Top Three Strategies for Successful Coaching
Having been part of startups and small business to large corporations I have administered and participated in many training programs. Some of them have been very impactful and others have been forgotten. One of the most important lessons I have learned is that the best training program is nothing without follow up coaching.
Why is coaching so important?
Many point to different metrics that can be improved through coaching. For instance, AHT, CSAT, attrition rates, conversion, and many other metrics. All of these are outcomes and are improved because of one main concept. Coaching involved personalized training, feedback, and practice for a person. This increases their engagement and gives them confidence.
There are three main strategies I have learned over a career in contact center operations.
Prepare
“What do you think?”
The classic question used when coming to a coaching session unprepared. As a coach, supervisor, team leader, or whatever management role you are in, you are the expert. Before sitting down with the agent for a coaching session you need to prepare.
What does preparation look like?
You review previous coaching sessions. You review performance in relation to those previous coaching sessions. You determine the coaching topic that will be most impactful. You have listened to calls, read conversations, or have evidence of the need for the coaching topic. You think of questions that will help the agent understand their behavior and how to change. You think of what follow-up or commitments need to be made.
When you come prepared you guarantee a better outcome than winging it.
Be Present
One of the most impactful trainings I ever attended was by Senn Delaney titled “Be Present”.
Understanding what that means is best explained by telling you what it isn’t. In the middle of a coaching session, you get an email, a text, a phone call, or a notification and you say, “hold on one moment”. In that moment, you showed that agent that whatever came across your phone was more important than their coaching session.
You were not present for the coaching session. Being present means putting away all distractions and giving your full attention to that coaching session.
Consistency
How many times have you moved a coaching session or a 1:1 due to more important meetings, tasks, or simply you didn’t want to do a coaching session? Every Monday, my team could count on me meeting with them for a 1:1 where we would review last week’s performance and coaching and discuss this week’s. If they were off Monday, they knew I would meet with them the day they came back to work.
Consistency is about building routines and sticking to them. In relation to coaching, consistency creates a sense of reliability and trust. It helps your agents feel safe, supported, and important. The time and coaching you give to them is important enough not to be rescheduled over and over again.
Through these three strategies we can help agents move and progress towards their goals.