Call Center Management Featured Article
Contact Center Managers Who Think Positive Drive Improved Performance
When trying to solve human resources problems in an organization, it may seem a bit clichéd to include the power of “thinking positive.” No call center problems have ever been solved with bumper sticker slogans, after all. Yet the idea shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand. Call center agents often take their cues from managers, and if managers are negative, critical of the organization, cynical or dismissive, chances are good that rank-and-file agents will adopt a similar attitude.
Customer engagement, the goal of any organization, can only be attained with employee engagement at its core, according to outsourcing industry analyst Alicia Gray writing for Win the Customer.
“If you are not positive mentally, you can never inspire the team to attain great heights,” wrote Gray. “The words and attitude that you will use when in a confident state would work like magic on the under-performing staff. You have to check upon your levels of commitment, loyalty, motivation and performance.”
In the contact center, managers should pass on this confidence to employees in the form of regular feedback, both positive and negative.
“The employees look at their manager for feedback,” wrote Gray. “Whether it is a positive or negative feedback, it helps an employee grow and improve himself/herself. If an employee has achieved something remarkable then go public about the praises. This will give the employee a boost in self-belief. The feedback has to be given after lot of analysis. Remember, you are the mentor of team members and it is your responsibility to help the employees grow with creative inputs.”
Some of the most important traits of positive managers include helping employees understand their efforts are appreciated and valued, treating employees fairly, asking for ideas and input from all front-line employees, and being readily approachable by employees who have problems or concerns. After all, contact center employees spend their days taking to customers: chances are, they have good insight into how relationships and processes could be improved. They will also feel more valued when they are tapped for their knowledge and wisdom.
Gray recommends a “self-finding” expedition to bring forth the positive qualities of managers, the contact center and its employees. Successful managers can use this positive energy to tap reserves of effort in employees and get more out of them. More importantly, positive managers can induce front-line contact center employees to want to put more effort into their work.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi