Quality, Uncontrolled

Call centers are using — and will continue to use, in increasing numbers — voice recording systems to monitor agent quality. But these applications are not producing the desired results, according to the latest “State of the Customer Experience” survey conducted by Forrester Research Inc. Among the findings of the survey of 47 U.S. firms with annual revenues in excess of $500 million:

  • Seventy-four percent of the respondents use voice recording systems, such as those from NICE Systems or Witness Systems. Nearly all of the firms using this technology are satisfied with its performance; 13% are considering using it.

  • Thirty percent of firms are either rolling out, piloting, or considering the adoption of benchmarking as part of their measurement of call-based customer experiences. This is good news for vendors such as AnswerThink/Hackett Group and BenchmarkPortal.

  • Nearly half of the respondents have installed interactive voice response quality monitoring systems, but more than one-quarter of those firms are dissatisfied with the results — most likely because of poor usability. Some 30% of firms are now considering or rolling out IVR usability testing; 35% already have it in place.