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In the majority of contact centers, coaching means taking the time to develop a team member's skills by teaching, communicating, and measuring their success. To become an effective coach, you have to approach a coaching program with discipline and the appreciation for the value coaching brings to your team and your organization. On a logistical level, you must be able to make preparations, set aside time for scheduled coaching sessions, and track individual performance improvements.
Make a Time Commitment
You must first make a commitment to dedicate an adequate amount of time to coaching. It is recommended that you spend more than one hour per week for every team member you are coaching. Get your team of peers involved to discuss what administrative and procedural changes can be made in order to make more time for coaching.
Refine Your Skills
Even if you have coached successfully in the past, chances are you will need to refresh your coaching knowledge from time to time. This means you will need to participate in some type of formal training to ensure you are coaching to your full potential. Once you begin coaching your team, remember that success starts with a positive attitude. Even when you are not directly interacting with your team, your daily actions and behaviors will impact your overall effectiveness as a coach. Define for yourself what makes a great coach, and make this the foundation for your interactions.
Know Your Team
No matter what type of contact center environment you're leading, you will be responsible for understanding and improving your team. You will need to develop an understanding of the needs, strengths, and weaknesses of each team member and recognize that their individual behaviors can have an impact on the rest of the team. You will be successful if you can identify which behaviors work and which don't to improve your team, one person at a time.
Develop a Process
To develop a successful coaching process, you will need to focus on three key areas:
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Preparation - Develop forms, standardize metrics, review performance history, and develop action plans prior to the coaching session.
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Discussion Development - Outline what you need to cover in every session, regardless of the team member's performance.
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Goal Development - Determine what measurable goals you and your team member want to achieve before the next session.
Engage in the 30-Minute Coaching Session
The 30-minute call discussion is the foundation for a formal coaching program. In a typical coaching session, you and your team member will each evaluate a specified number of calls, identifying both positive performance areas and opportunities for improvement.
It is important that the team member initiate the coaching session by performing self-discovery. Together, discuss suggestions for improving call quality and determine what goals the team member should meet before the next session.
As the sessions evolve into more natural conversations, coaching will become more about finding new ways to improve individual performance and less about sticking to the formal process.
