Much of the talk about quality monitoring is about technology, calibration, and fancy randomized schedules. But the key to a successful quality-monitoring program is good coaching for the reps. This is the focus of this article.

Ten easy steps are all it takes to deliver good coaching.

Do it promptly
Many quality-monitoring tools allow you to record conversations and even computer screens and keystrokes and to replay them when it’s convenient, but don’t delay too much. We all forget the nuances of a particular interaction after a couple of days. Be bold: aim for same-day or next-day feedback.

This is particularly true if the feedback is negative. If you delay giving negative feedback, the staffers may wonder how long you’ve been stewing over it while you build up more negative emotions, not a good way to prepare the feedback session.

Make it private
Give feedback in a private space: not the rep’s work area, not the corridor, not an office with an open door. This goes for all discussions of the quality monitoring, including calibration sessions amongst the monitors. Treat monitoring feedback as you would performance reviews.

Be specific
A solid quality-monitoring program uses a structured evaluation form that identifies specific behaviors. Use the form to deliver the feedback. “You did great on that case” isn’t nearly as useful as “You were able to drive the case to resolution quickly by asking the right questions”. Focus on behaviors, not overall impressions.

Start on a positive note
The human mind naturally focuses on the negative, so if you have positive feedback (and except in desperate cases there will be some positive feedback), start with it. If you keep the positive for the end, it won’t even be heard.

Target what matters most
If you are unlucky enough to uncover several areas of concern, don’t try to address all of them at once. Focus on the most important one – or two – and really work on it. Discipline yourself not to mention every little thing: it’s demoralizing and you run the risk of the support rep focusing on fixing something that’s not really a big issue.

Address issues directly
There is no painless way to give negative feedback. Don’t sugarcoat; don’t dance around the issue. State the facts as you perceive them and state the consequence of the facts on the customer. For instance, say “You interrupted the customer before she was finished complaining about the problem. That made her angrier.” Stay away from generalizations (“You never listen to customers”) and assumptions of intent (“You wanted to get rid of that call, so you made sure you did not give her a straight answer”). They’ll just make the rep more defensive.

Keep your emotions in check
Giving negative feedback can be hard on your nerves, but do what you have to do to stay calm. You will give better feedback for one thing, and also you will be able to handle whatever emotional reaction the rep may have to the feedback. Go decompress afterwards if need be.

Describe, pause and listen
Don’t do all the talking during a feedback session! Be open to the support rep’s input on what happened. Even with fancy multimedia monitoring tools, you may have missed something, and in any case it’s important to understand why the support rep took a particular action. From personal experience I can recall several occasions when I learned about tool or process problems during feedback sessions. Listen as much as you talk.

Listening well doesn’t mean you have to change your mind about the evaluation. For instance, if the rep tells you that he was curt with the customer because the customer had called him names during an earlier conversation, you don’t have to agree that it was ok to be unpleasant. Do seek the rep’s perspective and acknowledge his interpretation, but stick to your request: “I understand that you were reacting to the customer’s outburst earlier. Even under adverse circumstances, it’s important to maintain a professional attitude with our customers.”

Define a strategy
If there are areas for improvement, you need to define a practical plan to make progress. Again, make it specific: “Try harder” is not a useful coaching tip. Think hard about what kind of training and rehearsing is appropriate.

Follow-up
If the rep needs improvement in specific areas, schedule further monitoring and coaching sessions to check progress. Reps who are on improvement plans are typically monitored and coached much more often than others, and that’s just fine. You do not need to monitor everyone exactly the same way.

Be persistent: behavioral change can take several weeks. As long as the rep shows constant upward improvement, you’re on the right track.

About the author
Francoise Tourniaire is the founder and principal of FT Works, a consulting firm that helps technology companies create and grow their support operations. She is the author of Best Practices for Quality Monitoring, a practical guide to creating new quality programs and reinvigorating ailing ones including processes, checklists, tools, and metrics. You can find a full description at www.ftworks.com/QualityMonitoring.htm. You can contact her at 650-559-9826 or FT@ftworks.com.