This is the third post in a 3-part series about outsourced contact center quality monitoring. Click here to read the first two posts:
- Part 1 – “Why the Time to Re-Evaluate Your Contact Center’s Quality Monitoring is Now!”
- Part 2 – “Is Outsourced Quality Monitoring Right for Your Business?”
There are a number of different organizations that offer outsourced quality monitoring, from large companies in North America to offshore solutions and independent consultants. Choosing the right partner is key to seamlessly transitioning to an outsourced environment, realizing incremental benefits and managing costs.
Outsourced QM Partner Checklist
- Can I see this company working as an extension of my contact center? Is there a good cultural fit? Do we share the same values?
- References. References.
- Does this company have experience in your industry sector?
- Do they specialize in contact center quality monitoring?
- What is the background of the QM team including previous experience and tenure? Is the QM team dedicated to my business?
- Do they have the technological expertise to access your call, email and chat systems (and perhaps some options)?
- Will they provide a best-in-class scorecard template for your industry?
- Is their coaching well-written, actionable and meaningful?
- Do they offer added-value, real-time technology and reporting?
- Do they offer ‘just-in-time’ escalations (critical coaching moments)?
- Is the service scalable for new hires, new campaigns, peak periods?
- Will I realize cost savings?
- Is it important that the QM team understand the local environment/culture? The industry? The geographic location?
- Can this company adapt to my unique operating environment?
When it comes to the company’s experience in quality monitoring, think outside of the box. It is always more realistic to have a point-of-view that is customer-centric and not skewed by what the provider knows about the internal workings of the company. There are real advantages to having a QM team whose background is not contact center related. Aligning the QM team with your target customer can give you a more realistic point-of-view.
Should You Choose Onshore or Offshore?
There are certainly some cost savings to be found in an offshore outsourced quality monitoring environment. For those who are satisfied with the ‘check-the-box,’ ‘black-or-white’ approach to quality monitoring, offshore QM specialists may be sufficient.
That being said, most organizations benefit from having a clear line of sight to the market in which they operate. When evaluating customer interactions, understanding root cause or underlying motivations are critical to coaching effectiveness and where operational efficiencies can be found.
Deciding to stay Onshore for quality monitoring may require you to compromise quantity in favor of quality. Understanding the added-value quality monitoring can deliver in terms of removing customer effort or improving operational effectiveness can only help improve your ROI.
Leveraging your QM Partner’s technology
You may have a call recording system that has some built-in forms you can use for quality monitoring. And two other systems for email and chat. Given that the technology you may have is not specifically designed for quality monitoring, these ‘free’ tools can greatly limit the value quality monitoring can deliver to your organization.
Some outsourced quality monitoring partners have developed technology specifically for QM. This technology can offer you some real advantages, including but not limited to:
- Real-time, online reporting to highlight trends, coaching opportunities, training effectiveness and more
- Consolidation of results across multiple sites or business units that may be using different recording platforms
- Consolidation of results across multiple channels including calls, emails, chat and video more
- Provide access to customer interactions to other stakeholders outside of the contact center
- …. and more!
Remember, outsourcing doesn’t have to be an all or nothing proposition. You can also have a third party conduct a random sample of evaluations to help calibrate your internal QM teams’ efforts. Or, if you aren’t ready to outsource your quality monitoring program but want to access more sophisticated QM tools and best practices, ask VereQuest about leveraging our proprietary, cloud-based tools for your internal QM team.
We’re here to help you make an informed decision about choosing an outsourced quality monitoring partner. Just download our free eBook for more information by filling out the form below.
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