Coaching

In 2020, the sudden shift to work-from-home (WFH) status for contact center employees felt chaotic and temporary. In 2021 it became a necessary, but less than optimal, way to keep businesses moving forward. But...

We can all agree that a lot has changed in a few years. While some of us have tried to hold on to what normal used to look like, others have embraced the new...

If you have ever attempted to coach a contact center agent with 10-plus years of experience, then you already know that it is a very different scenario than coaching someone with two to three...

We live in a challenging, high-stress time that has become known as the new normal. Unfortunately, it has led too often to frayed tempers, rudeness, and a lack of respect. All of which collide...

The word “load” appears in many familiar idioms and phrases. We might “carbo load” before a race or “get loaded” over the weekend. As well, heavy equipment operators must keep an eye out for...

A little while ago I recalled a former agent telling me how excited she was about her new role as a chat agent. She later went on to tell me about this story she...

2022 has been a pivotal turning point in the age of sales, risk, and technology. Traditional business-to-business (B2B) selling strategies, through inside contact centers and mobile in the field, have been replaced by data-driven...

Welcome to the top 5 blog posts in September! As the start of October will ring in Customer Service Week, it is only fitting that our top post this month is another annual favorite...

We kick off our top 5 blog posts this month with a top 5 favorite, "20 Empathy Statements to Show Stressed-Out Customers That You Care." Leslie published this article back in 2020, and it...

A call comes into my line at 5:50 pm, just 10 minutes before the call center closes, I do my greeting, and the caller requests to change his grandmother’s health plan selection. Assuming that he...

This month, our readers have been interested in insights and recommendations on how best to lead and coach our hybrid teams. They have also been reading up on strategies to use AI to support...

As an enthusiast of nature and intelligence for the majority of my life, I was fortunate to be introduced to artificial intelligence (AI) when it wasn’t still a buzzword, even in dusty computer labs...

Hybrid, remote, or fully in-person? This month, our top blog posts are all about how to move forward in the new normal. Our authors offer insights on hiring and training remotely, the best ways...

At my first call center job, I learned the ropes and learned the most that I could from my trainers, team leaders, mentors, and neighbors. I recall listening to my colleague who sat in front...

It is a good news/troubling news story for contact centers. How they and their supplier partners plan and respond will help determine how well the industry succeeds in the post-COVID-19 pandemic “new normal” era. On...

I just wrapped up my 13th anniversary message for the March issue of Contact Center Pipeline. In doing so, I was reflecting on our very first issues of the magazine back in 2008. Just...

Can you recall a story that took you on an emotional roller coaster ride and ended with an essential motto or lesson? Over the past decade of providing call center coaching and training, my...

I’ve always known that I must listen more than I speak when coaching an agent. However, when I first became a team lead, I was always thinking about my response while the other person...

Now that call centers have transitioned to working from home, many managers and supervisors are finding coaching remotely to have its challenges. Managers often go into “survival mode” and put coaching on the back...

Virtually every contact center understands the unique challenges its employees face: Agents often struggle with low pay, high stress, few chances for advancement, not enough training and poor leadership. All of these lead to...