Utilizing Speech Analytics for Improving Agent Performance
Keeping track of our clients’ experiences gives us insights into how we can expand our products and services. Recently, Scott Purcell (President of Professional Credit and VoizTrailⓇ client) discussed with us how his agency has been applying VoizTrail’s Speech Analytics capabilities to improve agent training. The following post is a synopsis of Purcell’s feedback.
Some background…
Professional Credit specializes in debt collection. Their call center handles a high volume of daily calls for a variety of clients across several verticals. They initially sought to employ VoizTrailⓇ for call recording and monitoring but once the system was implemented, they began to evolve its use and venture into the depth of its speech analytics capabilities.
Trend Data
Purcell sites trend data as one of the most valuable tools for improving operational processes. He uses VoizTrailⓇ to monitor the success of new approaches and gain agent insight. For example, in January, his agents were coached to suggest tax refunds as a source of income which consumers could use to pay off debt. The trend data allowed him to check in throughout the month to see which agents were adhering to the new script and who needed a refresher.
With speech analytics, the consumer experience is monitored through a combination of emotion and keyword analysis. Discovering the use of words such as “disappointed” or “terrible” allows Purcell to hone in on calls that need improvement. These recordings are later used to coach the agents involved, giving them the best possible opportunities for improvement by using their own real-life experiences. Emotional data reveals the degree of distress or satisfaction on the part of both the agent and consumer. This data offers a three-dimensional view of a call’s success without the necessity of listening in.
This data isn’t just valuable for scolding agents; Purcell utilizes it to commend them. For example, emotional trend data can easily identify when an agent flips a negative consumer experience. VoizTrail’s dashboard graphically illustrates when a call begins troubled and shifts to end on a positive note. He admits they had concerns about how agents would handle this kind of intimate auditing; however, agents were grateful for personalized coaching and getting recognized for their improvement levels and good work.
An Anecdote About Agent Coaching
Purcell explained another feature of VoiztrailⓇ that he uses for training by relaying an anecdote about an agent-coaching session. The system can generate word clouds which offer a visual representation of the words an agent repeats the most. This agent had a case of the “yeahs,” saying the word upwards of 3,000 times in a month. Though the colorful word cloud displayed “yeah” prominently, the agent reacted with skepticism. After the session, he listened in on the agent’s next call. Sure enough, they fell into the same routine “Yeah…yeah…yeah…” Then suddenly the line went quiet and he heard the agent say, “Gosh! I’m saying ‘yeah’ again!” While this kind of epiphany isn’t preferable with a consumer on the line, Purcell cites it as an example of how effective Voiztrail’s features can be as training tools.
We thank Purcell for offering these insights on how he uses the VoiztrailⓇ Communication and Compliance Suite to improve agent training in his agency. This, of course, is just a small part of how businesses can apply trend data to enhance their processes.