Last week, as a part of our live, virtual event called CustomerCONNECT, we facilitated two Coffee Talk sessions. Essentially, a Coffee Talk session is a live, virtual roundtable discussion designed exclusively for a small group of corporate customer experience (CX) leaders at consumer-facing brands, providing a forum where participants can learn, share, network, and engage to innovate.

In one of the sessions, a group of CX professionals, who also happen to be Quality Assurance (QA) enthusiasts, met to discuss the current state of their QA programs. The conversation covered how brands are managing their QA programs, how QA data is being utilized, and the impact QA is having on the customer experience. Although Coffee Talk sessions are intentionally not recorded to allow for candid discussions, the ideas shared are worth noting.

Here are four key highlights from the discussion:

1. Connecting QA with the Customer Experience

During the discussion, about half of the participants felt their QA programs were directly correlated with, or actively helping to improve the overall customer experience. But the question quickly moved on to what the next evolution might look like for QA programs. On that point, a general consensus surfaced that identified that QA programs need to become more multifaceted by monitoring not only for agent behavior, but also analyzing for things like customer satisfaction (CSAT), Net Promoter Score (NPS), compliance, and produce actionable business data and insights.

2. Understanding the Customer Experience by Analyzing What Matters Most

Key driver surveys were touched on as an indispensable tool for evaluating how customers are experiencing a particular brand. While some companies spend a lot of time and effort evaluating agent actions (were processes, procedures, and policies properly followed), companies need to ask themselves how important these things are to the customer. A key driver survey can help reframe the very purpose of a QA Program, shifting from something that simply monitors behavior to something that helps an organization tackle pain points, identify root causes, and boost resolution rates. Moreover, key driver surveys provide an analytical approach to capturing what matters most to customers. There’s no guesswork to what matters most to customers – they are telling an organization what matters most in the surveys. The end result — the top 5 or 6 things that matter most to customers should be reflected on the QA scorecard.

3. Scorecard Evolution

Key driver surveys are one way to influence the evolution of QA scorecards, but that’s not the end of the story. The evolution of QA program scorecards was a hot topic of discussion, and it was suggested that soft skills should be the backbone of the form. Ideally, QA scorecards would be adapted to the behaviors we want our agents to exhibit rather than trying to mold agent behavior to an existing scorecard. The point was made that it’s easier to hire based on soft skills and teach hard skills, versus the other way around. By hiring the right people, the QA program scorecard can shift from trying to change undesirable behavior to trying to identify systemic issues that prevent agents from maximizing the strong set of soft skills they were hired for in the first place.

4. Digital Evolution and Applying Automation of Quality Assurance Programs

Like everything else, QA programs must change with the times. Although they are not a hotbed of technology like self-service (think chatbots), there has been some recent innovations. Several participants were exploring ways to automate call evaluations by layering in voice analytics and other artificial intelligence (AI)-powered solutions. Other brands were already using automation on QA data to do things like call type and identify drivers for call duration. This information helps drive sound strategic decisions around things like policy and process. If done right, these insights can help reduce volumes which ultimately helps agents get more efficient and focused on more complex issues.

What This Coffee Talk Session Revealed

QA programs are evolving rapidly, and they have to. In today’s world, more is expected of every business unit and every program, and quality programs are rich with potential. Not only can QA data be used to create a better customer experience within the care organization, but this same approach can be used to reveal opportunities across the wider organization. Reinventing QA programs for a future state will take the right combination of strategy, customer focus, and technology to maximize value.

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The phone call has emerged as the critical channel for communication. Voice engagement is unparalleled due to its speed, return on investment, and most importantly the trust factor that comes from communication directly from a business or organization. However, the rise of the robocall, and the many scams that popped up in relation, has trained people to mistrust many phone calls – especially from numbers they do not know. The current pandemic also has provided opportunities for scammers to prey on people during this uncertain time, and consequently, connection rates continue to drop. In fact, Hiya found that there was over an 850% surge in stimulus check phone scams since March due to the pandemic.

Some businesses are meeting the issues of the moment by optimizing voice engagement with customers, improving their overall customer experience, and generating greater ROI for their contact centers. Below are a few steps Hiya recommends to improve their business communications and stay ahead of competitors. I will also be expanding on these tips further at the Exec In The Know CustomerCONNECT event on August 11. Hope to “see” you there!

