Tag: coaching
The Importance of Soft Skills Training Beyond the Pandemic
Even as local economies begin phases of reopening, COVID-19 is keeping most of us in our homes for the foreseeable future, and as a...
Score with Rapport!
Early in 2020, Pipeline published results from the 2020 Contact Center Challenges & Priorities survey and declared 2020 the “Year of the Agent.” The...
20 Empathy Statements to Show Stressed-Out Customers That You Care
These are difficult times, and our anxious customers need us more than ever. Some of them need help with a simple task, like: “How...
Using DISC Temperaments to Support Team Members During Stressful Times
FACT: Stress is a huge side-effect of any sudden change. We all react to stress differently. Have you noticed an occasional change in behavior...
The Four Most Important Skills for Leading Hybrid Teams
The Covid-19 pandemic created significant shifts in how we work. As businesses scrambled to set up employees to work from home, there was little...
Meet Mike Aoki: Our August 2020 Wall of Fame Honoree
Contact Center Pipeline’s
AUTHOR WALL OF FAME Mike Aoki is President of Reflective Keynotes Inc., a Canadian training company that helps contact centers improve their sales...
Analytics Coming of Age
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, “coming of age” is defined as the attainment of prominence, respectability, recognition or maturity. It means something has reached...
Coaching Automated: Improving Agent Engagement Pays Off
When the topic of automation comes up, people often ask about the impact on agent engagement. Engagement is becoming increasingly important as it relates...
The Latest Trends in Quality Assurance
I hated receiving quality assurance (QA) evaluations when I was an agent. Even though I got a good score, the process was based on...
Managing Different Personalities in the Contact Center: The Platinum Rule
Early in my management career, I followed the Golden Rule: Treat others as I would want to be treated. I believed that if I...
5 Ways to Win with Gen Z Workers
Gen Z is known as the fastest-growing workforce in America right now. And although many employers might feel daunted by the influx of new...
Top 5 Posts in May
May is generally an event-loaded month for the industry. It’s also a time when blog readership spikes. This month, we saw a great deal...
Tips and Techniques for Coaching Success
Coaching agents is arguably the most critical responsibility for frontline contact center management. Effective coaching is known to foster agent engagement, reinforce and expand...
A 3-Step Guide for Integrating Coaching into the Call Center
There is no question that managers wield a powerful sword. In fact, 75% of voluntary turnover is attributed to poor employee-manager relationships. (You read...
How to Be a Supervisor in the Modern Contact Center
Company cultures and leadership styles tend to shift over the years as they adapt to the behaviors and expectations of the dominant generation in...
Inside View: Gopher Sport
Anyone who manages, or has managed, a school or community athletic program no doubt is already aware of Gopher Sport’s products and their reputation...
12 Tips to Find Time for Coaching
Customer experience, employee engagement and sales results are driven by effective coaching. Coaching helps develop your agents’ skills. Done right, it also improves morale...
Adding Fuel to the Fire
The idiom “add fuel to the fire” dates back to Roman times. The expression, as defined by the American Dictionary of Idioms, means to...
Quality and Clarity: Passing and Receiving the Communication Baton
Passing the baton” refers to handing over a particular duty or responsibility to someone, as in a relay race. Years ago, I devised a...
What Parenting and Leadership Have in Common
I am fortunate to have raised two boys who are growing up to be fine young men. Some of the lessons I learned in...