Call Center Management Featured Article
What Makes a Strong Call Center Manager
Lots of people come and go at typical call centers. Call volumes rise and fall. And campaigns come and go. So these environments need good management to effectively address all these moving parts.
Effective managers work to keep good agents aboard and advancing. They keep workers engaged and on task. And they ensure the organization stays on track to meet goals.
That said, call center managers are not so very different than any other kinds of managers. But because call centers tend to have great change and high churn, good management is key.
To help prevent agent churn whenever possible, call center managers should take care to welcome employee conversation and input. They can encourage that by regularly making the rounds, and simply stating straight up that they are available to answer questions and listen to concerns.
Call center managers who are friendly and build relationships with their staff members encourage this kind of interaction. And that makes for a more positive workplace culture. And it fosters employee engagement, greater productivity, teamwork, and quite possibly better KPI outcomes.
But being a manager is not just about being buds with your underlings. It’s about helping them so they can help the call center meet its goals. That said, good managers will inspire and motivate agents to do their very best and follow company guidelines.
Of course, agents that don’t know what those goals and guidelines are have a much tougher time meeting them. So it’s up to the call center manager to inform them of goals, guidelines, and best practices. Managers also should be sure to implement and support new skills development and keep agents abreast of details about new campaigns and processes.
That will require both organization and planning, and the ability to think outside the box at times. But all this change, and working to balance the planned and unplanned considerations of the call center, keep this management position interesting.
Edited by Mandi Nowitz