Why Call Monitoring Software Falls Short Without QA

Managers and team leads can’t be present on every call to get a pulse on customer and agent interactions. That’s where call center quality monitoring software comes in—this technology provides direct insight into how agents handle calls and if company standards are being met.

By reviewing recorded calls, managers and team leads can track script adherence, customer sentiment, agent proficiency, how tense situations are being de-escalated, and more.

But while traditional call monitoring is useful, it’s limited in terms of sample size, and can’t deliver meaningful customer experience insights at scale. That is, unless you add a quality assurance framework.

QA, especially AI quality assurance, closes the gap between reviewing and improving. You can score up to 100% of conversations and uncover the kind of insights that just wouldn’t be possible with manual quality monitoring.

But first, let’s explore what call monitoring software does, who the best vendors are, and where AI-QA comes in.

What is call monitoring software?

Call monitoring software lets contact centers evaluate and analyze customer-agent calls using features like live listening, call scoring, and analytics. The aim of doing so is to review service quality, ensure compliance, and identify coaching opportunities.

Unlike simple call recording tools, call quality monitoring tools add evaluation methods to give you performance insights. 

Typical features include:

• Call recording: Conversations can be recorded and stored, and then later reviewed and analyzed. Some recorded calls can be used as examples for agent training purposes.
• Live listening: This allows managers to listen in on active calls to help gauge agent performance in real time.
• Whisper and takeover functions: Supervisors can “whisper” to agents, or talk directly to them during the call without the customer hearing; this is helpful for training and coaching purposes. In certain situations, it may be necessary for a manager to be added to the call directly, or even take it over—this feature is sometimes referred to as call barging.
• Reporting and analytics capabilities: On top of storing and recording calls, the software you choose should supply a few other basic capabilities. In terms of analytics and reports, call monitoring tools can show trends like average wait time, call time, first-call resolution rates, and number of transfers.

There are an abundance of other features that may come with call monitoring software, such as:

• Transcription
• Call scoring
• Automated alerts for escalations
• Omnichannel monitoring
• And more

If these aren’t included in the software, they ideally can be easily integrated with the call monitoring software.

What’s the difference between call recording, call monitoring, and quality assurance?

Call recording

The aim of call recording is to capture and store audio of customer-agent calls.

This creates an archive of service interactions, but there’s no evaluation involved at this point. Typical features include the stop/start recording, secure storage, and playback controls.

Call monitoring

The call monitoring process is about getting visibility into calls (live or recorded), to assess service quality and agent performance. This shows you what happened in a conversation and flags issues. Typical features are live listening, whisper/barger, and basic call analytics.

Quality assurance

Contact center quality assurance involves evaluating customer interactions against clear, pre-defined criteria like compliance, soft skills, accuracy, and others. This gives you actionable insights you can use to improve CX and agent performance, and ensure compliance.

Key QA features include:

• Custom scorecards
• Calibrations tools
• Coaching workflows
• Reporting & analytics suites

The benefits of call monitoring software for agents, customers, and managers

With call monitoring software, the idea is not to “spy” on contact center agents—your team should know that it is in place. Rather, it should be viewed as a helpful tool for supporting an agent’s growth and potential over time, and in turn, improve the customer service provided. 

The insights derived from effective call monitoring benefit everyone involved in the customer service experience and lead to measurable business improvements.

For customers

• Complaints and satisfaction will be heard, recorded, and listened to by contact center managers.
• Increases confidence that their concerns and feedback are being taken seriously.
• When agents know they are being recorded, this typically leads to more consistent service experiences for the customer.

For agents

• Provides personalized coaching opportunities based on specific interactions.
• Can help identify both strengths and areas to improve.
• When customers know they are being recorded for quality purposes, this reduces the likelihood of them expressing extreme emotion, which is a plus for the agent.

For managers

• Gives visibility into the quality of customer interactions without having to be physically present.
• Highlights coaching needs, skill gaps, process inefficiencies, and policy issues.
• Provides the opportunity for proactive intervention before issues escalate.

Examples: Call monitoring software in action

#1. Handling angry customers

Through recorded calls, a manager might pick up on the fact that the new hires are struggling to de-escalate angry customers. Even if this was part of training, this consistent pattern shows it would be helpful to provide additional coaching.

To support the agents, managers can replay parts of specific calls and demonstrate where certain phrasing could be used to improve the outcome.

#2. Low CSAT scores

If customers have been leaving lower CSAT scores after a company update on a cancellation policy, it’s time to review conversations to understand where the frustration is coming from.

Managers may realize that customers are repeatedly confused by the new cancellation policy. This would mean it’s time to clarify this on the company website, update FAQs, and train agents to define the policy upfront.

What to look for in call monitoring software: 3 key areas

When shopping around for call center call monitoring software, most options should meet the basic checklist of recording and listening features. Managers will also want software with a clear dashboard and customizable views, with straightforward search functions to pull reports.

The right solution for your company should not only offer these core features, but also capabilities like:

#1. Ease of integration with existing systems

When you already have a suite of essential tools, such as workforce management software, help desks, CRM systems, and analytic dashboards, you’ll want to ensure that call monitoring solutions can integrate seamlessly into the workflow.

This will reduce the time spent on manual work and human error, ideally making the processes easier for agents.

Example: CRM integration

When a CRM platform and call monitoring system are integrated, the customer’s information and past interactions should pop up with the incoming call. The CRM can then record the call details, like the call duration, notes from the agent, and the recording itself.

This saves the agent time looking for customer information and provides a single spot for details on current and past interactions. 

