We've said we coach so people know what behaviors to repeat, and what behaviors to change. It’s not news that change is interpersonally uncomfortable, but what we may not be considering is that human beings also do not change just because we’re asked. Let's be clear - we all want to do better, but if we knew how to change in order to do, or be, better at something, we likely would!
We ask directs to do or achieve an outcome, like hit a sales or a service goal – or we ask them to achieve something conceptual but non-specific, like ‘be more empathetic’, or ‘more sincere’, or ‘less formal’. As such, coaching conversations are not often about specific behaviors to do, or not do, but are more often just discussions of desired results that carry an expectation for the individual to know how to go make it happen.
Talk about setting ourselves up for disappointment; this is why most good employees leave us – not because we’re horrible managers, but because we’re incapable of modifying behavior to mobilize morale and performance in our people!
Another challenge in achieving behavior change is rooted in the textbook definition of behavior, which is fairly universally noted as ‘actions’ or ‘the things we do’. And while absolutely accurate, the scope of this definition falls far short when it comes to effective coaching. Consider this...all behavior IS action, but there are different categories of actions, and that differentiation is extremely useful when observing and evaluating performance in preparation for coaching.
We can break down behaviors, actions, into two categories – those we can see, and those we can hear. And we can further break down how we experience each of these categories as follows:
1. Physical actions - What I do
Ex: I see you are talking with someone
2. Non-Verbal actions - How I do it
Ex: Your stance is stationary, open, facing the person
1. Language - What I say
Ex: I hear you say, ‘I will definitely call you tomorrow”
2. Vocal delivery - How I say it
Ex: I hear you emphasize the word ‘definitely’
For example, to evaluate a manager’s performance I might attend a team meeting he facilitates. I would observe his body movements to evaluate how he carries himself, how he supports his communication with facial expressions and hand-gestures that emphasize emotion and intensity. I would listen to his vocal delivery – the volume and annunciation displaying his confidence and enthusiasm. I would consider his language choice in assessment of successful transference of the message he meant to convey.
Looking at behavior with this perspective allows us to move from thinking about ‘performance’, which is large and ambiguous, to instead thinking about a collection of very specific and tangible behaviors – which drastically simplifies our understanding of what to observe in evaluation of that performance. This in turn equips us to have specific coaching conversations around effective behaviors to repeat, and less effective behaviors to change. See the circle?
The future of success in your contact center is contingent on how you impact performance in ways that are both immediate and sustainable. And it doesn’t matter whether your agents are on-site, at-home, full-time, part-time, or temporary – you must deliver on performance.
Coaching is one of the most significant tools we can use to deliver on the engagement and performance of our people – but we must develop our processes, our people and leadership skills, and our technology tools, in order to overthrow the pervasive challenges to achieving greater coaching effectiveness and supercharging contact center performance!
Unlock the potential of your employees and skyrocket your ROI with cutting-edge coaching.
Melissa Pollock Customer Success at AmplifAI
Jim Rembach President at CX Media