Are there call recording tools for monitoring remote agents?

Digg This!     StumbleUpon     Del.icio.us

RELATED CONTENT Call center software and call center management Pros and cons of using a pay-per-call service in the call center Examining call center cell phone regulations Overview of open source call center software Creating work-at-home agent agreements for call center employees What call center events or conferences should we attend? Ten ways to re-energize and motivate call center agents Pros and cons of auto-response software in the call center Managing call center stress: Three stress management training courses for agents Finding remote call center agent jobs and opportunities How can a call center offshore outsourcing firm attract new clients? Call center manager Tracking the online customer experience after a website redesign Managing customer conversations in the call center Workforce management software product directory Call center interaction dos and don'ts FAQ: Making call center technology decisions Five call center sales tips and techniques Call center video: PlumChoice uses Aspect workforce management system Call center workforce management software the choice for PlumChoice Pros and cons of using a pay-per-call service in the call center Is now the time for contact center spending? Call center manager Research Call center software Building a business case for self-service Workforce management software product directory The executive's guide to contact center technology planning FAQ: Making call center technology decisions Using click-to-call vs. click-to-chat software Call center video: PlumChoice uses Aspect workforce management system Speech analytics software product directory Evaluating VoIP for your call center The VoIP call center technology quiz Call center workforce management software the choice for PlumChoice Call center software Research

RELATED GLOSSARY TERMS Terms from Whatis.com − the technology online dictionary abandoned call  (SearchCRM.com) call center agent  (SearchCRM.com) cross-media queuing  (SearchCRM.com) Erlang B  (SearchCRM.com) Erlang C  (SearchCRM.com) inbound call  (SearchCRM.com) off-peak  (SearchCRM.com) outbound call  (SearchCRM.com) screen pop  (WhatIs.com) skill-based routing  (SearchCRM.com)

RELATED RESOURCES 2020software.com, trial software downloads for accounting software, ERP software, CRM software and business software systems Search Bitpipe.com for the latest white papers and business webcasts Whatis.com, the online computer dictionary

As companies increasingly recognize the benefits of remote call center agents, many managers find themselves confronted with the challenge of overseeing and managing this new workforce. Remote monitoring and replay have become important capabilities for organizations that have centralized quality assurance (QA) groups monitoring outsourced or remote agents and supervisors. The good news is that most quality monitoring (QM)/recording vendors offer a variety of tools to record, monitor, coach, support and develop the skills of remote agents. Below is a breakdown of some of these tools.

QM/recording: All of the leading QM/recording applications have remote call and screen monitoring capabilities, including the ability to live-monitor, record, retrieve and replay calls and to conduct quality evaluations for remote agents. Agents can also retrieve and replay calls and screens and review evaluations at his or her remote location via their desktops. These applications can also track and report on the number of evaluations that an agent has reviewed. Some applications include IM capabilities for remote agents to rapidly communicate with a supervisor when they need immediate assistance with a call.

Coaching: Coaching applications allow supervisors to annotate evaluations with comments or tips, and link them to the relevant call and screen for an agent to review. The evaluation, along with the coaching session, is delivered directly to the agent's desktop. Coaching applications facilitate two-way communication with remote or on-site agents. They allow supervisors to rapidly provide support and recognition to agents, while agents, in turn, can send back comments to the supervisor or coach (verbally or in writing) about a call, evaluation and/or clip. Additionally, best practice clips can be created and sent to an individual or group of agents, providing real-life examples of service quality excellence. This is particularly useful for remote agents, who otherwise would not be able to listen and learn from how their peers handle interactions.

eLearning: eLearning applications provide the ability to build, deploy, track and store training classes for employees and agents. Of particular importance for a remote agent population, these applications deliver training courses or modules directly to agents' desktops. This is very beneficial for organizations that continually up-train their staff about new products and services or changes in policies and procedures. eLearning applications track the status of training and monitor performance once the course is completed. Most eLearning applications allow agents to self-select courses from a library. This enables remote agents to manage their own development.

Performance management: Most QM/recording applications provide dashboards and scorecards so that agents can access and view their performance statistics and compare them with their peers. This is especially important for remote agents who want to know if they are doing a good job.

For additional information on managing remote call center agents, please refer to Managing remote call center agents: 14 best practices.