Research shows that the relationship between a contact center agent and his or her supervisor is a crucial component of agent satisfaction. Fostering good working relationships at the team level is one of management’s most important functions.
Direct Supervisor/Manager Style |
5. Strongly Agree |
4. Agree |
3. Neither |
2. Disagree |
1. Strongly Disagree |
Net Score |
|
I respect the level of knowledge that my direct supervisor/manager has of my job. |
27.0% |
40.2% |
18.4% |
10.5% |
3.9% |
52.8% |
|
My direct supervisor/manager finds time to listen to what I have to say. |
46.0% |
39.6% |
8.5% |
3.9% |
2.0% |
79.8% |
|
My direct supervisor/manager cares about me as an individual. |
50.0% |
37.8% |
7.7% |
3.1% |
1.4% |
83.4% |
|
My direct supervisor/manager has my trust. |
48.4% |
35.9% |
11.5% |
2.5% |
1.7% |
80.2% |
|
I have a good working relationship with my direct supervisor/manager. |
48.1% |
35.1% |
11.1% |
3.8% |
1.9% |
77.6% |
|
My direct supervisor/manager and I treat each other with respect. |
49.7% |
38.6% |
8.7% |
1.8% |
1.2% |
85.3% |
|
My direct supervisor/manager treats everyone fairly, there is no favoritism. |
54.6% |
38.8% |
5.0% |
0.9% |
0.6% |
91.9% |
|
Category Averages: |
46.3% |
38.0% |
10.1% |
3.8% |
1.8% |
78.7% |
Compared with other topics surveyed, this category of questions had very positive averages. Only the question focused on “supervisor/manager’s knowledge of the job” had high rates of disagreement.
Interpretation
These are encouraging results that speak well of supervisors' abilities to manage fairly and motivate the survey respondents. The importance of this cannot be understated in terms of managing attrition and building positive morale and culture in a contact center.
As noted, the one question presenting a striking dissonance is question 1, which asks the respondents how much they respect the professional knowledge of their direct superiors regarding the agent's job. Possibilities to improve this response include: 1) promoting from within, which means direct managers will enjoy the credibility of having staffed the front lines personally; 2) training newly-promoted supervisors well (often lacking in many centers); 3) requiring all supervisors to demonstrate true knowledge of what their agents must do. If a new desktop application or new process is introduced, or if agents become responsible for a new queue of customer calls, or for servicing a new company product, managers should be sure that supervisors are completely trained so that they can act as effective mentors and role models, providing the guidance and assistance that agents need.
|
Supervision Impact: |
· Agent Turnover · Ratio of Supervisor to # of Agents |
My Agent Voices blog posts are the result of research on over 5,000 agent surveys conducted in North America. - - Bruce Belfiore