HOW TO LIFT MORALE IN A GLOBAL, OUTSOURCED CONTACT CENTRE

A Brava and Sitel case study

Sitel has contact centres all over the world and provides excellence in outsourced customer care and back-office processes. This case study focusses particularly on the Manila contact centre, which shares a mutual client with Brava.

Virgin Blue had used Brava's services and wanted to share the Effective Leadership culture with their outsourced contact centre. Working with both Virgin Blue and Sitel, Brava began its review, working with the Operations Managers and Coaches (first -level managers) in Manila.

Scoping the Situation

Benito Sy, Director of Account Operations, Sitel, commented, "the approach Brava took, was methodical and thorough. They did their homework by spending time with the Coaches, and on the floor, getting the pulse on folks and also the lay of the land. This helped to customise the training, so that topics and examples used, could easily be related to by the attendees."

In order to increase profitability and create a competitive advantage in the Asia- Pacific call centre environment, Sitel had an urgent need to improve their customer/ guest experience, and their employee engagement.

The Brava process was part of an intiative which addressed a range of key metrics including; improved call quality, decreased call handling time and improved employee morale.

Brava consultants conducted an in-depth analysis to assess the current management practises. They then implemented a focussed behaviour based training  process, which moved managers to the level of high performing leaders.

Implementing Effective Leadership

Helen Jennings, Head of Operations, Brava says, " Training can mean so many things to different people. In our people management analysis we noted that the previous training model was based on giving feedback only on performance gaps.

"For performance to improve, the training model was required to change to a behavioural focus. In reality this meant looking at ways to sincerely provide praise and recognition in a timely, detailed and accurate manner. Giving effective praise isn't as easy as it sounds, but it is a skill that can be learnt and perfected."

Praise and recognition make up an extremely important part of motivation. From a practical point of view Benito Sy noted, "It was an interesting challenge to inject praise and positive wording to motivate the agents. It took practice for it to feel natural and sincere."

When Helen interviewed 5 agents there was a common theme to their comments regarding the new behavioural training experience;

• "Big changes - my Coach is more specific, focusses only on things I've done well."
• "I feel more motivated to strive to do my best."
• "My Coach focusses on my strengths."
• "When areas for improvement are identified they're done in a positive way."
• "My Coach is more approachable, less formal."
• "My Coach reinforces my behaviour so I feel motivated to do it again."

While training was one of the tools used, there was also a focus on other leadership skills. Senior Management, Operations Managers and Coaches attended Brava's 3 day Effective Leadership workshop to develop these skills.

According to Benito Sy, another important factor in the success of Brava, was the scheduled follow up. "We were never left to it on our own. Very often, providers would train you and then leave you. Brava ensured there was an 'after sales service', for tracking progress, and addressing questions that arose after training."

Significant Lift in Employee Morale

How did the Brava system do? With a dramatic change to people management through the introduction of Effective Leadeship skills, the ASAT (agent satisfaction) survey measured some staggering changes.

Preceding Brava's involvement in October 2008, the overall satisfaction rating was 78%. After 5 months it had moved to 86.5% In December 2009 Brava's work was complete and the satisfaction level  continued to rise, to an enviable 91%.

The numbers say a lot, but the change in the site said more. Benito Sy noted, " morale is high.... Interaction between Coaches and Agents is more open and casual. The overall atmosphere feels loose and unrestricted."

This observation is reinforced with 3 questions in particular, in the ASAT survey. All producing results in the 90 percentile, the questions were;

• My direct supervisor encourages my development
• I frequently get feedback on my performance from my direct supervisor
• I received praise and recognition for strong performance

Looking from the outside in, Helen Jennings commented, "from my first visit in 2008 before training commenced, compared with my visit in 2009, the change in mood of the centre is palbably different. It is more positive, alive and energetic."

"While the business and bottom line results speak for themselves, the human side is one of the most satisfying results. Creating engaged employees with high morale makes a difference to everyone's daily experience."