Contact Centers Aren't Analyzing Enough Calls to Effectively Monitor Agent Performance

Contact center agents are often the first and only human interaction customers have with a business, and they serve as the voice of the brand. The experience they provide can significantly impact customer acquisition and retention. For these reasons, it’s critical that companies engage in robust agent quality monitoring to ensure that agent performance is up to the brand’s standards.

Manual processes for quality monitoring have extreme limitations. A new study by Invoca, however, has found that most contact center managers are still stuck in the past, tediously sifting through random call samples by hand instead of embracing modern technologies. Invoca’s 2023 State of the Contact Center Report revealed that 62% of contact center managers surveyed indicated that they cannot analyze enough calls to evaluate agent performance accurately. Furthermore, only 20% of contact center managers report using artificial intelligence (AI) despite its compelling applications for quality management, and a mere 30% say they use conversational intelligence. The study concludes that the contact center industry is ripe for digital transformation, as an undeniable connection exists between agent job satisfaction and customer contentment, i.e. due in part to the underutilization of AI and conversational intelligence.

"Today's consumers expect a seamless experience—even as they move across channels from digital to phone calls—and it's mission-critical for companies to ensure their contact centers connect these disparate experiences and analyze agent performance at scale," said Gregg Johnson, CEO of Invoca, in a statement. "This report shows that AI and conversation intelligence are key to combining the power of data, automation, and the human touch so agents can focus on providing empathetic service, delighting customers, and driving revenue."

There is good news for the customers and agents of the world, however. Like many industries, the contact center industry’s adoption of AI is accelerating, as 85% of contact center managers surveyed said they are likely to implement an AI-powered solution within the next year.