The 5 types of reps EVERY call center should have

The 5 types of reps you need on your phones and working your floor. (And how to get the best from them!)

Who are they? They are....

•  Diamonds
•  Pearls
• Jades 
•  Marcasites
•  Golds

 Diamonds

Who are your Diamonds?

Diamonds are your superstars—they’re expensive, dazzling, sparkling, upbeat, high energy, and can be a little flashy at times. They love to show off, be loud, and get the party started. 

How do you use your Diamonds?

 Diamonds need to be appreciated with thank-you’s, bonus structures, public praise “Wow, everyone, Jeremy just got 1500$ before noon- let’s all give Jeremy a hand!”, and good news when coaching. Diamonds can be a bit moody, fragile, and temperamental, so if you have to give them coaching, use the “poo sandwich” method—praise the good, give the coaching points, end with more praise.

Diamond famous quotes:

"Hey, did you see that last sale I just got? I wam- bam- thank- you- ma'am-ed that customer! Woooo hooo!!" 

 Pearls

Who are your Pearls?

Pearls are your quietly glowing mother/ father figures. They have a gentle aura about them (and this applies to plenty of men too!) that seems to just melt customers that can’t even see them! They float serenely around the stations, dropping off kisses, hugs, and “how are you?’s” to all your staff. Everyone loves them.

How do you use your Pearls?

Pearls are great early warning systems for unhappiness and attrition on your staff. Because other types may enjoy or even thrive on chaos and gossip, you may not really see a problem if you ask them—you may not notice until half your staff has left over the romantic fallout between your Manager on Duty and your Team Manager. Pearls may drive you crazy with their slow pace and need to greet everyone and have (several) coffee and chat breaks a day, but they keep the human side running, and that’s important. “MVP” or “World’s Best Employee” plaques or mugs might be welcome, personal time with you (the boss) such as a coffee or a “reward dinner” might also work. Personal, thoughtful gifts are best.

Pearl famous quotes: 

"Hi, Shelia? How was your husband's knee surgery? And how's the new house working out, Fred?"

Jades

Who are your Jades?

Jades are cool, calm, collected, brainy types. They don’t get emotional, they just fix the problem. Sometimes they can be “clueless” about “people stuff” but they are key for those Tier III tech support queues you’re running. 

How do you use your Jades?

Jades do well as technical trainers because they often naturally command respect due to their technical expertise. Jades also make up good Team Leads and Subject Matter Experts—they seldom let interpersonal “drama” affect their business decisions the way other types can. Jades like challenging work, respect, and to be recognized for their expertise.

Jade famous quotes:

"Guys, if you would have listened to me about the server last month, we wouldn't be in this situation now. But good news is, it can be fixed." 

Marcasites

Who are your Marcasites?

Marcasites are your oddball creative types. They biked to work, they have tattoos, they have a side gig in a band. They tend to do pretty well with customers since they think out of the box and are willing to come up with creative solutions. 

How do you use your Marcasites?

Marcasites shine in creative endeavours. Find their talent (acting? Let them M.C. your next seminar. Flair for media? Let them try out a company twitter feed) and nurture it. Ensure that they are focused (they can be a bit scattered) and that you work with them on a long term growth plan (they hate to feel stuck or trapped). Use them to shake up the team and give everyone fresh ideas and fresh perspectives.

Marcasite famous quotes:

"What if we created a robot IVR that sounded like a cat purring? Wouldn't that be so rad? Customers would love it!"

Golds

Who are your Golds?

Golds are your basic, everyday employees who show up, come to work, do a very solid job, and go home to their families. They don’t give you any issues, but neither do they swing from the rafters with 5000$ checks in their hands after sales. They’re the setting in which your other types shine.

How do you use your Golds?

Treat them well, keep your word, and set a reachable but high standard. Treat them the way you would have wanted to be treated in your work, or the way you were treated by your best boss and you’ll find yourself with a very solid staff.

Gold famous quotes:

"Hi Boss, how was your weekend? What's new?" 

To be successful, you need a mix of people. With the right blend of your "jewels" and the right treatment, you'll be on your way to a very effective team!

