What You Will Learn:

Participants will learn:

• Key dimensions of supervisory leadership in the support center
• How to communicate effectively across all job levels
• How to adjudicate conflict between team members
• The most effective elements of supervisory communication
• How contact center business strategy impacts front-line performance
• How to manage front-line professionals' performance based on service level agreements
• How to manage and report contact center and agent key performance indicators
• How to manage front-line absenteeism and adherence to schedule
• How to create an agent performance scorecard
• The cost and causes of attrition and how they impact the contact center
• How to effectively lead a coaching session using a formal coaching process and coaching discussion planner
• The most common coaching fears and mistakes and how to avoid them
• Common reactions to feedback and coaching, and how to respond
• How to create a Standard Operating Procedures manual that includes best practices for call handling, documentation and customer service skills
• How to manage each stage of the training cycle for continuous performance improvement
• Keys to building successful motivation and retention plans
• Employment laws that apply to the contact center and the supervisor's role in protecting the contact center from legal complications

Overview

Learn how to lead the call center's most important resource: the professionals and analysts that interact directly with customers. This newly updated and expanded training course provides call center and help desk supervisors and team leads valuable "how to" best practices for executing day-to-day, tactical job requirements with finesse.  With core skills, knowledge, and in-class practice opportunities, participants reach new heights of leadership ability and levels of confidence.  The course trains supervisors in essential communication, leadership and coaching skills, and presents best tactics and practices for agent training and development, motivation and retention, team collaboration, performance measurement and management, and self-assessment.

Course material is tactical, practical, and immediately applicable. Each participant is put through the paces, with self-assurance and confidence-building as instructional objectives.  Hands-on tools, forms, action plans, and assessments are utilized in class by attendees under an instructor's supervision.  Tools are packaged up for the attendee to take back to the office where newly-acquired skills and methods can be immediately put into practice.

This workshop is interactive and involves exercises, group discussion, brainstorming, practice, and the situational application of skills. Students are engaged in the learning process, applying and practicing skills as they are learned. Attendees must demonstrate achievement throughout the learning process, participating in real-world exercises, and may test their mastery following completion of the course by taking the Certified Contact Center Supervisor (CCCS) examination.

Deliverables and Take-Home Tools

In-class materials and take-home tools include:

• Comprehensive course manual (an excellent post-training reference tool)
• DISC communication styles assessment tool
• DISC implementation guidelines
• Cost per Contact calculation worksheet
• SWOT analysis template for assessing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to your contact center
• Templates for creating Service Level Agreements (SLA) and Operating Level Agreements (OLA)
• Template for creating a Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) manual
• Agent scorecard template
• Skill needs analysis template
• Phone screening interview template
• Behavioral based interviewing questions based on agent skills needs
• Skills gap analysis template
• Coaching discussion planner tool for planning and scripting a coaching discussion based on the the professional's motivational disposition

Who Should Participate

The Supervision and Leadership Skills for Contact Center Supervisors training course is ideal for anyone responsible for oversight of front-line contact center representatives, analysts, or agents.  Some specific roles that will benefit from the class include:

• Team leads, supervisors and managers that lead, inspire and develop front-line contact center and help desk service professionals
• Recently promoted front-line professionals and team leads with expanding responsibilities
• Contact center recruiters, coaches, trainers, mentors and quality assurance professionals

Prerequisites

Attendees should possess a basic understanding of what a call center is, how calls flow into a center, and basic call center terminology.

Agenda

The Contact Center Supervisor Certification training program is a two-day, four-module, non-customized course.

Day 1

Introduction and Self-Assessment

• Introductions and Overview of the CCSC Training and Certification Program
• Goals and Learning Objectives of the CCSC Training Course
• Assess the State of Your Contact Center and Team

Chapter 1 - Essential Leadership Skills

The Supervisor's Role and Responsibilities

• The Complete Supervisor Skill Set
• Leadership Skills Assessment
• Strategies for Improving Leadership Skills
  • The Positive Role Model
  • Practices for Developing Working Relationships With and Within the Team
  • How to Align Decisions and Actions with the Contact Center's Mission and Vision Statements
  • How to Channel Constructive Team Member Input

