Call Center Software | You've Gotta Give it Away | Envision
Jul 30, 2007

You've Gotta Give it Away
Posted by: Connie Smith

Recently, Tom Vander Well commended this blog for spreading contact center information so that all can profit from it. One of the things that I love about working at Envision is that I am afforded the opportunity to network within the call center community and share the knowledge that I collect from around the world. I'm the chief evangelist because I'm passionate about leveraging my experiences in order to improve contact center processes.

But, I couldn't do it without one important ingredient: you. Thank you for helping me to spread the word about best practices in the call center. Without all of the great conversations and interactions that I have with you at roundtables, on Envision Exchange™ calls and in other interactions, this community wouldn't be what it is today. Keep the comments and information coming -- I'm ready to spread the word and give away more great tips and tricks!

Post tags: , Tom Vander Well, , , ,

 
You've Gotta Give it Away - 9:54 AM | Call Center Best Practices | Add Comment (0) |
Jul 23, 2007

Call Center Quick Tip: Good to Great!
Posted by: Connie Smith

Today's Call Center Quick Tip comes from Joan Brennan of Weyerhaeuser:

Good to Great
High performers can easily get neglected in a coaching environment. They tend to be told they are doing well and to keep it up and have very little to coach as far as improving performance. However, high performers naturally have a desire to do even better. There are many things high performers do well, but are there things they can do to make those moments great? The call may have been perfectly fine, but if they had selected a different word choice or proactively mentioned something that might happen if a certain decision is made, this can really take the call to a whole other level and gives the high performer something to strive towards. This is also effectively used with average performers. Instead of regularly focusing on a weakness, spend time with them on something okay when they could be knocking the socks off the customer.
 
Call Center Quick Tip: Good to Great! - 9:03 AM | Coaching & Agent Effectiveness | Add Comment (0) |
Jul 17, 2007

Call Center Quick Tip: Ask, Don't Tell
Posted by: Connie Smith

Today's Call Center Quick Tip comes from Joan Brennan of Weyerhaeuser:

Ask, don’t tell.
We would spend month after month talking to the same person about the same issue. Most of the time, the representatives can hear and see what they have done during the Click2Coach® call. By asking them about what they did, why they did it, and what could they have done better, it brings the realization home as opposed to just listening to the coach talk and having it go in one ear and out the other. By getting the representative to state their own objectives and areas for improvement, they are more likely to actually acknowledge the point and it sets up the expectation that this is a two-way process. Sometimes we have to really guide them to conclusions, but it is the coach’s role to know the right kind of questions to ask.
 
Call Center Quick Tip: Ask, Don't Tell - 9:47 AM | Coaching & Agent Effectiveness | Add Comment (0) |
Jul 13, 2007

Call Center Quick Tip: Mentoring Works!
Posted by: Connie Smith

Today's Call Center Quick Tip comes from Gail Workman:

Mentoring Works!

Buddy or mentoring programs have been very successful for us as part of our welcome / new employee program. Upon arrival, a seasoned rep is paired with a new rep who helps with the on-boarding process for the first month on the job. Then, during classroom training, the new rep visits the work floor once a week to listen in on calls with their partners to see how to apply what they’ve learned each week.

Here are a few other quick tips about peer-to-peer coaching within the contact center:

How do you get your new agents up-to-speed while keeping your seasoned agents engaged?

Post tags: Gail Workman, , , ,

 
Call Center Quick Tip: Mentoring Works! - 8:41 AM | Coaching & Agent Effectiveness | Add Comment (0) |
Jul 09, 2007

Call Center Quick Tip: Live Monitoring
Posted by: Connie Smith

Today's Call Center Quick Tip comes from Cammy McCafferty of Northwest Airlines:

Live monitoring with Click2Coach®
When monitoring live calls, rather than recorded calls on an agent, view the agent's live screen using Click2Coach®. This is a great tool which allows you to listen live and watch the agent’s current screen at the same time. We have found this to be invaluable especially with our brand new agents!
Here are a few more coaching tips that you might find useful:

Post tags: Cammy McCafferty, Northwest Airlines, Click2Coach, screen capture, , , ,

 
Call Center Quick Tip: Live Monitoring - 2:09 PM | Coaching & Agent Effectiveness | Add Comment (0) |
Jul 05, 2007

Call Center Quick Tip
Posted by: Connie Smith

Today's Call Center Quick Tip comes from Kathie Zeier of SUPERVALU:

Focusing on specific attributes
Supervisors choose only one or two attributes or areas for improvement for a CSR in each one-on-one meeting. This is especially important with our new CSRs. We want to be sure they aren’t overwhelmed with too many “improvement needs.”

Here are a few more coaching tips that you might find useful:

Do you have any handy coaching tips? I'd love to hear some of your call center best practices as well!

Post tags: Kathie Zeier, SUPERVALU, Morris Branson, , Cammy McCafferty, Northwest Airlines, , , ,

 
Call Center Quick Tip - 8:47 AM | Coaching & Agent Effectiveness | Add Comment (1) |
Jul 03, 2007

Employee Value = Company Value
Posted by: Connie Smith

Employee/Customer Asset Value Chain



















I’ve been speaking with quite a few companies lately about the employee / customer value asset chain, and the value that we need to place on employees. So when I came across a blog posting by Michael Moser of Call Center Script titled "Thank you for calling. Can you tell I’m undervalued?" I felt compelled to weigh in on the subject.
 
Studies are increasingly showing a link between the value that you place on your employees and the company’s bottom line. Last month on this blog, I mentioned a recent Gallup study which showed that companies with true coaching programs:
  • Are 50% more likely to have lower turnover
  • Achieve 27% greater profitability
  • Have 56% higher customer loyalty
The Apple iPhone has been in the news lately as well, and one of the quieter stories around the launch is the value that Apple has placed on their employees. Every full-time Apple employee received a new iPhone, valued at US$600. John Moore at Brand Autopsy writes in his posting titled "Marketing to Employees:"
I am a huge proponent of companies spending marketing money on employees. It's simple. Astonish employees and they will, in turn, astonish customers. Giving every full-time employee a $600 (retail value) iPhone is an astonishing act that will only help to feed the already vibrant evangelical corporate culture within Apple.
John is exactly right: if employees are jazzed about their company and their company’s products, that energy and enthusiasm will radiate out to customers, and positively affect your bottom line.

What are you doing to astonish your employees – especially your frontline agents? I’d love to hear about it!

 
Employee Value = Company Value - 10:57 AM | Coaching & Agent Effectiveness | Add Comment (0) |