Agent Retention Through Positive Coaching Sally Cordova and Judy McKee Presented at the ATA 2009 This includes the Positive Coach Approach and a Case Study regardign Positive Coaching techniques and agent retention.
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1. Agent Retention Through Positive Coaching
2. The Positive Coach Approach
Developed for Call Centers
Judy McKee
Sally Cordova
In Addition we have with us Aaron Taylor from MyLife.com
who will give some information, thoughts, and statistics on how
he has applied the Positive Coach Approach and the LAMA Technique
to enhance the strengths of his entire company.
3.
Retention - Agents leave because
They would like to feel like adults who manage themselves.
Would like more time for training.
The Coaching Experience feels like a parental environment
What is called Coaching is really an Evaluation
People grade the agents who dont ever have to do the job.
Agents feel they dont get all the guidance they need.
Neither the managers nor the representatives know there is
another way.
4. Define Coaching vs. Monitoring
Coaching:
Act of Polishing or Refining Learned Techniques Through
Demonstration, Practice and Continuous Assessment .
Monitoring:
Using Surveillance to observe, assist and supply leadership
with quality problems or situations that need to be corrected
.
The Positive Coach Approach
5. Benefits for Agent, Coach and Company
Improved Measured Performance
Less Pressure
Greater Job Satisfaction
Increase Self-Esteem
Agent
Coach
Less Turnover
Customers for Life
Company Profits
McKee Consulting, LLC The Positive Coach Approach
6. Function of the Coach
Tutor
Instructor
Knowledgeable
Through Experience
Excellent Working Knowledge
Develop The Skills Of Others
McKee Consulting, LLC The Positive Coach Approach
7. How To Be A Positive Coach
Apply Imperatives
Intention Maintain successful and happy agents
Relationship Never make the agent feel wrong or stupid
Discipline Maintain your position as a Positive Coach by
keeping your skills honed
Skills LAMA and Positive Coach Approach
LAMA Technique
Eight Guiding Principles
High Five Method
McKee Consulting, LLC The Positive Coach Approach Know What to Say
AND How to Say it!
8. The LAMA Technique McKee Consulting, LLC The Positive Coach
Approach
9. The L-A-M-A for Coaches
L isten to: Customer, Agent or Tape
A cknowledge the Agent - Situation
M ake Comments or Statements
Dont Give Answers
Offer the Simple Truth
A sk a Question
Obtain Feedback
Ask for Agreement
Define the Time Line
Determine the Development Path
The Positive Coach Approach
10. The Eight Guiding Principles McKee Consulting, LLC The
Positive Coach Approach Create and Maintain a Safe Environment
Create a Consultative Environment Build Self-Esteem by Focusing on
the Positives Maintain an Adult Training Environment Responsibility
to Learn/Grow Lies with Agent Time Lines are Essential Bi-Lateral
Action Agreements Questions are the Key
11. McKee Consulting, LLC The Positive Coach Approach High Five
Coach Approach
Expectations
Acknowledgments
Challenges
Self Correction
Personal Performance Plan
5
12. WWW.MYLIFE.COM POSITIVE PROOF THAT THIS WORKS!
Heres AARON.Taylor
13. Quality & Coaching The Soft Side of Customer Care Call
Center Myth Revealed.. Contributed By: Aaron Taylor Sr. Director of
Customer Care Reunion.com/Mylife.com
14. Bio: Aaron Taylor AARON TAYLOR - is a senior level call
center executive with over 5-years of experience in call center
start-up and =management. A former partner at GEINE Technologies, a
250 seat outsourced call center where his clients included House of
Blues, Perot Systems, United Airlines, Stamps.com, and many others.
From 2003-2006 Aaron served as Sr. Director of Contact Centers for
eHarmony.com where he designed and implemented a world-class,
multi-channel Customer Care organization and supported the addition
of over 12 million new customers. In 2006, Aaron was hired by a
former client and assumed the role of Director of Customer Care at
Stamps.com. In this capacity, he led the effort to re-organize the
entire contact center structure and launched several highly
effective initiatives surrounding Operations, Technology, Quality
and Training, Revenue Enhancement, and Customer Satisfaction. Aaron
is currently Sr. Director of Customer care for Mylife.com (formerly
Reunion.com) where he is the senior customer advocate for the
organization managing both the strategic and operational aspects of
the Customer Care organization. Aaron is a frequent lecturer at
various industry events and has been published in Contact
Professional Magazine. Currently, Aaron is providing a wide-array
of call center and customer care consulting services and has
recently worked with companies like, Yokohama Tire, The City of El
Monte, GE Capital, Superior Engineering, and many others.
15. Why are commun-ication & coaching skills key?
Key Stats After Implementing LAMA & High-Five
Coaching:
eHarmony.com saw call center Customer Satisfaction increase
from 61% to 78% over 8 consecutive months.
