AGENT PERFORMANCE REVIEWS

Why is it that both managers and agents dislike performance reviews? Both agents and managers don’t look forward to the performance appraisal process; it feels like a rite of passage for the agent and triggers dread on the manager’s part. The top reason employees dislike performance reviews is the overall rating the employee receives. The rating is not always objective. There are no objective criteria, so the rating is inconsistent from one agent to another. There is no objective hard evidence to substantiate the rating. Managers save up examples of poor performance and surprise the agent with a low rating. Agents walk away feeling betrayed, and this sabotages the appraisal process.

This “rating bias” can be unfair when managers include nonperformance factors in the appraisal. The outcome results in reduced job satisfaction and high turnover, a significant source of EEO complaints. Your managers need the facts. They need historical data that tells the performance story over the past year. They need complex data to substantiate the rating. Employees who feel that the evaluation is fair believe in the appraisal process.

Every employee wants to know where they stand, and going a whole year without knowing creates anxiety. Employees like to receive feedback and desire to understand their performance regularly. They want to know precisely how they can perform better, and they want it consistently and frequently.

Managers don’t always have the time to provide daily, weekly, or monthly feedback. What if agents could receive daily metric reports showing individual performance? With a comprehensive contact center platform, the capability to provide agents with real-time and historical data can give the feedback agents desire.

Coaching is an opportunity to help agents fine-tune their performance. Managers objectively assess elements of a customer contact and calibrate for consistency. Calibrate is the keyword. Customers want consistency when they call; calibration is about getting agents on the same message, process, and attitude.

This confidential conversation with agents is usually scheduled weekly or monthly. Coaching conversations can also be spontaneous. When an occurrence needs to be addressed immediately, you may not want to wait until a planned coaching meeting. In this meeting, you will want to provide the data for your coaching so it doesn’t become a “you don’t like me” conversation but a “here is your data and the data of your peers, and this is what we expect” conversation. Then, you can discuss how to get them to the company's expectations together. Listen to the agents' calls, and have them listen to top-performing agents as examples of what you expect.

When agents have the ability to access real-time metrics, they usually know where they have fallen short. They are driven to achieve, and when they see the numbers, they use the data to adjust their performance. It is also a good idea to give access to recorded calls, as agents know they messed up many times but want to go back and hear the call for themselves for future improvement. Often, agents are more demanding of themselves, which saves the manager from having to assess and correct.

Using the data to coach for performance makes the coaching meeting more productive and objective. The feedback is based on data, and when you share the data with agents, they, too, become metric-focused.

An important step in optimizing your Agent Performance Review is having the proper “Manager’s Toolbox”. You must include the right tools, managing a contact center is a different set of tools than managing a production line. Does your contact center software provide the real-time and historical data you need to intelligently prepare a performance review? Many contact center managers are frustrated with the lack of data due to old antiquated phone systems or find that the data is limited because the contact center phone system is really an office phone system. The metrics that you should have coming from the contact center platform is key to writing a meaningful performance review. It is based on facts versus subjective narratives that no one can substantiate.

Here are some tools you should have in your toolbox.

• Contact Center software with integrated reporting. Every activity in the contact center is documented, stored, and retrievable. Integrated with Workforce Management, payroll applications, and CRMs for comprehensive data mining. This gives managers the data they need when they need it.
• Real-Time Metrics Dashboard for Agents and Supervisors: Agents want to see their performance in real-time, just as managers want to see the number of callers in the queue, wait times, average abandonments, etc.
• The Manager’s Dashboard should include data that allows them to make split-second decisions that impact business in real-time. These decisions can be company—or industry-specific. Some examples are service levels, the number of calls in the queue for all teams, and the longest wait times.
• A best-in-class contact center platform allows managers to monitor calls, listen to live calls and listen silently, turn the call into a three-way call, or just listen and coach the agent through the “CHAT” feature. Managers can also retrieve recorded calls for coaching and training.
• Managers need historical data as well as real-time data. They want to examine the data over time, week over week, month over month, and year over year. Hosted contact center software that tracks every activity can store data and make it easily accessible when managers need it.
• Integrating Workforce Management software gives managers extra data like schedule adherence, absenteeism, and agent attrition.
• An evaluation process that uses a fact-based balanced scorecard measures agent performance against established key performance indicators.

Having the tools to capture and display the data in real-time and historical reports provides you, the manager, with the intelligence you need to prepare meaningful and objective performance reviews.

Effectively setting agent expectations is critical to leading, managing, and developing a culture of accountability. Clear expectations establish a baseline for performance measurement. A practical evaluation process that uses a fact-based balanced scorecard measures agent performance against pre-determined key performance indicators. Expectations are the key performance indicators your company determines that drive the business.

Set performance expectations clearly so they can be heard. It takes repeating the expectation “message” several times before expectations become internalized. Good managers will have daily 10-minute “stand-up” meetings with their teams to review expectations, including putting expectations in writing to appeal to every learning style. Many times, agents hear the expectations once and never again. This daily dose of hearing the message over and over is what it takes to get the message into their DNA.

Once you have a system for communicating expectations, define the direction and set clear boundaries. The structure starts with defining direction. The company will most likely have defined the direction for you; it is your job to communicate what needs to be accomplished and, therefore, put the team on the same page. Setting clear boundaries defines what behavior is and is not appropriate. This comes in the form of policies and procedures. Agents like guidelines; they answer the question, “What do I do?”

Now that direction and boundaries have been established, you want to clarify roles. Many agents have this “you against us” mentality. In the discussion of defining roles, include how YOU are part of the team; YOU have a different role on this team. When agents see you as a team member and understand your role in helping the team reach their stated expectations, they will leverage your role accordingly. Don’t be surprised if you get more cooperation when you do!

Once the team is aligned with expectations and what needs to be accomplished and everyone’s roles are crystal clear, you want to motivate them with achievable goals! Goals set too high will discourage team members. The key is to break down the goal into small bites. That monthly goal can overwhelm agents, but when you break it down into daily, easily attainable goals, the big goal takes care of itself.

Finally, give and receive feedback. Two-way communication provides more ways to improve and meet expectations. Nobody is perfect, even the manager. Team members, such as agents, give feedback to the manager and other team members, which drives the team to perform.

Remember, everyone wants to know where they stand and how they can improve. A constant feedback loop allows the team to achieve its goals more efficiently while having fun and camaraderie. People want to win with others.

Industry Content Supporter:
Stephen Paskel
VP, Senior Technology & Global Operations Manager
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-paskel

Contact center agent salary increases should be based on agent performance and achievement. KPIs typically include productivity scores, quality scores, customer satisfaction survey scores, and, if applicable, sales metrics. Frequently, the reliability factor (objective attendance) and work habits like cooperation, attitude, and interpersonal skills, which are not objective, are included.

Did the agent work on any special projects, such as participating in contact center initiatives, conducting coaching or training sessions, or assisting as a subject matter expert? While these are subjective, they can also be included in the review.

Avoid rewarding agents solely on experience or longevity. If the reward is based on tenure rather than performance, it will be challenging to attract new talent. This approach also encourages mediocrity, as there is no incentive for outstanding performance.

Although key performance indicators vary from industry to industry, the bottom line is to use indicators that are tracked, measured and reported for a quality performance appraisal.