QATC Survey Results

[one_half]This article details the results of the most recent QATC quarterly survey on critical quality assurance and training topics. Over 100 call center professionals representing a wide variety of industries provided insight regarding call calibration practices. This is a follow-up survey to a survey in 2011.

Participant Profile

Twenty-five percent of the participants are from call center operations with over 500 agents, while 39% are from operations with less than 100 agents. Sixteen percent have 101-200 agents, and 10% have 201-300 agents.

The majority of the call center operations represented in this survey are financial, utility, health care, retail/catalog, and insurance.

Frequency of Call Calibrations

Almost half (47%) of the participants in 2017 have calibrations once a month, while 20% have them every two weeks. Nineteen percent have them once a week, and seven percent either have them once a quarter or do not currently conduct call calibration.

In 2011, 34% of the participants reported call calibration sessions once a month, followed by 25% that had sessions once every two weeks. Twenty percent had calibration sessions once a week, and 15% had them once a quarter. Only six percent did not have calibration sessions.

Average Length of Calibration Sessions

In the current survey, 58% say the average length of calibration sessions is one hour, while 28% report a length of 1-2 hours and 13% less than one hour. Only one percent have sessions that last more than two hours.

From the 2011 results, 56% said that call calibration sessions in their center lasted one hour, while 26% said they lasted one-two hours, and 15% said they lasted less than an hour. Three percent had calibration sessions that lasted more than two hours.

Who Attends Calibration Sessions

When asked who attends calibration sessions, the most frequent answers were QA analysts and frontline supervisors, followed by trainers and team leads. A few include agents as well, although this number was less than in 2011.

In 2011, the results were similar, except that there were more agents included.

Agents Included in Calibration Sessions

In 2017, over three quarters of the participants do not include agents in calibration sessions. Only 16% include agents sometimes, while only eight percent always include them in the sessions.

Sixty-four percent of the 2011 participants did not include agents in calibration sessions. Twenty-two percent included agents sometimes, while 14% included agents as a regular practice. It seems as though this best practice of including agents in calibration sessions is not being done as much currently.

AHT on Typical Calibration Call

In 2017, half of the participants say that the average handle time on a call that is calibrated is 5-7 minutes, while 23% say it is 3-4 minutes. Fourteen percent say this is 8-12 minutes, 12% say the average is over 12 minutes, and only one percent say under three minutes.

Thirty-four percent in 2011 said that the average handle time (AHT) on a typical calibration call was 5-7 minutes, while 30% said 3-4 minutes. Twenty-three percent said 8-12 minutes, eight percent said over 12 minutes, and five percent said under three minutes.

[/one_half]
[one_half_last]

Number of Calls Reviewed in Calibration Session

Twenty-six percent in 2017 review three calls in one calibration session, while twenty-four percent say that they review one call and the same number review two calls. Twelve percent review four calls, and 11% review 5 calls. Only three percent review more than five calls.

In 2011, thirty-one percent said that two calls were reviewed in a calibration session, while 28% said three calls were reviewed. Four calls were reviewed in 19% of the respondents’ centers, while 16% reviewed only one call.

Calibration Participants Required to Review Calls Prior to Meeting

In 2017, 63% say that the calibration participants must review the call prior to the meeting. This is down from 2011.

In 2011, over three quarters of the respondents (76%) said participants in a calibration session are required to review calls and complete an evaluation prior to a meeting.

Measurement of Calibration Effectiveness

When asked if they measure calibration effectiveness in 2017, almost half say they do not measure calibration effectiveness. Forty percent say they measure calibration effectiveness using standard deviation, and 13% measure using another calculation.

In 2011, 53% said they measure calibration effectiveness using standard deviation. Thirty-nine percent did not measure calibration effectiveness, and eight percent measured using another calculation.

Standard Deviation Goal

In 2017, for those using standard deviation, 57% use five standard deviation points as their goal, while 22% use three standard deviation points, and 13% use two standard deviation points.

In 2011, 33% used five standard deviation points as their goal, while 31% used three standard deviation points, and 28% used two standard deviation points.

Calibrations Correlated with Customer Satisfaction Scores

Over three-quarters of the participants (79%) in 2017 do not correlate quality calibrations with customer satisfaction.

In 2011, 74% of the respondents did not correlate call calibrations with customer satisfaction score.

Conclusion

This survey provides some interesting insight into how call centers are conducting calibration sessions. Specifically, it seems as though it is even more common in 2017 that agents are not being included in the calibration process for many centers, which could make the process less threatening to them. However, it looks as though managers and directors are being included, which can give this group a greater understanding of how agents are performing. Also, call calibration scores are still not being correlated with customer satisfaction scores, which could give an even deeper understanding of how an agent did on a call. [/one_half_last]