Top 5 - Myths and Facts about Being a Leader in a Call Center
Many new leaders are very excited about their new role as a call center leader, because for the first time, it allows them to flex those “leadership” muscles and gives them the opportunity to prove how great they are to their peers, co-workers, and managers. Below are the Top 5 Myths and Facts about being a leader within a call center.
Myth #5: “Now I’m a leader, I don’t have to take customer calls any more.”
Fact: Call Center leaders handle the most difficult of calls – those that have been escalated due to the customer being very upset. In addition to this, if the center sees a spike in calls, or if there are too many absences, the leaders have to jump on the phones to assist the agents in handling the volumes.
Myth #4: “Now I’m a leader, I don’t have to worry about my stats or attendance any more.”
Fact: Leaders are now measured by their team’s performance, so instead of just worrying about themselves, they have to worry about their entire team. It is also critical for leaders to know that their people are watching them all the time and will follow their lead. If leaders cut corners or aren’t following the rules, the team will lose respect for them and it will decrease their credibility during coaching and disciplinary sessions.
Myth #3: “My primary job is to take care of my agents.”
Fact: Half of a leader’s job is to manage, motivate, discipline, reward, and recognize their agents. But the other half is to take care of the business.
A leader wears a dual hat – leading their teams and managing a successful business unit. This may include creating ad-hoc reports, tracking performance, providing insight to clients about their customers and continuously looking for ways to improve performance.
Leaders aren’t successful unless they can do both successfully.
Myth #2: “I can set my own standards and expectations with my team, and make exceptions as I see fit.”
Fact: Call Center rules are set up to ensure the entire group is following client required protocol and so they can meet their Service Level Agreements, by changing these or allowing exceptions a leader may be promoting or reinforcing poor performance.
When making exceptions leaders need to be sure they aren’t “playing favorites” (that they would make the exception for anyone in that situation). Leaders need to be careful that they exceptions they are making don’t potentially causing HR and/or legal issues.
Myth #1: “I’ll now be working a normal M-F, 8-5:00, 40 hour week”
Fact: Leaders are expected to work until they get all their work done, even if this takes them well over their 8 hours in a day. Leaders also have to have very flexible schedules so they can work with their entire team – which may mean working across midnight hours or coming in on the weekends.
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