Better Business One-Liners

We are all guilty of over-thinking solutions. Sometimes the solution to the big problem is just doing the tried and true.

• Treat employees like people ... guess what, they are (oh, and believe it or not, this is also true of callers)
• People want and need coaching: Yep, we want to look up to our boss. And, we want our boss to correct us... kindly
• Win their hearts: Remember, big changes are hard and take time to adjust, but people will rally and support something they believe in
• Before making a decision, think about how it will affect others and weigh that against how important it is to put the decision into action. Oh, and by the way... by "others" I mean the people that will have to carry out whatever the decision is (front-line employees)
• Give second chances: Look, we all make mistakes and everyone deserves to be forgiven
• That "golden rule" applies in business too: Oh, I sort of talked about this in the bullet above, but look... too many decisions are made in business without thinking of others. So, in business decisions, coaching sessions, or just the way we look at and greet others, use the golden rule
• That "do the right thing" rule applies in business too. This one is easy. When faced with a difficult decision, do the right thing. We're all blessed with a conscience and doing the right thing is always "the right thing"
• KISS (I won't soften it, but your HR staff might): Keep It Simple Stupid. Yeah! Really, it doesn't need to be complicated to be good. And if it isn't complicate, it is usually better

This week's blog is really sort of a random collection of simple things to do to make life and business better. Do you have a snippet to share? Please leave a comment with your better business one-liners.

You Get What You Pay For

Early on in my career in off-shoring a training manager said, "if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys." Compensation is tricky: Base pay, bonuses, signing bonuses, pay-for-performance, incentives, and it goes on and on. What should be considered for compensation? How is performance related to pay?

Look at the market. OK, that's too simple. But it is true. The problem with many cut-throat vendors is trying to one up the others with a few more pesos, rupees, dollars, etc. In the end, the industry suffers because we all end up pricing ourselves out of the market. Take a look at the current market and be relatively competitive. That's really it. If you pay above the market rate, you better demand higher skills and expect slow hiring. If you're below the market rate, expect to invest more in training and you better have a spectacular coaching culture if you want to survive.

How is performance related to pay? Beyond the skills mentioned above, compensation can be one of the tools used to reward behavior. This external stimulus for behavior should always be accompanied with pomp and circumstance however. What am I talking about?

Well, we all have two type of motivation, internal (intrinsic) and external (extrinsic). The extrinsic rewards get you so far (further with some). And internal motivation is that burning desire within to do a great job -- and with any fire, we can add fuel. Making a big deal out of performance-based rewards is critical to driving this much stronger motivation.

Basic Skills | A "Fresher" In Training

While setting up a training and quality department in India (2004), I learned much about the outsourcing business. While there, I learned a new term: "freshers." At first, I also had no idea what a "fresher" was, but I quickly learned, these are recent graduates who are taking their first professional job at a call center.

Vendors are now finding, as the market has become increasingly saturated, "freshers" are a necessity. Often, "freshers" lack sophistication and the business savvy needed to be productive in an outsourcing environment. But, don't loose hope! These may also be the employees who are willing to be trained and molded into customer service superstars. Basic skills training may be something you need to consider as part of the investment in your employees.

Basic Skills - Depending on the market where business is done, you may have to do an inventory of the basic skills of freshers. Do they posses the life skills to carry out the job -- such as planning for transportation, appropriate dress, workplace behavior? If not, this may need to be integrated into a training plan. Some organizations have gone as far as talking about other basic needs such as, money management, health risks, basic computer skills, etc. If planning is done right, the result will be a very loyal employee who lives the culture of customer service.

The ROI on these employees is something to watch. Get the most out of your employees by understanding the market, needs, and selecting or building the right training program.

On-the-Job Training: Phased Nesting Model

The phased nesting model and variants of this model can be a very strong process to bring qualified, confident representatives to your customers.

This model requires four roles:

• Representatives - your front-line workers
• OJT Coach - may be a dedicated position, a trainer, or a transitional supervisor
• Supervisor - the permanent line manager for the representative
• Tenured reps - These exemplary reps. serve as floor support

After the representative successfully completes training, he or she is introduced to the OJT coach. The OJT coach serves as the in-between for the associate as he or she transitions from training to operations. It is important that this transition be smooth, not only because you want to keep your representative, but ultimately the representative will be speaking to your customers and he or she will have a direct impact on your business.

How To Structure Phased Nesting:

Duration: The overall length of nesting may vary depending on need, contract details, and complexity of the account. Nesting must be a minimum of three days and may be as much as six to eight weeks if needed. Each phase should be approximately the same length and may be determined by dividing the total number of nesting days by three. For example a two week (10-day) nesting would divide into:

• Phase One: 3 Days
• Phase Two: 3 Days
• Phase Three: 4 Days

Phase One: This is the Hatchling Phase. In this phase, we're handling new representatives with care by easing them into call handling. A typical day in this phase should look like this:

• 30 min - Review of systems and updates (additional time on the first day to log in to phones and systems if needed)
• 75 min - Round Robbin (i.e., taking calls in three's, which includes a tenured representative in the trio. Each member takes one call while the other two observe, then rotate.)
• 15 min - Debrief call taking. Utilize a "parking lot" for questions requiring additional detail.

[15 min - BREAK]

• 75 min - Round Robbin
• 15 min - Debrief call taking. Review "parking lot" questions
• 30 min - Up-training / Skills training

[30 min - LUNCH]

• 105 min - Round Robbin
• 15 min - Debrief call taking. Review "parking lot" questions

[15 min - BREAK]

• 90 min - Round Robbin
• 30 min - Debrief and emphasize systems usage

Phase Two: This is the growing chickling phase. In this phase, we're increasing the amount of time on the phones. This is primarily accomplished by reducing the "Round Robin" teams to teams of two, instead of three. Retain half of your tenured representatives used in the previous phase as floor support for the representatives. The tenured associates should move between two teams, listening in as calls are taken and providing real-time feedback as appropriate. The same schedule shown for Phase One, may be used for Phase Two.

Phase Three: Our representatives are preparing to fly in this phase. Again, we will increase the amount of exposure to taking calls in this phase. This time we increase the amount of time for associates by putting each representative on their own calls. Retain half of the tenured representatives from phase two for this phase -- this gives you about one tenured representative for every four new reps. In the final day of phase three, make sure to build in time for reps to meet their supervisors and set up a formal hand off between the OJT Coach and the reps' supervisors.

Graduation note: Before allowing reps to go with their supervisor to take calls, ensure they've met minimum expectations for things like, AHT, FCR, Quality, etc.

If a phased approach like this is used, there will be a shorter learning curve, happier employees, and better customer satisfaction. The ROI on phased nesting has been proven time and again.