Business operations
Make a service quality checklist from agreed standards
Start from the standards your team has already agreed and turn each into something an observer can see or hear. Record what happened, and ask a follow-up question when something is unclear. Avoid labels that depend on the observer's mood.
A text to start with
Our agreed service standards are: [standards]. They apply to [process or interaction]. Convert each into one or more observable behaviors a person watching could note without interpreting. For each, name the evidence to record and a neutral follow-up question for the staff member afterward. Use my wording for the standards and do not add new ones.
Example request. Change the details to fit your situation.Service observation checklist
Process or interaction observed: [ ] Observer: [ ] Date and time: [ ] Agreed standard: [ ] Observable behavior: [ ] Seen, not seen or not applicable: [ ] Evidence recorded (what was said or done): [ ] Follow-up question for the staff member: [ ] Agreed standard: [ ] Observable behavior: [ ] Seen, not seen or not applicable: [ ] Evidence recorded: [ ] Follow-up question: [ ] Subjective wording replaced: [ ] Second observer's record compared: [ ] Who receives the results: [ ]
Replace labels with behavior
Words like friendly, professional or attentive vary by observer. Rewrite each as something recordable, such as whether the customer was greeted within a time you define, or whether the order was repeated back. Check that every behavior comes from a standard you agreed and not from an observer's preference. Make sure each behavior can occur in the situation you will watch, since some do not arise every time. Keep the checklist short enough to use while observing. Include a not observed option so missing evidence is not scored as failure.
Ask another agent to check the result
Find every item on this checklist that still depends on the observer's opinion, such as polite or efficient. For each, suggest a behavior someone could record, or mark it as needing a definition. Do not add standards I did not provide.
Test it with two observers
Have two people use the checklist on the same interaction and compare their records. Where they disagree, the behavior is probably still subjective, so reword it. Decide who sees the results and how they are shared with staff before the checklist is used. Revisit a standard if its behavior is hard to observe repeatedly.