One year old!

Greatest hits!

In honor of my one-year anniversary, I’d like to share some of my favorite posts with you:

• Why you should hire "hackers" to improve your NPS
• Taking your email advisories from zero to hero
• My most popular entry ever! 5 types of reps you need on your team
• What is "service heart" and why do you need it?
• Discover BranchTrack!

Beyond the phone: helping your front line employees grow

Working in a call center is one of the few jobs that employees with little or no formal secondary education can do, and expect to “rise in the ranks” to an “office job”.

There’s a few career paths your employees could take:

Operations:

The most likely path. From agent to team lead to supervisor, and up the ranks. I’ve seen agents go from answering phones to managing accounts in about 5 years or so. Not bad for those who started with very minimal English language skills and no college degree.

Training:

Another very easy path. Agent to SME to trainer to lead trainer, and up the ranks. For those that would like to expand their skill set, or maybe even travel, this is the way to go. This path could lead all the way up to office jobs such as Instructional Designer or Project Manager.

Specialist:

This is a shorter path, but is a good match for those that might want to leverage years in a certain specialized field into consultation one day.

There are some other paths, but those are the options that I’m most familiar with.

Now, how do you help your employees get there?

Talk to them about their goals

                Where do they see themselves in a year? Do they have any work heroes or people they look up to?

Encourage them to get certified, take classes, and continue their education in and out of work

                Many offices offer professional development classes of some kind or another—these can be valuable when applying for internal jobs.

Coach to their strengths

                Rather than hammering away on a skill set they may leave behind in a year or two, focus on how they can develop long term skills like problem solving, leadership, and innovation.

Develop a good relationship with Human Capital or HR/Recruitment

                Your word will count for something when you want to recommend an employee.

Make your employees aware of these paths

                It’s hard to keep people in your team when they feel the job is a dead end. Make sure they’re aware they have options.

Use these tips and resources to make sure your employees stay with you and stay engaged! 

Blitzed! 5 top tips for offshore employees dealing with US Holiday season.

It's coming....something twinkly this way walks!

They're running on the fumes of a candy cane frappachino.  They're trying to talk over the shrieks of visiting nieces and nephews,  and juggling tape, scissors, catalogs, and ornaments with one hand while writing their Christmas letter with the other: this customer is fragile. Handle with care!

Here's a few tips to help them handle the madness.

1: Tailor your materials to the "high middle" level of rep awareness.

My previous company put out company- wide communiques about Christmas, New Years, and Thanksgiving (yes, they missed a few holidays, but hey, they tried!). They included background, traditions, and greetings, as well as fun trivia.

They were geared towards the "intermediate" level, which I think was the right choice. Most agents are familiar with the basic idea of US Holidays-- they may have seen music videos, movies, or read magazines and books with these holidays featured. Some countries either celebrate the same holiday or have a version of it, so this raises awareness as well. Don't bore your audience with basic stuff-- at the risk of having them ignore it!

2: Give your reps an idea of what the customer (probably) loves about the holiday.

For Thanksgiving, it's all about the food and the football game. For Christmas, it's all about the big family gathering, the "loot" and the lights. New Year's is all about a resolution that everyone knows you'll break. If you give your reps a few quick talking points and sound bites, they'll make a much stronger connection to your holiday-season callers than with a tepid "Happy Holidays".

3: Go beyond the warnings about stress to the reason that the stress is happening.

Explain the pressures of travel, the expectations that those [expletive deleted] commercials set, the stress of seeing family members that were otherwise avoided all year, and so on. Try to bridge these to common experiences in your reps' lives, if you can.

4: Anticipate and adjust your top call drivers, and create training around these.

Quality and Operations may have done this already, but it's up to you to make sure your reps are prepped for the onslaught of returns, lost packages, and frantic orders that they'll face, especially if they're seasonal ramp employees.

5: Create a  training package for each holiday, with top call drivers, information about the holiday, sound bites, etc.

If you're off duty, traveling, handling the 50- people- just- quit -crisis, or just otherwise engaged, it's a smart move to have a place where you employees can go to get the information they need about the holiday. SharePoint, Chatter, Yammer, or other Enterprise Social Media/LMS is a great place to store this stuff.

And don't forget the reason for the season... Sharing photos, foods, or stories with your reps can help them "get it" much quicker and bettter than any Power Point presentation, no matter how awesome the graphic are.

Now get out there and start spreading some holiday cheer!

Unfixable: the most challenging obstacle I ever encountered in my call center days

If you’ve ever called an offshore call center that sounds like a busy street market, ringing with the sounds of a foreign language, you can bet your Tuesday lunch there is a tight lipped ex-pat in the background, making throat-slashing gestures at the offenders in vain.

