How a new manager can redefine a call centre

A new manager can give a call centre a new identity.  A new mood and an entirely different personality.

What is the ideal management style to bring about effective change?  Can a new manager really redefine productivity and deliver success across the centre?

The new school of thought in centre management is to move away from an obsessive product focus.  Lift your gaze away from agent KPI’s and go to the heart of the call centre’s mission.

Why does the call centre exist?  Customer satisfaction is fundamental to your purpose.  But what if your centre is doing a really cost-effective and timely job of frustrating the customer?

Too often management becomes bogged down in the statistics.  If the MD is a slave to the Average Handling Time (AHT) then he or she is missing the big picture.

KPIs serve a purpose, of course.  However, achieving a 300 second AHT but not solving the customer’s problem is not productive.

Other KPIs such as answer time and after call clerical work are still pertinent indicators of efficiency.  But if management is blinkered to the ultimate call outcome, then the centre is in trouble.

A manager who focuses heavily on the statistics of a call also tends to be oblivious to the needs of staff.  Call centre staff are at the front line of customer interaction.  If the customer is not happy it’s the agent who cops the abuse.

Stress and low morale are common amongst customer service agents.  A new manager can redefine an agent’s sense of worth and value to the organisation.  A manager who consults and encourages feedback from staff will find that good ideas on how to enhance the customer experience come flowing through.

Happier staff means higher morale, improved productivity and lower attrition.  This sort of positive environment immediately has an impact on the centre’s bottom line.  But it also has an impact on the centre’s call outcome profile.

A new manager can re-energise staff and lift them out of the quagmire of disenchantment.  Staff who feel committed to an organisation and its leader will find new ways to perform.

They will strive to do better and will find themselves meeting the new benchmark of call centre success: call outcome.

Other performance measures still remain.  But the key focus for everyone on board is satisfying the customer.  The ‘whole of call’ experience requires a new mindset. 

In many situations, it might require a new manager to identify the training holes, turn morale around and redefine service delivery. 

It is very difficult for the boss to suddenly find a new respect for training after previously viewing it as a low priority.  A manager who views agents as a cog in the wheel will have difficulty reigniting their enthusiasm.

And a manager who has been blinkered to the ultimate needs of the customer will struggle with a holistic call outcome mentality.

Does it sound like time to bring in a fresh new manager with a commitment to redefining success?  Call outcome and customer satisfaction are the new call centre benchmarks.  If your centre’s not measuring up it might be time for a new manager