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As a support manager, creating and sustaining consistency from your reps is at the core of what you do.

You need your reps to consistently stay true to your company's voice and messaging. They always have to bring positivity and professionalism to their customer interactions. And you want them to address key steps of an established progression when handling all of their service inquiries.

It's not easy to maintain the kind of accountability and structure necessary to achieve all that on your own. But there are certain tools at your disposal to help you get there.

One of those resources is known as the customer service scorecard, and it can help you better guide your reps by clearly setting expectations and providing actionable recommendations.

Let's get a more in-depth look at the concept, a template for what one might look like, and a guide to how you can implement and refine one of your own.

What is a customer service scorecard?

A customer service scorecard is a document a service department uses to track its reps' performance. The card is essentially a checklist of questions, covering the critical points and actions service reps should cover, address, or engage in during customer interactions.

The specifics of customer service scorecards vary from business to business, but they generally cover fundamentally similar actions, stages, and premises. And in many — if not most — cases, they're used to gauge the success of service inquiries via phone.

Typically, a customer service scorecard will track the progression of an interaction. Most will include questions related to introductions, empathy, tone, etiquette, reps' problem-solving skills, and follow-up.

Though those components are usually incorporated into most customer service scorecards, the questions companies ultimately use will vary based on their specific preferences and protocols.

For instance, reps at some companies are expected to adhere to strict scripts or call structures, so the questions on their company's scorecard might be tailored to help those reps work through those kinds of established steps more closely and fluidly. Others might focus more on factors like a rep's' attitude, tone, and professionalism.

Customer Service Scorecard Template

These are some of the questions you should at least consider including in your customer service scorecard, but this isn't the definitive list of possible components you can incorporate. You'll probably structure yours differently and include some content more closely related to your operations.

Greeting

• Did the rep identify themselves?
• Did the rep mention that the call was being recorded?
• Did the rep ask for the customer's name?
• Did the rep thank the customer for calling?

Identification

• Did the rep ask for and receive the appropriate account information?
• Did the rep access the customer's account based on that information?
• Did the rep confirm that information with the customer?
• Did the rep for contact information in case they got disconnected?

Approaching the Issue

• Was the rep calm and professional when addressing the customer?
• Was the rep relatable when addressing the customer?
• Did the rep demonstrate empathy during the call?
• Did the rep listen, understand, and effectively rephrase the issue back to the customer?

Placing Customers on Hold

• Did the rep ask for and receive the customer's permission to put them on hold?
• Did the rep keep them on hold for an appropriate amount of time?
• Did the rep check in with the customer if the hold took longer than expected?

Solving the Issue

• Did the rep offer a correct, comprehensive solution to the issue?
• Was the rep's solution thorough enough?
• Was the rep's solution straightforward and easy to understand?
• Was the customer satisfied with the rep's solution?
• Did the rep maintain a positive attitude throughout the call?
• Did the rep solve the issue in a reasonable time frame?

Closing and Follow-up

• Did the rep update the CRM with the information gathered in the call?
• Did the rep ask whether the service they provided was in keeping with the customer's standards?
• Did the rep ask for any further questions?
• Did the rep thank the customer for calling?
• If necessary, did the rep set a follow-up appointment with the customer?
• Did the rep ask for post-call feedback from the customer?
• Did the rep follow up with the customer within an appropriate time frame?

Implementing and Refining Your Customer Service Scorecard

Locking in on a customer service scorecard that works for your business probably won't happen on your first try. It takes a thorough understanding of your overall service culture, strategy, and messaging.

And even after you have all that, it'll still take some trial and error before you come up with an exhaustive list of questions to cover any potential hitches that can undermine your customer service processes.

Patience and persistence are key when creating and implementing a customer service scorecard that can help you smooth over the rougher parts of your support efforts. Once you have a set of questions in place, implement your scorecard rationally.

Integrate your scorecard provisionally, to begin with. Don't immediately set it as a hard, fast, definitive standard for all your reps. Give your first iteration of the card some room to play out. See how your reps respond, whether it covers all the bases you want it to address, and if it's starting to make any difference.

If you notice there's more you'd like to include in your card or some fat want to trim off it, revise it and give it another go.

Ultimately, a customer service scorecard is an avenue for you to add another degree of accountability and cohesion to your support operations. It offers an opportunity to affirm your department's standards and expectations while guiding reps through their interactions with customers.

There's no universally applicable standard that will work for every company. Still, if you take the time to thoroughly examine your support processes and pin down what you'd like your average customer interactions to look like, you'll be able to put together a scorecard that tightens up your support efforts and keeps your reps on their toes.