Call Center Supervisors
The link between the call center manager and the telephone representatives is the call center Supervisor. He is the person who interacts directly with the representatives. Call center manager’s job may be objective in nature; but the supervisor cannot do so. As a supervisor you have to interact with the representatives constantly. Your task as a supervisor is to ensure that the call centre staff is kept motivated all the time. To do this you have to act like a team captain. Leading the team verbally is a short time measure, which may motivate the staff for sometimes but the effect wear off soon. You should make an effort to lead by example. Best leaders are those who lead from the front.
The supervisor is responsible for keeping the atmosphere of the call center in balance. The ambiance of the call center should not be so severe that the staff begins to get demoralized and start looking for more acceptable jobs in other call centers. As a supervisor you should not be biased towards some and treat the rest with prejudice. If this happens; it will create an atmosphere of distrust amongst the staff; which eventually will lead to disruption in the smooth functioning of the call center. It is your task as a supervisor to establish the right course of action.
A supervisor can be successful if the type of job done by the call center matches with his temperament. If he is good at sales then a call center dealing with sale will be suitable for him. He will be able to excel in such an environment and never feel the stress that this position demands. And if the job does not match his nature then he will soon begin to feel the stress. When he is over stressed he will tend to make mistakes and thus affect the performance of the telephone representatives, which again will affect the overall performance of the call center.
Appointing a supervisor is a very critical matter and not to be taken lightly. The candidate has to be of open mind with good communication skills. He should be able to handle stress quite naturally, and should be flexible in his attitude. He should have the skillfulness to coordinate between the call center manage and the service representatives. He should be able to handle day to day work without prejudice. He should be able to communicate the grievances of the representatives to the call center manager, so that appropriate corrective actions can be taken to keep the work force in good humor. He should also be able to acquaint himself with the working of the telephone representatives so that he can understand their predicaments and the hindrance they face in the work place.
The job of a supervisor is stressful no doubt; but he can add a bit of fun element in it. This will not only help him cut down his stress level but will keep the representatives happy. If this happens then the ambience of the call centre will be conducive of business which will be beneficial to the call center ultimately.
