Here is a model for coaching call centre agents' phone calls that has been tried and tested in the real world. It works very well to improve quality and is incredibly easy to do.
I think the call record method is one of the best ways to coach agents on phone calls and make sure quality is high. Here is a 9-step plan for coaching call centre agents on how to handle phone calls well:
- Record 2 or 3 phone calls at random. Recording things at random is important. Don't record 3 calls in a row or on the same day. Your employee might be having a bad day, which might show up in all of the calls they make in the afternoon, but it might not be a good indicator of how they usually do.
2. Go over the calls and write down what went well and what could be better. Before you meet with the employee, listen to the calls and write down what they did well and 1 or 2 ways they could improve.
Play one tape and let your worker listen to it. You don't have to say anything while the tape is being played.
4. Ask your worker what he or she thinks about the tape. After playing the tape, ask your employee what they think. Most employees will be too hard on themselves. Your employee will probably find a lot of ways to improve and find it hard to say what they've done well.
5. Help the caller. Follow the "sandwich" method. Tell your employee what they did well, then what they could have done better, and end with something positive. When giving constructive feedback, only point out one thing that could be done better. The worker has probably seen and mentioned a number of ways to improve, so there's no need to bring them up again. As your constructive feedback, try to bring up something the employee didn't bring up.
6. Get people to agree to improve performance. Ask the worker, "What specific steps will you take in the next five days to get better at this?" Write down what the worker says and tell her what she said. Remind her of her strengths and give her a vote of confidence that she can improve in the area you've pointed out.
If you need to, repeat steps 2–6 with a second or third tape. The point of having multiple recordings is so that an employee can say that it was just a "bad" call to defend themselves. If they say that, you might want to watch a second or third tape.
8. Do follow-up work before the next coaching session with the agent. Check-in with your worker between coaching sessions to make sure he or she is still committed. You can check in with your worker by email or by talking to them in person.
9. Talk about how to get better at the next coaching session. Before listening to calls in the next coaching session, ask your employee how she's doing with the goal from the last session. Try to get better at the things we talked about in this session.
This 9-step call centre agent coaching model is easy to understand, gives employees praise, and helps them find ways to improve.
If you follow this 9-step process, you will set clear performance expectations, coach your employees in an effective and consistent way, and motivate them at the same time.
