RETENTION, PERFORMANCE, SATISFACTION - HOW TO MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE

A Brava and Telecom NZ case study

In early 2005, the management team of Telecom New Zealand's Customer Care Centres were faced with the challenge of how to improve the morale and engagement of Contact Centre staff, while also increasing sales performance and service delivery. They engaged Brava to implement the Effective Leadership system across all Customer Care Contact Centres in Auckland, Hamilton and Christchurch.

A Four Step Approach was Undertaken

1. Effective Leadership Review: An evaluation of the current management systems was undertaken. Strengths, weaknesses and gaps were identified. Recommendations were made for the implementation of the customised Effective Leadership system.
2. Preparation for Implementation: Work was undertaken to refine the detail of the new approach, coaching tools and practises.
3. Training: Centre Managers and Team Leaders were trained in the Effective Leadership concepts, skills and practises.
4. Support: Key success elements within this step included;

• On site coaching of Centre Managers
• The Mentoring Programme - designed to provide guidance for Centre Managers and Team Leaders on how to maximise their teams' performance
• Implementation of BravaTrak - an online Leadership assessment tool that uses 180 degree feedback from Agents.

The Brava framework and principles equipped Telecom's Centre Managers and Team Leaders with the tools, training and support to effectively manage the performance and development of their teams. This framework provides measurable results to track effectiveness, and additionally seeks feedback from pariticipants to enable ongoing refinements and improvements.

Significant improvements have been experienced by Telecom. Key success areas were sales performance, agents and management confidence, and overall morale. From Telecom's experience the key strengths of the framework was the focus on positive reinforcement daily, being specific about feedback and ensuring that follow-up was carried out.

Brava's Effective Leadership system delivered a measurable and systematic approach to coaching, focussing on behaviours as the drivers of key business outputs. It proved to be a key tool to help improve Telecom's Contact Centre culture and performance.