Skills Needed by Call-Center Supervisors

Operations Management

Can they describe the different types of organizational options and team structures? These include options such as flat structures vs. more bureaucratic systems, as well as organizing staff by types of call, geographic coverage or skill levels. The point is whether supervisors know what the organizational possibilities are and what would work best for their particular kind of environment.

Do they understand telephone system settings and how they’re used? Do they know what reports are available, and how to retrieve and use them?

Can they outline job descriptions and hiring criteria? Interview and screen effectively?

Do they know how the forecast is created? Do they know what factors influence it and how staffing is affected by various factors?

Can they effectively assess new and existing staff skills, identify gaps and recommend necessary training?

Do they understand the tradeoffs of service, productivity and cost when more employees are added to take customer calls?

Do they understand all the factors that lead to staff turnover and how they can contribute to improved retention?

Are they aware of how schedules get created and what types of short-term and long-term solutions are available?

Can they create/update qualitative standards that are measurable, objective and that can be used to track employees’ performance?

Do they understand what call-center measures need to be in place to support corporate objectives?

Do they know how to objectively measure performance and how to diagnose problems to create improvement plans?

Do they know how things can go wrong in the network and how to react?

Do they understand the difference between these three things, and can they apply proven principles of coaching and counseling for call-center issues?

Do they understand how to use all of the center’s technologies to manage staff effectively?

Do they understand how to identify what motivates staff and how to implement motivation programs in the call center?

Do they understand the numbers (the wide array of call-center performance statistics and reporting systems available) and how to apply them in managing service levels and staff performance?

Do they understand the basic elements of effective workplace design and how to make changes for improved productivity?

Do they understand the various staffing options that may be used, such as outsourcing, telecommuting or contracting?