Coaching & Development - The major miss in contact centers
High performing contact centers have evolved into customer centric and resolution focused operations. This evolution has a balance to servicing effectively and many BPO's and internal contact centers lack coaching models which drive into effectiveness and efficacy.
To improve FCR, CSAT, and NPS front line management teams need a uniformed and focused approach to improve agent skill-sets. Because of the varying demographics of a call center it is increasingly difficult to find tactics which can be deployed universally across all call centers.
The basis for a positive coaching model involves the following four component
1. Initial Discovery & Responsibility:
We drive the agent to participate in the coaching session and own their performance within the contact. We can also utilize this step to ask about their understanding of targets, objectives, KPI’s, SLA’s, processes, and procedures. Drive the agent to see the opportunity and participate in the discovery process. You guide the agent to see where they need improvement. This helps to ensure the agent is accountable to their performance.
Agents who do not participate are typically agents who feel they know more or do not need to be helped to improve. These agents simply want to be told what to do so you will leave them alone. This can create a cultural issue of accepting feedback and must be addressed immediately. We want people in our organization who will “Own the Customer Experience”.
2. Dialogue & Engagement:
We focus on one opportunity at a time with the agent. If there are compliance issues that an agent needs to correct we seek compliance. Compliance expectations are not coaching and should be addressed prior to the coaching session. We want the agent to own their performance; as such when we have the agent present how they performed we also ask what they could have done differently. If the agent believes they have done nothing wrong we explain what can be done and how that would have changed the outcome of the contact. This avoids telling the agent “What They Did Wrong”, Remember the key is to keep the coaching session positive.
If the agent provides information related to what they did that resulted as an impact to their performance or customer; we ask them then to provide the recommended steps or actions they need to take to improve in the area of focus. We guide them to the answers. We should not “Tell” the agent how to improve. We want them to improve on their own and in order to do this they need to own the solution.
Many times as human beings we resist change and defend our actions. This is natural instinct because we take feedback as a personal attack. It is important we recognize the psychology of how employee’s and individuals perceive coaching and feedback. We must ensure we deflect resistance to the coaching through positive reinforcement.
We explain the importance of the given opportunity and target. This relates to what and why the given area needs to be of focus for the agent. We need to be sure we draw the relationship between the “Target” | “Agent”. Help them to be objective about the area of opportunity, rather than making it a personal matter.
Focus on the facts and how making the changes or implementing a solution can drive the agents performance. Do not let the agent control the coaching session. Stay on task and remember the behaviors need to be modified and we need the agent to “Buy-In” to the solution. Deflect negativity by using positive reinforcement and encouragement.
3. Development & Improvement
There is always a way to role play. If the agent did not utilize a system, missed a step, or did not follow a call technique we should find a way to get them to simulate the correct actions. Specific dialogue should be role played with the “coach” acting as the customer. Role play should be done at least three times. Each time we role play we critique the tone, pace, grammar, and steps taken. The role play section of the coaching model is the most important step. If the agent can execute the role play correctly each time, we praise them and motivate them to complete the task again.
Often times adults do not feel they should have to simulate the correct actions. In the contact center environment we use role play as our opportunity to address things before they touch our customers. Agents need to understand that we need to improve resolution and CSAT. Role play is common in our everyday lives. If we think of role play as simulation we see it daily. Sports is a way to get agents to see how role play (simulation) is needed to improve. Professional athlete’s simulate games to practice technique and prevent mistakes during actual matches.
It is critical we role play; systems role play and usage can be done once or twice just to ensure the agent is on track and knows what is needed to improve their performance. After role play or addressing the opportunity, we need to discuss with the agent how this ties to their overall performance as well as its impact to the customer. The continuous focus of tying their performance to abilities of the organization to deliver a positive customer experience maintains the focus and ownership of their performance.
We must ask for the agents commitment to deliver, not their compliance. We need to have the agent tell us what they are willing to commit to regarding their performance. If the improvement the agent provides does not meet expectations we ask them to think about how the target you provide is best. During this time we should have the agents scorecard available to show them what specific area impacts their performance.
4. Measurement & Accountability
Ask the agent specifically what they have learned, why it is important, what they need to do, and what steps they take to execute the coaching provided. If the agent cannot complete this activity the (coach | team manager) needs to repeat step 3 and ask the agent to provide the information within this step again.
Attempt to avoid using the word “No” and “Wrong”. These words represent to the agent they are not understanding the coaching session. If what is represented is not an accurate representation of what they have been coached on use the following verbiage or something similar:
"While that is certainly important we want to make sure we (coaching opportunity). I agree that is something we need to focus on and I also want to make sure we (coaching opportunity).
This ensures the coaching session remains positive. To this point we want to motivate the agent towards high performance, achieving success, and taking ownership towards the opportunity. Use what motivates the agent to be successful. Each of us as individuals as different motivators, these motivators drive our abilities to deliver and seek greatness, we want our agents to be successful and knowing what motivates them will provide the leverage to tie their work to their personal motivators. Identify with the agent what motivates them and gain a commitment for improvement. When an agent commits to the business we get a focused approached towards the goals of the organization. Commitment breeds excellence.
Do not confuse compliance with commitment. Compliance breeds mediocrity. Compliance means the employee is focused on getting out of the coaching session and wants to avoid being coached. Employees should always be engaged on what they can do to improve their performance and strive for continuous improvement. This also comes into play when interviewing agents and should be a component to your operating model.
When a contact centers agents are committed to an organization less coaching is done. Passion, execution, and delivery become the heart and soul of the business and consistency is the name of the game.
In closing, a balanced scorecard is needed. Many organizations also force the wrong metrics and drive the wrong behaviors. Scorecards should have no more than 5 indicators. They should also not include AHT as a target.
Indicators should be related to customer experience, and servicing customers because experience is not an efficiency issue. Optimizing the customer experience is directly related to efficiency over time and AHT has no correlation to FCR or CSAT.
High performing contact centers manage the following at the agent level: CSAT, FCR, Quality Scores, Schedule Adherence, and Non-Productive Time. Think about what you want your agents to focus on ... experience... or efficiency? There is a balance and they can happen with an effective coaching model!