Do your employees look up?
When they are faced with a challenge, do they feel comfortable discussing it with their manager, or do they feel they have to keep their head down and solve the issue themselves?
I once visited a company where employees were told not to look up; basically, if they came across a problem, they were supposed to solve it themselves and leave leadership out of it.
But that way of thinking is problematic for employees and doesn’t help customers get the level of help they need.
The contact center has always had a certain amount of stress and challenges, but those issues have been amplified in the time of COVID. Agents interact with stressed customers every day while also managing their own changing lives. They need to have leaders they can count on who allow them to look up and offer assistance when they face a struggle. Modern leaders need to be strong to help their employees and customers.
The most customer-centric companies don’t leave leadership up to chance. They create a strong culture and develop leaders with the right skills to serve customers and employees.
All modern leaders must have these five attributes:
- Energy for influencing change. Being customer-centric is tiring. But strong leaders don’t stop until the problem is solved. They put in the extra time and energy to make positive change happen within their organization.
- Being neighborly. Just like that friendly neighbor who always says hello and is willing to lend a helping hand, leaders must be good listeners and always there for their customers and employees. They must be approachable and spend time with people to get to know them and check up on them.
- Good judgment. Rapid-fire judgment calls happen in the contact center every day. Modern leaders have good judgment to make quick decisions and also trust their employees to make their best decisions. Having good judgment helps leaders read the room and better connect with people.
- Problem-solving. Today’s problems are new and often complicated. Modern leaders don’t shy away from problems but are creative to find unique and personalized solutions.
- Consistent say-do ratio. It’s simple: good leaders do what they say they will do. They follow through and are trustworthy.
Strong leaders have never been more important or more needed than they are now. These five attributes should be the foundation of all customer-centric leaders and can lead your contact center and company to success.
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Tune in to Spotlight on the Supervisor: A Webinar Series brought to us by RingCentral. Watch all 3 videos HERE.
In the first episode of this 3-part series, I discuss the 5 key traits of a transformational leader and why these traits are so critical for organizations right now. Watch it HERE.
In the second episode, I discuss the change enablement approach and helping people show up as their best selves at work. Watch it HERE:
In the third episode, I discuss the strong link between company culture and the customer experience. Watch it HERE.
