subject: Getting Your Roi From Call Monitoring [print this page] Call monitoring systems are still among the most desirable contact center products available. It seems as if everybody wants one and it's understandable why this is the case. The ability to observe in real time or record both the voice portion of the customer interaction and the data screens that your employees are accessing is a benefit to evaluating the service that your employees are providing. And there are certainly enough companies out there meeting the need to sell us one of these systems.
But everybody talks about the functionality of the systems - which system is better, which one is the most reliable, which one is the most forward thinking. Not many people are educating us on what we need to think about from the people side of the business when we implement one of these products. So what should you think about before you make this kind of purchase? Here is a list of the top ten things to think about when you are considering purchasing ca call monitoring system:
IT and Contact Center Management must join forces. Since this is technology, it is typically displayed and advertised and sold to the technology gurus in your organization. But unlike the phone switch or the customer database, this is a system with which Operations should have daily interface. Your IT department may be charged with finding and installing the right call monitoring system, but before you make a decision as to which one to purchase and what your installation timeline is, contact center management should be spending time making some process and procedural decisions to help IT make the best purchasing choice.
Put your processes in motion before the installation. Once you answer the questions that will help you determine which system will best meet your immediate and long-term needs, begin implementing the necessary processes before the product is installed. Remember that you are changing the way you manage performance by implementing a call monitoring system; you are not just installing new hardware and software. How do you want to manage performance differently? It is by answering this question completely that you will reap your return on investment from this purchase. If you continue to do business as you always have, your return on investment will be lengthy or non-existent.
Management is vital to success. Who will be responsible for managing the day-to-day maintenance of the system? The day-to-day management of this system should not be an IT function. (Although IT may believe they should maintain control of this system, you as the end user should perform this function.) Where is your workforce management function handled? Do you have a separate control desk or command center? Depending on the structure of your organization, this may be the place to handle the maintenance of your call monitoring system as well. Choosing the right person to handle this function is critical. It needs to be someone who is relatively technical in nature but who also understands the people side of performance management.
Communication is crucial. Even if you monitor phone calls today, the implementation of a call monitoring system changes the way your representatives are communicated with and managed. Remember to look at this system as a performance management tool, not just a monitoring tool. Your representatives need to know how this system is going to change their standards, their monthly reviews, and their ability to observe their own and others' customer interactions. What message are you sending to your representatives and to your supervisors about this new tool? The message should be clear, focused to performance recognition, and positively understood by everyone in the company. This can be no easy task and one that should definitely not be taken lightly.
It's not about numbers. When a call monitoring system is implemented, it is immediately seen as a way to make monitoring more efficient. It is important to look beyond how it will improve the efficiency of the monitoring. While the immediate reaction is to raise the goal for the number of monitored calls per month, it is again worth mentioning that this should be viewed as a performance management system and not a monitoring system. Does monitoring more calls per month have any impact on the performance of your employees? NO! Spending that extra time coaching and communicating with your employees has a huge positive impact on their performance. Think about how you will spend your time so that you are getting the return on your investment.
Don't get hung up with the novelty of the system. Call monitoring systems are a "cool" piece of technology. It definitely makes you sit up and take notice when you actually see what your representatives are doing while they are talking with your customers. You may be very surprised at what you see. The tendency is to want to sit behind your terminal all day and watch your employees to "catch" them doing something they shouldn't be doing. Continue to be available to your representatives on the floor rather than sitting at your desk looking at what they are doing.
Use the tool to improve your interviewing and hiring processes. This is not just a supervisory coaching tool. Remember that good performance management in a contact center starts with the hiring process. Showcasing the actual processes and interactions in the daily responsibilities of an employee to potential candidates helps you and your applicants determine if the job is an appropriate match. It also provides a springboard to discuss candidate skills for job aptitude and success.
Training becomes much more process based. There are wonderful ways to use recorded calls during the training process. The best way that people learn is by modeling the desired behaviors of others. This tool allows for focused and targeted modeling in the training room, as well as the ability to record your trainees while they are in the training process and evaluate their performance more accurately before they become part of the mainstream of your organization.
Reporting is key. What kinds of reports do you need to manage the quality portion of your representatives' performance? If you want to get the most benefit from the system, be careful not to focus on the scores or numbers. To improve performance, focus on the behaviors of your representatives. It's really the qualitative information that matters the most, not the quantitative statistics.
Performance is about people, not technology. Having call monitoring technology is an incredible tool of which to take advantage. It has the potential to streamline your hiring, reduce training time, make coaching more effective and provide a wealth of performance information to your organization. But, the power of the technology rests not in the technology itself, but in the skills, knowledge and implementation processes of your people. Taking the time to think about the people factor first and foremost will ultimately drive the technological advances that you hope you gain.
