Podium validates agent readiness, cutting time-to-quality by 50%

50%

Faster time to quality threshold

33%

Increase in resolution speed

Industry

Customer Engagement & Communication Software

Customer

Marissa Taylor

Manager Product Support

User since

Feb 2025

Podium provides customer engagement software that helps businesses manage messaging, reviews, and payments in one place.

As their support team grew, Podium needed a way to verify that new agents met quality standards before handling live customers. Without quality gates, agents went live before they were ready - leading to inconsistent performance and quality issues that affected customers. By implementing validation checkpoints, Podium now verifies agent readiness before deployment. Agents reach quality thresholds 50% faster, and resolution speed has improved by 33%.

The challenge

No way to verify agents were ready before they went live

Podium's support team was growing, but there was no structured way to validate that new agents met quality standards before handling customers. Agents would complete training materials but still struggle with live issues - the gap between knowing information and executing against quality standards wasn't being measured. Quality problems only surfaced after they'd already impacted customers.

"We now know agents meet our quality bar before they ever touch a customer. That's the difference."

Marissa Taylor

Manager Product Support

WHY SOLIDROAD?

Quality gates before customer deployment

Podium needed a way to verify readiness, not just track course completion. Solidroad offered validation simulations that test agents against real scenarios - surfacing specific quality gaps before deployment. Managers get clear visibility into who's ready and who needs more work, and agents are validated against Podium's actual standards rather than generic assessments.

SOLUTION

Validation checkpoints that surface specific gaps

Podium now requires agents to pass quality validation before they're approved for live customer interactions. These checkpoints test agents against real scenarios and surface specific gaps - troubleshooting ability, tone, product knowledge - that must be addressed before deployment. Managers can see exactly where each agent stands and make data-backed decisions about readiness.

"New hires were scared to really dig into troubleshooting because they didn’t want to make a mistake. We needed a way to help them shake that hesitation before dealing with real customers."

Marissa Taylor

Manager Product Support

RESULT

Faster time to quality, better resolution rates

Even before full cohorts completed their programs, the impact was clear. Agents now reach quality thresholds 50% faster - validated as ready in 60 days instead of 90. Resolution speed improved by 33% as agents who passed validation handled issues more efficiently. Quality problems are caught before deployment rather than after.

CONCLUSION

Quality validation that prevents issues before they reach customers

Solidroad has given Podium what they lacked: a way to verify agent quality before deployment. Managers know who's ready and who needs work. Agents are validated against real standards. And quality issues are caught early rather than discovered through customer complaints. With validation proving effective for new hires, Podium is expanding to ongoing quality measurement for tenured agents.