Call Center Scheduling Featured Article
Turning Mediocre Contact Center Agents into Superstars
Every contact center has a mix of agents working with customers. A very small handful of agents are superstars. These are the people who can sell easily, build rapport with customers, handle objections and bring angry customers back to the fold. Nothing seems to get them down, and they can pull a good performance out every day. Most companies wish they could clone these people.
It helps to look for traits that make for great performers: excellent spoken and written communications, according to Chuck Ciarlo, CEO of Monet Software.
“When managers assess communication skills, the focus is usually on the speaking voice,” wrote Ciarlo. “Can this potential agent communicate clearly? Does he or she speak with intelligence in a pleasing voice, without a lot of hesitations and ‘ums’ and ‘ahs’? But as call centers have evolved into contact centers, and agents may be required to engage customers on other channels, managers should also test a candidate’s written skills – particularly spelling and communicating ideas in complete but concise sentences.”
No matter how good a job you do with hiring, however, bulk of a call center’s agents, however, are likely middling performers who turn in acceptable work most of the time. It’s unlikely these people are engaged with their jobs, but they value their paychecks enough to follow the rules. Many companies simply live with these two types of agents, wishing they had more of the former and fewer of the latter. In a recent article for Business2Community, however, Parature’s (News - Alert) Tricia Morris wonders if companies can turn the mediocre agents into stars with a bit of effort.
“While some great customer service representatives were born for the job, many more great customer service representatives can be made through increased empowerment,” she wrote. “Is it worth the internal investment? Absolutely.”
Morris quotes the recent Gallup State of the American Workplace report, which concluded that, “when organizations successfully engage both their employees and their customers they experience a 240 percent boost in performance-related business outcomes compared to an organization with neither engaged employees, nor engaged customers.”
Companies with engaged customer support workers report seeing better customer satisfaction ratings, greater productivity and improved profitability. So how do you turn disengaged employees into engaged workers?
There are several methodologies that companies can use:
Regular performance monitoring and feedback. Don’t surprise agents with problems in their performance once a year. The more often employees’ performance is evaluated, the better they can align their working habits with personal, professional and organizational goals. Small problems can be spotted and corrected before they become big problems, and managers can review in a way that emphasizes appreciation for a job well done.
Listen to employees. Your call center agents are the ones who talk to the customers the most. Chances are good they have great ideas in how the customer experience can be improved. Ask their opinion, listen to them and implement some of their suggestions. When employees feel like they have a stake in the company’s success, they will try harder.
Reward them. A pat on the back is nice, but more public and concrete appreciation is better. Employee of the month recognition (with real benefits such as a gift certificate or a closer parking space) can go a long way toward helping employees improve their attitude and feel valued.
Manage them in a transparent, interactive way. When employees feel like they are being managed and scheduled by Big Brother, they will not turn in their best performances. Consider using a more transparent workforce management solution that employees can interact with and engage in automatic schedule swapping and bidding, and a visible and fair way to bid on vacation time.