#2. Real-time monitoring and alerts

Even better than reviewing issues on a recorded call is preventing a problem the moment an issue arises. Real-time monitoring can send alerts to managers and let them know that it’s time to step in and support the agent, whether it be using the whisper functionality or joining the call.

This proactive capability:

• Reduces compliance issues
• Minimizes customer dissatisfaction
• Helps agents with tricky interactions

Example: Compliance script failure

If an agent has consistently made the mistake of forgetting to read a compliance script to the customer, an alert can be sent to the manager, who can then use the whisper function to remind the agent. 

#3. Security and compliance support

To meet industry regulations, security and compliance support should be built into call monitoring software. These capabilities protect sensitive customer data, such as healthcare data or billing and payment information.

With compliance monitoring capabilities, data breaches, fines, and reputational damage are minimized.

Example: Customer payment information 

If a customer is calling to update their payment information, the call center software would either pause or distort the audio when the numbers are being read aloud to ensure that they are not recorded.

Call monitoring software checklist for buyers

You can use this simple checklist as a point of reference when evaluating potential call monitoring software for your contact center. Looks for tools that offer:

• CRM/CCaaS integration with the likes of Salesforce, Talkdesk, Genesys, etc.
• High transcription accuracy rates—you need accuracy for reliable scoring and analysis
• Automation of at least some scoring for higher conversation coverage
• Deep analytics tools allowing for sentiment analysis, trend analysis, and root cause identification
• Redaction and compliance controls to ensure safety around PCI, PII, HIPAA, and more
• Reporting and export options including dashboards and CSV/API access
• A transparent pricing model (usually based on seats, usage, or interaction volumes)

The best call center monitoring software

Scorebuddy

Best for enterprise quality assurance and coaching workflows

A leader in AI-powered contact center quality assurance, Scorebuddy is the best option for post-interaction call monitoring. With customizable scorecards, AI Auto

Scoring, and integrated coaching workflows, Scorebuddy provides a central platform for even the most complex QA functions.

This gives visibility into agent performance and the customer experience, thanks to integration with leading CRMs, CCaaS platforms, recording systems, and workforce management software (WFM).

Observe.AI

Best for deep sentiment insights

Uses AI to analyze 100% of customer interactions and automatically scores them, delivering customer insights and coaching opportunities to managers. 

Talkdesk

Best for those seeking a CCaaS option

A cloud-based contact center software with call monitoring, using AI for automation, efficiency, and personalized customer service. 

NICE CXone

Best for advanced routing needs

A cloud-based call center solution that supports multichannels, implementing AI for intelligent call routing and an interactive voice response system.

Dialpad

Best for real-time needs

Embeds real-time transcription, sentiment analysis, and a clean interface for supervisors to monitor ongoing calls live. 

Five9

Best for inbound/outbound balance

Offers live monitoring, speech analytics, and integration with CRMs to assist both support agents and sales teams.

The limitations of call monitoring alone

Managers manually reviewing calls should strive for 3-5 per agent every week.

Listening to a select sample of calls like this can give managers a small window into customer and agent interactions—but often, this isn’t sufficient. 

Monitoring alone is not the same thing as quality control. Simply listening to recorded calls doesn’t guarantee enhanced agent performance and customer service. It shows what happened, but it doesn’t automatically demonstrate, “What can we do better?”

Call monitoring systems show the basics, like how long the call lasted, what the customer and agent said, and whether or not certain processes were maintained. What the software on its own doesn’t do—and what truly matters for quality assurance—is:

• If the interaction met customer expectations 
• If the call adhered to compliance standards
• If the agent’s service reflected the company’s values

Why you need a quality assurance framework, too

Without a quality assurance framework in place, monitoring calls can feel like having all the ingredients out for a recipe, but not having the measurements to make the dish. The potential is there, but guidance is needed to make something of the raw ingredients.

With thousands of calls a week, and seemingly endless hours of recordings, call monitoring can turn into a data overload. Actionable insights cannot be drawn from random samples or a small selection, and managers can get bogged down with the sheer volume of recordings.

When a structured evaluation criteria is missing, raw data cannot have much impact on its own. 

And spending hours just listening to calls can turn into a waste of valuable time and resources. Even if a manager can glean insights from listening to a few samples of calls, this method is inconsistent and inefficient.

A QA framework ensures that the call monitoring system is not just another task, but a powerful tool that provides feedback to agents and actionable takeaways for supervisors and managers.

How quality assurance improves call monitoring

Imagine reviewing hundreds of hours of video footage of the same frame inside of a store. You’re not sure exactly what you’re looking for, but rather waiting to see

if anything happens, whether it be good or bad. The task is repetitive and mostly mundane.

But if you have instructions such as “Monitor to see if the customers’ mood changed from when they entered the store to when they left,” suddenly, you’re viewing the footage with context and purpose. 

This is exactly how a QA framework transforms the raw data from a call center monitoring system. While call monitoring records what happened during a customer-agent interaction, QA gives meaning to the information that was captured. 

Here’s how your QA framework can transform passive call monitoring observations into an active tool to support seamless customer experiences:

• Score calls against customer service values: Conversations can be rated on how well customer service values, like empathy, proficiency, or reliability, were implemented. 
• Compliance adherence: Calls should be checked to ensure that compliance scripts, like payment disclosures or HIPAA, notices were delivered.
• Individualized coaching: Instead of flagging a call as “bad,” QA frameworks define specific behaviors or reasons why a call was unsatisfactory. This provides opportunities for targeted agent coaching and can reveal call center performance patterns over time. 
• Customer insights: Customer complaints, confusion, and compliments should be tracked to reveal patterns on what is working and what needs to be fixed. 

Give quality monitoring structure with Scorebuddy’s QA scorecard template