Introduction
Call Center supervisors are the backbone to operations and performance. Supervisors are the management line that directly manages agents and directs the performance of your business. They are the leaders and the motivators that inspire the front line agents and dictate corporate culture to all employees. They urge agents to break records. They manage people, emotions, statistics and results. They train agents in all facets of call center operations — from sales, communication training and company policies, to computer instruction, technical support and product training.
Lesson 1
Think Of Your Supervisors As The Patty.
I analogize supervisors as double patties in a Big Mac sandwich. There are layers above the supervisor and layers below the supervisor, just as there are layers above and below the double patties in a Big Mac. Those layers above and below the double patties rely on the patties to provide answers to how good the sandwich will taste. Those layers above and below the supervisor level rely on the supervisors to provide answers as to how well the call center functions. Both the layers below and above the patties succeed or fail based in great part on the ability of the patties to provide a punch. Supervisors are the patties that provide the punch. They set the table for agent success or failure. If you are a team leader, consider a name change. You are a patty!
Lesson 2
Supervisors Must Inspire.
Your agents will perform well because your supervisors will inspire them to perform well. Senior management that forgets this basic tenet probably will not have a call center worth bragging about. When monitoring sessions need to be completed, it is the front line supervisor who completes the assignment. Agents unhappy with their jobs, or their performance, will complain to their supervisor, who carries the message to senior management. Supervisors have to roll up their sleeves and handle disciplinary actions, terminations and promotions.
Lesson 3
Supervisors Must Translate.
While senior management creates policies and rules, supervisors decipher those policies and rules so the agents can understand them. The ways in which supervisors communicate policies and rules determine how effective those policies and rules are to the culture of the call center. Supervisors teach agents how to sell; they instruct agents to communicate better to customers and prospects. Senior management may take credit for agent performance, but while agents should receive nearly all the credit for their performance, supervisors deserve accolades for keeping their agents focused, energized and prepared.
Lesson 4
Supervisors Must Keep Agents Calm, Cool & Collected.
World-Class supervisors who understand culture and the balance of culture within their call center can put out fires before they escalate into department-stopping dilemmas. Emotions can be manipulated by top supervisors who understand human nature, and the emotional influence of human nature over call center agents. The best supervisors serve as a sounding board to agents when the agents need a wall off of which to bounce ideas and frustrations.
Creating The Supervisor’s Job Description – Recap!
1. Call Center supervisors are the backbone to operations and performance.
2. Therefore, writing the supervisor’s job description will be essential to your company.
3. In some ways, a supervisor is like the meat patty in a Big Mac.
4. All the other parts of a call center rely on the supervisor for success.
5. Good supervisors shouldn’t be afraid to roll up their sleeves and work.
6. The supervisor may need to discipline, terminate, or promote.
7. Supervisors are the link between corporate policy and agent implementation.
8. The supervisor should translate corporate culture, motivate, inspire and inform.
9. Sometimes supervisors need to put out fires.
10. The supervisor should be a sounding board for the agents’ ideas and frustrations.
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We have a phenomenal track record of creating very successful infrastructure programs and generating powerful results for inside sales and customer care departments, so our clients and their organizations achieve long-term results. For more information, please contact Dan Coen at www.CallCenterToday.com; 888-835-5326 or email MyCallCenter@CallCenterToday.com. |
