Posted by Shannon Cherry on Thu, Aug 19, 2010 @ 07:53 AM
Coaching is one of the most widely acclaimed methods of moving the needle in the call center. Surprisingly, though, many organizations have so little information on how much, why or even the amount of coaching that is conducted in their call centers. In such a highly-measured culture where sometimes it seems as if every action is tracked, coaching is one of the last holdouts.
Call center executives should implement a coaching scorecard to measure performance of supervisors and their agents. Investigate the correlation between coaching activities and agent performance improvement. Specifically, formulate a plan to measure coaching impact, coaching volume, and coaching focus.
Read more tips on how to create an effective coaching scorecard here.
Once you've begun using a coaching scorecard, the next step is to improve your coaching process. Standardizing, automating,and optimizing agent idle time are key steps to refining the call center supervisor's job.
Adhering to automated standard coaching processes allows supervisors to manage 20% larger teams. Optimizing idle time in call volume enables agents and supervisors to focus on improving performance. Are you taking advantage of these best practices in your call center?
For more coaching tips for the call center, read the Seven Fundamental Plays from the Coaching Playbook.
Photo by heliomedeiros
Posted by Lee Anne Wimberly on Fri, Mar 05, 2010 @ 04:13 PM
All great coaches have their signature plays. Like most games, however, call center coaching isn't a one-play game. It takes ongoing dedication to a set of tried and true tactics, the basics that will win over time. The following are seven fundamental plays that are the hallmarks of great coaching in the call center.
#1 - Ensure It Is True Coaching
What gets called coaching on many teams is really managing without much guidance on improvement. Eighty percent of executives in a study by Knowlagent indicated that they do not believe supervisors have all the right skills for coaching.
#2 - Make It Targeted
By its nature, coaching should be targeted, but it's difficult for supervisors to keep up with all team members' performance and individualized coaching plans.
#3 - See That It Is Frequent
The demands on a supervisor's time are many. And often the lower performing agents take up a disproportionate amount of that time. To meet the needs of all agents, time must be made for both agents and coaches to interact on performance problems as well as enhancement opportunities.
#4 - Make It Actionable
Unless it is actionable, much of what is called coaching is merely advice. Basing coaching on the call flow creates actionable coaching.
- Break the call down into key steps.
- Identify the step where the agent struggles.
- Identify the behaviors needed to execute the step successfully.
- Develop a plan to change those behaviors.
#5 - It Better Be Consistent
Because most coaching happens on an ad-hoc basis, similarly performing agents can receive very different types and levels of coaching. Nearly 50 percent of supervisors surveyed can not define their coaching process.
#6 - It Has To Be Measurable
By embedding a measurement system that shows how much, who and what is getting coached as well as its link to performance, constant improvement through coaching becomes systemic in the center.
#7 - Require Individual Accountability
Without a mechanism to take ownership for increasing performance, agents may be left adrift, becoming dissatisfied with the prospects for improvement and/or advancement. Creating a partnership provides the ownership needed and establishes a framework for creating and sustaining improvement.
Read the full paper Seven Fundamental Plays from the Coaching All-Star Playbook, which also includes a recommended Coaching Scorecard.
Posted by Ted Giordano on Fri, Sep 18, 2009 @ 11:42 AM
This week Knowlagent has launched it's software solution to a large telecom organization. I thought it would be fun to get some comments from the field regarding the launch. Below are the comments of Derek Lanham, a sales director for Knowlagent.
Derek Lanham
It is another great day at Knowlagent. How often do we get the chance to help companies improve their bottom line and top line, all while helping their people get better at what they do? Here in Fort Worth, TX, call volume was a little low today, so most of the scheduled sessions where delivered as expected. Several agents on the early shift, starting at 5 am, immediately took it upon themselves to go into Knowlagent when they were not on the phone, and start taking some courses. One agent had completed 4 courses before 8 am. It is probably not a best practice to cram in that many courses, but definitely speaks for enthusiasm. All of the agents were happy to see Knowlagent on their machines, but what was even more encouraging was the response to the content. Relevant content focused on short, usable pieces of information gives the agents what they need, and they were excited to have it. Repeated comments from the team suggested how smooth the first day went as any issues were minor, mostly having to do with the auto-launch not getting pushed to their desktop. One of the supervisors, Brian, got to the center in the afternoon and completed all of the content within a few hours while doing his regular job, ensuring that he would have all the information needed to help his team get the most out of the content. Plus Brian is admittedly skeptical, making sure the content was accurate and relevant... he was pleased.
