QA (Scoring calls)

The specific responsibilities of quality-assurance analysts in a call center depend on the business’s needs. If customer surveys have shown that customers feel as if they’re not being treated professionally, for instance, a quality-assurance analyst might monitor phone calls to ensure representatives are following the organization’s protocols. Areas the analyst might study include voice quality and product knowledge, as well as whether representatives stick to their training scripts. They also check to see if a customer is satisfied with the results of the interaction, and end calls in a friendly and professional way.

Technological Responsibilities

High-volume call centers can't hope to monitor every single call. Instead, call centers might ask quality-assurance analysts to use statistical methods to take a proper sampling of the phone calls and then report the results of the study. For example, a quality-assurance analyst might listen to every worker at least three times a day, but randomly choose particular phone calls for monitoring. The availability of sophisticated call-monitoring software means quality they don't always have to listen live to phone calls. Instead, they can use software to record certain phone calls for monitoring later.

Designing Evaluation Programs

Depending on the organization’s objectives, quality-assurance analysts might be responsible for choosing which performance metrics to analyze. One possible metric might be counting the number of times a representative uses the customer’s name, which helps create a sense of personalized attention. Another metric might be comparing a customer-service representative’s performance to the standardized script for phone calls. In other words, a quality-assurance analyst must be able to identify the best way to evaluate performance in terms that help an organization recognize problems and increase its effectiveness.

Monitoring Industry Trends

Quality-assurance analysts also must stay abreast of industry trends. An analyst might study the practices of various firms within her industry to identify what other quality-assurance teams are doing to improve customer relations. Then the analyst could take what she's learned and create a customized solution for her employer. Knowing the industry’s best practices helps a business outperform competitors and optimize customer relations.