call center management

Does the person managing your call center have enough experience for this position. In the smaller call centers I have noticed that those in charge do not understand the complexity of this position nor have a grasp of the technology. I have encountered several call center managers who don't even know what an ACD is or how it operates. Generally these people have been promoted from some other department in the organization. This position is not just about managing people, it is about managing all of the resources that keep the call center in operation.

The call center today is no longer a back office operation (well maybe not everywhere). This is a multi-million dollar industry with new technology emerging daily. Companies spend thousands of dollars every year investing in new technology for their call centers, and yet will put someone in charge who has limited or no knowledge of the operation.

I recently met with a manager who has been in this position for over a year. This person rarely looked at performance reports for the center and agents, and never looked at the real-time stats throughout the day. When someone else in the organization requested a report they discovered that one of the agents call duration was four times that of the other agents. When questioned the manager was at a loss. Since these were not considered consistent, this agent was not aware that the talk time is so dramatically by a line group averages.

In the smaller call centers there is generally only one person who is responsible for staffing, scheduling, coaching and training agents, analysis of performance metrics, and resolving personnel problems. And so, it is sometimes difficult to keep up with the daily tasks.

At the minimum when considering someone for this position, look for these traits/skills:

• Understands the technology - what and how the technology (or lack of) is being utilized
• Worked in a call center (preferably) - so as to understand the culture of call centers
• Management experience - likes working with people and not afraid of conflict
• Flexible - open to new ideas

Linda Hogan, managing partner of PTel Inc. has been in the call center industry since 1993. PTel Inc. provides a variety of products for managing call centers. PTel's call center knowledge and Centrex expertise is a valuable resource for many organizations. For more information about the company and products, visit http://www.ptelinc.com and http://www.callcenterstore.com or email linda@ptelinc.com

call center management