Providing Feedback to Employees in the Call Center

In nearly every Call Center across the United States, there is a team of specialists in the area of agent feedback. This team is called the Quality Assurance Team. The Quality Assurance Team records and monitors the calls that the agents on the floor participate in. They then grade the employees on specifics that occurred on the call. Once these statistics have been scored, the team then provides feedback to the agent that performed the call. Once the feedback is given to the agent and the meeting is concluded, the Quality Assurance Team takes this information and provides it to upper management. For the team of Quality Assurance Specialists, the most difficult task of all is providing feedback to the employees in the call center. In this article, we will be reviewing ways in which one may effectively provide the feedback to make it easier on both parties - the one giving it, and the one receiving it.

I have noticed, in my many years as a Quality Assurance Specialist, that many times the members of management will start to forget about the most important members of the call center - the agents taking and/or receiving the calls. This has a negative impact on the work environment in the call center and should be avoided at all costs. While you may not be able to change the mentality of the management team, you are perfectly capable of changing your own mentality. You should remember, each day that you arrive at your desk, that the agents that take and/or receive the calls that you monitor, are the most important part of your company - apart from the customers. You should learn to value the agents, and in return, they will value you and your opinion. When you provide feedback to employees in the call center, if they feel that they are valued and respected, they will be open and receptive to what you have to say.

The next important step in providing feedback to the employees in the call center is to ensure that you gather their input on their performance. Give them an opportunity to get their feelings out about their performance. You may find that there is a learning gap and you may be able to help. I have seen and monitored many Quality Assurance Specialists as they have given feedback to agents, and I have seen a severe lack of consideration as far as what the agent has to say is concerned. I have seen cases where, during feedback, the agent has attempted to speak their concerns, and the Quality Assurance Specialists literally interrupts and is quickly to add, "This is just the way it is". Allowing the agent to speak during your feedback session is one of the main keys to communication and resolve when it comes to improvement in the workplace. It is vital that you allow some time to chat with the agent and let them give you feedback as well, which leads into my next suggestion.

I was in the midst of trying to improve myself at my most recent Quality Assurance job. I spoke with management members and my peers for feedback on my performance. I received high ratings from all of them, but I noticed that there were still a few agents that were closing me out during our feedback sessions. I knew that something needed to be done. After thinking on it for a few days, I developed a plan. I created a list of questions and made copies. Each time that I monitored an agent and provided them with feedback, I would give the questionnaire to them and ask them to fill it out. I told them that they were not required to write their name on it. I wanted them to be as honest as possible without worrying over their jobs. I then told them when they were done, to give the answered questions to their Team Manager and instruct them to make a copy for themselves and give me the other copy. This would ensure that the management team knew what the agent thought of my performance and that if there was an issue they could hold be accountable to uphold the suggestions and responsibilities as posed by the agents.

This became extremely popular very quickly. Not only with the agents, but also with the team of managers. They quickly filed into the office and requested that each Quality Assurance Specialists performed this same task. The questions that I listed in the questionnaire were to the effect of:

1) Are you monitored on a routine basis

2) Do you receive feedback on each of your scans?

3) Is the Quality Assurance Agent positive and respectful when they give you feedback?

4) What are the weaknesses of your Quality Assurance Agent? If none, leave blank

Of course, there were many more than this, but this is a sample. Not only did this help me on my self-improvement journey, but also it allowed management and agents to all work together with me in an effort to maximize everyone's potential within the company and made feedback more constructive.

If you are assigned to provide feedback to employees in a call center environment, and take these tips and apply them, you will see a change. The agents will become more receptive to their feedback. The management team will start to see a change in their call stats each day, and you will make a difference.