Over past
years call centers in India have made a mark
for themselves in the international market because of the cheap and capable
labor. Call centers in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, and Bangalore are the most
sought-after by the foreign companies who wish to avail call center support
services.
Leaders in
the call centers make operations easier by managing, motivating the agents to
give their best output thereby making call center services in India
unbeatable in achieving set standards and goals.
Call
centers are of two types, Inbound and outbound call centers. Inbound
call centers deal with calls made by the customer to the call center, for
example, customer care whereas, call centers outbound are the ones where
the agents make the call, for example, Outbound sales call center. Outbound
call center outsourcing is most common as it reduces the operating costs of
the company.
A manager
in many ways can help the all centers in maintaining and improving performance
has he undertakes many duties and responsibilities that aim at reducing wastage
of time, money and efforts.
Role of a Manager in a Call Centers -
·
A Manager has to determine the call center's operational strategies
which can be done by -
1.
Conducting needs assessment test,
2.
Reviewing performance,
3.
Doing cost-benefit analysis
4.
Capacity planning
·
Identifying and evaluating state of the art technologies and employing
them to enhance the output.
·
They define the user requirements, establishing technical
specifications, productivity, production quality and customer service
standards.
·
They contribute information and analysis which help in making organizational
plans and reviews.
·
He/she develops systems for the call center by augmenting the customer
interaction, voice response systems, and voice networks. They design user
interfaces, execute plans for user acceptance test, implement planning and
controlling functions
·
A manager constantly improves and maintains call center operations by
constantly monitoring system performance.
·
He/she has to identify the problem, discrepancies or any deviations
from set standards and take corrective measures towards them. He has to prepare,
and complete action plans devised.
·
He/she must complete system audits and analyses, manages system and
process improvements, installing upgrades in the systems, undertake quality
assurance programs.
·
Performance cannot be managed if the human resource is not properly
managed, a manager also undertakes human resource activities such as,
recruitment, selection, orientation, training, assigning, coaching and
counseling while at the same time disciplining employees, he is required to communicate
job expectations, reviewing job contribution, appraisals and reviewing
compensation actions. It is very important for leaders to enforce policies and
procedures.
·
There are financial objective set, a manager must meet those
objectives by planning and estimating requirements, preparing the actual
budget, scheduling and keeping a record of expenditures, matching the actual
results with set standards, and if any deviations are found the manager can
take corrective actions.
·
The leader, by evaluating and installing equipment helps in
maintaining them, develops preventive maintenance programs, scheduling repairs,
implementing and evaluating upgrades.
·
A manager acquires professional and technical knowledge by keeping an
eye out for new and emerging trends in the field, as it helps give the
organization first mover advantage, attends workshops which enhance skills,
establishes the personal network, employing state of art practices.
·
A manager helps the organization to achieve organizational goals, by directing
the efforts of all elements of the organization towards those goals, a manager
assumes ownership for new and different requests, he explores opportunities
which can add value to the jobs.
Qualities and Skills of a Good Leader
·
Customer Focus – The main focus of a leader in a call center is always
the customer, the customer's satisfaction is his/her topmost priority.
·
Customer Service – Call centers aim at providing customer service,
assisting the customers, solving their queries and doubts.
·
Verbal Communication – A good leader must have communication skills,
and call centers generally work on voice systems(calling), it becomes
imperative for the manager to be a good verbal communicator. Along with this,
he must communicate with his subordinates to effectively and efficiently
achieve goals.
·
Informing Others – In a team, communication is the key, a good leader
keeps everyone in the loop, by informing his teammates, subordinates of
changes, targets, their roles and duties and what he desires from them.
·
Process Improvement – Improvement helps the call center to be on the
top by implementing improved processes and technologies. First mover advantage
always helps one to have an advantage over others.
·
Problem Solving-It is common for the problem to arise in day to day
working, a good leader has to be quick on his feet and solve the problem as
soon as possible.
·
People Skills – A good leader has a high emotional quotient, he is
able to easily comprehend what a person requires to motivate them, he
understands his team members, creates a bond with them which help improve their
performance
·
Teamwork – A good leader is always a team player, he values the
suggestions of others, take them into account when making a decision, gives
credit to his team members as and when required, discusses his idea with his
team.
·
People Management – A leader must know how to manage people, how to
get best results from them, in what ways can they attain their full potential
and how can the company benefit from their contribution.
·
Managing Processes – Along with managing people, he is also required
to manage the processes that are undertaken by the call center, he is required
to supervise the processes, and prepare requires reports, he must also check
whether the actual output matches the set standards and take corrective
measures in case of deviations.
·
Emphasizing Excellence – In all the processes and projects undertaken
by a good leader aims to exceed the set standards and deliver only the best