Posted by Kerry Engle on Tue, Aug 18, 2009 @ 05:42 PM
Holding on to customers during tough times can prove difficult, given inevitable cost reductions and competitors who are just a click away for a dissatisfied customer. Below are two scenarios that can help reduce costs and the risks commonly associated with headcount reduction.
Who has time to answer the phone?
Headcount reduction of agents and/or supervisors can have the most potential for reduced customer satisfaction and revenues. There are a few ways to execute some of the measures below, however, with minimized damage:
Reduce agent headcount: Most centers staff to allow enough time for training, which is effectively "double-staffing" for a portion of FTEs. In a scenario with reduced headcount and the same service levels to meet, training will almost always get trumped. If agents aren't properly prepared for calls, quality will begin to suffer over time. Centers are faced with two unattractive options: double-staff or under-train. By reducing training to short intervals and delivering it only during idle time between calls, training and sufficient availability can both be achieved with reduced headcount. In our findings, 1-3% of scheduled FTEs can be reduced by this method alone.
Increase supervisor span of control: In our research on coaching, time to coach and coaching process execution were top challenges. To effectively manage a larger team, supervisors will need automation to help them find the time to coach all team members and to provide alternatives to face to face coaching. Center management will need a safeguard to ensure coaching processes are being executed effectively. With these tools in place, supervisors can manage teams that are up to 20% larger.
I would love to hear your stories about how you are balancing cost reductions and customer retention.
Posted by Kerry Engle on Fri, Jun 05, 2009 @ 05:24 PM
I have recently had several conversations with people who have already instituted At- Home Work Programs. During the course of the conversation one question that usually comes up related to supervisors is whether or not there were any differences in the skills needed to manage at home agents vs. brick and mortar?
The two key points that seem to come up consistently in conversations and the subsequent inferences from these points all relate around the agent profiles. For example, several people quote the following research:
- The average age of an at- home agent is between 30-55 - for a brick and mortar agent it is 18-28
- 80% of the at- home agents have a college degree- the number is 35% for brick and mortar agents
The following assumptions usually follow:
- Since it is not the at- home agent's first job, they bring to the job some basic business understanding.
- The type of management style needed to manage "new to the workplace" people is different then the skills needed to manage "experienced" people. For example, the brick and mortar type agent, due to age, needs much more leadership and guidance (i.e., direction and "hand holding") then the at- home agents. And that requires more face to face/someone is watching you, associated with the brick and mortar center since many employees are "learning" how to work and behave in a corporate setting.
- In contrast, it was felt that at home agents required less of the "control" management style and more of a focus on what they need to do to get better. This focus may be due to the fact that in most of these centers, if an at- home agent drops their performance below goal over several consecutive time periods, they will be asked to come back and work in the center.
Posted by Kerry Engle on Tue, May 19, 2009 @ 05:21 PM
At Knowlagent, we ran a set of focus groups with call center supervisors and management. The results were very enlightening. Over the next few weeks, we will share the results of those focus groups here in the Call Center 102 blog.
The first and most frequently mentioned issue that affects the quality of the coaching done by supervisors in the call center... is time. Every single supervisor and manager that we interviewed expressed a strong desire to have more time to coach their call center agents. When we asked them if they could change one thing about their coaching environment, 100% of them said, "Find more time to coach!"
And, most importantly, all supervisors strongly believed that having more time to coach would improve performance against all key call center indicators.
If you have this problem, check out Knowlagent's Coaching & Performance Management module with RightTime. This tool is guaranteed to increase your coach-agent face time.