Oh the places we could go with both wheels!

 

Have you tried to ride a bicycle with only one wheel? (Your supervisors do it every day.)

Probably not. You know you wouldn’t get very far without  both a front and a back wheel.

The same idea applies to training supervisors to be effective drivers of high employee engagement. To be successful, supervisors need a combination of technical skills (the rear wheel of their bicycle) as well as the right blend of people skills (the front wheel.)=

Most supervisors I have known over the past 25 years have mastered the technical side of their job. Seasoned supervisors can take a quick glance at their monitor and know exactly how their team is handling their call activity. When asked about an obscure credit policy, they can rattle it off word for word. They know how to decipher complicated spreadsheets filled with acronyms and the exact number of screens and key strokes it takes for a rep to complete a perfect order. Supervisors know the business side of their business.

What many supervisors lack is an adequate front wheel — the crucial people skills they need to maximize their reps’ front-line performance.

Don’t blame the supervisors for this sorry state of affairs. What I’ve observed is that upper management often doesn’t look beyond the numbers and the status quo. As long as the service levels are within range, personnel costs are about the same as last year and expenses are running about normal, all is good. What they may not see is that by making a relatively small investment in training the very people who run the call center they could lower the call center’s operating costs, get better performance, and generate a healthier bottom line.

I’ve seen what happens when supervisors operate with a strong front wheel. They become master communicators who know how to create positive relationships based on mutual trust that results in reps who happily go the extra mile for customers. Costly turnover plummets. Reps who are happy with the support they get from their supervisors don’t leave in search of a new job where their hard work is appreciated. Paying overtime to cover employee absences caused by job dissatisfaction becomes unnecessary. Adding supervisor head count to handle escalated calls is a non-issue since the number of preventable escalated calls goes down as engagement rises. And if that doesn’t get your attention, I point to the direct correlation between high employee engagement and high customer satisfaction.

This week invite your Director or VP to visit the call center. Ask him or her to take a spin on a supervisor’s bike, sans the front wheel. After you help him or her up from the floor, ask them the question, “What’s in your wallet?”

Make it a great week!

Barbara Burke