Conflict Management

• Conflict Resolution Skills Assessment
• Strategies for Improving Conflict Resolution Skills
  • Causes of Conflict
  • Available Resolution Resources
  • Your Own Conflict Management Style
  • Collaboration, Competition, Compromise, Accommodation, and Avoidance
  • Using a Conflict Resolution Planning Process

Developing Good Time Management Practices

• Time Management Skills Assessment
• Strategies for Improving Time Management
  • Prioritizing Tasks
  • Identifying Time-Wasters and Distractions
  • E-mail Management
  • Best Practices

Employment Laws Supervisors Should Know

• Employment Law Self-Assessment
• Compliance Guidelines That Affect Representatives and Supervisors
  • Interviewing Guidelines
  • Family and Medical Time Off
  • Wage, Overtime, and Scheduling Guidelines
  • Record-keeping Requirements and Practices
  • Joking, Banter, or Harassment?

Building Positive Working Relationships With Managers

• Contributing Solutions
• Power Styles
• Consistency
• How to Say No

Chapter 2 - Metrics and Key Performance Indicators

The Tactical Values of Metrics, KPIs, and SLAs

• Performance Management Self-Assessment
• Key Performance Indicators and Metrics Differentiated

Service Level Agreements

• Why Service Level Agreements Are Drafted
• Components of Service Level Agreements
• How Service Level Agreements Impact Contact Center and Front-Line Professional Performance
• Strategies for Managing Service Level Performance

The Top Supervisory Contact Center Metrics

• Each Metric Defined, Why it's Measured, How it's Measured or Computed, and What it Means to You as a Supervisor:
  • Average Talk Time
  • After Contact Work
  • Hold Time
  • Average Handle Time
  • Available Time
  • Auxiliary Time
  • Staff Shrinkage
  • Occupancy Rate
  • Schedule Adherence
  • Average Speed of Answer
  • Service Level
  • Employee Satisfaction
  • Calls in Queue
  • Contacts per Agent
  • Conversion Rate
  • Error Rate
  • Transfer Rate
  • Attrition Rate

In Depth: The Contact Center Top Six Key Performance Indicators

• Customer Satisfaction
• Abandonment Rate
• Cost per Contact
• Quality
• Utilization & Shrinkage
• First Contact Resolution

Managing Attrition

• Attrition Defined
• The Impact of Attrition
• Evaluating the Costs of Attrition
• Examining the Causes of Attrition
• Developing a Plan to Reduce Attrition Rates

Performance Management Tools

• Creating the Agent Scorecard
• Design Your Metrics and Key Performance Indicators Task Plan

Day 2

Chapter 3 - Communications and Coaching for Continuous Performance Improvement

Fundamentals of Coaching

• The Role of Coach
• The Differences Between Coaching, Critiquing, Feedback, and Performance Reviews
• How to Implement Steps to Create a Coaching Culture
• The Coaching Role from a Management Perspective
• Performing a Coaching Self-Assessment
  • Determining Areas of Opportunity
• Assessing Your Coaching Fears
  • Strategies for Overcoming Coaching Anxiety
• Common Coaching Shortcomings
  • How to Implement Strategies to Avoid Common Coaching Mistakes

Pre-Coaching Preparation Tasks

• Investigating and Documenting
• Preparing the Coaching Situation Statement
• Assessing Motivation and Performance Levels
  • The Four Agent Pre-Disposition Profiles
  • Predicting Agents' Pre-Dispositions
    • Motivation Level Factors
    • Performance Levels Factors
• Choosing the Correct Type of Coaching Session
  • The Five Types of Coaching Sessions
• Preparing Responses
  • Five Common Reactions to Coaching
• How to Manage and Coach a Friend
• Practice Exercise: Planning for a Coaching Discussion
  • Perform a Coaching Self-Assessment
  • Review Your Action Checklist in Preparation for a Coaching Session
  • Prepare a 10-step RCCSP™ Coaching Discussion Planner

Coaching

• Conducting the Coaching Session
• Effective Coaching Skills and Techniques
  • Active Listening
  • Proactive Questioning
  • Positive Tone
  • Word Choices
  • Body Language

Post-Coaching Best Practices

• Reviewing and Summarizing Notes of Discussion
• Documenting the Coaching Session
• Follow-Up Activities

Coaching Communication Styles

• Assessing Your Own Coaching Style
  • DISC Assessment and How it is Utilized
  • Determine Your Communication Style
  • Adapting Your Communication Style to Enhance Understanding and Persuasiveness
• How to Use Communication Style to Maximize Coaching Discussion Effectiveness

