What habits differentiate the good call center managers from the great ones?
How can you guarantee the success of your agents and the continual growth of your bottom line?
What are the habits and tactics that all great managers share that you can emulate starting today?
That’s exactly what we are going to discuss in this article.
1. Talk to Your Agents
Your agents are the eyes, ears, and voice of your call center.
They are the boots on the ground and the men and women in the trenches.
Even though you are their supervisor, you are still beholden to their experience and knowledge.
They are the ones who know what is really happening on calls and what actions and recommendations need to be implemented to ensure success.
Be sure to keep an open line of communication between you and your agents and always be open to their suggestions and “Consultation”.
2. Act like a Real Leader
Being a manager at a call center effectively means that you are the team leader.
They look to you for advice, help, and morale management.
Take your role seriously.
Make yourself available to your agents, host weekly office hours to help anyone who is lagging behind, and start each morning and evening with a morale-boosting wrap up to get your agents excited and motivated for their jobs.
Remember, leaders, jump in and take charge from the front.
Managers lead from behind.
3. Make Your Call Center a Great Place to Work
One of the biggest mistakes that call center managers make is focusing more on raw efficiency and results instead of focusing on employee well-being.
Your call center needs to be a great place to work.
Happy employees will bring their energy and enthusiasm with them on their calls and will be able to generate more sales than disgruntled agents.
Be lenient with your agents, give them sufficient break times, and reign back the negative criticism.
Provide them with great incentives and challenges to keep morale (and their competitive spirit) high.
If you do these things your agents will be happier, more productive, and ultimately, more successful.
4. Get Your Hands Dirty
Look, I know that once you become a manager you think your days in the proverbial trenches are over.
But great managers and true leaders are always willing to get their hands dirty.
The best CEOs still sweep floors and clean toilets when it’s necessary and if you want to be a great call center manager, then you need to be willing to make a couple of calls yourself and show your team how it’s done.
There is never a job that is beneath you and anything that your team is doing, you should be willing to do too.
Conclusion
Next week we will dive into the remaining habits of highly effective call center managers, but for now, implement these 4 tactics into your leadership style and watch your team’s results soar.