Quality Management System

What is a Quality Management System?

As companies increasingly compete based on their customer experience (CX), call performance is becoming a critical business focus as it contributes to sales and customer success stories. 

Many companies think workforce management systems(WFM) can help ensure you have the right number of employees on hand to meet demand—so customers are never left waiting when they call your company. 

But WFM functionality only covers part of what it takes to ensure quality customer service, where quality management (QM) comes in!

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Using a quality system or a platform like Convin, you can record sales conversations, analyze them, and review them on a single platform. And after you have screened the call, the reports get automatically sent to the concerned representatives without any effort from you. 

So what does this mean for you?

• No switching between call recorder and Google Sheets.
• Single platform for call auditing
• Audit multiple calls in no time
• Call reports are sent automatically after call auditing 

Most importantly, faster feedback would mean your reps are improving their performance faster and no echolalia tasks and time wastage. Let’s understand this in further detail.

Importance of Quality Management in a Call Center

No matter the industry, any company with a customer-facing organization benefits from successful and happy employees. And to ensure that, you need to check how your customer-facing team interacts with your customers.

• What message are they conveying?
• How are they responding to customers' questions and concerns?
• And overall call experience the customer receives.

A QMS solution like Convin will help you answer these questions by capturing your sales call analytics.

Are you thinking about how a single phone call can be so important? 

How your client-facing staff interacts with your customers dramatically impacts whether or not they will buy from you again. Studies have revealed that the success of your call center is generally connected to the performance of staff members who work there. 

This makes perfect sense when you consider how much brand loyalty plays into this process! 

Customers are more likely to return for repeat business when they are happy with their working relationship with company employees. And remember how much repeat business contributes positively to growth! 

In short, effective contact center quality management and sales engagement significantly affect your bottom line. They lead directly to revenue growth and overall financial success.

Now that you understand the need for this indispensable solution to improve your business’s CSAT score and customer loyalty, let's analyze how calls are audited before discussing its customer satisfaction-stimulating features.

Want real-time insights and automated audits? Convin’s QMS has you covered!

Essential Quality Management Tools for Call Centers

A Quality Management System (QMS) in call centers uses various tools to ensure high service quality.

• Call Recording and Monitoring: Records and reviews calls for quality assurance and training.
• Quality Scorecards: Evaluate agent performance with standardized criteria.
• Customer Feedback Surveys: Collects customer feedback to improve service.
• Speech Analytics: Analyzes call data to understand customer sentiment and agent performance.
• Real-Time Dashboards: Displays real-time KPIs for quick decision-making.
• Automated Reporting: Generates reports on quality metrics for continuous improvement.
• Training and Coaching Tools: Identify training needs and provide targeted coaching.

These tools help maintain high service quality and enhance customer satisfaction.

What Are the Challenges of Implementing a Quality Management System in Call Centers?

Quality assurance in call centers is crucial for ensuring customer satisfaction and maintaining a high level of service quality. 

However, it comes with its own set of challenges. Here are some common challenges faced in call center quality assurance:

1. Variability in agent performance

Call center agents come from diverse backgrounds and skill levels, resulting in inconsistent service quality across the team. This can affect customer satisfaction and overall performance.

2. A high volume of interactions

Managing many customer interactions, including calls, chats, and emails, can overwhelm quality assurance teams, making reviewing and evaluating each interaction challenging.

3. Subjective evaluation

Quality assurance processes often rely on subjective judgments, as different evaluators may interpret service quality differently, leading to potential assessment biases.

4. Time-intensive evaluations

Reviewing and analyzing customer interactions can take time and effort, potentially causing delays in providing feedback and coaching to agents.

5. Scalability issues

Maintaining consistent quality assurance practices and standards can become increasingly difficult as call centers expand or add new communication channels.

6. Technology limitations

Outdated or inefficient quality assurance tools and systems can hinder the effectiveness of the quality monitoring process, impacting the overall quality of service.

7. Compliance and evolving expectations

Ensuring agents adhere to company policies, regulations, and industry standards can be challenging. Additionally, adapting to changing customer expectations and communication channels requires continuous adjustment of quality assurance practices.

Who Requires a Quality Management System?

A quality management system is essential for any business, prioritizing consistent quality and customer satisfaction. Industries like BPOs, manufacturing, healthcare, and hospitality need a quality management system to streamline processes, comply with regulations, and continuously improve service delivery.

Why is a Quality Management System a Must-have?

