Do HCP Agents Need Call Monitoring?

We often get asked by our clients if their healthcare professional (HCP) call center agents need to be part of the call quality monitoring program. The question stems from the idea that HCPs join the center already having been trained to interact with other HCPs and consumers. It’s a very good question. Our experience tells us that including all agents in call monitoring and coaching program is the best practice.

3 Examples of Quality Monitoring Programs

The programs can be used independently or combined for a more comprehensive approach.  The programs reveal how having even the most experienced professional agents participate in monitoring and coaching benefits agents, the company, and customers.

1. Compliance

Ensuring regulatory compliance is an important baseline goal in Pharma. Compliance monitoring programs help pharma companies gather evidence that demonstrates interactions between agents and customers are being monitored for accuracy and adherence to regulations. All agents are included in compliance monitoring programs and industry standard is only one or two monitored calls per agent per month.

2. Skill Development

The key to creating value from a quality monitoring program is not really the monitoring at all…it’s the coaching that comes after the monitoring. Coaching  is especially important for HCP agents because although HCP agents provide among the highest level of value in the center, they are seldom trained on how to handle challenging customer situations.  Skill development programs are most often 2+ calls per month per agent and may include a “mystery call” with a specific real-life scenario. Coaching should closely follow the monitoring event so as to gain the greatest benefit from the exchange. The number of monitors per month for value programs may taper off as agents become more experienced.

3. Agent Advancement

Promoting employees who have had direct contact with customers is a key responsibility of pharma contact center leaders. The executive ranks of today’s pharma companies are filled with employees who have excelled at one-to-one customer interactions.  The District Manager/Sales Rep connection in pharma represents a highly refined coach and player relationship that has resulted in an untold number of career advancements across the industry. Call center leaders enjoy the same opportunity to develop their HCP professionals with a structured monitoring and coaching program that will develop tomorrow’s industry leaders.

Please let us know your thoughts about our blog and how you are using monitoring programs to benefit agents, the company, and customers.