Knowledge Center · Playbooks

Operational guides for practical results

Step-by-step frameworks built for CX and contact centre practitioners who need to implement, not just understand.

Operational Playbooks

Five guides, each built for immediate application

Each playbook follows the same structure: situation analysis, step-by-step implementation, measurement framework, and common failure points to avoid. These are the same practices we apply in the customer operations we run and in our quality and workforce practice.

Building a High-Performing Support Team

The foundational playbook for anyone establishing or restructuring a customer-facing team from the ground up — or inheriting one that is underperforming. Covers hiring criteria, onboarding structure, performance framework design, and the first 90-day operating cadence.

Define your performance standards before you hire — not after.

Build your QA framework and calibration process before go-live.

Structure your onboarding programme around CSAT readiness, not just product knowledge.

Establish a weekly coaching cadence from week two, not month three.

Set baseline KPIs in the first 30 days. You cannot improve what you have not yet measured.

Review your escalation design monthly in the first quarter — it will need adjusting.

Foundation Get Full Guide

Reducing Average Handle Time Without Reducing Quality

AHT reduction that comes at the cost of FCR or CSAT is not a win. This playbook identifies the components of AHT where efficiency can be improved without degrading quality — and the components where cutting time destroys the outcome. Applies the COPC breakdown of Talk Time, Hold Time, and After-Call Work independently.

Break AHT into Talk Time, Hold Time, and ACW. Diagnose each separately before intervening.

Identify the top 10 contact types by volume. Build decision trees for each.

Audit hold time: categorise each hold event by reason. Most hold time is avoidable.

Reduce ACW through structured disposition coding and summarisation templates.

Train agents on concurrent tasking for low-complexity contacts only — not as a blanket approach.

Measure FCR in parallel with AHT. If FCR drops as AHT drops, the AHT reduction is false economy.

Efficiency Get Full Guide

Improving CSAT: A Sprint-Based Improvement Framework

CSAT improvement is not a project — it is an ongoing operational discipline. This playbook introduces a sprint-based approach: short, defined improvement cycles with clear hypotheses, implementation actions, measurement checkpoints, and iteration protocols. Designed for teams that need to demonstrate measurable movement within a quarter.

Establish your current CSAT baseline with a methodology you will use consistently.

Identify the three lowest-scoring contact types by CSAT. Start there, not everywhere.

For each contact type, identify the single most common agent behaviour that precedes a low score.

Design a specific intervention: script change, coaching focus, or process redesign. Test with a subset first.

Measure CSAT for the test group vs. the control group over a 30-day window.

Roll out what works. Discard what does not. Document both. Move to the next contact type.

CSAT Get Full Guide

Building a Call Quality Framework That Agents Trust

Quality monitoring programmes that agents do not trust produce gaming behaviour, not quality improvement. This playbook designs a QA framework from the agent's perspective — one that is transparent, calibrated, and tied to development rather than discipline. Follows COPC-aligned calibration standards.

Design your QA evaluation form with agents and team leads, not just management. Shared ownership drives acceptance.

Calibrate your QA scoring monthly. Evaluators should reach the same score on the same contact, independently.

Separate QA scoring from performance management. QA is a coaching tool first.

Share QA scores with agents alongside the specific recordings, not as abstract numbers.

Review QA trends at team level monthly to identify systemic gaps vs. individual skill gaps.

Close the loop: show agents how their QA score improvement correlates with their CSAT movement.

Quality Get Full Guide

Coaching Agents Effectively: A Structured One-to-One Framework

Effective agent coaching is the highest-leverage activity a team lead performs. This playbook builds a structured one-to-one coaching session — from preparation and data review through conversation structure, skills practice, and follow-up accountability. Designed for team leads who manage 10–15 agents and need a coaching model that is consistent and time-efficient.

Prepare using data: QA scores, CSAT trend, AHT, and at least one specific call recording for this agent.

Open with the agent's own assessment. Ask what they felt went well and what they would change before sharing your view.

Focus on one or two specific behaviours per session, not a comprehensive review. Specificity drives change.

Role-play the improved behaviour in session — not as a theoretical exercise but as an immediate skill practice.

Agree on one specific, measurable commitment before the end of the session. Not a vague goal — a specific action.

Follow up on the commitment at the next session before moving to new topics. Consistency builds credibility.

Coaching Get Full Guide