A Quality Management System (QMS) is essential for ensuring consistent quality, enhancing customer satisfaction, and achieving regulatory compliance. Here are key reasons why a QMS is crucial:

• Consistent Quality: Standardizes processes to deliver high-quality products and services consistently.
• Streamlined Processes: Reduce inefficiencies, boost call center productivity, and optimize resource use.
• Regulatory Compliance: Helps meet industry standards and avoid legal penalties.
• Continuous Improvement: Encourages ongoing improvements and innovation.
• Error Reduction: Identifies and mitigates potential issues to reduce errors.
• Cost Efficiency: Saves costs by minimizing waste and improving resource utilization.
• Customer Loyalty: Builds trust and loyalty through reliable quality and service.
• Competitive Advantage: Differentiates the company from competitors and increases market share.
• Employee Engagement: Clarifies roles and provides training, enhancing job satisfaction.

A QMS ensures long-term success by fostering a culture of quality, compliance, and continuous improvement.

When Do You Need a Quality Management System?

You need a Quality Management System (QMS) when:

• Customer Complaints are increasing.
• Regulatory Compliance is required.
• Process Inefficiencies are evident.
• Scaling Operations demands consistency.
• Continuous Improvement is needed for better quality.

A QMS ensures consistent quality, efficiency, and customer satisfaction.

How to Create and Execute a Quality Management System?

Establishing and implementing a Quality Management System (QMS) involves several critical steps to ensure substantial quality management: 

1. Define Quality Policy and Objectives: Set a clear quality policy and measurable objectives.
2. Develop QMS Documentation: Create a quality manual, procedures, and work instructions.
3. Assign Roles and Responsibilities: Clearly define and communicate roles for accountability.
4. Implement Processes and Procedures: Standardize processes and ensure staff training.
5. Conduct Internal Audits: Regularly assess QMS compliance and identify improvements.
6. Gather and Analyze Customer Feedback: Collect feedback to drive continuous improvement.
7. Management Review: Regularly evaluate QMS performance and make necessary adjustments.

These steps ensure an effective QMS that enhances quality, compliance, and customer satisfaction.

What are Quality Assurance Processes in a Call Center?

Quality Assurance (QA) processes in a call center are systematic procedures designed to ensure that customer interactions meet the organization’s standards for service quality. 

These processes are essential for maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction, improving agent performance, and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements. Typical call center essential quality assurance procedures include the following:

1. Call Monitoring

Call monitoring involves systematically and continuously listening to or reviewing customer interactions (phone calls, chats, emails) between agents and customers. 

Supervisors or quality assurance teams listen to live calls to assess agent performance in real-time, providing immediate feedback if necessary. Recorded calls are reviewed to evaluate how sound agents adhere to scripts, handle customer inquiries, and resolve issues.

2. Scorecards and Evaluation

Agents' performance is assessed against specific criteria outlined in a scorecard. This can include adherence to scripts, tone of voice, accuracy of information, and problem-solving skills. Regular evaluation using standardized scorecards ensures consistent measurement of agent performance across the team.

3. Feedback and Coaching

After evaluations, agents receive feedback on their performance, highlighting strengths and areas for improvement. Based on performance data, targeted coaching sessions are conducted to help agents develop specific skills and address weaknesses.

4. Compliance Monitoring

It is critical to ensure that agents adhere to legal and regulatory requirements, such as data protection laws and industry-specific regulations. Compliance monitoring helps avoid legal risks and ensures ethical conduct. QA processes also ensure that agents follow internal policies and procedures, maintaining consistency and quality across the organization.

5. Customer Feedback Integration

Customer satisfaction surveys, post-call feedback, and other forms of customer input are integrated into the QA process to provide a comprehensive view of service quality. Customer feedback is analyzed to identify trends, uncover improvement areas, and make informed decisions for enhancing service quality.

6. Quality Reporting and Analytics 

Regular reports are generated to track key metrics such as call quality, customer satisfaction, and agent performance. These reports provide insights into overall service quality. QA analytics help call center managers make data-driven decisions to improve processes, train agents, and optimize customer service.

7. Continuous Improvement 

QA processes are regularly reviewed and refined to ensure continuous improvement based on performance data, customer feedback, and industry trends. Training programs are developed to address emerging challenges and enhance the team's skills.

These quality assurance processes are crucial for maintaining high customer service standards in a call center, driving customer satisfaction, and achieving operational efficiency.

Key Elements and Requirements of an Effective Quality Management System 

A Quality Management System (QMS) is essential for any organization aiming to improve efficiency, meet customer expectations, and comply with regulatory requirements. An effective QMS must have the following components and prerequisites:

1. Quality Policy and Objectives: The foundation of a QMS is a quality policy, a formal statement from management outlining the organization's commitment to quality. It sets the direction and provides a framework for setting quality objectives.

