Q – I have an agent where on-going coaching is not delivering any sustainable improvement in performance. How do I motivate my agent to keep consistent and continually want to improve?

The VP of Operations, routinely frustrates the non-leaders on his team because he calls out bad behaviour, and demands transparency and authenticity in every conversation. “Seriously, if we replayed this for our Customers, or our Employees … could we confidently pass the YouTube Test?”

Q – My agents’ Agent Hold Time (AHT) is climbing out of control and we have a mandate to reduce our costs by creating efficiency on our calls. Do you have any ideas on how to help my agents?

It was the first time the new guy was joining the Weekly Results Review call, and after the other 8 participants had circled the wagons around the multitude of metrics on the spreadsheet, he asked an unintentionally embarrassing question …

Q – How do I know if my team leaders are effective in coaching in my current environment and should I be changing how we coach when we move to a virtual environment?

OK, we have a major change coming! We’ve provided Context, shared Why there is a need for this change and declared a new Big Hairy Audacious Goal (thanks Jim Collins!), so how come most of what we start loses steam and grinds to a halt?

Q – We are concerned about the change management issues as Reps are grumbling about job security. Do you have suggestions as to how we can position this to be successful and reduce Rep anxiety?

The regular cadence of the business was paused, the latest re-org caused role confusion for many, and down in Operations, the teams are waiting for direction on priorities…

I know that coaching our agents is beneficial but every time service levels go down, my director cancels our coaching efforts. I can’t make any progress with my agents! How do I convince my director that coaching should not be cancelled regardless of service levels?

As he pranced around the room (generating laughter by standing on chairs “to be seen”) with passion and good humour oozing out of him, we are reminded that people matter and that our job is to inspire…

Q – To “ensure that side by side with agents is a minimum 60% of supervisors’ time expectation” …how do I get there? How can I free them from other administrative duties and their reluctance to do this?

As a parent, teacher, or leader, if you really want to make a difference, you will eventually have to be the coach who tackles limiting beliefs…

Q – Our results seem to fluctuate and bounce around. It is frustrating for all levels of our organization. How do I stop this fluctuation and sustain the gains that I have made?

Most leaders focus on trying to get change to START (executive support, training, sharing context), so very little time is spent on what it takes to actually make change STICK. Most change efforts don’t last because …

Q – We just started a home agent program in our company and want to make every effort to have our home agents live and feel our on-site customer-centric culture. How we can be proactive to do this?