Supervisors have very important roles to play in call centers. After all, they are the ones who have direct contact with the call center agents themselves.
It is but natural for any supervisor in the call center to evaluate his role and his performance at it from time to time. More importantly, this is needed so that the supervisor himself can determine how he can make his unit all the more productive in terms of performance. After all, it is the supervisor handling the call center agents firsthand. He is the one who has direct contact with the agents while they are taking calls on the floor. Thus, it would be better for the supervisor to do all that he can to inspire his unit to become more productive on the floor. Here are some tips that supervisors just might find handy.
The first tip is to double the pay. Of course, this is easier said than done. Salary increases, after all, would mean more expense on the part of the call center. However, if there are agents who do deserve salary increases, then it is the role of the supervisor to bring this to the attention of upper management. Turnover is significantly reduced this way, since your agents would become motivated and encouraged to perform better so that they can get the salary increases that they do deserve.
The second tip is to incorporate a more formal ambience on the floor. You just might notice how call centers do not really implement business wear for their agents on the floor. This is done so as not to put extra pressure on the agents who are already feeling very much pressured by the rigors of their jobs. However, studies show that the casual working atmosphere produces meager casual results as well. Thus, there just might be the need to implement a more formal atmosphere. Try implementing business-casual wear instead. This might give you more promising results from your unit.
The third tip is to incorporate scripts. Have your agents hold on to physical scripts and spiels. This is something that a lot of supervisors forego because they would rather have their agents memorize these scripts and spiels so that the flow of the call becomes more natural. You have to understand that these scripts and spiels make agents feel more in control of the call, which in turn would help them process their calls more efficiently. Thus, encourage your agents to have scripts on hand, if they do need them. Also, do not be limiting to the scripts at hand. There are more than a couple of ways to hit sales successfully here. Let your agents share the scripts and spiels that have translated into sales for them.
The fourth tip is to have your agents score themselves while you also score them. This process of participative evaluation actually encourages your reps to commit to self-improvement because they themselves are made to rank their performance in the calls they take. Who would want to score their own selves low, right? By letting them rank themselves, you would actually encourage them to perform better.
These are just some of the handy tips supervisors of call centers should keep in mind. By incorporating these tips, you just might better your performance as supervisor.
Tags: call center, hr, human resource, supervisor