You want to boost your contact and call agents’ productivity. You want to drive your agents from average to excellent. 

Yes, we get it. 

However, finding a suitable coaching method for your agents can be a hassle. 

How, then, do you go about it? 

You have come to the right place. In this article, you’ll discover 10 powerful coaching tips for your agents. 

These powerful contact centre coaching tips will help your agents deliver top-notch services that hit the mark.

Let’s dive in.

What is call centre agent coaching?

Call centre agent coaching is training your agents to enable them to gather all the knowledge and resources they need to serve your customers effectively. Coaching comes in various forms. And each one’s more powerful than the last.

The goal of coaching? Teaching agents the etiquette and how to deliver outstanding customer service.

We’ve grouped the best training methods into three:

• One-on-one sessions with a manager (or supervisor)
• Group training
• Self-paced contact centre training courses

These training methods will give you good results. You should implement them immediately.

And we’ll show you how.

In the meantime, why coach your contact and call centre agents?

Let’s find out.

Why is coaching necessary for contact and call centre agents?

You’ll enjoy the following:

• Satisfied agents: Coaching helps you support and guide your agents.
• Improved performance: When agents upskill, they’ll deliver up-to-date customer service.
• Customer satisfaction: coaching helps to increase customer loyalty.
• Agent development: Coaching helps contact and call centre agents advance their careers.
• Positive reputation: It’ll boost your company’s reputation. And,
• Attained goals: Coaching helps you to reach business goals faster.

How do you attract these benefits?

Pay attention to these 10 secrets. They’re crucial ingredients for success.

10 secrets for effectively coaching contact and call centre agents

Here are 10 contact and call centre training tips and best practices.

1. Practise active listening and role-play

“Call centre agents must practise and receive regular feedback. It’ll help them develop active listening skills.” – Kristin Zhivago.

That’s right.

Your agents need constant active listening practice.

So, schedule listening exercises where you help your agents hone their listening skills.

Special tip? Use role-play. It’s more effective.

Role-plays ensure agents get real-time feedback. It boosts confidence and helps agents practice active listening.

It’ll prepare them for real-life customer interactions.

2. Communicate clearly and concisely

“Train call centre agents using clear communication. This will increase first call resolution rates.” – Shep Hyken.

Communicate clearly. It enhances good relationships. Clear communication eliminates misunderstandings among teammates.

This will immediately reflect in customer interactions.

3. Set achievable goals

“Set achievable goals when coaching contact and call centre agents. It’s a roadmap that keeps agents focused and motivated.” – Brent Kelly.

Training should be as frequent as possible. So make it a norm.

Set realistic training goals for your customer service teams’ success. It’ll help them understand exactly what to do.

Regularly coaching your contact and call centre agents will boost their performance. It exposes areas that need improvement. Then you can make the necessary adjustments.

4. Encourage team collaboration

“A team-based approach encourages collaboration. It promotes the sharing of information and ideas. And the result? A more engaged and productive workforce.” – Brad Cleveland.

During coaching, encourage team unity among contact and call centre agents. Encourage them to foster friendship among themselves. It’ll boost a positive working environment.

When teammates are united, they’ll share knowledge and experience. This is where your experienced agents can come in. They can help struggling agents improve.

5. Provide constructive feedback

“Give your agents specific and actionable feedback. This will help them identify areas for improvement.” – Paul Cherry.

Feedback is everything. Measure your agents’ performance and let them know. It’ll boost improvement, so pay attention to it.

Do this while coaching your contact and call centre agents. Give them constructive feedback on their performance. This will help them generate brilliant ideas for improvement in your call centre.

Constructive feedback has a positive impact. That’s how you correct without killing their confidence.

6. Personalise coaching style to fit individual needs

“Coaching is a highly personal interaction. And your coaching style should reflect that. Understand your agents’ personalities, learning styles, and motivations. Then, adjust accordingly.” – Brad Cleveland.

Everyone’s different. And so are your agents.

Adapt your coaching style to fit each call and contact centre agent.

How? Focus on individual strengths. It’ll make call centre coaching exciting and practical.

Do this and enhance understanding and retention. Agents always remember training that’s tailored to their needs.

7. Build strong relationships with agents

“Build strong relationships between agents and coaches. It helps create a productive call centre. Foster a supportive training environment. Agents will feel valued and motivated. It’ll help them provide outstanding customer service.” – Shep Hyken.

Build strong relationships with your agents. It’s critical to coaching contact and call centre agents.

This powerful coaching technique motivates contact and calls agents. It opens agents up to receive constructive feedback.

Why? Because you’ve already bonded with them.

No one opens up to an all-serious and boring leader. So, be approachable and friendly. It doesn’t hurt to be silly, too, sometimes.

This will make coaching your call and contact centre agents fun.

Fun training boosts call centre agents learning. They can easily retain and apply what they learn. So, make those moments enjoyable and memorable. Avoid making it feel like a chore.

