Call center managers often find that their job is a bit like juggling. There’s not only the expected schedule building and interval management to ensure that customers are being serviced quickly and efficiently, but also long- and short-term training and motivation, not to mention moment-to-moment crisis management to cope with unexpected issues. Being an effective call center leader requires not only excellent technical skills, but also interpersonal and management skills.

Training, of course, is one of the most important aspects of a call center manager’s job, and it often bears the most long-term fruit. There are many different ways to approach training – in the classroom, via e-learning, in simulations, in hands-on (but controlled) live call circumstances and in one-on-one sessions with agents. Find the right combination of all these methods, and you’ve found the right training program for your call center. Training is never one-size-fits all: depending on the call center environment and business, it’s a matter of finding a unique approach that’s right for your particular call center.

Training doesn’t necessarily begin with building a program, however: it begins with effective communicating with agents and supervisors. This is often the trickiest part: learning how to gain an understanding of the so-called “communication loop” and how to avoid obstacles to effective communication.

The RCCSP Professional Education Alliance, which offers nationwide classroom training programs for the contact center industry's portfolio of professional certifications, has devised a three-day training session for call center managers to learn how to effectively communicate with and train call center personnel.

The training session will include, among other topics, a unit on effective communicating for call center managers. Topics that will be touched upon include the definition of effective communication, the steps involved in effective communication, the barriers to effective communication and overcoming them, in-person communication versus remote communication, the five steps of an effective communication process, choosing the right method to communicate and virtual communication.

The seminar will also include information on how to manage and evaluate employee performance by setting goals, providing effective feedback to employees and conducting alignment discussions. Without a solid base of call center management skills to build upon, managers risk rocky relationships with employees, an undermining of their leadership and inefficient call center operations that can damage customer relationships. 

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