These are specific, measurable goals aligned with the quality policy. They drive continuous improvement and ensure that the organization's processes focus on quality outcomes.

2. Documented Information: A QMS requires comprehensive documentation of processes, procedures, and work instructions. Document control ensures that these documents are current, accessible, and properly managed.

Maintaining accurate records is essential for tracking quality performance and demonstrating compliance with standards.

3. Process Approach: It is crucial to identify and document the key processes within an organization. A QMS uses process mapping to ensure each process is clearly defined, monitored, and optimized for quality.

A core requirement of a QMS is the commitment to continuous improvement. Organizations must regularly review and improve their processes to enhance quality and efficiency.

4. Leadership and Commitment:  Effective leadership is critical to the success of a QMS. Top management must actively participate in the system's development, implementation, and maintenance.

A QMS requires the involvement of all employees. Training and awareness programs are essential to ensure everyone understands their role in maintaining quality.

5. Risk-Based Thinking: A QMS incorporates risk-based thinking to identify potential issues before they occur. By assessing risks, organizations can take proactive measures to prevent quality problems.

When issues arise, a QMS provides a structured approach to identifying root causes and implementing corrective actions to prevent recurrence.

6. Customer Focus: A central element of a QMS is the focus on customer needs and expectations. Regular feedback from customers is essential for improving products and services.

A QMS ensures that the organization meets all relevant quality standards and regulatory requirements, which are critical for customer trust and satisfaction.

7. Performance Evaluation: Regular internal audits are conducted to assess the effectiveness of the QMS and ensure compliance with established procedures.

Periodic management reviews are necessary to evaluate the QMS's overall performance and make strategic decisions for continuous improvement.

A well-implemented Quality Management System (QMS) is a comprehensive framework that ensures an organization consistently delivers high-quality products or services, enhancing efficiency, customer satisfaction, and industry compliance.

Streamline audits and compliance with Convin’s advanced QMS.

Roles and Responsibilities of QA in BPO

Quality assurance QA roles and responsibilities in BPO are critical to ensuring that customer service is delivered at a high standard and complies with company policies and standards. 

These roles typically involve a team of professionals dedicated to monitoring, evaluating, and improving the quality of customer interactions. 

Here are typical QA roles and responsibilities in BPO:

1. Quality Assurance Analyst/Quality Assurance Specialist

• Review and assess recorded customer interactions (calls, chats, emails).
• Evaluate agent performance against predefined criteria and standards.
• Use scorecards or evaluation forms to assign scores to interactions.
• Identify areas for improvement for individual agents and the team.
• Provide constructive feedback to agents based on the evaluation results.
• Generate reports and metrics related to quality performance.
• Participate in calibration sessions to ensure consistency in evaluations.
• Collaborate with training teams to develop and deliver targeted training programs.
• Monitor adherence to company policies and regulatory requirements.

2. Quality Assurance Supervisor/Team Lead

• Supervise and manage the QA team, including assigning tasks and workload.
• Conduct regular performance evaluations for QA analysts.
• Ensure that QA processes and standards are followed consistently.
• Assist in the development and maintenance of evaluation criteria.
• Participate in root cause analysis to address quality issues.
• Provide coaching and mentoring to QA analysts and agents.
• Collaborate with other departments to improve overall service quality.
• Maintain and update QA-related documentation and procedures.

3. Quality Assurance Manager

• Oversee the entire quality assurance program within the call center.
• Define and set standards, quality objectives, and key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Develop and implement quality assurance strategies and initiatives.
• Conduct regular reviews and audits of QA processes for continuous improvement.
• Analyze performance data to identify trends and areas for improvement.
• Liaise with other departments to align quality assurance efforts with organizational goals.
• Manage and allocate resources for the QA department.
• Ensure compliance with industry regulations and internal policies.
• Prepare reports and presentations on quality performance for senior management.

4. Training and Development Specialist

• Collaborate with QA analysts to identify training needs based on evaluation results.
• Design and develop training programs, materials, and resources.
• Conduct training sessions and workshops for call center agents.
• Monitor the effectiveness of training and assess its impact on agent performance.
• Continuously update and improve training content to reflect changing needs.
• Provide coaching and support to agents to address skill gaps.
• Align training programs with QA feedback to improve service quality.

