It’s March Madness and I’ve been talking about basketball.  In my last post, I talked about wanting to win.  Do your agents know your game plan?  What do they have to do every day to win?

In one center I managed, our game plan was all about STARs.  Our agents were stars and our calls had STAR metrics.  We defined that as Superior, Timely, Accurate and Reliable service.  In another center, we used the 4 P’s – Prompt, Premier, Professional, and Problem-solving service.  Both centers had QA metrics related to these characteristics.  Plus we were able to have lots of fun with this.  How did it all come about?

1. It starts with you.  As the leader, you have to lay out a clear vision for your contact center.  You have to believe that what your folks do brings value to your organization every day.  You have to communicate that belief with passion.  If this is hard for you, read John Maxwell and other writers about leadership.  Find a mentor who can help you develop this skill.  Contact CPI and I’ll help you get started!
2. Gather your team and dream big dreams together.  Regardless of where you are today (the first seed in the basketball tournament or the 64^th seed in the basketball tournament!), think about where you want to go.  If you don’t have it already, write down what your group contributes to the business.  Then, dream about what you could contribute that would be a win-win for your company and your employees.
3. Now, get creative about describing your dream.  Find someone in your department who’s great at word pictures.  Bet you’d never thought you’d read this in a blog – create your own acronym!!  The STAR idea caught on in our entire company.  We had stars hanging from the ceiling and posted on our cubes.  You may be rolling your eyes and commenting that this is “hokey.”  You know what, basketball team introductions and mascots can be hokey, too – but they get people pumped up.  It’s a behavior that communicates that you’re serious about winning together.
4. Almost done:  turn that dream into concrete behaviors.  In our case, we defined “Superior, Timely, Accurate and Reliable” in terms of behaviors we expected to see/hear on every call.  Our QA program was built around it.  It expanded into the behaviors we wanted to demonstrate peer-to-peer and we began a program where we could share stars with our colleagues when we “caught them doing something good.”  Whatever word picture your draw, be sure to have your team put it on paper in clear behavioral terms so your employees can see it.  I can demonstrate how a basketball player should do a layup to score points.  Your picture should demonstrate how your agent “scores points” with your customers.
5. Finally, don’t ever stop making improvements.  Have your leadership team meet regularly to review your program.  Keep it fresh.  Get your agents involved in maintaining and updating so the game plan belongs to them as well.

Every year, there’s a “Cinderella” team in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.  Just like every other team that starts on the road to the final four, they came to win.  What makes them different?  No one expected them to win.  So often, the contact center isn’t expected to win.  Create a clear game plan that everyone knows.  Hold a vision for your people with passion.  Then, get ready to cut down the nets because your staff is here to win.