Articles about staff

The trials and tribulations of shift swaps

Agents find the option to swap shifts very useful, but for businesses, it can cause all sorts of trouble. Shift swaps can leave a call centre understaffed and unable to perform to targets, if organised badly. Matthew Brown looks at the trials and tribulations of swift swaps in the call centre.

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Five ways to share good customer feedback with the rest of the team

Customer compliment often reflects great service from a whole team. Good feedback is useless unless shared with a team. Even good feedback for individual agents can give others an insight into the level of service they should be aiming to give.
Here are a few suggestions on how to share feedback with the rest of the [...]

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5 tips to help manage an underperforming team

Have you got a team that is underperforming? Is poor teamwork producing lower results?
Are there frustrations that inhibit individuals’ effectiveness?
Martin Marris highlights some top tips that could help to make your team more than simply the sum of the parts.

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How to set up an Olympics-based call centre game

The London 2012 Olympics will be the biggest sporting event in Britain for generations, and it provides the perfect opportunity for some exciting motivational games for the call centre.
Matthew Brown looks at how to set up an Olympic-themed call centre game.

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The top ten workforce motivators

Keep your workforce happy, loyal and productive with this guide to the ten most effective and inexpensive motivators around.

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I already coach. Why isn’t my team improving?

Many companies suffer from poor performance and not hitting KPI targets. When managers then feel under pressure, the natural approach is to push or ‘tell’ their staff to work harder and smarter to achieve more.
Team leaders or coaches often believe they are coaching, when in fact they are spending time simply highlighting and asking for [...]

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How to deal with short-notice absence requests

Everyone needs to take time off at some point. Perhaps an agent with children wants to see a school play. Maybe it’s time for a dentist’s or doctor’s appointment.
Here’s how to deal with such requests.

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Ten probing interview questions

A job candidate’s well-rehearsed replies to the usual interview questions can disguise their true personality. Four top call centre recruitment specialists share the questions they use to probe a little deeper.

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Shift patterns – what are the best options?

The creation of shift patterns to meet customer demand by every 15 minutes of the day is hard enough. Add into that restricted contracts, working time directives, family-friendly legislation and unions.
Steve Woosey looks at the best options for your contact centre.

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