Call Center Coaching

Provide examples

When discussing the performance of an agent, provide examples from their recorded interaction to support your claim. Instead of blindly pointing at issues, play the recorded call and point out where the interaction went wrong. 

Also, to give a better demonstration, you can play the interaction of top performers. This will provide the agent a better understanding of what they are doing wrong.

Role-Playing

Role-playing an interaction between agent and customer will give the agent a thorough understanding of how they can boost their performance.

Use a recent interaction the agent had with a customer. Begin with the agent playing customer and you playing the agent. Go through the interaction and let the agent understand how you would respond to the situation. Then switch roles, and you become the customer. 

By demonstrating them directly, you can show the agent different ways the situation could have been handled. Also, provide helpful feedback regarding the agent’s approach to the situation. 

This way the agent can practice and prepare them before they start interacting with clients again.

Let agent score their performance

Let the agents judge their skills and performance. Tell the agents to scrutinize and give criticism about their call recordings. 

Ask the agents to go through their call recordings and bring their assessment to the coaching session. Ask the agents to tell you what they did wrong and how and where they can improve.

Asking agents to self-assess will make them more aware of their performance. This will motivate them to improve.

Involve agent in the Training process

Work with the agent to come up with a plan to improve their performance. Once you have identified the area that needs improvement and involved the agent in the process, the agent will likely be more motivated to achieve the goal.

The agent also understands what is expected from them and how they will be assessed. Additionally, the agents can also discuss any difficulties they have and engage in overcoming the issues. This will create a balanced understanding between the coach and the agent.

Fill the knowledge gaps

Lack of knowledge and skills needed for the job will neither benefit the agents nor the company. You must identify what skills each agent needs training for and coach them for that particular skill. 

You cannot make assumptions based on what skill you think the agent needs, you have to design the training program carefully.

Train agent soft skill

Training agents for soft skills ensure a quality customer experience. You need to hire agents who excel in soft skills and implement soft skills training exercises. You can also score agents based on their soft skills. 

Communication, emotional intelligence, initiative, teamwork, empathy, problem-solving, etc., are examples of soft skills that help an agent interact with the customer and provide quality customer service. 

Training agents in soft skills and training them on technology will lead to a better result for the company.

Cross-train your agents

Cross-training an agent involves taking an agent out of their comfort zone and making them face another situation. Moving your agent from answering calls and emails to the different departments will boost their morale and teach them more skills.

As per a 2018 academic research, cross-training is an effective way to improve individual and team performance to ensure employee efficiency. Also, it will save the agents from repetitive work and learn more about the entire business.

One-on-one Coaching

Regular one-on-one meetings can improve the relationship between the coach and the agent. The agent will also feel appreciated and valued.

Individual sessions are most productive because it lets you discuss openly with the agent how they feel about the training process. Such discussion will deepen the trust among the team. 

A call center agent has to deal with customers day-in and day-out. So, the individual session in a more relaxed atmosphere gives them a break from the routine work.