5. Compliance Officer/Quality Assurance Compliance Specialist

• Ensure agents' compliance with company policies and procedures.
• Stay up-to-date with industry regulations and compliance requirements.
• Conduct audits and assessments using compliance safety management systems. 
• Identify and report any potential compliance violations.
• Collaborate with legal and regulatory teams to address compliance issues.
• Develop and maintain compliance-related documentation and training materials.

Elements and Requirements of a Quality Management System

A Quality Management System (QMS) includes key components to ensure adequate quality management and continuous improvement:

1. Quality Policy: Management's formal commitment to quality.
2. Quality Objectives: Measurable goals aligned with the quality policy.
3. Quality Manual: Documentation of the QMS structure and processes.
4. Procedures and Process Maps: Standardized workflows and procedures.
5. Roles and Responsibilities: Clear definitions of roles for accountability.
6. Work Instructions: Step-by-step guidelines for tasks.
7. Records and Documentation: Accurate records for traceability and compliance.
8. Internal Audits: Regular assessments of QMS effectiveness and compliance.
9. Corrective and Preventive Actions: Processes to address and prevent quality issues.
10. Training and Competence: Ensuring staff are skilled and knowledgeable.
11. Customer Feedback: Systematic collection and analysis of feedback.
12. Management Review: Top management regularly evaluates QMS performance.

Implementing these elements ensures a robust QMS that enhances quality, compliance, and continuous improvement.

Call Quality Management System in High-Volume Call Centers

There are many ways the calls can be audited in a high-call-volume sales and customer support agency; here are the most popular ones in place right now:

1. Manual Call Auditing

Call auditing agents listen to pre-recorded calls of agents to assess agent call performance and customer responses, which takes twice the time of the call. 

To succeed with quality manual auditing, they toggle between the call center recording solutions and Google Sheets to note their feedback, which they then compile and mail to the agent. 

2. Automation Quality Management.

Automated quality management allows the sales enablement team to focus on high-value tasks (such as training or coaching) instead of overseeing every little detail during a call. 

AI-powered tools collect, analyze, and provide insight into customer and agent interactions. It includes automated call scoring using several NLP techniques.

3. Multichannel Interaction Auditing

Customers want to communicate with brands in the most convenient way for them. More and more people use chat via Skype or SMS to communicate with businesses and industry professionals. 

Here, quality management systems analyze the interaction between the customer, agent, or bot through all these channels.

4. Analytics Quality Management

It simply unlocks the potential hidden in any statistical data, giving your business an upper hand on success by making operations much more effective and efficient than ever before.

5. Interaction-Based Quality management

Analyzes the call after listening and understanding the tone of the conversation, interruptions, pauses, sentiments, actions, etc., to assess the interactivity of the conversation. 

Afterward, it provides training suggestions based on its assessment cues and score.

6. Enterprise-Level Quality Management

Enterprise Quality Management ensures that all departments throughout your company communicate. This is vital when a business needs the help of other departments to reach its management's goals. 

For example, if providing excellent customer experiences is a priority for your organization, everyone from HR to BDR must understand why it matters and embrace the opportunity. 

This means that quality management must work alongside every department to fulfill this business goal successfully.

How Does Convin’s Quality Management Software Increase CSAT By 27%?

Convin is a quality management system software that doesn’t claim to solve your contact center woos but resolves many challenges with a few capabilities. Multichannel support, faster response times, real-time guidance, and personalized service are some areas that Convin can help with. 

By employing automated tools and influencing agents' performance, increasing CSAT by up to 27% is only a matter of time. 

Let’s dive in and learn how Convin can help boost customer satisfaction.

1. Reduce call auditing time

With the quality management system, you can audit many sales calls and send reports from the same platform, which reduces auditing time compared to the traditional method, where call auditors use different platforms to record, audit, and send reports.

Create your own training materials, assign deadlines, and track your call center agents' overall improvement. 

2. Identify agent training opportunities by understanding their skills

Regular evaluation of each customer service representative will help determine if they need more training or coaching. Quality management is an ongoing process wherein agents get regular check-ups to ensure they are still settling in well and remaining competent at their jobs.

3. Reduction in agent ramp-up time 

Enhance your call center’s agent performance metrics by transcribing, monitoring, and analyzing calls, chats, and emails via Convin. Boost CSAT by 27% and reduce ramp-up time by 60%. 

Implement 100% automated quality assurance and carry out 100% compliance monitoring. Convin shoots your agents’ performance to new heights and, as a result, helps you achieve lower customer service representative ramp-up and heightened CSAT. 

