There’s a saying that nobody is perfect, and everyone has a fair share of their strengths and weaknesses. It may be interesting to think about a diamond that doesn’t immediately display its sparkle for the world to see. It should be mined, cleaned, polished, cut, and designed to showcase its dazzling beauty.
This is the same thing that happens with call center agents. The supervisors need to discover what they’re good at and enhance the skills and behaviors that need improvement. When the agents perform well, the market will gain their customers’ trust and loyalty, and they can become an authority figure in the industries. This is why contact center coaching is an essential element that can help the people in the workplace.
All about Coaching
Coaching is an interactive process that involves the agents and the coaches. Depending on the number of agents and the company’s size, the coach can be a team leader, manager, or the business owner himself. But the typical process and a coaching enablement platform may be needed regardless of whoever is doing this. These kinds of training involve a lot of speaking and listening from both parties.
The mentors or coaches who don’t listen as much may not be effective in their work. They should also watch what the employees are doing, gauge the agents’ skills and abilities during a call, demonstrate proper handling of customers, and see the data report of the previous month’s performance.
Some are continuing the coaching process even if the employee graduates from the trainee stage to ensure that everyone is still sharpening their skills and abilities. Without these continuous reminders and demonstrations, agents may develop bad habits over the long run that can cause the decline of their scores and performance. Some may deviate from scripts, have destructive habits, develop phone etiquettes, and more.
The most critical thing that the coaches should remember is that they are encouraging and not scolding. They should do it in a way where they are gaining the representative’s confidence to maximize their successes.
Why It’s Important
This is an essential process because it’s an active solution. There may be call listening involved, getting the metrics, showing feedback from customers, and knowing the behaviors that can trigger negative feedback from the callers. You can read more tips about improving the coaching process on this site here.
This is one of the most underappreciated tools in the industry, but this is critical for success. Companies should consider the weekly and quarterly reviews of their agents and address the weaknesses as early as possible. However, just going through the motions of showing the data and telling the agent to improve is a passive solution. They may not even know what and where to start the change, and they may already have developed habits that are hard to break.
When you coach, this is a proactive solution to ensure that the agents learn new things. This session can also be a one-on-one time between the supervisors and the representatives, and this is a chance to know whether the latter is still happy in their jobs. Some of the benefits that the company can gain are the following:
- Happy and satisfied customers
- High-quality support and product service
- More confident agents
- Improved performance
- High retention rates
- Support and collaboration from the workforce
- Stronger drive for the team for goal achievement
Who Should be the Coach?
Coaches can be supervisors or managers who have received specific training about their roles. They should be empathic, good listeners, and know how to weave encouragement to everyone in their team.
Many managers are providing constructive criticisms before they point out the areas that need improvement. Read more about constructive criticisms here: https://www.themuse.com/advice/taking-constructive-criticism-like-a-champ. Constructive criticism may be hard to say, but reps may often appreciate it if the things that they are doing right are also recognized. This way, they are open to improvement, and they know that they are a valuable asset to the company.
Many companies may also consider healthy competition among the representatives to ensure that personal growth never stops. Coaching positions can be a reward for those who often reach the top and meet all the year’s sales goals. Individuals who know that they can qualify for the position will strive hard and do everything they can to hit the metrics.