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Improving Quality through Coaching
BMW, The Ritz-Carlton, Kodak, Dell, Microsoft, Volvo, Smuckers,
Kleenex, Crayola. Do these places all have customer service Call
Centers? Are they relevant to our audience? Does that matter? I
think you only need to name five.
What do these companies have in common? They are all known for
their quality. Merriam-Webster defines quality as a degree or
grade of excellence and an inherent or distinguishing
characteristic or trait. For Call Centers, providing a "Quality
Experience" to your customers competes for priority with other
metrics such as call handle time, call volume and full time
equivalent. However, it can become a distinguishing trait. So
how can Call Center managers improve the quality of their
customers' experiences?
Focus Points to Higher Quality
Creating a quality call experience requires three primary focus
points. First, you need to define what quality looks and sounds
like in your Call Center. This may be defined by your customers'
needs, the financial? Needs of the Call Center, or by scores or
other deliverables for which you are responsible. However you
define quality in your working environment, it is essential to
communicate that effectively to front-line employees who
interact with your customers the most.
The second focus point involves monitoring. In order to know
what kind of experience your customers are having, you have to
listen to how your customer service representatives handle
calls. When you monitor a representative's quality, you must
consider tangible behaviors like using the correct greeting,
description of product and documentation methods as well as
intangible behaviors including manner of speaking, tone of voice
and attitude toward customers. You should be able to document
and discuss these behaviors in order to correct what is not
working and to expand upon what is working well. Once you
identify these behaviors, apply the last focus point, which
includes feedback and coaching.
The third focus point for creating a quality call experience is
coaching. Representatives not only need to know that they are
being monitored, but also that somebody cares about the type of
job they are doing. Quality Assurance (QA) scores alone, while
helpful, rarely have enough impact on a representative to change
or improve their behaviors. Effective communication is the first
step towards enhancing performance and as a follow-up to that,
Connective Coaching can make all the difference between success
and frustration.
Connective Coaching Model
The Connective Coaching Model allows managers to build on
employees' existing skills, to offer relevant suggestions for
improvement and to provide employees with a platform to monitor
their own successes and coach others. Managers can easily apply
this five-step model.
Step One:
Invite: Let your customer service representative know that you
will be coaching them and will provide any help or support they
need.
By informing them of your intentions before hand, the
representative becomes engaged in the coaching process.
Also in doing so, the manager not only shows concerns for the
representative's performance, but also established an atmosphere
in which feedback and development are accepted and viewed as
positive
Step Two:
Observe and Ask: After observing representatives, ask them to
assess what they did well and which skills they can improve.
To open a feedback session, use questions, which show interest
in the representative's self assessments and help
them think
about their performance.
Socrates felt that by involving his students with
thought-provoking questions, he could enhance comprehension and
learning.
Here are some questions you might use to begin a feedback
session.
What do you think you did well?
What was easy for you?
What was harder than you though it was going to be?
What would you like to improve upon?
Step 3:
Specific Observations: Offer your observations, providing
specific examples of two things they did well and an example of
one skill they can improve. The key to making this effective is
being precise.
Use connective words that do not diminish the positive feedback.
Words or phrases that connect:
What would support that...
What will enhance that...
Along with that...
Example of a connective feedback statement:
"Susan, I agree that you asked really good discovery questions.
I also think that you maintained control of the call. What will
enhance your close rate is developing some statements that will
allow you to overcome common objections..."
Step 4:
Express Confidence: An important element in a feedback session
is to express your confidence in the representative's ability to
make improvements and to offer your support in helping them do
so. This is an effective use of positive reinforcement.
Share some confidence statements:
I have faith
I have confidence
I believe
I know
Example: "Susan, I believe that you can develop some powerful
statements to help you overcome those objections that you find
so difficult to address."
Step 5:
Establish Follow-up: Finally establish a time to follow up and
check progress. An effective manager must demonstrate commitment
to their representatives' growth. This confirms your sincerity
to assisting with their development and success. Indicate a
specific time for the follow-up meeting.
Example: "Susan, why don't you work on it for a couple of days
and I will follow up with you Wednesday afternoon."
"Let's review this again at the end of the month."
Connective Coaching for improved performance and higher quality
service can be one of the most rewarding and challenging
interactions you have with your employees. As an effective coach
it is your responsibility to guide, discuss, educate and
encourage employees to achieve outstanding results. In the
absence of good feedback, employees will provide their own. If a
manager never gives effective feedback, inexperienced employees
may think that they are doing a great job and more surprisingly,
capable employees may have a negative impression of their
performance.
Creating high quality requires an investment in the processes
through constantly reviewing and refining goals and skills. By
defining the standard, monitoring and coaching you can improve
your representatives' performances, enhance your customers'
experiences and add your name to the list of high-quality, icon
companies.
About the author:
Carole Sue Jones is a contributing writer for Interactive
Quality Solutions. She is a training and instructional design
professional with a strong focus on management development. If
you are interested in reading more of Carole's articles please
visit http://www.callcentercafe.com and
http://www.righttolead.com.
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