3 and a half years ago, I landed in the Philippines in a semi-provincial area to work in a call center creating training materials, coaching, and training front line reps on communications, soft skills, and language. The job was extremely challenging, the support pretty nonexistent, and the hours were hell. My desk was in the middle of the production floor, an area we semi-affectionately called “the Dungeon”. All of these challenges paled in comparison to the looming obelisk that blotted out the sun: EOP.

EOP was the acronym for “English Only Policy”. It makes sense to ask and require reps to speak only English at work and on the production floor. What was next to impossible was getting them to do it.

I tried email reminders. I tried bribes. I tried “catching people doing the right thing.” We created slogans and had a contest. We printed tee shirts. I created a campaign of emails with illustrations (beloved, yet completely lacking in impact) called “EOP Stars” which featured people of Filipino extraction or origin who made their careers on English—people like Bruno Mars, Apple d.App, and Josie Natori.

 The communications team as a whole tried meetings -one of which was held with the entire 200 person production team- where I held up ominous bar graphs showing a decline in our customer satisfaction score with an increase in our floor size (meaning our floor walkers couldn’t physically get to all of our agents and remind them to zip it). We tried threats, keeping score, and as a last resort, embarrassing the offenders in front of everyone.  We created reminders called “Background noise K.O.” that explained we would grade any call in which background noise was captured a “0” in Quality. We wrote people up and reported offenders to the powers that be.

Nothing could budge people from their desire to speak in what we (wrongly) called “vernacular” no. matter.what.

I spent a HUGE amount of time trying to understand this. English is the accepted language of worldwide business, most likely closely followed by French, Chinese languages, Hindi, and Arabic. Filipino (and the local dialects) doesn’t even make the top ten! For ambitious young professionals, accent- free or “neutral” English was a marker of success and class. So why were our reps so resistant to speaking in English?

After more than 3 years living with and working with Filipinos, I have only guesses.

 My first guess would be the intense, almost maniacal national pride that Filipinos have for their people and heritage. With few natural resources, a history of occupation and struggles, and widespread poverty, national pride in the people themselves as a kind of living museum is a must. Tee shirts with the slogan “The Filipino is worth dying for”/ “100% Filipino” and other such lines that celebrate the people of the islands (rather than, say amber waves of grain, or purple mountains majesty) were very popular. Language is a part of culture and heritage, which I (humbly) submit was ignored or bulldozed for many years (first by the Spanish, then by the Americans, now by the business world at large).

My second guess is that it’s a combination of a) never really finding the right motivator and b) the transient nature of front line call center work means that the talent pool tends to be young, carefree, and not super serious. Having fun with friends and finding romance were reasons people came to work, rather than “career advancement” or “financial independence.”

My third guess hinges on something that I will most likely never understand fully: culture. The bonds of interdependence and connection between family and friends are so tightly woven that for some, speaking English instead of the local dialect feels like a kind of betrayal, a kind of show of arrogance. And when it came time to choose between a seatmate who loaned them money, showed them sympathy when they were down, hooked them up with a cutie they knew, and was just generally there for them and speaking English: no contest. Speaking English could at best mark you as an upstart, at worst get you a freeze out. The “cool kids” in the account actually put on a heavy accent to speak English, and you can imagine the trickle-down effect this kind of thing had!

I left that town never really knowing what I could have done to make a lasting difference, and wondering if maybe the initiative itself was somehow beside the point. Was EOP just another misguided effort to standardize something that should not be standardized—akin to what happened to the U.S’s indigenous peoples in the 1800’s? Or was it really ‘for their own good’?

I leave it to you to ponder.

 

Woolie Boolie gets a comb: using your own stories in training.

source: wehearit.com

 

As a trainer, one of the top 3 of the most effective tools in my tool kit was the personal story. 

I always got a very positive response to a personal story—about almost anything. They not only enjoyed it, they clamored for more, sometimes to the point of getting downright nosy. (Especially on the topic of my dating life, which was a cabinet of curiosities to them).

How can you use your own stories (sometimes stuffily called “personal disclosure”) to greatest effect?

A few ground rules:

The story should be short, well rehearsed, and punchy.

If you are a natural story teller (few of us are), great.

Otherwise, write it, prune it, rehearse it, and test it. It should be about 30 seconds long, be devoid of any fillers or ‘go backs’ (“Wait, hang on, the thing is, she was my best friend since first grade, that’s really vital to the story. Okay, where was I?”).

 

It needs a punch line—something unexpected or dramatic works best.

There should be one lead- in line, a little “build up” to the punch line, and then the punch line.

“When I was living in Manila I used to work on jigsaw puzzles all the time, and I would always have one out and half complete.” (Lead- in)

“Well, I started noticing that the puzzle was more done than I remembered when I would sit down and work on it. At first I chalked it up to the fact that I was always having a glass or two of wine while working on it” (Build up)

“But then I caught on: the teenage girls that cleaned the room every day were actually working on the puzzle while I was at work!” (Punch line)

The story should show you in a slightly funny or self deprecating light. Failing that, it should highlight one of life’s “universal truths”, such as how we are all silly, puffed up, or wrong- headed on occasion.

