Helping Agents Change Behavior

For employees to act on coaching commitments, or agreements to improve, the coach has to help guide them to specific behavioral actions that will help drive the desired improvement.

It’s not enough to only discuss what needs to improve or change, rather, we have to get to how they will do it differently next time.   Only after we’ve agreed on specific behavioral actions, can a person be expected to perform it!

Successful performance coaches do the following steps:

1. Identify the metric to improve, such as NPS (WHAT / METRIC)
2. Identify the absent/ineffective/inaccurate behavior that needs improvement, such as Empathy (WHAT / Behavior Topic).
3. Ask the employee for specific ways to perform that behavior/perform it differently next time (HOW / Behavior Actions) – and document these actions for both you and them!
4. From there, agree on which specific actions they will attempt, role-play, and set a follow-up date.
5. Then, be sure to check back in and appreciate effort and progress!

Example 1

• Metric to improve: IR
• Behavior to improve: Probing Questions
• Commitments/Agreements: After you identify the issue, ask a question to get them to elaborate and give you more details, like, “Okay, can you tell me more about what you’re seeing?”

Example 2

• Metric to improve: NPS
• Behavior to improve: Empathy
• Commitments/Agreements: Try saying, “Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that!” with slightly elevated volume and emphasis on the word ‘so’!

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Summary

Most people find it difficult to improve performance on a metric when the commitment is simply to “keep working on your probing questions”.  But most people are able to easily act on a commitment that includes specific probing questions to try next time!

Explore our 8-part coaching bundle

A practical toolkit tailored for call center leaders seeking to refine their coaching methods. Each guide within this bundle addresses a specific aspect of coaching, equipping you with actionable strategies and insights to enhance your team's performance and effectiveness.

Here's what's included:

1. Coaching Questions: Techniques for meaningful conversations.
2. Commitments for Change: Strategies to inspire and sustain change.
3. Coaching Top Performers: Tips for challenging and growing your best talent.
4. Coaching Remote Workers: Best practices for supporting your remote team.
5. 6-Step Performance Coaching Model: A step-by-step framework for impactful coaching.
6. 4 Types of Behavior: Insights into behavior for personalized coaching.
7. Conversation Structure: Building blocks for effective coaching dialogues.
8. Coaching Effectiveness Assessment: Tools for measuring and improving coaching impact.