The other day, I received the following question, and I thought that this community would be intersted in the conversation:

How do you know if an associate cannot do something, will not do something, or they do not know how to do something? I have gone as far as to ask them what we can do and ask for ideas on a situation. Some came up with ideas that cannot happen and I was honest with them. Some came up with ideas that we implemented and while it is helping, it is not taking care of the full issue. I am thinking because of the feedback, most of my associates do not know how to make it happen, but how do I know?

Here was my response: I think the best way to figure out whether an associate can’t, won’t or doesn’t know how is to hit it straight on with an honest approach. Whatever the skill gap the first thing you need to do is to communicate the gap to the associate and come to a mutual agreement that there is indeed a need for improvement. The next step is to ask the associate if they think the skill or task is important and why or why not. What you are looking for here is if they are "bought in" to the importance or need for the skill. If they don’t believe in it, there is a good chance they won’t work to demonstrate it. If they do understand and believe in the reason behind the skill, then it’s time to figure out if additional training is the answer and hopefully you are in a don’t know how situation. In many cases you will take this route and you will have one of two outcomes. If training fills the skill gap then you are good to go but if it doesn’t you have a can’t situation where the associate physically or mentally cannot perform the skill or task. When in doubt, always try the training route before resolving to a can’t. You’ve already invested time in the associate and it’s worth another training session to see if you can turn the situation around.

What do you think? How can you tell if an associate can't, won't, or doesn't know how to implement a skill?

Learn more about coaching to agent classifications and other ways to be a call center manager:

• Resolve to be a Better Call Center Manager
• Focus on What is Important
• Mentoring Works!

Post tags: contact center agent, call coach, coaching, call center best practices, contact center, QA, quality assessment