Call center business is a very complex field that requires good management for its success. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of agents, training them, monitoring their stats and providing useful feedback are some of the most important tasks, which are the responsibilities of a call center supervisor. Without a good manager or supervisor, a call center operation is bound to get diminishing returns in terms of FCR, CSAT and other call center parameters. So, when you are looking to outsource call center to a vendor, it is essential for you to analyze the managers first before entering into a contract.
What to Look for in a Supervisor/Manager for Your Customer Service Outsourcing Company?
There are many job responsibilities of a supervisor that require certain characteristics. Have a look below:
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Ability to handle supervisory calls
Most people who call customer care would know that it is not always possible to find the resolution from the first level agents. There are many issues that require supervisory inputs or a manager to take the call. Hence, a supervisor should have thorough understanding of the process and the confidence to handle complex and escalated issues.
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Expertise on products
A customer service outsourcing company deals with many clients and has to handle different types of products. Therefore, a supervisor should have the ability to learn different products and train the agents on them.
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Staying calm under pressure
While for a layman, a call center outsourcing operation may appear to be simple, it is anything but easy. The pressure cooker environment in which the agents work in, can take a toll on even the best of them. And, when it comes to the supervisor, the pressure is immense. A supervisor needs to lead by example, for which, he needs to have the ability to keep calm under pressure.
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Good with tracking stats
There are many key parameters on which an agent is rated upon like FCR (first call resolution), CSAT (customer satisfaction), and AHT (average handling time). All these stats need to be tracked by the manager/supervisor to ascertain how good or bad an agent is. Depending on the ratings, a supervisor can provide training to the agents and help them improve their call-handling abilities.
Finding a Competent Supervisor for Your Customer Service Outsourcing Company
When you have a competent supervisor with the necessary skills, you are able to get the maximum output out of your call center agents. Hence, if you are partnering with a customer service outsourcing company, you need to first ensure that they have good enough supervisors for handling your business. The best way to begin your search is by using social media platforms.
If you have pinpointed a company that you will be outsourcing your work to, it is best to check out their managers’ profile on LinkedIn or other relevant social media platforms. Or, if it is possible for you, it won’t be a bad idea to visit the vendor’s premises and have a one-on-one interaction with the supervisors. And, if you want to save yourself of all the trouble of finding the right supervisors, you can hand over your work to accomplished companies like Bluechip Call Center, which has many competent managers/supervisors with several years of experience in the domain.