Coaching Tools

• Perform a Coaching SWOT Analysis
• Design the Communication and Coaching Task Plan
  • Timelines
  • Deadlines
  • Resources
  • Threats
  • Progress Benchmarks
  • Goals

Chapter 4 - Agent Training, Motivation and Retention Best Tactics and Processes

Assessing the Contact Center's Training Practices

• Evaluating the Existing Contact Center Professional Training Program
• Practices and Shortcomings That Can Reduce the Effectiveness of Training Programs
• The Supervisor's Roles and Responsibilities in the Agent Training Cycle
• Evaluating the Effectiveness of Each Phase of the Contact Center's Agent Training Cycle

How to Create and Maintain an Effective Front-Line Professional Training Program

• Successful New Hire Training Strategies
• Nesting Transitional Training
  • Recommendations for Successful Nesting Transitional Training
• Up Training
  • Recommendations for Successful Up Training
• Refresher Training

Agent Mentoring Programs and Program Recommendations

Building a Front-Line Representative Retention and Motivation Program

• Motivation and Retention Program Benefits and Outcomes
• Motivation Methods and Rewards
• Personal Motivation Profiles, their Creation and Uses
• Preparing a Training, Motivation, & Retention Task Plan

Developing and Communicating Contact Center Standard Operating Procedures

• Contents of a SOP Manual
• How to Structure a Standard Operating Procedure

Certification Process

This certification is officially recognized by the RCCSP Professional Education Alliance and its members.

The CCSC examination process consists of two parts:

• Class attendance
• An online certification exam

Class Attendance: Participants will complete the two-day instructor-led course, after which an online ID and password will be sent via email with instructions for accessing the certification exam.

Certification Exam: After the course, participants will have four weeks to complete the online certification exam. The certification exam is comprised of 60 questions and candidates are given 90 minutes to complete the exam. Candidates must achieve at least an 80% score in order to obtain certification.

Course Instructors

Our faculty of instructors each has call center management and training delivery experience. They are certified at “Master Trainer” level for delivery of this course. RCCSP instructors are located throughout the USA, Caribbean, and Central America.

Registration Fees

The per student registration fee for this training and certification program is $1,795 and includes:

• 2-day instructor-led training
• All training materials
• Contact Center Supervisor CD-based Toolkit
• Certificate of completion
• Certification exam fees
• Refreshments each day.

Class begins at 9:00 AM and ends at 5:00 PM each day.  Business casual attire is appropriate.

Register securely online with confidence or please call (708) 246-0320.

Seminar Schedule

Nov 7-8, '11

Dallas, TX

The Adolphus

Maximize Your Training Investment - Attend Courses Back-to-Back

Supervision and Leadership Skills for Contact Center Supervisors immediately follows these courses in select locations:

• The Art of Managing Difficult Callers and Affecting Real-Time Customer Recovery
• Fundamentals of Service Quality

In-House Training Option

In-house, on-site training offers the added benefits of facilitated team interaction; a confidential environment where plans, processes, and policies can be openly discussed; minimized travel costs; and little or no travel time.  For support centers with a number of supervisors and team leads, on-site training can maximize your training investment.

Pricing for an on-site course delivered at your location is determined based on a "base fee" for up to six attendees, and a per person fee for each attendee thereafter.  On-site fees are all inclusive:

• Base fee for up to 6 participants - $9,995 includes:
  • 2-day instructor-led training course
  • All training materials
  • Instructor's travel and lodging expenses (for onsite presentations of 18 or less participants, in the continental US)
  • Certification exam fees and certificates of completion
• Additional participants - $995 each

Additional travel surcharges will be charged for travel outside of the continental USA and for seminars scheduled within three weeks, or paid for within three weeks, of the onsite delivery date.

The customer site must provide suitable meeting space, any desired meals or refreshments, and the following presentation supplies:

• Two easels with paper and markers
• Projection unit and projection screen

Language Options

In-house private instruction and the certification examination are available in:

• English

Request In-House Training

More Training and Certification Courses

See the complete calendar of RCCSP Professional Education Alliance Contact Center Training dates and locations.

For more IT, technical and field support training course options, see the RCCSP Help Desk, ITIL, and Support Center Calendar.