When a team works well together it's able to respond to challenges, problems and change more quickly than the same individuals working alone. In other words, a team should be greater than the sum of its parts. If you want to improve the productivity and performance of your team as a whole it's crucial to keep in mind that it's made up of individuals; people who need defined roles, ample support, constructive feedback and accolade for their achievements. If your team is underperforming there can be many reasons. Perhaps poor collaboration is lowering results. Individuals may be suffering from a loss of confidence. Or there may be frustrations that are inhibiting effectiveness. Here is a brief look at the issues that could be affecting your team, and ways to move your people from under achieving to target smashing month-on-month.
What's the story?
If your contact centre isn't hitting target, the first thing you need to do is pinpoint the exact reason why. Identify the issue and you're able to take appropriate action. This may seem like an obvious point, but finding the real reason for failure is often not as easy as it sounds. Is your incoming call rate below target? You may need to evaluate your marketing strategy and service offering. Is the average call duration too short, suggesting your team aren't asking enough leading questions or successfully identifying customer needs? Is your team not working hard enough to build customer rapport? Or perhaps your team isn't communicating key information and benefits in enough detail, identifying a need for further training and knowledge sharing.
What's missing?
There is no definitive recipe for successful team building. However there are a handful of crucial elements that need to be in place to help a failing hosted telephony team improve. Engage your team in a discussion about their roles and responsibilities. Begin by establishing their level of involvement in key decision making. By empowering individuals and offering them a stake in their success you encourage a culture of participation. If your team members aren't ready for this level of shared responsibility take steps to build their confidence. Is there a sense of collaboration and peer responsibility within your team? If you have individuals working a blinkered way, whose only concern is hitting their own targets, this will have a negative impact on group dynamics. How does your team react to change? A successful team will always embrace development with an optimistic viewpoint and positivity. How well does your team understand the needs of the customer? A vital ingredient to enhance performance is the ability of your employees to see things from the perspective of a prospective client. Finally, do you promote a culture of open communication? If there is a problem it's important that your team feel comfortable raising it with you promptly.
Embrace diversity
While it's not realistic to expect your team to think as one, it's imperative that different opinions are discussed and taken seriously. In an unsupportive environment, where people are afraid to voice their thoughts or difficulties, problems are never resolved. This can lead to resentment and a lack of commitment in the long term. What's more, when new ideas aren't expressed, valuable opportunities for new working methodologies and solutions can be missed. Your role as the manager of a contact centre is to ensure that differing opinions do not become personal. Deal with the issue on a professional, objective level.
Steve Alexander is a writer with a good knowledge of hosted telephony services. Click here for more details. For more information on how to improve your contact centre, visit Britannic.
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