Everyone needs someone to push them. Without our coaches there to monitor how we play the game or do the job, how would we know if we are truly performing?
I think he is saying, "GOOD JOB!"
Rocky has Mickey, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have Master Splinter, and the Incept Conversational Marketing Experts (CMEs) have their Program Results Coach at hand to help them improve their techniques to become blood donor recruitment champions.
I recently graduated from Incept’s Coach Training Class that is lead by our own Vice President of Employee Results, Dave Walter. In this series of training sessions the prospective coach sits down and learns more about how their role can affect Conversational Marketing™ Experts (CMEs), as well as how to deal with circumstantial employee situations and make an impact with their coaching delivery.
The Impacts of Positive Coaching and Live Monitoring
The impacts of the positive coaching techniques are invaluable to a contact center’s environment. People don’t want to feel wrong or stupid, but at the same time they need motivation, education, and reinforcement in the ways that are proven to succeed.
What type of benefits do we bring to the table as new Program Results Coaches? Here is a short list of the benefits for a contact center that utilizes positive coaching methods and personnel and ways for your own company to employ these techniques.
- The Program Results Coach should be a positive, influential employee. This should go without saying. A successful Program Results Coach will be the type of employee that is deep-seeded within their job. They should be confident in their daily performances and quality of calls. Other reps will notice that they are what seem to be employees to model themselves after. It should also be noted, as well, that just because a rep isn’t as loud or sociable doesn’t mean they do not possess the ability to be excellent leaders. Don’t judge a book by its cover.
- Positive Coaching and Coaches are able to deliver what needs to be worked on in an actionable method so the rep fully understands what is being asked of them. When a Conversational Marketing Expert (CME) is coached, they clearly should know what is the target area of improvement when the Program Results Coach is finished with that session. We have what we affectionately call “the sandwich technique”, which is really a way for us to prime the CME for delivery of actionable items. This can include being more ready to take a call, asking non-yes-or-no questions, being more assumptive, embracing professionalism, and focusing on general call quality. Those are just a few items. When we coach CMEs, we tell them what they are doing well. We make a clear transition into where we think they can improve while summarizing how to improve, and then proceed to put the bottom bun on the sandwich with another positive comment. Remember, no one wants to feel wrong or stupid.
- The proof of good coaching will be in the results. Quality Program Results Coaches are people who make quality calls. They are the type of calls that you can show your clients. They are the type of calls that strengthen the relationship with the customer. These are the qualities that a Program Results Coach tries to instill in others through their coaching methods. It should be looked at like creating a unique spread of different personalities that all know how to handle circumstances in similar fashion. When good coaching is provided, the quality of the calls your reps make should go up. And with higher quality comes increased results.
What Does This Mean For My Contact Center?
It simply means that if you place an emphasis on the development of your representatives, then you can focus more on what really matters: the exact way that your organization handles the donor or customer.
When you have a deep lineup of different personas on the phones in your contact center that are all conscious of call quality, and they are armed with the skills to handle most of what comes their way, you must have good Program Results Coaches in the rows.
What methods of coaching or representative skill development does your organization use?