Call monitoring is a form of quality management that call centers implement to ensure that customers are receiving a level of support that meets company standards. Call monitoring software is a tool that can help call center management track and monitor agent performance. This software can give leadership insight in multiple ways. One example is call recording. Call recordings are kept so that supervisors and agents can go back and listen in on customer interactions. This can help team leaders identify those agents that may need more training or coaching. It can also help them identify trending call drivers. Call recordings also help capture agent best practices and provide quality reference material for new trainees or for agents that need a refresher. Call monitoring software also works by capturing screen recordings of customer and agent interactions. Screen recordings can be leveraged to improve agent coaching and training by providing a glimpse into experienced navigation of phone and customer management software. Call monitoring software can also track important agent metrics such as talk time, average handle time, resolution rates, hold times, silent times, transfer rates, and more.

The software can compile reports for supervisors that can help pinpoint which agents may need extra support and indicate exactly what they may be struggling with. This data can also be used to identify agents that are performing well. Reports make it easy for leadership to compare metrics between low and high-performing individuals, and it also helps them find out what agents should focus on to improve.

Call monitoring specialists do the following in the contact center: 

Monitoring customer service calls: The specialist listens to telephone calls between agents and customers to evaluate the quality of service delivered by the agent.

Analyzing call quality: The specialist analyzes the quality of the call, including factors such as whether the agent followed the correct script, how long the call lasted, and whether the customer was satisfied with the outcome.

Evaluating agent performance: Based on their analysis, the specialist provides feedback and coaching to the agents to help improve their performance.

Identifying training needs: The specialist identifies training needs and recommends appropriate training programs or materials to improve the performance of agents.

Providing performance reports: The specialist compiles performance reports for managers and leaders to measure the success of the call center and identify areas that need improvement.

Identifying patterns and trends: The specialist analyzes data to identify patterns and trends in customer service, helping managers develop strategies to enhance customer satisfaction and resolve problems.

Call monitoring can enhance customer satisfaction, improve compliance and service delivery, identify training and development needs, and ultimately lead to better performance, better customer experience, and better business outcomes. Contact center managers can also use it to: 

Improved operational performance: Call monitoring provides an opportunity to evaluate the performance of call center agents, identify any gaps and provide feedback to enhance their skills and productivity. This can lead to higher call volume, better service delivery and ultimately higher customer satisfaction.

Improve customer satisfaction: Call monitoring can help identify patterns and trends, identify potential issues and understand customer preferences, allowing for tailored responses, resulting in an improved customer experience and retention.

Monitor compliance: Compliance with industry regulations or specific company policies can be challenging to monitor at scale. Call monitoring provides a systematic way to address compliance, including policy adherence, minimizing risks and ensuring consistency in approach.

Identify agent training needs: Call monitoring helps to identify training opportunities. Providing training to address gaps in current skills and knowledge can improve the skills of agents, leading to better performance and more satisfied customers.

Quality assurance improvement: Call monitoring aids in highlighting trends or recurring issues that would be difficult to identify with small data sets, allowing for ongoing monitoring, intervention and improvement strategies.