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Teaching Supervisors How to be Coaches
Many of the supervisors in contact centers today do not possess the appropriate skills, nor have they had sufficient training on coaching techniques. We spend a lot of time and effort training our agents, so why aren’t we training our supervisors? We make the mistake of promoting our star agents to supervisors and expect them to flawlessly perform but find that many star agents do not automatically make good supervisors, and most do not make good coaches.
So what is the difference between a supervisor and a coach? A supervisor controls, directs and takes charge. A coach teaches, tutors and motivates. Best practices tout that 80% of a supervisor’s time should be spent coaching agents. Many world-class contact centers have adopted this philosophy and have removed
So what is the difference between a supervisor and a coach? A supervisor controls, directs and takes charge. A coach teaches, tutors and motivates. Best practices tout that 80% of a supervisor’s time should be spent coaching agents. Many world-class contact centers have adopted this philosophy and have removed
much of the day-to-day administrative supervisor tasks to allow them to coach.
The Phone Pro states, “A coaching program needs to be integrated into the life cycle of the contact center. It should be a routine, normal function that is a welcomed activity by all involved. Then we are accountable, one to the other, for the integrity of the coaching process.” I propose that training supervisors to be successful coaches should be included in your coaching program. How do you teach someone to be a good coach? Let’s start by reviewing Dennis C. Kinlaw Ed. D’s book Coaching for Commitment.
Kinlaw defines coaching as a mutual conversation between manager and employee that follows a predictable process and leads to superior performance, commitment to sustained improvement and to positive relationships.
He identifies the four coaching functions as counseling, mentoring, tutoring and confronting employees to improve their performance. All of these functions are one-on-one conversations that focus on performance or performance-related topics. To be successful, Kinlaw says, coaching must meet the following criteria:
• It results in a positive change in performance and a new or renewed commitment to self-sufficiency, the organization’s goals and values, continual learning and a sustained, high level of performance.
• It results in achievement or maintenance of a positive work relationship.
• It is mutual, communicates respect and is problem-focused, change-oriented and disciplined.
• It follows an identifiable sequence or flow and requires the use of specific communication skills.
In addition to following Kinlaws four guiding principles above, here are a few specific guidelines you can utilize when delivering coaching. Be sure to add these to your coach training. First, teach coaches to identify their own communication style as well as the person that they are delivering the feedback.
For instance, a coach that is aggressive in style and is delivering to a passive agent must recognize this and modify his/her delivery to the agent to optimize effectiveness. Remember that small things can make all the difference when coaching. Be sure to sit on the same side of the table and not across from the person that you are communicating with. This will convey that you are working with them and not against them.
In addition, it is important to be honest, clear and specific about what you want to say, and make sure you both have the same understanding of the issue and it’s importance. Many coaches have a difficult time focusing on behavior rather than the person. An example would be an agent that talks all the time. The supervisor finds this particular agent to be annoying because she never shuts up.
Instead, teach the supervisor to emphasize the positive and refer to behavior that can be changed. In this case, less chit chat because it is distracting and disruptive to the workforce. Be sure to be descriptive rather than evaluative and own the feedback by using ‘I’ statements identifying actions that will address the issue effectively. Last but not least, ask for feedback and schedule follow-up meetings if necessary.
Resources:
The Phone Pro
“Monitoring, Measuring and Managing Customer Service” Book by Gary Goodman
“Coaching for Commitment” Book by Dennis C Kinlaw Ed.D
“Motivating Customer Service Employees” Book by Leslie Hansen Harps, www.onlinewbc.com
The Phone Pro states, “A coaching program needs to be integrated into the life cycle of the contact center. It should be a routine, normal function that is a welcomed activity by all involved. Then we are accountable, one to the other, for the integrity of the coaching process.” I propose that training supervisors to be successful coaches should be included in your coaching program. How do you teach someone to be a good coach? Let’s start by reviewing Dennis C. Kinlaw Ed. D’s book Coaching for Commitment.
Kinlaw defines coaching as a mutual conversation between manager and employee that follows a predictable process and leads to superior performance, commitment to sustained improvement and to positive relationships.
He identifies the four coaching functions as counseling, mentoring, tutoring and confronting employees to improve their performance. All of these functions are one-on-one conversations that focus on performance or performance-related topics. To be successful, Kinlaw says, coaching must meet the following criteria:
• It results in a positive change in performance and a new or renewed commitment to self-sufficiency, the organization’s goals and values, continual learning and a sustained, high level of performance.
• It results in achievement or maintenance of a positive work relationship.
• It is mutual, communicates respect and is problem-focused, change-oriented and disciplined.
• It follows an identifiable sequence or flow and requires the use of specific communication skills.
In addition to following Kinlaws four guiding principles above, here are a few specific guidelines you can utilize when delivering coaching. Be sure to add these to your coach training. First, teach coaches to identify their own communication style as well as the person that they are delivering the feedback.
For instance, a coach that is aggressive in style and is delivering to a passive agent must recognize this and modify his/her delivery to the agent to optimize effectiveness. Remember that small things can make all the difference when coaching. Be sure to sit on the same side of the table and not across from the person that you are communicating with. This will convey that you are working with them and not against them.
In addition, it is important to be honest, clear and specific about what you want to say, and make sure you both have the same understanding of the issue and it’s importance. Many coaches have a difficult time focusing on behavior rather than the person. An example would be an agent that talks all the time. The supervisor finds this particular agent to be annoying because she never shuts up.
Instead, teach the supervisor to emphasize the positive and refer to behavior that can be changed. In this case, less chit chat because it is distracting and disruptive to the workforce. Be sure to be descriptive rather than evaluative and own the feedback by using ‘I’ statements identifying actions that will address the issue effectively. Last but not least, ask for feedback and schedule follow-up meetings if necessary.
Resources:
The Phone Pro
“Monitoring, Measuring and Managing Customer Service” Book by Gary Goodman
“Coaching for Commitment” Book by Dennis C Kinlaw Ed.D
“Motivating Customer Service Employees” Book by Leslie Hansen Harps, www.onlinewbc.com
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