Quality assurance (QA) in contact centres is often viewed as a way to measure agent performance. But not all service issues are down to individual agents.
Sometimes, agents are working around flawed processes just to keep things moving. By using QA more effectively, you can uncover and fix these broken processes, improving both operations and customer experience.
To find out more about common contact centre broken processes, we asked Chris Mounce, Quality and Coaching Specialist at evaluagent, to explain how some failures aren’t the agents’ fault.
Video: Call Centre Broken Processes: When Failures Aren’t the Agents’ Fault
Watch the video below to hear Chris explain how when it comes to common contact centre broken processes, some failures aren’t the agents’ fault:
With thanks to Chris Mounce, Quality and Coaching Specialist at evaluagent, for contributing to this video.
This video was originally published in our article ‘Key Signs of Broken Processes (and How to Fix Them)’
Three Tips to Use QA to Fix Broken Processes
When used well, QA helps identify where processes, not just people, are falling short.
“It’s easy to see quality assurance as focusing on agent performance, but failures aren’t always a result of agent action, or inaction.”
So with this in mind, here are three practical ways to do this:
1. Look Beyond Agent Mistakes
Not every quality issue is the agent’s fault, and skilled agents often create workarounds when faced with poor systems or broken workflows.
“Skilled agents will quickly find ways to accomplish something and minimize any negative impact on the customer experience.
Sometimes this will actually mean circumventing broken processes, but if you have no means of identifying where, and when, this is happening it’s difficult to fix that process.”
While this keeps service levels up, it can hide the real problem. QA needs to help spot where these fixes are being used, so the underlying issue can be addressed properly.
2. Add Root Cause Options to QA Scorecards
Track why issues are happening, not just what happened. Include a list of common root causes in your QA scorecards.
“As part of scoring, when you find quality failures, you should add root cause reasons to a scorecard. And as a bonus tip, these root cause reasons should be pre-decided and categorized, so they can be easily reported on.”
This lets evaluators quickly identify whether an issue was caused by process failure, system design, or another factor. Standardizing this makes it easier to analyse patterns across multiple evaluations.
3. Avoid Free-Text for Root Causes
Keep reporting consistent and easy to analyse, as Chris explains:
“Giving evaluators free rein over root cause reasons will not only encourage more subjectivity, but it will also give you lots of data, and it’ll be difficult to extrapolate and gain insight from it.”
If evaluators are left to enter their own explanations each time, the data will vary too much to be useful. Predefined categories ensure you gather clear, structured insights, making it easier to act on what QA reveals.
If you are looking for more great insights from the experts, check out these next:
- Four Steps to Streamline Scheduling
- 3 Ways to Reduce Burnout and Keep Agents Engaged
- Why Orchestration Should Guide Your Next Tech Investment
- How to Improve Agent Consistency with Analytics
Author: Robyn Coppell
Reviewed by: Xander Freeman
Published On: 12th Jun 2025 - Last modified: 13th Jun 2025
Read more about - Video, Chris Mounce, Contact Centre Processes, EvaluAgent, Quality, Videos
