Excerpt from 23 Steps to An Effective Call Center by Réal Bergevin
We have a fairly simple model for assigning people to roles, it's called "The Quick Answer." The Quick Answer is our internal checklist for hiring and managing employees. It goes like this:
1. Hire the right person.
2. Tell them what to do.
3. Show them how to do it.
4. Give them consistent feedback on how they are doing.
5. Make supporting them your #1 mission.
Hire the right people - When hiring for my team I rely on management skill assessments and aptitude tests. The tests used depend on the position that we're hiring for. Analytical positions, such as the analyst, would require that we test for mathematical and problem solving skills. For training and support roles, we test for communication and coaching skills. All management prospects must complete some basic management aptitude and call center knowledge assessments. When considered with background and references, our assessment tests provide a very clear picture of a potential managers skill and motivation for the job. This helps me to ensure that I have the right person assigned to each role.
Tell them what to do - It is widely believed that the number one reason that people fail on the job is the absence of clear expectations. Many call centers have job descriptions, but I find that they are so jam-packed with complicated language and vague accountabilities that they lack clarity. We avoid complicated and wordy job descriptions in favor of simple accountabilities and objectives. The "23 steps" provide the basic framework of accountabilities (How You Influence the 23 Steps.) Within this framework, I'll add specific accountabilities which are as measurable as possible. For each accountability in the 23 steps, we clarify the accountabilities and add objectives by completing the following sentence for each step: "If I do this part of my job properly, I will.". The finished points to this statement complete each employee's job description.
An example using the Employee Performance Supervisor is as follows:
Hire the right people to do the job
If I do this part of my job properly, I will:
- Receive a minimum of 5 applications for each job opening.
- Screen out applicants who do not meet our minimum requirements for the job.
- Have each remaining applicant complete all of our hiring tests (communication, sales aptitude, computer skill, problem solving) and screen out applicants who do not meet the minimum testing requirements.
- Screen each remaining applicant's references.
- Rank each remaining applicant based on combined test scores, references and my personal assessment. I will summarize these assessments on an applicant interview form.
- Make offers to the highest-ranking applicants until we fill our available positions.
Show them how - Showing new employees how to do their jobs is a matter of providing skill training to fill in the gaps on skills that they need to meet their expectations. For management positions, this usually amounts to department procedures and general orientation. We also provide general call center management training as not all new managers are familiar with all of the call center concepts needed to run our operation. We provide a call center management certification program to ensure that the management team has the call center expertise that we need to support department accountabilities and the business model.
Give them feedback - Everyone needs feedback. Feedback is part of the communications loop that tells employees what is expected. Setting job expectations begins with committing expectations to paper. It continues with feedback on performance. Classroom training is the beginning of learning and skill development. Feedback is the continuation of training. Feedback allows employees to repeatedly ask the question, "Is this it?" Obviously, as they gain a better understanding of what success looks like, feedback can become (and should become) less frequent. Among our management team, I provide a lot of feedback when a manager is new or when an experienced manager is working on a new task. As the manager becomes more competent, I reduce feedback to once a month or on an "as requested" basis. Our primary method of feedback for experienced managers is a monthly goal-setting meeting where we spend 10 or 15 minutes agreeing to accomplishments for the coming month and reviewing performance against last months goals. This keeps us very focused. As mentioned earlier, I employ a "hands-off" method of management. I like my managers to be self-sufficient. This doesn't mean that I won't help. In fact, I see this as my job. Newer managers will need more help and more senior managers will need (and prefer) less help. One of the most important rules is that each employee is accountable for their area of responsibility-no matter what their level of skill. If they are unable to perform a function because of a lack of skill, their accountability is to ask for help. With enough support, anyone in our operation can do anything. My goal is to make them self-reliant.
Support them - Support comes in many forms, from being a sounding board on decisions, to providing specific direction and training. In my view, it is one of the most important tasks any manager provides. It is the grease that enables employees to be empowered. Without support there can be no empowerment. Our management team is bound by a common understanding of our mission, business objectives, key drivers and role accountabilities. It is important that everyone understands the impact that each of us has on the drivers. This understanding of "cause and effect" is very powerful and gives us a great deal of control over performance.
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