Coaching and mentoring

COACHING/MENTORING

The coaching of customer service representatives tends to begin during the latter part of the induction training and then continues throughout the period of employment. In general, advisers receive approximately three weeks of training per year, although those in outsourcing tend to receive the least. Much of the training is in the form of coaching, with agents receiving approximately 20 minutes per day and which commits team leaders to four hours/day for a team of 12. This is clearly a major dedication of time, which is considered valuable: ‘Public services team leaders are said to spend most of their time in coaching – which we believe should be the main role of team leaders’

Team leaders in small contact centres tend to spend almost twice as much time coaching as those in large organizations: 1.9 hours/agent versus 1 hour/agent. There are several reasons why this difference may occur: there may be more paperwork and administration in larger centres; also, smaller contact centres generally have fewer agents per team leader, which may mean that they are able to offer more coaching. Alternatively, it may be that because the agents receive less induction training than in larger centres they are more in need of it when they are in a fully operational role

Less than half of contact centres use a trainer for coaching and only 16 per cent of centres have a dedicated coach. For this reason, the team leader or supervisor is fully or partially responsible for coaching agents in over 74 per cent of contact centres. This situation can cause problems because of the lack of coaching experience among team leaders:

Again this raises the question of whether the team leader has sufficient capacity and the relevant skills to perform this function at a satisfactory level. Considering that many of the required competencies for coaching are not included in many team leader induction training courses, it is concerning that they are now responsible for coaching.

It is clear that call centres consider coaching a very important means of developing their employees. Yet, providing feedback on performance is a sensitive area that requires good skills and experience. Newer team leaders who have not been trained as coaches face a challenging time that may also have detrimental effects on their advisers. The evidence, in some cases, is that insufficient support and investment is being delivered to enable effective and professional coaching by team leaders and other staff. 

Coaching

It is believed that the word ‘coaching’ evolved from the skills required to handle a team of horses a ached to a stagecoach. Coaching has been subdivided into four areas: tell, show, suggest, and stimulate (Clu erbuck, 1998). Generally speaking, coaching involves the improvement of performance directed at enhancing specific skills. The coach and learner agree targets and the coach provides direct feedback on behavioural performance over a period of time. A definition is:

Coaching is the process whereby one individual helps another: to unlock their natural ability; to perform, learn and achieve; to increase awareness of the factors which determine performance; to increase their sense of self-responsibility and ownership of their performance; to self-coach; to identify and remove internal barriers to achievement.

Mentoring

The term ‘mentor’ originated in Ancient Greece when Odysseus went to fight in the Trojan War and gave responsibility for bringing up his son, Telemachus, to his friend Mentor. Mentoring involves developing and advancing the whole potential of an individual. It is o en a long-term relationship where the goals and the process are owned by the learner. The mentor is o en a form of resource for the learner and it is the learner who controls the process.

The qualities of a coach

Good coaches should be able to create an environment that is conducive to learning and it is their personal attitudes that allow the interaction to happen successfully. Successful coaches are:

• able to detach themselves;
• accessible;
• credible;
• good communicators;
• good listeners;
• interested and attentive;
• knowledgeable;
• knowledgeable about the organization;
• patient;
• perceptive;
• supportive;
• technical experts.

The roles of the coach

To develop the talents of employees a coach needs to use a variety of approaches and roles but not necessarily all at the same time. A coach should be:

• an adviser;
• a confidant;
• a counsellor;
• a friend;
• a guide;
• a motivator;
• a role model;
• a supporter;
• a teacher.