The job of a Team Leader within a contact centre is one with a lot of pressure.
They are responsible for managing a team of agents and help ensure individuals are hitting their targets, as well as identifying when training is necessary. It is also the role of the Team Leader to keep call agents informed of what is happening within the contact centre. Because of this, any kind of poor leadership could lead to a lack of motivation among the team, targets being missed and the company’s reputation being at risk.
It is therefore the role of the Centre Managers to ensure the team leaders are leading their team effectively, that company targets are being met and that they are budgeting responsibility to ensure their customer service operations are cost effective. However, this does beg a few questions:
- What aspects of the company should the TL or CM focus their attention on?
- What impact do Team Leaders and Contact Managers have on ‘Service-level agreements’ delivery?
- How big a team should one individual manage in order to stay productive?
The major focus of Team Leaders should be to guarantee that all SLAs (service level agreements), of both quality and quantity, are met across all areas of the company’s customer service. This includes measuring and managing agent performance (see our blog about reporting here), ensuring their training and mentoring needs are met, and constantly analysing the success of the agents within the business. It is therefore the role of Team Leaders to report any issues, such as understaffing, technology problems and training barriers to the Centre Manager so they can make adjustments to how the contact centre operates, and ensure Service-Level Agreements are being delivered.
When it comes to staff numbers, the ideal ratio of agents to Team Leaders varies depending on the amount of work each agent is required to do. An average amount, say for 100 agents, is to have one team leader per 10-12 agents and then a single Centre manager for every five team leaders. Again, it comes down to agent/work ratio and if your SLAs are able to be met.
If your team are struggling to keep up with their workload, or your business is suffering from high volumes of calls at seasonal times, why not outsource your overflow to mplcontact? We are a professional contact centre that blends seamlessly into your company, providing excellent customer service for your customers.
Call us on 0800 088 7899 for more information. We hope you found this blog useful.