Agent Self-Coaching: How Agents Can Coach Themselves to Achieve World-Class QA and Csat Scores

Why Is Agent Self-Coaching Important?

The traditional supervisor coaching approach to help them improve their Csat score is inadequate. Agent self-coaching creates ownership for improving agent performance. The more agents turn within themselves for the answers, the more self-confident they become.

Most importantly, it utilizes the agent's intrinsic motivation — their internal drive for achieving good QA and Csat scores, personal growth, and job satisfaction.

Here's How An Agent Can Coach Themselves

Ten proactive steps to focus on for effective self-coaching as a call center agent:

1. Set Goals: Clearly define your short-term and long-term goals. These goals can be related to improving specific metrics like Csat score, call resolution, or personal development objectives such as enhancing communication skills or product knowledge.
2. Post-Call Survey: One key aspect of self-coaching is to use post-call survey feedback to determine agent call resolution and Csat performance, strengths, and weaknesses. A minimum of five surveys per agent per month is required.
3. Reflect on Performance: Conduct self-assessments against predefined metrics or benchmarks to gauge your performance. Regularly assess your performance by reviewing call recordings, customer survey feedback, customer relationship management, call handling scripts, standards, and performance metrics. Identify areas where you excel and areas that need improvement. Take note of any patterns or recurring issues that arise.
4. Identify Strengths and Weaknesses: Determine and leverage your strengths to excel. Also, identify your weaknesses or areas for improvement and develop actions to address them. This could involve seeking additional training, practicing specific skills, role-playing, or seeking guidance from supervisors or other agents.
5. Continuous Learning: Actively seek opportunities to learn and grow. Stay updated on product knowledge, industry trends, and best practices in customer service. Engage in self-study, online courses, blogs, and webinars, or attend workshops to acquire new skills and expand your knowledge base.
6. Time Allocation: For agent self-coaching to be successful, allow up to 30 minutes for each call they conducted self-coaching on. Self-coaching should take place within two business days of the post-call survey that took place.
7. Artificial Intelligence (AI): Based on customer feedback, use AI GPT to provide insights on what you need to do to improve on the areas a customer told you they were dissatisfied with and the areas they told you they were satisfied with to build on those strengths.
8. Take Action: Use a checklist of information they need to review (e.g., call recording, customer survey, KMT, CRM, call handling scripts, SOP procedures) that can also be used to take the necessary actions. Next, note what you feel you did well on the call and, most notably, what actions you will take to improve. Then, share your notes with your supervisor.
9. Confidence in Self-Coaching: For each call you handled where you conducted self-coaching, rate how confident you are with your ability to coach yourself to improve how you can handle a similar call in the future. Share your confidence self-coaching rating and your actions to improve with your supervisor.
10. Self-Coaching Software: Use QA customer service software to assist you in the key steps for effective self-coaching as a call center agent. The agent self-coaching feature should also be linked to the agent's QA customer service dashboard.

Agent self-coaching is an ongoing process, and consistent effort and dedication are essential for improvement. However, you can become a more effective and successful call center agent by taking ownership of your professional development and actively seeking ways to enhance your skills, knowledge, and abilities.