If you run or manage a call center, you know that quality assurance isn’t just a box to check—it’s the difference between happy customers and churn. But tracking what your agents actually say on the phone? That can get messy fast. This guide is for anyone using Callhippo who wants a clear, practical approach to monitoring and analyzing call recordings for quality assurance—without getting lost in dashboards or wasting time on stuff that doesn’t matter.
Let’s cut through the noise and get you set up with a system that actually helps your team get better.
1. Get the Basics Right: Enable Call Recording in Callhippo
Before you can analyze anything, you need to make sure call recording is turned on and working. Sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how often this gets overlooked.
Steps: - Check your Callhippo plan: Not all plans have call recording. Double-check you’ve got the right one, or you’ll be staring at empty logs. - Enable recording for numbers/teams: Go to your Callhippo dashboard. Under the “Numbers” or “Teams” section, make sure call recording is switched on for the lines you want to monitor. - Legal stuff: Recording calls is a legal minefield. Let your agents and callers know they’re being recorded, and check local laws. Don’t wing this—getting it wrong can mean big fines.
Pro tip: Start by recording all calls. You can always delete what you don’t need, but you can’t analyze calls that were never recorded.
2. Set Up a Simple QA Framework (Don’t Overthink It)
Before you start listening to calls, figure out what you’re actually listening for. This doesn’t mean creating a 20-point form or a “voice of the customer journey alignment matrix” (please don’t). Just decide on a handful of things that matter for your business.
Common things to score: - Was the greeting clear and friendly? - Did the agent solve the customer’s problem? - How was the tone and professionalism? - Was any required info (like upsells or disclaimers) given?
Keep it simple: - A basic spreadsheet works fine for most teams. - Score each call on 3-5 criteria. That’s it. - Add a “notes” column for anything unusual or worth flagging.
What NOT to do: - Don’t try to grade every single call unless you have a small team. Random sampling works. - Don’t get hung up on “industry benchmarks” if they don’t fit your business.
3. Access and Filter Call Recordings in Callhippo
Now to the meat of it: finding and pulling up the calls you want to review.
Where to find recordings: - Head to the “Call Logs” or “Recordings” section in your Callhippo dashboard. - Use filters to drill down—by agent, date, call type (inbound or outbound), or call outcome.
Tips for not drowning in data: - Sample smart: Reviewing every call is overkill. Pick a random sample from each agent per week, or focus on high-value or problem-prone calls. - Flag for review: If Callhippo offers tagging or starring calls, use it to mark calls you want to discuss in coaching sessions.
Possible headaches: - Some older or lower-tier plans may have limited storage for recordings. Download or back up important calls so you don’t lose them. - Callhippo’s search/filter tools are decent, but not perfect. If you’re dealing with hundreds of calls a day, consider exporting data for easier filtering.
4. Listen (Don’t Just Skim) and Score Calls
This part takes time, but it’s where the magic happens.
How to review: - Play each call recording in full, or at least the key sections. - Use your simple scoring sheet to rate the call. Don’t overcomplicate—was the call good, bad, or just okay? - Make quick notes on what stood out: great saves, missed opportunities, compliance issues, etc.
What actually matters: - Patterns are more useful than one-off mistakes. If you hear the same issue across multiple calls or agents, that’s a trend worth fixing. - Surface-level stuff (like saying the company name) is easy to fix, but don’t ignore bigger issues like agents rushing or giving wrong info.
Don’t bother with: - Over-analyzing every “um” or awkward pause. You’re after real quality, not perfection.
5. Coach and Give Feedback (The Right Way)
QA isn’t just about catching mistakes—it’s about helping your team get better.
How to share findings: - Set up regular 1:1s or team meetings to review a few real calls together. - Share specific examples, both good and bad. “Here’s where you nailed it” is as important as “Here’s what to work on.” - Focus on actionable feedback. “Be more empathetic” is vague; “Try these phrases next time a customer is frustrated” is helpful.
What works: - Play back short call clips (not whole calls) so agents don’t get overwhelmed or embarrassed. - Encourage agents to self-review their own calls sometimes—it helps them spot issues you might miss.
What doesn’t: - Public shaming or “gotcha” moments. That just kills morale. - Focusing only on what went wrong. Celebrate improvement.
6. Use (Or Ignore) Callhippo’s Analytics Features
Callhippo offers some built-in analytics and reporting tools. They’re useful—but don’t expect miracles.
What’s worth using: - Look at call volume, average call duration, missed call rates, and agent performance over time. - Use filters to spot trends, like which times of day get the most complaints or longest calls.
What to ignore: - Any “AI-powered sentiment analysis” that isn’t actually accurate (if offered). These tools are flashy but often miss context and nuance. - Vanity metrics that don’t tie back to your real goals. If your customer satisfaction isn’t improving, big charts mean nothing.
If you need more:
If you’re running a larger team, you might want to export recordings and data to more robust QA tools or even something as simple as Google Sheets for deeper analysis. Don’t pay for complicated add-ons unless you’ve outgrown what Callhippo provides.
7. Keep It Legal and Secure
Can’t say this enough: call recordings are sensitive. Treat them like confidential documents.
Tips: - Only allow access to managers and QA staff who actually need it. - Set up secure, unique logins for each user in Callhippo. - Regularly delete old recordings you don’t need, unless your legal team says otherwise.
Don’t:
- Store recordings on random laptops or unsecured cloud drives.
- Share recordings outside your organization without permission.
8. Iterate: Start Simple, Then Improve
Here’s the honest truth: your first shot at call QA won’t be perfect. That’s fine. Don’t build a monster spreadsheet or buy expensive software before you’ve run your process for a few weeks.
- Start with a basic checklist and a small sample of calls.
- Adjust what you score as you learn what matters most to your customers.
- Ask your agents for feedback on the process—they’ll spot gaps and suggest improvements.
Wrapping Up
Monitoring and analyzing call recordings in Callhippo doesn’t need to be complicated or stressful. Focus on what actually improves customer experience and team performance. Skip the fluff, keep your process lightweight, and adjust as you go. Quality assurance is a habit, not a one-time project—so keep it simple, check in regularly, and make small improvements over time. Your customers (and your sanity) will thank you.