Zero Hour: Survival Kit for your first few days as a noob

Tip: Bring treats for your coworkers...never hurts!

Day 01: Marshaling your resources

Humans

Your people:

People who’ve been in the company and in your line of work are your first, and most likely easiest, resource. It just makes sense to make a list of your top questions (who is our department HR rep? Who is in charge of tech for my training rooms? Who makes the schedule for the training rooms? Etc) and politely request a meeting with one or two of your friendliest colleagues to get answers. 

If your coworkers are also new (I was hired in a batch of 4 people, all of whom were just as new as I was-- it can happen!), you can reach out to “sibling” departments—for example, if you work in Training, perhaps you have a Point of Contact (POC) in Operations, Quality, or Launch. If you are deployed to the Quality team, perhaps there’s a Communications team under the same umbrella group. 

One of the smartest things I did when coming on board as a Communications Expert was getting to know the Training Team personally, taking the time to develop relationships with them, and keeping in touch. Your “sibling” departments, coworkers, and immediate supervisors can all be valuable resources and touchstones. 

Admin, HR, Facilities, Travel, and Security:

Depending on your office, you may have one college student who manages the schedule, or you may have entire interlinked departments for different functions. Of course I don’t need to tell you to be as nice as pie to these people, right? Thought so! But I do need to remind you that you should not be too nervous or scared to take a moment to shake hands, take note of names, and perhaps even ask for a business card, just in case you need it down the line. 

Robots

Your timekeeping, HR, help-desk ticketing system, company homepage and like resources are key in keeping your working life running smoothly. Usually you’ll have a very quick run- through with a busy staffer whose job it is to get you in and out as fast as possible.

Take notes and ask as many questions as you can think of—why are we inputting minutes in military time? Why am I assigned that code? What is our department code? What happens if…..

It also helps to get the name, phone extension, and email of the person who walked you through the applications, so when (not if!) you find yourself with problems and questions, you can get in touch with the right help fast. 

Machines

Copy machine, phone, printer….it pays to know the name (each computer and printer has it's own "name" and you better believe that's the first thing the help line will ask you when you call. "What's the name of the computer you're calling about?" You don't want be stuck guessing "uh, Fred?"), locations, quirks, and POC’s for these items. Don’t wait until it’s broken and the client is about to get off the elevator on your floor for that big presentation to try to locate the POC/ tech guru—you’ll save yourself a lot of headache and heartache if you take a few moments and get the inside dish on the machines you use every day. 

Tools

General:

Originally for college students, but you can make use of these tools for training, coaching, and analysis:

http://www.associatesdegree.com/2009/07/27/50-useful-mind-mapping-tools-for-college-students/

Microsoft Office:

Without going into a lot of detail (we’ll save that for later posts), it pays off tremendously to take a few moments and learn how to use your Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel, and Word to the maximum effect.

Here’s a few links to help you manage your Office Applications best:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/support/

http://www.bitbetter.com/powertips.htm

http://excel.tips.net/

http://www.exceltip.com/

http://word.tips.net/

Communications Software (such as Skype, Net Meeting, Meet-me, etc):

Day 1 at my current job saw me trying to melt into the background while my manager and her right hand man scrambled to make Web Ex screen- sharing- function work, screaming at each other, banging desks and phones, and generally going nuts. Not pretty.

Not only that, but they also had to desperately try to wrench a user name and password for a conference call bridge out of a reluctant, overburdened office mate who was otherwise engaged in trying to rescue his crashed hard drive. For his Apple i Mac, where he had hundreds of hours of video content saved. It was total chaos.

It would have helped to be familiar with the basics of the software in question.

Internet Browser/ Firewall :

I often conduct research on the web for my job, and it helps tremendously to know which browser you’re using (why isn’t this awesome typing practice application coming up? Is it my browser, my firewall, the page itself?) so that you can learn to avoid pages you know won’t load, will be blocked, or will only half- work. 

Having a plan is key, but knowing your own resources and how to use them is even more critical to success. Now go get 'em, tiger!