Quality drift is the gradual, often unnoticed shift in call handling and quality outcomes over time. It can come from changing customer mix, new edge cases, informal coaching, tool or script tweaks, or evaluators interpreting the scorecard differently.
Operationally, quality drift matters because it makes performance trends hard to trust and creates uneven expectations across teams. Agents may be coached against moving targets, QA scores can become less comparable month to month, and issues like compliance risk or repeat contacts can increase before leaders see a clear signal.
Detecting and correcting drift typically requires consistent calibration, stable scoring definitions, and regular checks that the behaviors being measured still match current policies and customer needs.