• Reduce the odds your outbound calls appear as spam — Businesses that manage their calling reputation get better results. Protect the reputation of your numbers by proactively monitoring how many times a number is blocked or reported, and understand how to prevent numbers from being marked as spam.
• Increase the speed and quality of your customer service — You have built a trusted relationship with your customers. The key is continuing to build on that trust through excellent customer service experiences. When customers recognize your name and brand on their phone, they are exponentially more likely to answer, helping you deliver higher quality and more timely customer service.
• Access important call analytics — Enterprise call centers measure every aspect of their business and are, by nature, metrics-driven. Understanding how the levers of call identity and reputation management affect these metrics is critical to make more data-driven decisions and optimize your outbound calls.

It’s important for businesses to gain a clearer picture of the current outbound call environment and evaluate solutions to deploy immediately that will produce near-term results. Hiya Connect provides enterprises intelligence and increased influence over the performance of their voice calls. Hiya’s modern SaaS application increases answer rates by as much as double, decreases the cost to connect, drives faster lead conversion, and greater customer satisfaction. To learn more, visit hiya.com/connect.

Guest post written by: Julianne Maila, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Hiya, Inc.
Join Julianne’s session, Staying Ahead of the Game: Building Trust Before the Call Even Begins, at CustomerCONNECT, August 11th at 3:45 PM – 4:30 PM (EDT).

The post How To Deliver Competition-Crushing Customer Service and Improve Contact Rates appeared first on Execs In The Know.

PHOENIX, Ariz., July 31, 2020 — Global customer experience (CX) industry leader Execs In The Know (EITK) is pleased to announce CustomerCONNECT, an innovative industry event designed to bring together the world’s foremost customer experience executives for a unique opportunity to learn, share, network, and engage to innovate for an improved customer experience. CustomerCONNECT is a live, virtual event scheduled for August 11, 2020, featuring a packed agenda that will kick off at 11:15 AM EDT and run until 5:45 PM EDT, followed by unique networking and debriefing sessions on the morning of August 12. CustomerCONNECT is a completely free event and participants will gain access to a full slate of interactive presentations, live Q&A with CX thought leaders, virtual networking activities, on-demand content, and valuable materials — all with one simple registration.

CustomerCONNECT features an impressive lineup of keynote speakers that include Lisa Oswald from Travelzoo, Elena Loucaidou from Wargaming.net, Bit Rambusch from Dell Technologies, Angie Pizzuti from DTE Energy, and Becky Ploeger from Hilton. The theme of CustomerCONNECT is Voice of the Customer, and each keynote presentation will inspire and educate by sharing insights into the challenges faced and successes claimed over recent months.

“In recent months, customer needs have changed rapidly. The same is true for brands as they transform in response to an evolving landscape,” said Chad McDaniel, President and Co-Founder of Execs In The Know. “Throughout this era of unprecedented CX transformation, our community leaders have charted new territory — breaking down barriers, overcoming challenges, and problem-solving through innovation. CustomerCONNECT, our upcoming live, virtual event, is yet another opportunity to learn, share, network, and engage as we head into one of the busiest times of the year for the CX industry.”

In addition to an all-star cast of keynote speakers, CustomerCONNECT will also play host to thought leadership presentations and virtual solution showcases from event sponsors Salesforce, Interactions, Concentrix, Hiya, and Kustomer. This content, along with ample opportunities for live engagement and virtual networking, make CustomerCONNECT an essential event on any CX professionals’ calendar in the weeks and months to come.

Already have a busy day planned for August 11, 2020? No problem. As a part of the free registration to CustomerCONNECT, registrants will gain access to on-demand streams of each and every session, available within moments of their completion. In other words, registrants don’t have to miss a minute of the action. Furthermore, they will have the flexibility to tune in (and out) of the live event according to their existing schedule. On-demand recording will also be made available to registrants for several weeks following the event, providing ample opportunity to listen, evaluate, and improve.

CustomerCONNECT is fast approaching, and it’s the quintessential CX event industry executives don’t want to miss. Early registration is highly recommended. Moreover, CustomerCONNECT will not only plug participants into an invaluable slate of content, it’s also a great opportunity to get familiar with the Execs In The Know community — a thriving, highly-engage group of CX advocates and enthusiasts.

About Execs In The Know
Execs In The Know is a global community of CX professionals focused on excellence in customer experience. Execs In The Know gives brands a platform to share and gain insights, benchmark their brand, stay on top of the latest trends in CX, and create lasting relationships with their peers – “Leaders Learning From Leaders.” Execs In The Know holds numerous live events each year including Customer Response Summit, Subject Matter Briefings, Lunch & Learns, and Leadership Dinners. The company also offers industry content and thought leadership through webinars, reports, a quarterly CX insight Magazine, the Know It All “KIA” Online Community, and various social media groups. To learn more about Execs In The Know, visit: www.execsintheknow.com.

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