Are We Overlooking Our Supervisors?
1 Jan, 2006
By: Rhonda ProctorFor years we’ve talked about the importance of effective people management in the value chain of the contact center, and in many cases there have been vast improvements. Recently, however, I’ve heard rumblings that both the management and agent sides of the equation have been adequately improved, but that the supervisory role is still somewhat neglected.
Interested in exploring this gap further, I contacted some experts to learn their perspective on the critical role of the supervisor to determine if we’re really giving it the attention it deserves.
• Debbie Qaqish, vice president Marketing and Research for Knowlagent, who has more than 20 years’ experience in sales and marketing in private, public, international and start-up organizations.
• MaLee A. Wargo, operations manager of AirTran Airways’ Savannah Contact Center, who is responsible for a reservation center with 10 supervisors and 225 agents, as well as a Quality Assurance team that monitors all three of AirTran’s contact centers.
• Dr. David Bracken, industrial/organizational psychologist with over 25 years of experience in industry and consulting who has expertise in organization and individual assessment and is a thought leader in the field of 360-degree feedback. He is also senior editor of The Handbook of Multisource Feedback and represents Kenexa Corp.
CP: Do you think that, given so much attention to manager and agent performance in the organization, the supervisor often gets squeezed out of the equation?
Qaqish: Absolutely! We recently completed seven on-site focus groups with supervisors at large call centers and we heard the same thing. My analogy for supervisors in the call center is that it’s like giving the keys to your Maserati to your 16-year-old and saying, “Just don’t wreck.”
Wargo: Not at all. I believe the information is readily available to those [organizations] who take the time to research and are motivated to improve.
Bracken: Many organizations point to the amount of money invested in formal programs to hire and train managers as a sign of the value they place in first-line supervisors, which is all well and good. But often the investment dwindles off quickly in terms of ongoing support through communication, OTJ training, development opportunities and performance management. In that regard, supervisors are all too often the most underdeveloped and underutilized resource of the organization.
CP: It seems odd that the supervisory role could be overlooked, because it is so critical to organizational success. Where the problem exists, do you believe that this situation will be remedied in the future?
Qaqish: Yes, and I think it is being expressed as a keen interest in all aspects of coaching. We observed very strong emotions and opinions around the value of coaching and immense frustration around not being able to solve the problem. We see that many call centers are making this a top focus for 2006. There is also a strong feeling that all aspects of coaching need to be addressed including role, process, compensation and skills. And, process will be key to success. The best-trained coach in the world is no good if they can’t get the time to coach. Looking at the role of the coach and mapping new business processes will help ensure that well-trained coaches can actually deliver coaching.
Bracken: It may be “odd” and unwise, but difficult to measure its impact. It is somewhat akin to the neglect we have historically had for our school teachers, a similarly critical link in the development of our most important resource—our children. Investments in supervisors must come in the form of better selection, development, rewards and accountability. Three-hundred-sixty-degree feedback is one tool that has been shown to be effective in both supervisory development and, in some cases, performance management when implemented correctly. Yet many organizations have yet to fully leverage 360-degree processes.
CP: Is there is adequate information available to help contact centers focus more on the needs of the supervisor?
Qaqish: No. I think the market to date has addressed this as a one-dimensional problem and has offered a one-dimensional solution—training. Yet, even those companies that have provided supervisor/coaching training are failing. Why? Because the environment to coach is not in place. Moving from managing to coaching is not clearly defined. Giving the supervisor and agent the tools required to give and receive effective coaching are not often in place. The role of coach as contact centers change from being cost centers to profit centers is not in place. And, we haven’t “cleared the path” so that the supervisor can actually get to coaching.
Wargo: Obviously, an end-all be-all supervisor manual does not exist. Individuals should continuously seek to improve by researching and applying that knowledge to everyday work situations. Call centers are an ever-changing environment, and the staff should regularly research to stay on top of their game. So yes, I believe there is adequate information available and every day more is being added.
Bracken: On one hand, there is a raft of research available on supervisory competencies. What is not as well understood is the extent to which supervisory effectiveness is determined by the specific culture of the organization. Just as no two companies will have the same strategy, each also has a uniqueness that requires different capabilities and values from its workforce. This would suggest that supervisory performance can become a competitive advantage for those organizations that learn how to augment core supervisory competencies with those abilities and values that support the organizations’ unique strategy, goals and values.
CP: What are the pitfalls that a center will eventually encounter if they fail to address the needs of the supervisor?
Qaqish: While there are many causal factors for agent attrition, I believe that one significant factor is coaching and the relationship with a coach. Without addressing coaching, any programs aimed at agent attrition may be set up for failure or less than expected results. Also, if contact centers want to change to meet market demands, they need to find ways to leverage the supervisor. The successful centers will figure this out.
Wargo: As a manager, I feel some of the responsibility lies with us to energize and motivate the supervisory staff. They in turn will pass this along to the frontline agents. Eventually, it will make it to the customer, ultimately affecting the business. If we fail to address supervisors’ needs, the organization will suffer as a result because the trickle-down effect will reach the customers that keep us in business. As with any business, a happy employee creates a more satisfied customer. Keep your supervisor staff on track and you will see the results. Fail to do so and you will see the pitfalls of disgruntled customers and agents, lower revenue, unmanageable statistics, etc.
Bracken: [Agreed.] The pitfall is lost opportunity—the opportunity to create a competitive advantage by fully realizing the potential of this powerful asset. Some organizations already do it better than others but it may not be well-known since they realize that it is a competitive advantage. Given the importance and magnitude of this opportunity, those companies that fail to fully develop it will most certainly feel the consequences on the bottom line.
CP: What practices should be instituted to elevate the importance of the supervisory position?
Qaqish: I believe there are five key things that need to be done: First, redefine the job role in such a way as to look to fully leverage the role of the supervisor; define high-value activities versus low-value activities. Second, establish both formal and ongoing training program for supervisors and allow them time to attend. Next, establish a coaching process and program for supervisors (they are not often coached by their managers). Fourth, find ways to offload administrative, repetitive, yet time-consuming tasks and finally, put coaching metrics into place (such as how many coaching occurrences are scheduled, how many got delivered, on what topics, and what was the result on performance).
Wargo: In our organization, we have assisted the staff in the supervisory role to “better” themselves by providing workshops—in-house, external, Web seminars, as well as providing written materials that we find are more tailored to our center’s needs and our supervisors’ needs—magazines, articles, books. On a lighter note, we engage in activities to make the workplace “fun,” anything from trivia contests to scavenger hunts! [It’s an ongoing process.]
Bracken: Supervisory effectiveness should be addressed on two levels. One relates to skill development on three fronts: 1) baseline skills required of all supervisors (communication, feedback, performance management), 2) customized skill development based on individual needs (assessment centers, skill assessments), and 3) skill assessment that is job-specific (appraisals and instruments such as PDIs or Benchmarks). The second area relates to supervisory behaviors that tie back to organizational values and strategy that is best accomplished through customized 360-degree feedback processes that can focus on “how” the supervisor is accomplishing his/her objectives. To be effective, these 360-degree processes must not only be customized to fit the uniqueness of the organization (and the role), but must be integrated with other human resource systems (e.g., appraisal, development plans, high potential lists, staffing decisions) that reinforce their relevance and importance while also creating accountability.