Create a team of agents who can share a good laugh. It’s a win-win if you ask us.

8. Offer regular training and development opportunities

“Ensure regular training and development opportunities. They ensure call centre agents upskill to deliver great customer service.” – Don Peppers.

There are many contact centre training resources available today. You can find them online and offline.

Upskilling will boost call centre agents’ confidence. They’ll be able to handle customer relationships like a boss.

9. Celebrate achievements

“Celebrate team success. It motivates and inspires your contact agents.” – Grant Cardone

Do your contact agents sometimes get good results? Or is it all bad news?

There’s always a silver lining if you look deeper. And it’s your job to find it.

When coaching contact centre agents’, celebrate these tiny achievements. They don’t have to be signed first.

Always look for the next small breakthrough and celebrate it. That’s how you recognise and reward agents for their hard work.

10. Track performance metrics

“Measure, measure, measure. You can’t manage what you don’t measure.” – Shep Hyken

Your metrics are your windows to reality. They give you access to real-time information. When you track your call centre performance and metrics, you’ll be in tune with reality. You’ll know exactly what to focus training on.

This will make your training sessions more effective.

Now, what are the DON’Ts of contact and call centre agent coaching?

Let’s take a look.

Contact and call centre coaching mistakes to avoid

Avoid these mistakes when training your customer service team.

1. One-size-fits-all approach

“A one-size-fits-all coaching simply doesn’t work,” Donna Fluss said.

Let’s face it – everyone has a unique learning style. The way Mr A learns is different from Mrs B’s. So, a one-size-fits-all approach is useless. Personalised training is what will give you the results you want.

Personalise your coaching for your contact and call centre agents. This way, you can measure performance.

As Donna rightly puts it: 

“Personalise the coaching. Adjust your style to suit each agent. Take into account their experience level. Also, consider their

strengths, weaknesses, and preferred learning style.”

2. Lack of structure and organisation

“Lack of structure is a common mistake. You need a clear plan for your call centre training solutions. Otherwise, you’ll wander, miss opportunities and good results.” – Brad Cleveland, Consultant at Brad Cleveland.

And Brad’s right. Without a good plan, you’ll fail.

So set up a good structure. Coaching your call and contact centre agents is serious business. Without a good structure, you’ll be beating around the bush. You’ll be navigating a maze blindfolded.

Avoid this headache-inducing scenario by always having a clear training plan.

This plan should outline the following:

• Objectives
• Methods 
• Resources needed to accomplish the goals.

It’ll keep you on track.

Next, keep detailed records of your coaching sessions. You can channel coaching to your contact and call centre agents’ needs.

3. Neglecting real-time feedback

“Without feedback, agents have to guess. They’ll not know what they’re doing right or wrong. This can reduce motivation and growth.” – Shep Hyken

Performance measured boosts productivity. Your contact agents are no exception.

So, give your agents real-time feedback on their performance. Do this during your training.

Mind you, avoid only pointing out what an agent is doing wrong. Instead, focus on areas for improvement. 

4. Neglecting continuous learning

“Failing to invest in the development of agents has dire consequences. It leads to burnout and low morale. Evaluate your training programs and empower agents to deliver exceptional customer experiences.” – Donna Fluss.

Are your agents learning and growing? If not, then you have work to do. You must change this narrative.

Why? Lack of growth opportunities leads to stagnation.

Organise relevant coaching sessions for your contact and call centre agents.

Have you launched a new product? Train agents on how to use it. They should be the first to master your product. 

Does your call centre have difficult moments? Train agents on handling demanding customers.

Treat it like a personal shopping trip. You want to pick the right clothes for the right occasion.

And it’ll keep your customers coming back for more great service.

5. Failing to provide role-playing opportunities

“Encourage role-playing during contact centre agent training. Otherwise, you’ll have agents who can’t handle complicated customer interactions.” – Donna Fluss.

Do you have inexperienced agents? Do they struggle during challenging situations?

This will undoubtedly frustrate your customers. And you don’t want that.

Neglecting role-play is a bad idea. It’s like training your soccer strikers without a goal. They’ll end up shooting aimlessly, wasting everyone’s time.

So, avoid this. Add role-playing exercises to your training programs.

They’ll help your agents practise handling real-life scenarios to boost the customer experience.

We’re finally at the end of this guide. What have you learned? Do you need help?

The good thing is, we’ll not leave you to do it all by yourself.

TelebuHub can help you enhance and track call agent performance.

Enjoy wow moments with your customers. Use the expert tips we’ve discussed in this guide.

Want a flexible tool with a great approach to customer service? Use TelebuHub.

TelebuHub has a unique and flexible user interface. It also integrates with other applications. This way, you can reach your customers wherever they are at.

And the mind-blowing part? Pricing is flexible. It’s a pay-as-you-use model.

So sign up for free today, or request a demo. Enjoy fantastic customer experiences with TelebuHub.

Your customers are counting on you.