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Myth: I should implement real-time QA in my contact center

Here at evaluagent, we’re huge advocates of AI and its potential to bring positive change to contact centers all over the world. Naturally, an innovation as far-reaching as AI isn’t welcomed by everyone – and some applications of it are more divisive than others.

Enter: real-time QA.

What is real-time QA?

Sometimes known as Agent Assist, real-time QA is the idea of AI-powered tools ‘listening in’ on customer interactions in real-time to identify issues, or opportunities for improvement. They provide feedback to the agent as the conversation goes on, in order to try and steer the interaction towards a positive outcome.

Sounds good, right?

Well, yes – in some ways.

Why do contact centers implement real-time QA?

Lots of contact center leaders get swept up in the potential of real-time QA/Agent Assist because of the perceived benefits. That includes …

driving efficiency – resolving issues more quickly by reducing average handle time
training agents – helping agents learn the ropes faster for higher productivity
improving performance – supporting agents on live calls to follow best practices

And with demand on agents increasingly high, it’s easy to see why contact centers see real-time QA as the ‘silver bullet’ to solving all their problems.

Still, there are two sides to every coin, and before you go ahead and look for an Agent Assist solution, it’s worth doing some due diligence…

What are the drawbacks of real-time QA?

As I mentioned earlier, we’re big fans of AI at evaluagent – but crucially, we believe it should be counterbalanced with a human touch.

One of the main drawbacks around Agent Assist (and what makes it slightly more divisive than other AI technologies) is the risk that agents may become too reliant on its suggestions, losing the ability to think critically during an interaction.

Ultimately, there’s a potential for a trust issue here. AI systems may not always provide accurate or relevant suggestions, and that can undermine trust both internally among agents using the tool and with customers on the receiving end of the interaction.

To implement real-time QA or not?

AI is game-changing in so many ways, but there’s a delicate balance to be struck. Over-automating and shoehorning AI into every corner of the contact center can risk disengaging your agents and dehumanizing customer service.

Many of us have been on the receiving end of a poor customer interaction. Whether it’s agents struggling to resolve an issue, rigidly sticking to a script at the expense of the customer, or failing to demonstrate empathy, there’s a lot that can go wrong.

Want to know how you can achieve the perfect balance between AI and human customer service? We’ll be deep-diving into this topic in more detail in our masterclass on 29^th May: ‘Is there a better alternative to real-time QA?’.

MASTERCLASS

Is there a better alternative to real-time QA?

Join QA & Coaching Specialist Chris Mounce to hear him talk about real-time QA, agent assist, and why you might want to reconsider your current approach.