to stay on top of issues and tackle them before they make an impact, which means analysts need management’s full support.

What does that involve? You should have access to the best QA software and be integrated into the company culture properly. It’s vital agents understand what you do and why to minimize the risk of an ‘us and them’ divide. Staff will be more open to performance feedback, coaching and training when they trust you.