What Contact Center Leaders Need
You can hire great people, have great processes, and even invest in a great technology stack, but if you don’t have great contact center leaders then it is all for nothing.
Great leaders can inspire and motivate agents to perform better and improve overall employee retention. All of the other things are just perks to help execute the everyday tactical side of the job.
As we’ve helped contact centers with those day-to-day operations, we’ve really seen how great leaders can make that difference for agents.
Let’s take a look at seven great skills that all contact center leaders need to be the difference maker.
1. Frontline Experience
You can be the best leader and give big impressive speeches, but if you don’t have the experience there will always be a gap. This gap we’re talking about is between you and your team. If you’re already in this position, then it’s time to get on the phone. See what it takes to do your agent’s job for a day.
Even better, everyone should do this. We all tend to forget what our team has to go through at times if we are never there with them.
Set aside one day per quarter. On this day, team up with your team to hit your goals and see what’s working and what’s not being in their shoes.
2. Versatility
Change is the only constant in the contact center environment. Things never remain the same.
Unexpected product issues can drastically increase inbound contact volume, or customer demands and expectations can change at a moment’s notice. This can all instantly render existing best practices and metrics obsolete. New systems and contact channels will constantly emerge, requiring contact center leaders to develop and take on new skill sets.
With change so inevitable, versatility represents a crucial quality for future contact center leaders. You must thrive and be comfortable with change.
3. Eye for Talent
Talent can be a multiple of things – Great leaders, a top notch agent, or just a quick learner.
Understanding your team as contact center leaders is very important. Seeing who on your team needs to be challenged or who can be groomed for management will let your team know that there are opportunities to advance their career.
Now not everyone will want that. And that’s perfectly fine. You still need to show each of them the attention they need to keep performing their job.
4. Confidence
As we’ve already mentioned, contact centers are adapting constantly. If contact center leaders don’t have confidence in themselves and their team, the roller coaster will seem never-ending.
Make decisions quickly and believe in your decisions. Sometimes they don’t work, then you learn and move on to the next. If you display confidence, your team will follow and the trust will build.
If you’re a contact center leader and you lack confidence, don’t worry – this is something you can work on. Address your self-doubt and see where that is coming from plus learn how to eliminate those triggers that are causing you to feel that way. Most importantly, recognize your talents and what you’re capable of doing as a leader.
5. Trust
One of the most vital skills to be a great leader – Trust. Showing your team that you always have their back no matter what, will go further than any pizza party or snacks in the breakroom. If something goes wrong, the leader always takes the blame. When things are going right, you always give your team the credit.
This type of culture is contagious. You will start to see your team doing the same for each other. However, this will also shine light on any toxic employees that you may have on your team. As they will take no blame, but all of the glory.
6. Passion for Technology (aka Contact Center Call Coaching Software)
As tech lovers, we are all on board for this. BUT as we’ve mentioned, you have to have a great leader first if you want the technology to actually make a difference.
Your tech stack should be filled with a dialer and/or software that allows you to see contact quickly and easily. Adding notes and information from calls should be just as easy.
Even better would be having software that assists agents while they’re on the phone. We don’t mean leaders sitting on every call and whispering. We mean an AI tool that keeps the agents on track if they need it. We’re talking about contact center call coaching software.
Having a call coaching software that can do everything great contact center leaders can, but empowering reps to help them make their own decisions is everything you could want.
7. Customer First Mentality
It goes without saying that contact center leaders must understand the importance of being customer centric. If you do not grasp the value of a customer-first approach, you will never be able to empower agents to deliver that unforgettable customer experience.
The best leaders can pair business decisions with customer first approach to make the best choices for technology and processes for their team.
Some of the key attributes are knowing how to work within a confined budget as well as knowing how to spot and change cost inefficiencies. Plus being able to navigate the ongoing customer issues to always put that customer first without your reps taking blame for anything.
Contact Center Leaders
Being a great leader or finding a great leader is tough. But taking the extra time to find that person or bettering yourself can mean the world to your team.
Investing in call coaching software can give your team the boost they need. Take a look at Abstrakt, we’ve been fully integrated into contact centers and agents can’t stop talking about how easy our software is to use.
You can book a demo to see how call coaching software can help your team today.