My line of business - the apprentice team manager

Do you find the multitude of roles that exist in the call centre sector a bit mind-boggling? Well, worry no more. Call Centre Helper is on hand to give you the low-down on the variety of jobs that exist in the world of call centres. Each month, we’ll be hearing from an individual who works in the sector and will not only discover what they do for a living, but also what their tips are for getting in to that line of work.

This month, we profile Sue Pullen, who has recently completed the apprentice team manager programme at the outsourcer Merchants. Sue was selected for her professionalism, commitment, drive and enthusiasm and has completed the scheme in record time. She is now a fully-fledged team manager with ownership of a contact centre team and their delivery of operational excellence. Here is what she has to say about her experiences

When I discovered that Merchants were running a brand new Apprentice Team Manager Programme, I really wanted to apply. I had been working at Merchants for eight years when I saw the scheme advertised last Easter. I was ready to move on to a new challenge within the organisation and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

The programme is a fast-track two-year training programme and it seemed like a great next step for my career. At the end of the training, I would then be qualified to take ownership of my own contact centre team after a combination of classroom and on-the-job learning. Having already completed a BTEC in Team Management, I had confidence in the fact that I could make a good team manager.

The Team Manager Apprentice Programme was advertised around the Merchants operations in the UK, Europe and South Africa and employees were encouraged to apply. I filled in the application form and was delighted to be chosen along with nine other staff members to attend an assessment day.

The day was run by staff with real experience of working in the contact centre environment – people like operations managers, service delivery managers and other senior personnel. We were given tasks such as giving difficult feedback in a role-play situation and a forum meeting where we were given an agenda item to present to the board of directors. There was also a formal interview.

I was very pleased when I was informed that I had been successful along with three other staff members. We were all accepted on to the scheme and began our training in earnest.

Merchants has a robust training programme; we learned some of the call centre processes and staff management best practice before we were let loose on real people. We have a great buddy system with all the apprentices working together and supporting each other, which has been really effective and helped us all a great deal. We were also each given the opportunity to find a mentor within the company. Mine has been invaluable and I still have regular mentoring sessions.

Putting theory in to practice

My first role in the contact centre as team manager apprentice was on a campaign for Edexcel, the exam board. I had 16 new starters on my team – quite a daunting prospect. Everything was completely unfamiliar to me, but I had the full support of the operations manager. I attended product training and got to know the team. Still, the first few weeks were a very steep learning curve and sometimes I thought “I can’t do this at all!”

Generally, however, the positives outweighed the negatives and my confidence grew very quickly. It is said that if you are thrown in to deep water, you will sink or swim. And, if I’m honest, at points during the first few months I thought I was going to drown. However, it soon became clear that I and my colleagues on the scheme were in fact very strong swimmers.

The other apprentice team managers are working in a similar situation to me and facing the same challenges. We are a great support for each other and still share our ups and downs and learn from one another. I think this has helped us move forward together and kept us smiling.

I have one enduring memory of the first time I had to take disciplinary action; I was completely unprepared for the conversation and didn’t know what I wanted to say. I was actually trembling while I was having the rather difficult conversation. From that experience I learned how important it is to be well-prepared. In fact, it is one of the most important skills I developed over those first few weeks.

We have quite a few structured training days where we learn about company strategy and processes. These are generally developed and run by the human resources team as this business is all about the people.

What’s more, during my apprenticeship I moved around the business and worked on several different projects with different clients, managers and teams – something that has given me a wealth of experience and increased my confidence further. I am pleased to say I am still learning something new about myself and my job every day.

After 14 months I still have days where I think I am in the wrong job, but that is a rarity now. I have discovered that if you get the basics right and treat everyone with respect, even those difficult conversations can work in a positive way.

After less than a year in to a programme that was originally estimated to last two years, my colleagues and I attended a review where it was announced that we had measured as effective team managers that needed little support. Resultantly, we were told we could drop the apprentice in our job title and become fully-fledged team managers. This was testament to the excellent training and support that the scheme offered me.

The journey did not end there, though. We still have a structured training plan, as do all of the other team managers in the company. I am now managing a project for a client who runs a performance management company. I have been working with the client in partnership since day one and the client is very happy with the service we are delivering.

For me, the most important thing about this job is the difference you can make to people’s lives and the company profits through effective and friendly management. Never are two days the same.

As for the future – well, I hope to attain the position of operations manager. At Merchants, this is the next step up from team manager and is quite a big step. I know it will take time, but in the meanwhile I am very happy in my current role and especially pleased that I took that first step in to team management.