4. Proactive measures with violation alerts

One aspect of a call that can ruin customer experience is unsolicited agent behavior that negatively impacts clients. Wrong information, unresolved grievances, long hold times, incorrect knowledge, and more are timely caught by Convin’s tool and alert the management team for corrective actions.

5. Real-time coaching

Real-time coaching aids in training agents during calls. Agents can be coached during live calls with various features, including suggestions, battlecards, guided scripts, access to the knowledge base, etc. 

6. Increase Customer Retention.

Improves customer retention by monitoring 100% of interactions, which helps an entrepreneur evaluate how well an employee interacts with the customer, bringing accountability to the agents for retaining customers.

Automate workflows and ensure consistency with Convin’s QMS.

What Are The Product Capabilities Of Convin’s Quality Management System Software?

Convin monitors and analyzes 100% of calls automatically based on custom parameters set by your organization. The conversation analysis offers winning behavior identification and last-mile automated agent coaching. 

1. Automated Quality Management

Convin’s quality management system software tool automatically reviews 100% of customer calls using custom call evaluation forms and spots agent performance challenges and unhappy customer conversations. Through automated quality management, call center managers and QA generate call scores that help audit more calls with the same number of quality assurance (QA) managers and establish coaching needs and staff dissatisfaction. 

2. Call Behavior Analysis

With the help of conversation insights and deal status, Convin presents parameters that drive positive and negative outcomes for the business. Spot violations, winning parameters,  customer sentiments, and threats to take proactive measures before the customer calls.

3. Agent Assist

Agent Assist aids in the call center quality management system by providing real-time guidance and support to customer service agents during interactions. It ensures that agents follow best practices, maintain compliance, and deliver quality customer service. With features like guided scripts, proactive alerts, and dynamic battlecards, it equips agents with the tools to handle various scenarios effectively, making it an invaluable asset for improving agent performance in call centers.

4. Learning management system

The integrated knowledge base stores all documents the auditing or documentation team uploads. Agents can search for phrases to quickly find the most accurate answers and procedures, ensuring prompt and precise responses to customer queries.

5. Quality management software

Automated quality management software enhances call center operations by efficiently monitoring and analyzing customer interactions. Unlike manual methods, this free software covers 100% of conversations, providing immediate feedback, flagging compliance violations, and enabling personalized customer service.

Customizable scoring templates and omnichannel support ensure comprehensive quality assurance and elevate customer service quality, making it an essential tool for call center success.

Convin’s Quality Management System Software is safe and secure

At Convin, we understand the customer and call data security important; that’s why we ensure your data is entirely secure and safe in our in-house transcription and NLP engine. We guarantee all data security in the following ways:

• In-house transcription and NLP
• Secure login and monitoring
• Hosted on AWS
• SSL data encryption
• Role-based access control
• Enterprise-grade application monitoring
• GDPR-compliant meeting recording

And before you go, as of now, Convin supports languages beyond English. And it takes only 2-3 weeks to get you onboarded. Try a quality management system for free.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is QC in BPO?
‍QC in BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) stands for "Quality Control." It involves monitoring and assessing the accuracy, efficiency, and compliance of processes within a BPO organization to ensure they meet predefined standards.

2. What is the role of quality in a call center?
‍The role of quality in a call center is to maintain and enhance the overall customer service experience. Quality ensures that agents provide accurate, efficient, and consistent customer assistance, increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty.

3. What is QA for customer service?
‍QA (Quality Assurance) for customer service involves processes and practices aimed at monitoring, evaluating, and improving the quality of customer interactions in various channels, such as phone calls, chats, and emails. The goal is to ensure customer service meets or exceeds established standards and aligns with company objectives, ultimately leading to positive customer experiences.

4. What is an example of a QMS system?
‍A quality management system example is ISO 9001, a widely used international standard for quality management in various industries.

5. What are the 4 types, 7 principles of QMS, and 12 elements of quality management system?
‍The 4 Types of QMS are ISO 9001: Quality Management System, ISO 14001: Environmental Management System, ISO 45001: Occupational Health and Safety Management System, and ISO 27001: Information Security Management System. The 7 Principles of QMS are Customer Focus, Leadership, Engagement of People, Process Approach, Improvement, Evidence-Based Decision Making, Relationship Management, and 12 Elements of Quality Management System (based on ISO 9001) are Leadership and Commitment, Quality Policy, Planning, Risk-Based Thinking, Support, Operation, Performance Evaluation, Monitoring and Measurement, Continual Improvement, Customer Focus, Engagement of People, and Process Approach.