Stamps.com realized a 22% reduction in Average Handle Time
(AHT) due to enhanced call control.
Mylife.com has seen an 86% reduction in escalated complaints as
a result of the guiding principle Never make a customer feel wrong
or stupid. .
16. Improves financial performance/increases revenue.
Mylife.com Launched customer retention program that YTD has
prevented/protected millions. Stamps.com Added over a million
dollars in Life Time Value due to LAMA retention efforts . (Keep
account open) eHarmony Realized a 20% reduction in refunds and a
37% increase in retained account.
Call Center with over 1,500 Retention Opportunities per
day!
Historical Retention rates in the 3%-5% range.
Retention Team Cost
Nearly no retention efforts!
Over 25 Full Time Employees required!
Team is a COST CENTER!
See Graph
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
18.
Consistently retaining over $145,000/month in subscription
fees.
Team Becomes a Profit Center!
After the LAMA Training and HIGH FIVE Coaching LAMA
Introduced!
19. EMPLOYEE Turnover Quotes from the Experts! According to
ICMI, reps felt that call centers were.. Impersonal and cold,
leaving reps feeling isolated and unhappy; research shows that
dissatisfaction with job conditions leads to turnover. ICMI also
concluded that.. High turnover centers also tend to offer less
on-the-job training . It is likely that low amounts of training
erode rep confidence and comfort in their job performance, and as a
result, they are more likely to quit.
20. Turnover Negative Impact
Estimates indicate that on the surface, each new call center
employee costs $24,500 to train (Training Costs, Lack of Available
Productivity, Opportunity Loss). As a result of turnover the call
center also suffers from:
Inexperienced pool of agents leads to lower
conversion/retention rates & lower CSAT.
Management time spent training instead of managing
operation.
Inconsistent Customer Experience Lower CSAT
Increases AHT by an estimated 17%
21. Turnover The Solution..
Mylife.com Call Center has experienced an amazing annual
turnover rate of less than 3% (YTD in 2009).!!!
LAMA SPEAKS TO EACH OF THE POINTS ON THE TURNOVER THE PROBLEM
SLIDE
LAMA/COACHING Advantages
22. Common Coaching Challenges
How to handle them with
The Positive Coach Approach
23. I dont know ----- Just tell me
What to say
What to do differently
What product to offer
How to fix it.
How remind myself
How to Self-correct
L - to the Agents opinion.
A - This is a new process. Its not easy learning new
things.
M - I know the answer but I also know you can think of it as
well. You can probably come up with answers that are even better
for you and in your own words.
A - What ????? Or How???
McKee Consulting, LLC The Positive Coach Approach
24. McKee Consulting, LLC The Positive Coach Approach I Did the
Best I Could L - Listen to the agents opinion of his/her
performance. A - I know you did, and thank you. M - I also know
that you can do so much better. You have what it takes to be really
good at this. A - Do you think that we could role play it and come
up with a way to do this even better? And another thing . . .
25. McKee Consulting, LLC The Positive Coach Approach L -
Listen to the agents opinion of his/her performance. A I
understand. I thought that it was in the training but maybe not. M
I think that we can fix this right now. A If we go over this today,
will you use this from now on? Nobody ever told me that
26. The Positive Coach Approach Dont Say: Manipulative
Questions that intimidate and create fear. How to say it. Set Up
Questions in a fair manner to inspire and acknowledge . Did you
like the way that call went? Dont intimidate people into making
themselves wrong. What would you like to improve on that call? What
did you like or dislike on the call? Could you tell me where the
customer was beginning to get irritated? Judgment call -- the agent
already knows you dont like it. I thought I heard some irritation
on the part of the customer when he said: AS I SAID What did you
think when that happened? Great Opener.. Excellent job. (These
expressions dont mean anything.) Your opener was clear, sounded
helpful and got straight to the point. The customer must have been
glad to have gotten you on the telephone.
27. Coach Training Programs
Positive Coaching
Consultative Coaching
Sally Cordova
Meets with Supervisors
Listens to Agents on tape or in person
Demonstrates the Positive Coach Approach
Assists Supervisors in Learning Coaching Techniques in a Safe
Environment
Self Coaching Program
Self Discovery Program
Self Correction Program
Tele-Sales - Train the Trainer
- Judy McKee - Sally Cordova
Training the Supervisors, Managers and Coaches in the Art of
Positive Coaching
The LAMA Technique
Communication for Coaching
Tele-Sales Training and Coaching
Behavioral Style Coaching
Customer Service Call Path Control
Up-Selling and Cross Selling
Coaching Side-by-Side
The Positive Coach Approach
28. Information Please The Positive Coach Approach