Bridging the Gap: Aligning Quality Assurance and Voice of the Customer Programs
Gartner analysts Deborah Alvord and Jonathan Schmidt delivered a compelling webinar advocating for the transformation of traditional customer service Quality Assurance (QA) programs into more comprehensive Quality Intelligence ones.
Traditional QA programs are focused on employee performance metrics and behavioral feedback. They are no longer sufficiently connected to the broader enterprise objectives aligned with the customer experience.
The proposed solution is to integrate CX and Voice of the Customer (VOC) measures into a comprehensive Quality Intelligence program. This balanced scorecard approach, with CX and VOC comprising up to 80% of the metrics, promises a more holistic and strategic view of service quality.
I would go two steps further:
Revisit QA metrics: Current QA programs overemphasize adherence to prescribed behaviors, stifling authentic customer interactions. This approach breeds scripted dialogs at the expense of genuine empathy – a critical ingredient of great customer experiences.
Bridge the enterprise-level gap: CX and VOC programs typically operate at the broader enterprise level. It's crucial to strengthen the connection between these initiatives and contact center QA programs. This topic was brought to my attention by another analyst, Max Ball. The integration should capitalize on the rich customer service insights, including conversation recordings and transcripts from contact centers, and incorporate them into these enterprise-wide programs.
Off my soapbox