5 Tips for Better Contact Center Agent Coaching

Written by KOVA Corp

Training vs. coaching: although both are methods of helping a call center agent improve his or her performance, these two learning models are actually quite different.

In training, a variety of methods can be used. You can offer webinars, videos, or virtual training sessions with other agents or managers. Training offers more general information for the agent—how to handle an angry caller, how to document steps taken after a call, or how to navigate the system the contact center uses. Simulated calls are also often a part of agent training.

Coaching, on the other hand, is conducted live and is much more personalized. With coaching, supervisors take the time to work one-on-one or in a small group with agents to provide constructive criticism as well as positive feedback on the agent’s performance. There are a lot of factors and considerations that go into effective contact center agent coaching. We’ve compiled a list of 5 tips for contact center managers to keep in mind when conducting a coaching session with an agent. (You can also get more tips on coaching in this previous post, Eight Great Coaching Tips for Contact Center Managers.)

  1. Begin on a positive note. Coaching can be an intimidating process for agents—it’s always difficult to hear that you’re not performing well in a certain area. To mitigate the intimidation factor, start your coaching session off by being friendly, open, and highlighting the things you’ve noticed the agent doing well. This will go a long way toward not only putting the agent at ease, but also making it more likely that the agent take in and address your feedback.
  2. Make sure you’re prepared. Since coaching is such a personalized process, you’ve got to make sure you’ve taken the time to observe, consider, and analyze the agent’s performance before beginning the session. Now is not the time to offer either generic praise or generic criticism. Doing so will make the agent feel that their performance doesn’t really matter to you—and if it doesn’t matter to you, chances are it will stop mattering to them too.
  3. Maintain confidentiality. If coaching by itself is intimidating for an agent, imagine how intimidating it can be when conducted in front of other people? If possible, conduct the coaching session in a private place, where any concerns can be voiced by both you and the agent without the possibility of being overheard. Even if you’re working with a small group, it’s best to do so away from their colleagues. It’s not only more professional—it’s more respectful.
  4. Provide concrete examples, and data when available. To really improve, your agents need specifics. Whether you’re using a call recording or numbers pulled from a report, make sure you can point to something concrete to illustrate whatever point you’re making. For example, instead of saying “You’re great at handling customer complaints,” you could offer a snippet of a call recording during which the agent handled a customer complaint well. Then you could point out exactly what the agent did that worked. “You maintained a sympathetic, positive tone of voice and provided two options for solutions to the problem.”
  5. The same is true for negative feedback. Instead of saying, “You’re not reaching your customer satisfaction goal,” you could say “Your customer satisfaction is at 68 percent, instead of your goal of 75 percent.”

  6. Offer role playing to help with soft skills. If your agent is having trouble handling a particular type of call, role playing is a highly effective way to help them. Through role play, agents can identify where they’re going wrong, and what specific skills they need to work on. It also gives you, the supervisor, another chance to hear your agent in action, which is always a good thing.

We hope these tips help make your employee coaching more effective. If KOVA can help your contact center with workforce management, customer feedback, or other workforce optimization software solutions, contact us today!

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