Agent Performance
Jordan Fleming, CEO of smrtPhone, joined us on the Contact Center KPI podcast for a phenomenal episode on agent performance and his steps to coaching & training.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of training and coaching too quickly. But Jordan says you need to think of coaching as time that is needed if you want to invest to win.
Key takeaways from Jordan Fleming
1. Three steps to agent coaching & training: I do you listen, you do I coach, you do I listen.
Conversations don’t happen off scripts. Role playing is helpful, but it’s not the same as listening and training off live calls.
Follow these three steps to ensure your agents are setup for success on the phones. Trust the process, your prospects and customers will thank you.
2. The above steps won’t work because you expect it to happen quickly. You need to implement the steps properly and realize you’re teaching a process – not a “trick”.
This is where most companies fail. They think this can all happen within a day or two. Sometimes each step can take a week. It just depends on the level of your agents and the complexity of the calls you’re having them handle.
Jordan’s advice is to slow down and be picky when it comes to training and coaching.
3. If you have the agent just “listen”, then you’re missing the point. You need to break down the call, listen to the recording multiple times, explain each step, and work on building the skill.
You can’t expect the agent to listen to a call and just “get it”. Breaking down the call is crucial if you want to build a repeatable process.
Being able to respond to curveballs will be an agent’s greatest strength.
Plus fundamentally training your agents can pay off exponentially if you put in the work upfront.
