ICMI's Customer Management Insight - September 2007 - (Page 23) PEOPLE ment for 1-800-flowers.com. Managers’ coaching techniques support the company tenet that “attitude is everything. ” “Through our ‘self-realization’ techniques, agents are not told what to do, but rather asked, ” Schiller says. “For agents who are resistant to the process, we identify what, specifically, they are resisting by asking ‘how’ and ‘why.’ Oftentimes, it’s not the monitoring and coaching that meets resistance, but rather the lack of confidence to achieve the desired result. By providing agents with the tools they need to be successful, instilling pride in their job, and showing them their ability to make a difference — the negative attitudes fall away. ” SELF-REFLECTION = SYSTEMATIC CHANGE For those call centers that are striving to improve their service quality, Hurst offers this advice: “Look in the mirror first. We often fault agents for issues that have been created by management, whether that’s confusing pricing or return policies, or databases that aren’t easy to navigate onscreen. Look for ways to improve the system first. ” That’s advice that New Hampshire-based CaLLogix has put into practice. CaLLogix, formerly Abacus Communications, is an outsourcing firm with sites in Manchester and Bedford. In 2002, after reflecting on its culture, the company brought in call center industry veteran Sherry Leonard to reform it. Leonard, in conjunction with the quality assurance team, began by entirely revamping the monitoring program. Prior to her arrival, monitoring consisted largely of “quality being delivered to representatives on a form, she says. “In the past, if you ” icmi’s insight M Next, I believe involving employees across all levels of the organization is important. Agents should have the opportunity to hear their calls and others and to participate in calibration sessions. High-level managers should monitor with their supervisors and agents and share their expectations. The more you’re able to make ongoing and frequent discussions about the nature of interactions a part of the fabric of daily call center life, that’s when your program is integrated into your operations. That’s when you’re going to see the biggest benefits — everyone is participating, everyone has a voice and everyone is buying in. Everything else — how often you’re coaching, how many calls you listen to a month, what technology you use — is just details. Making your program matter, making it important, giving it heart and relevance — that’s what’s going to make your program effective. CMI: What are the main concerns and priorities among call center managers when monitoring an agent’s communication with a customer? GIBSON: I like to believe we’re getting smart about measuring what matters. Does it really matter if the rep uses the caller’s name? Are we willing to really listen and agree that call should have been twice our desired call length? I hope we’ve gotten to the point where we aren’t concerned only with the check boxes on our monitoring form and achieving a certain score — but that we’re able to hear a call and determine if the rep did his or her best or if, in spite of all the call criteria not being met, the caller was satisfied. In the past, the checklist approach was much more common, but I think many forward-thinking call center managers are able to see a more nuanced definition of call quality, while still adhering to the quality standards. CMI: What do you think is the overall attitude of agents toward having their calls recorded and monitored? GIBSON: I think we’ve gotten to the point where, in many job markets, agents know we need them more than they need us. This can lead to a situation where the quality program lacks teeth. Supervisors feel they can’t be “honest” with agents because they know the agents know there aren’t real consequences for not improving their performance. Companies who have transcended this situation have gone beyond punitive programs that rely on “dings” for doing things wrong and negative reinforcement. The only way to create positive attitudes toward monitoring programs is to create a program that is actually beneficial and positive to agents. When a program is set up that is based on positive principles, such as a shared commitment toward customers and quality improvement, that’s when you see agents with more positive attitudes toward these programs. CONTINUED www.icmi.com | SEPTEMBER 2007 23 http://www.icmi.com
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