Devoted to the call center industry, the agents on the phones, and their managers

One of our readers asked, “What qualities or skills does one need to be a quality assessor?”  Here is a list of the basic stuff that you need to have if you’re interested in being part of the QA team.

Passion for Quality Work
The task of listening to calls on a daily basis is something not a lot of people would like to do.   Some see the team as a bunch of geeks with headsets on, staring at the computer all day and looking at a spreadsheet calculating numbers (with a smile on their faces – how weird is that?).  It takes a specific profile and personality for someone to love the work.  If you’ve got a great interest in driving change, then you are welcome to the team!

Good Listening Skills
As I’ve mentioned, listening to calls is part of your job.  You don’t just listen for faults but also successes and bring out best practices of agents.  You listen to background noise, cues from the customers such as sighs or non-verbal gestures, check on audio quality, sense both parties’ feelings, etc.

Basic Coaching Skills
QA evaluators just don’t mark a tick sheet and leave data on a stored space.  This needs to be communicated to the agent or even the supervisor.  This is where excellent written and verbal skills come in handy.  You also need to have genuine concern for the agent to ensure you help them reach their Quality goal.

Good Eye for Detail
Part of the job is to look at numbers and data in a spreadsheet.  Determining patterns and trends is key, to get to the root of the issue.  Not only is this done with numbers, but as stated above, one has to listen to little things that could’ve impacted the overall outcome of the call.

Analytical Mind
This is when the CSI analogy comes in.  Simply asking "why" and having a curious state of mind is a start.