Quality is key to customer satisfaction and loyalty. It is important that agents perceive a true commitment to quality on the part of their organizations, and that they feel the processes aimed at guaranteeing quality are working properly.
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Quality Processes |
5. Strongly Agree |
4. Agree |
3. Neither |
2. Disagree |
1. Strongly Disagree |
Net Score low 2 |
|
Decisions in this organization are aimed at achieving the highest possible level of quality for our customers. |
25.2% |
37.0% |
22.5% |
10.4% |
4.9% |
47.0% |
|
When a conflict between quality & quantity exists, quality usually wins. |
35.5% |
45.4% |
11.5% |
5.9% |
1.7% |
73.4% |
|
I think our customers would say the level of service they received from our company is superior to the competition. |
27.5% |
41.0% |
17.7% |
9.6% |
4.2% |
54.8% |
|
When something is wrong, we take the initiative to correct it. |
32.6% |
45.6% |
16.1% |
4.3% |
1.4% |
72.4% |
|
Our quality assessment processes are valid and fair. |
35.2% |
48.5% |
10.7% |
4.4% |
1.3% |
77.9% |
|
Category Averages: |
31.2% |
43.5% |
15.7% |
6.9% |
2.7% |
65.1% |
While category averages are reasonably good, there are wide variances among the individual questions. “Valid and fair” quality assessment processes scored the highest overall, and two related questions, on resolving conflicts in favor of quality and taking corrective action to fix problems, both received Net Score scores over 70%
Lower responses involved agent perceptions of whether decisions are made with the aim of achieving the highest possible level of quality for customers, which received a Net Score under 50% and perceptions of one’s own center in comparison to the competition, which was near 55%.
Interpretation
The star of this segment is the response to the last question: “Our quality assessment processes are valid and fair”. The response indicates that good things are being done in the quality area from the agent’s viewpoint. Many centers have invested considerable time, training and follow up effort to this area in recent years, and it seems to have paid off.
Interpreting the responses to the first three questions is more challenging. Our impression is that the relatively low scores earned on the first question may be due to two things: 1) the “highest possible level” wording sets a very high bar that the respondents have taken seriously; and 2) there may be an implicit dart aimed at senior management and other parts of the company; i.e., the words “decisions in this organization” place the focus on the enterprise overall, not just the contact center.
The second question (“When a conflict between quality & quantity exists, quality usually wins”) and the fourth question (“When something is wrong, we take the initiative to correct it”) are probably interpreted at the operating level, where the agents themselves (rather than senior managers or other operating units) are involved and have more control. Here, agents see quality winning out.
The third question is very much tied to the competitive landscape in which each center operates, so it is difficult to opine on the reasons behind these results. However, it is interesting that the result falls in between questions one and two on every box. If our analysis is correct, then the tension between the more negative views agents hold of senior management support for quality, on the one hand, and the more positive view of operating level efforts to foster quality, on the other hand, may get averaged into the agents’ views of competitive position overall.
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Quality Process Impact: |
· % Calls on Hold · First Call Resolution · Quality Monitoring Processes |
My Agent Voices blog posts are the result of research on over 5,000 agent surveys conducted in North America. - - Bruce Belfiore