Call Center "How To" Tutorial Series

Module 4 - How to give effective agent feedback from quality monitoring

         Download a printable version of this tutorial in PDF format

We will now provide our weekly tutorials in a downloadable PDF format so you are able to view and print them as resources.  Depending on the topic of the tutorial, you might choose to provide it as a handout with your team, business leaders or employees. 

We will also continue to provide the tutorials in html format as found below.

The Call Center Learning Center is excited to announce a new "how to" tutorial series for call center managers and supervisors. This tutorial series will pull from Prosci's research-based toolkits and best practices reports. Module 1 provided guidelines on how to determine what to measure in your call center.  Module 2 addressed how to minimize misdirected contacts to your center.  Module 3 focused on how to increase the percentage of calls resolved in one contact.  This module will help you learn how to give effective feedback from quality monitoring.  Module 5 will conclude the series with how to determine selection criteria for a technology vendor.

Effective agent feedback

Agent feedback is a vital component of quality monitoring, serving as the catalyst for performance improvement.  When done well, agent feedback can provide many benefits to your call center, including greater efficiency and lower agent turnover.  Agent feedback is just one component of the Quality Monitoring Lifecycle, Prosci's holistic model for monitoring your agents' performance shown in Figure 1.
 

Figure 1 - Agent feedback in Prosci's Quality Monitoring Lifecycle
 

Also shown in Figure 1 are the three questions that need to be addressed in order to give effective agent feedback from quality monitoring.  This tutorial will focus on the "how," including many must-do and must-not-do items to follow when giving agent feedback.

How should feedback be given?

To be effective, agent feedback needs to be presented in two forms:

1. Written feedback
    
2. Verbal feedback
    

1.  Written feedback

Written feedback is a must, plain and simple.  It may come in the form of a yes/no checklist or as a three-page assessment complete with a training plan and improvement goals.  Most likely it will be somewhere between these extremes.  Regardless, it is a key element in the documentation process of quality monitoring.  You should have two copies of the performance evaluation.  Agents are to be handed one copy of their performance evaluation.  The other copy goes in the employee's file or is stored in an electronic data format that can be easily retrieved.  Don't think of documentation in negative terms, either.  Each session of quality monitoring is one small piece of the agents overall statement of work.  Written feedback provides a record of the agent's progress, and it is an imperative element of the entire process.

Written feedback should be:

• Logical
• Easily-interpreted
• Objective
• Accurate
• Constructive
• Accompanied by verbal evaluation

When giving written feedback, be sure to follow these must-do items:

þ Ensure the feedback form is representative of agents' performance.
þ Keep language and concepts simple so agents will not have difficulty interpreting the evaluation.
þ Maintain objectivity.
þ Ensure that the evaluation is not overly harsh or overly lenient.
þ Keep accurate records to demonstrate improvement or weaknesses.
þ Keep comments constructive.
þ Flesh out the feedback form with a verbal evaluation.

At the same time, be sure to avoid these must-NOT-do items:

x Create a feedback form that is hard to follow or not representative of agents performance.
x    Give agents a form that is filled with statistics, lingo and other indecipherable information.
x Allow personal opinions about agents to leak into feedback forms.
x Have any method for calibrating written feedback.
x Format the form to be critical but unhelpful.
x Hand out an evaluation without saying a word to the agent.

 

2.  Verbal feedback

Written feedback is not enough by itself.  Verbal interaction between an agent and a supervisor, mentor, tem leader or manager provides an invaluable resource for agents to improve their performance.  It is through verbal interpretation of scores and goals that agents gain insight into what they are doing and why.  Agents can ask questions and interject their opinions.  Verbalizing feedback is a way to flesh out the evaluation and make it interactive.

To be effective, verbal feedback needs to be:

• Organized
• Constructive
• Thorough
• Concise
• Interactive
• Personal
• Accompanied by a written evaluation

When giving verbal feedback, be sure to follow these must-do items:

þ Review the evaluation before meeting with the agent.
þ Organize what you have to say according to the written evaluation.
þ Point out successes as well as weaknesses.
þ Get to the point.
þ Give the agent opportunities to ask questions.
þ Discuss progress, goals and training options.
þ Supply agent with a copy of the feedback form and refer to it during the evaluation.

At the same time, be sure to avoid these must-NOT-do items:

x Go into an evaluation unprepared, or have to fumble for an agent's name or information.
x    Go over only the negative aspects of the evaluation.
x Skip important parts of the evaluation to save time.
x Talk about unrelated topics.
x Discourage agents from asking questions or voicing concerns.
x Overlook discussions about agent progress, goals and training options.
x Forget to give the agent a copy of his/her feedback form.

The Quality Monitoring Lifecycle

While agent feedback is a crucial component of the quality monitoring process, there are many other steps of the quality monitoring process that should be addressed to ensure a more efficient call center (see Figure 2).

Figure 2 - The complete Quality Monitoring Lifecycle

For additional information on agent feedback, the Quality Monitoring Toolkit includes best practices and information on how to determine who should give feedback and when feedback should be given.  In addition, it addresses each step of the Quality Monitoring Lifecycle and provides survey criteria and scorecard content for accurate and equal assessments.