The Often-Ignored Art of Supervisor Selection

The Often-Ignored Art of Supervisor Selection

With so much of a center's success hinging on supervisor performance, it makes sense to dedicate time and effort to their selection and mentoring.
Many call centers have implemented a comprehensive, multi-hurdle hiring process featuring advanced screening and assessment tools to ensure that they attract and acquire the best agents possible. Few centers, however, have done the same to ensure that they have the best supervisors leading those agents.
Supervisors, while positively paramount to the performance and development of their staff, rarely are put through a serious selection process in attaining their positions. More often than not, supervisors rise from the agent ranks as stellar, ambitious frontline performers. However, as many call centers -- and staff -- soon discover, not all who can do can teach.
An inadequate or non-existent supervisor selection process can have severely negative effects on the call center and enterprise as a whole, says Anne Nickerson, president of training and consulting firm Call Center Coach and author of Not By the Seat of My Pants: Leadership Lessons for the Call Center Supervisor.
"Not enough attention is given to supervisor assessment and hiring. I think supervisors are the most critical part of success in the call center. Managers often erroneously assume that if an agent is doing a terrific job with customers, they automatically will be good at supervising. Unfortunately, these assumptions can be the demise of an organization."
Matt Harles, vice president of sales for PhoneWare -- a San Diego-based service agency specializing in both inbound and outbound customer care -- fully concurs. He, like Nickerson, sees supervisors as the unsung heroes of the call center -- the glue that holds the center together, but who typically take a back seat to frontline staff.
"One piece tends to be forgotten in the development of call center performance," says Harles. "This is the element that ensures results, keeps the agents happy, and orchestrates performance: the call center supervisor."
And with so much of a call center's success hinging on how supervisors perform, it only makes sense, Harles says, to dedicate ample time and effort to the selection and mentoring of these individuals.
Groom, Baby!
In top performing call centers, the supervisor selection process usually starts long before an actual supervisory position opens up. Some centers, for example, offer training opportunities for aspiring supervisors -- often as part of a formal career path. This training may take the form of classroom instruction, self-paced e-learning modules, or job-shadowing (where experienced agents take time off the phones to work closely with a supervisor).
The best programs use a combination of all these elements, says Nickerson, but emphasize the "practical" over the "didactical." Skills, she says, should be addressed "at a minimum, with courses and classroom training, but most importantly via on-the-job application with a mentor for support."
Key topics to be covered/experienced when training potential supervisors, according to Nickerson and other experts, include: forecasting/scheduling; quality and metrics reporting; project management; recruiting, screening and hiring; priority setting; call center technologies; monitoring; providing effective feedback and coaching; team building; motivation; conflict management; and managing diversity.
"There are other basic leadership skills that are not necessarily trainable," she adds "but that can be observed, such as ethics, integrity, honesty, trustworthiness and problem-solving skills -- all of which are critical to success."
Some call centers, while without a formal training program or career path for supervisor candidates, involve seasoned agents in key projects and initiatives that enable them to learn and to hone important supervisory skills. Examples include letting veteran staff serve as peer mentors, training assistants, quality monitoring associates, or inter-departmental interns/liaisons (who work closely with -- and sometimes even work in -- other departments within the enterprise.
The latter, says Nickerson, is a great way for aspiring supervisors to learn the ins and outs of the organization and to embrace the critical role that the call center plays in it.
"The best example I've ever seen is an organization that required future supervisors to spend a minimum of two years as an agent -- including a rotation in other support areas such as marketing, billing, fulfillment, sales and the mail room. The different perspectives and experiences made each of their supervisors understand the impact of decisions, as well as [fostered] important inter-departmental relationships that would prove valuable for the future."
Assessment Tools Help Select the Best
Where grooming agents for future supervisory roles helps them develop key competencies needed in the position, today's advanced assessment tools help the call center determine who is, indeed, ready to take the reins.
Only recently have such specialized tools for supervisor selection emerged on the market. The most comprehensive solutions blend both automated and face-to-face simulations of realistic supervisory situations, and provide detailed assessments and hiring suggestions for each candidate.
One tool -- Employment Technologies' Team Leader Readiness Simulation (TLRS) -- even helps hiring managers create cogent and revealing interview questions, evaluate candidates' responses, and develop customized performance plans for each candidate.
Other supervisor selection tools for call centers are less high-tech, though no less effective. FurstPerson -- a leading call center human resources consulting firm -- offers a Supervisor Hiring Assessment service. As part of this service, FurstPerson experts first conduct a job analysis and validation study to define the specific supervisory job requirements for the client call center. Based on those requirements, they develop detailed job assessments that each supervisory candidate takes. FurstPerson then analyzes the results with the call center client's managers and makes hiring recommendations.
Though the methods may differ slightly, if you read through the product literature of today's top supervisor selection tools, you'll see that they all evaluate the same critical skills and characteristics. Among these are: relationship building; coaching; team building; mental alertness; analytical thinking; decisiveness; time management; leadership ability; ability to motivate; flexibility; work ethic; and job/organization fit.
Nickerson supports the use of reputable selection tools, and agrees that they can, indeed, be helpful in determining whether or not a supervisor candidate has the core competencies/qualities listed above, but she advises managers not to expect or let selection tools do all the work.
"I have great faith in assessments that have been validated against the same job requirements," she says. "However, they should be used in conjunction with behavioral interviews" and, in the event that the candidate is from outside the organization, "reference checking, as well."
New-Hire Training Ain't Just for Agents Anymore
To truly set up the new supervisors - and the center's agents -- for success, the best centers put the former through special new-hire training curriculum. Most centers seek input from their existing supervisors when determining the key modules/skills to include in such training. Training typically lasts one to two weeks, and covers topics similar to those covered in training for aspiring supervisors (discussed previously), but usually with a sharper focus on the specific set of skills that will be used immediately on the job.
While new-hire training for supervisors rarely lasts more than eight to 10 days, supervisor development must be ongoing, says Nickerson. "Continuous training is critical. An ongoing 360 degree feedback process combined with a personal development plan focuses on the specific needs of the individual and the organization."
When assessing supervisor performance and identifying areas for improvement, Nickerson recommends focusing on three cornerstones: 1) employee satisfaction; 2) customer satisfaction; and 3) business results.
And, she adds, don't forget to reward and recognize supervisors for a job -- a very important job - well done.
"Supervisors are the unsung heroes of the workplace, and often are not given credit, recognition or monetary supplements for all they do. Supervising is both a science and an art, a tremendous challenge, and a great opportunity to positively impact others."
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Dealing With Poor Rapport
What are some recommended approaches for supervisors who do not have good rapport with their direct reports (both personality conflicts and communication gaps)?
The members at ICMI's QueueTips Forum had some suggestions.
1. Have your managers do a 360 degree evaluation with their staff (have staff fill out a questionnaire about the manager's style, interpersonal skills, leadership skills, etc.) so that your managers have a clear understanding of the gaps, how their employees perceive them and their areas of opportunities. Then develop an action plan with your manager that is measurable. This may include training and coaching from you. Your Human Resources department should be able to assist you.
2. This is usually a communication skills issue. Look for training in coaching skills, which helps people learn to communicate both good and not-so-good messages in a way that people can accept them. Try the American Society for Training and Development Web site for resources (www.astd.org).