The time you found yourself on the verge of tears when you couldn’t find an item called ‘A goodie basket’ in the department store, only to find out that your boss wanted you to buy the goodies and assemble one. (me)

The time you raised holy heck to find out who stole same goodie basket only to find out it was being stored for safe keeping in a coworker’s locker. (still me)

Things like that.

The stories should be treats, not the meat and potatoes of class.

Like many things (snow, whiskey, choral singing) a little goes a long way with personal stories. Always better to leave them wanting more than wishing you would just be done with it.

The story teller should know his or her limits, audience, and self.

Having an extensive grab bag of stories to reach into is helpful—most trainers are natural leaders and story tellers, they wouldn’t have gotten into the biz otherwise—but what’s really key is knowing your strengths. If you can’t do imitations to save your life, don’t stake your story’s life on them. If your class is full of highly technical, highly educated, and rather sharkey tough guys, don’t tell the story about the time you looked for your glasses, only to find them on top of your own head, punctuated with nervous giggles at your own silliness.

Finally….it had better be real. Surreal is even better. But it has to be authentic—don’t “pray at” your audience in the hopes that they “see themselves” in your little morality tale. Use stories for fun, humor, and adding life to your classroom, not making a heavy handed point.

 

 

 

Ignore your Customer: The 8 types of Voice-of-Customer responses you can safely toss.

What do irrelevant VOC survey comments look like? (And how do you handle them?)

Source: Zazzle.com

When I first came to my language and cultural coaching job, I was appalled at the comments I was seeing from customers. They were so angry! Listening to my first few calls, especially those that had  angry comments attached, I could see why they were so mad. But over time, I learned that not every comment has merit, or is even true! 

Here's the easiest to spot types:

(Let's say your call center is handling KableForAll, a mega-provider of Cable Services )

1: Response clearly refers to another company's product or service. 

Looks like:
 "Every time I call you clowns, it takes three hours to get through. And then you still can't take my order right. All I want is to get easy, correct phone service. How hard is that in this day and age?!"

2: Response is mostly or fully based on the fact of outsourcing itself.

 Looks like: 
 "If President Whatever had a good head on his shoulders, he would BRING JOBS BACK TO AMERICA!"

3: Response is upset about out- of- scope issues:

Looks like: 
"Look, if I pay for a one year warranty, I think it's not too much to ask for you all to extend the courtesy by at least 2 months!"

4: Response is unintelligible or garbled. 

Looks like:
"yea, whatevs. You guys sux. Haterrrssss!"

Medium- Easy to spot

5: Response is based on the quality or standards of the product, and not your services:

Looks like:
 "This throttling is not what I paid for! GIVE ME MY FULL CABLE AND GAMES!"

6: Response is a reaction to a chain of events your rep just happened to be the last person to handle:

Looks like:
 "I am cancelling my service because since July of 2007 I have NEVER received good service. Good day to you!"

7: Response is specific, but upon reviewing the call, in your professional opinion, the rep did not commit the errors you read about:

Looks like:
"The rep kept me on hold for 45 minutes!! Is that what you yahoos call service!!! And when he got on the phone I could barely understand him, his accent was so thick!"

Hardest level: 

 8: Response is specific, but does not hit the issue. However, there were issues on the call, just not what the customer called out.

Looks like: 
"How many times am I going to call these phone lines and get an INDIAN on the phone? I am so tired of hearing the same scripted CRAP over and and over." (Your reps are not Indian, and do not use scripts, but they had accent and delivery issues). 

How do you handle these?

Well, every call center has its own protocols, but usually your Quality Assurance Team has come up with tags that will clearly indicate that the response is not relevant to your scores, and why. 

It's also key to have calibrations, both with your teams and with your clients. Ensure that what they consider an out of scope response is also what you consider out of scope. Equally important is the "why" they agree to toss out a survey response-- make sure that when you're discounting responses it's for the same reasons as your clients'.

Ensure that you are not biased, as much as you can. As a trainer and a coach, I had soft spots for certain reps, favorites, and people I did not give any inch of excuses for. We all do it. Just make sure you're not dismissing a comment because you "know Jim is a great guy" or giving more weight to a nutzy comment because that "Misty kind of *is* a b----".

Make sure you read the comments, the Quality Reports, and the breakdowns of the tags every time they come out. Again, different call centers have different tools, and they can sometimes vary from account to account, but most call centers track all kinds of stats. Ensure that you as a trainer or a coach work with your operations team to get access to those tools and reports and for goodness sake, use them!

Finally, it's important to do lots of audits. I used to audit almost 100 calls a week, and I became very good at spotting good calls that the customer would  wind up giving a bad review to. Calls where the customer couldn't get what they wanted, they were just plain mean people, or they had an axe to grind with the system or the product. 

Remember: when evaluating criticism, first consider the source.

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!