AGENT COACHING AND SUPPORT

Most organizations would say that their company has a “coaching culture” and that the number one priority of its team leaders is to coach. However, studies show that this reality is very low in many centers. Unsurprisingly, those centers with an authentic coaching culture have the lowest attrition, the most motivated staff, and the best at satisfy¬ing the demands of their customers. Staff job descriptions almost always include the fact that they do coaching. However, upon further probing, we consistently discover that the quality and quantity of coaching are inadequate for producing the results that would be expected from an effective coaching program.

So why is it that coaching isn’t being done and done effectively?

• Team leaders don’t know what to do beyond pointing out what the agent did wrong.
• Team leaders are apprehensive about coaching since it often involves pointing out what the agent did wrong and then dealing with the agent’s defensiveness.
• Supervisors believe that agents don’t like to be coached, and this belief is reinforced by ineffectively handling the coaching process.
• Team Leaders have so many other things to do that coaching is crowded off their itinerary.
• QA staff does the coaching, so team leads, and supervisors skip it.

Ask leading questions to create agent ownership of their performance – so they can self-coach on every call, not just the ones the coach listens to. Ask questions that “lead” the agent to the answer. Reverse engineer the situation and ask thought-provoking questions that get the critical thinking gears in the agent going. Supervisors, too often, are “answer boxes” and, therefore, create dependency; agents can’t think for themselves and rely on the supervisor for every answer. Coaches develop the agent to believe and be self-reliant.

Self-reliant agents are prepared to guide themselves by asking the right clarifying questions to improve their performance. You will hear the agent repeating questions they have learned through past coaching moments and applying the thought process. Now, the coach is developing the agent, the person, and the company.

Coaches meet the agent where they are and guide the conversation through questions, not directives. They both agree on the priorities and action plan, and the coach can provide structure for accountability. A good coach will support the agent through a shared commitment to their goals and action plan. Good coaches find opportunities to coach for situations like improving performance, solving a problem, dealing with conflict, or realizing the agent’s potential, all good coachable moments.

Managers who understand their role as coaches will significantly impact their team, their results, and the organization. Supervisors who operate more like coaches and effectively coach team members boost their results by as much as 20% compared to supervisors who choose to “manage” instead of coach.

What is the difference between managing and coaching? Coaches “ask” rather than “tell.” Coaches have learned the art of 'asking questions' and 'leading questions' that help the agent think through the issue and, often, arrive at their solution. When agents go through the thought process to resolve, they feel empowered and confident and own it. Telling makes managers sound bossy, confrontational, and unapproachable.

Managers who coach focus on the agent versus the task. Coaches use the issue as the vehicle to develop the agent. For example, an agent might continually get stuck and stop working because an obstacle presents itself. The supervisor consistently asks, "What options do you have to get around this?” “What options are realistic?” and “Do your options need resources or a manager’s support?” By working with this agent and developing their thinking process, they can soon begin to resolve issues independently and stop going to their supervisor.

Coaching is about developing people, not “fixing” them. The coach facilitates learning and development by creating a safe place for the agent to explore and discover.

Coaches, like managers, hold agents accountable by providing structure around the actions and outcomes. This helps keep the agents on track. They can see the completed process and will implement it themselves next time.

Coaching happens when needed. An agent asks the supervisor a question while the caller is on the line. On-the-job experiences reinforce classroom training by helping the agent apply classroom knowledge to an actual situation. This is how learning “sinks in” for long-term retention.