JOB PROFILE CONTACT CENTRE MANAGER

Transcription

1 JOB PROFILE CONTACT CENTRE MANAGER OVERVIEW It s about you Are you able to juggle competing priorities while ensuring that clients are served well and the organization is represented in the best possible manner? Are you energized by the challenge of managing staff, handling customer complaints, dealing with technical issues and meeting sales and service goals and quotas? Do you enjoy working in a fast-paced environment and does your lifestyle lend itself to working rotating shifts as required? If so, you may find the role of Contact Centre Manager to be rewarding and fulfilling. What is contact centre management? Contact centre management involves managing and directing all aspects of operations of a contact centre or a business unit within a contact centre including, managing resources, implementing and reviewing policies and procedures, and developing and monitoring service volume and timeliness. What is the role of (job)? Contact Centre Managers are responsible for overseeing the proper functioning of the Contact Centre or a business unit within the Contact Centre (in a large organization), including daily management and directing all aspects of operations through the use of effective resources, implementing and reviewing policies and procedures and developing and monitoring service volume and timeliness. They may also be responsible for managing staff and recruiting new hires. 1 P age

2 OVERVIEW, CONTINUED Work context for this role Contact Centre Managers work in a fast-paced environment. The position can be stressful because Contact Centre Managers often have competing priorities and must resolve problems with employees, handle customer complaints, deal with technical issues, meet sales and service goals and quotas and, ensure that clients are served well and the organization is represented in the best possible manner. Contact Centre Managers typically work standard daytime working hours. In some cases, they may need to work rotating shifts within the Contact Centre s hours of operation. Frequently, this may mean an early shift focusing on providing services to the Eastern provinces of Canada or a late shift which is primary responsible for ensuring services to the Western provinces. Similarly, if a Canadian contact centre requires hours outside due to global operations, there may be shift work required. Areas of focus Contact Centre Managers focus on: Ensuring a good client experience that will lead to resolution of an issue or sale Responding to an information request (depending on the organization s goals) Managing a productive staff Strengthening the organization s reputation The manager s clients can be both internal and external to the financial organization. A Contact Centre Manager will typically have a group working for them which has a single focus (i.e., sales or customer service). 2 P age

3 QUALIFICATIONS Qualifications for this role Knowledge requirements: Contact Centre Managers require specific knowledge of: Technical Skills: The industry for which their contact centre provides support (i.e., their line of business), new developments, and the contact centre s role in the organization s overall operations and how their centre can impact other operations Products and services offered by the competition Products/services offered by the organization and their unique selling proposition versus competitors (i.e., their value proposition, or competitive advantage) Business cycles and forecasting staff requirements Contact Centre Managers require specific technical skills: Computer skills (e.g., the systems and software/web applications the organization uses) Time management and prioritization skills to manage competing priorities May require basic knowledge in scheduling software systems as they may have to work with Schedulers/Workforce Planners to modify staff planning based upon business need / employee requirements Soft Skills: Contact Centre Managers require specific soft skills: Analytical skills to analyze situations and determine the best approach for moving forward for the business and staff Business Acumen to effectively manage budgets, provide input to strategy and ensure alignment of goals to strategy Communication skills (written, verbal, active listening) to provide feedback to staff, deal with customers and communicate with senior management Conflict management to resolve any conflict/issues as they arise with coworkers or team members and determine how to proceed Customer service orientation to help establish and ensure customer service standards are being met Decision Making to decide how best to proceed regarding the contact centre, client situations & employee status Interpersonal understanding to balance staff needs with business requirements Problem solving to resolve issues and problems effectively by identifying alternatives and choosing the most appropriate course of action Teamwork and collaboration to work effectively within teams and across groups Team leadership to effectively lead the team in a manner that enables them to understand the organization s agenda and to move it forward in accordance with established goals, delegate effectively and promote team morale 3 P age

4 QUALIFICATIONS, CONTINUED Qualifications for this role, continued Applicable Experience: 2-5 years related working experience in Contact Centre management and related activities working at a client service level Note that individuals outside of the organization are hired for this position. Many Contact Centre Managers are promoted from within their organizations. Familiarity with the organization and their processes is required to manage the contact centre and the people within it. Education, Certifications, Designations and Licenses: Positions typically require: Post-secondary education (College or University) in related fields such as business, or management studies or a combination of on the job training, education and experience in a contact centre environment Other Training: Additional certifications may include: IFIC (Investment Funds Institute of Canada) courses, or CSI (Canadian Securities Institute) courses when working in a mutual fund organization Professional Associations may include: n/a 4 P age

5 DUTIES Main duties The main duties of the Contact Centre Manager: Manage the call centre or an operating unit within the call centre and supervise staff Key Activities: Supervise call centre activity via a call centre management software application and monitoring metrics such as: client wait time, hold/busy time (i.e., when a representative is not on the phone), call volume, average call time and unresolved call status (escalated situations, or cases, where the organization must review and contact the client). Proactively approach staff who are on the phone for longer than average call time and offer to provide troubleshooting assistance. Review unresolved calls/cases and assigning them as required (i.e., forwarding to sales, claims or investment departments, compliance, senior level staff) using their judgment or perhaps assigning to more senior client representatives for resolution. Respond to requests for supervisor approval when situations require adjustments/transactions/refunds, fund movement/claims/sales of which are greater than staff approval limits. Ensure appropriate resourcing and staffing Key Activities: Recruit and allocate required resources to deliver Contact Centre strategy Clearly communicate this strategy through the line in a clear and understandable manner Work with Scheduler to adjust staffing levels dependent upon call volume/external factors/employee needs Assist in the recruitment and selection of staff and, where required, be able to terminate staff s employment, typically with the assistance and guidance of human resources personnel Sit in on the interview process and assist in the development of interview questions (i.e., behavioral event interview or situational questions that accurately reflect challenges in the role and gauge candidate responses) 5 P age

6 DUTIES, CONTINUED Main duties, continued Provide clear direction and focus to business unit and team leaders, conduct performance reviews and provide support, training and guidance as necessary to achieve the profitability of the business by achieving sales and revenue, customer service and productivity objectives Key Activities: Receive reports from Quality Assurance teams and collaborating with quality assurance personnel to identify skill gaps, process gaps or opportunities for training enhancements Review Quality Assurance process and provide input on changes/ improvements to better measure proper contact centre operations Provide constructive feedback to staff members regarding improving performance, developing skills required for advancement in the organization and other coaching as required Seek to increase each staff member s qualifications and build their call taking ability to more senior levels Organize group training and / or team workshops to build skill levels in the contact centres. May also arrange for partnerships with high performing employees to conduct cross training within the contact centre. Work with team leaders, quality assurance, product development, compliance and other relevant departments to optimize the business process and identify and act on areas (human, technical, process or otherwise) for improvement Key Activities: Assess reports, trends and information from staff and seek to find any areas for improvement Report to the Director of Contact Centre suggested improvements and expected savings/increased efficiencies Representative Job titles Depending on the organization you work for, Contact Centre Managers may hold various job titles: People Manager Supervisor Customer/Client Service Team Leader/Manager Contact Centre Team Manager Manager, Business Unit Services Group Manager/Leader 6 P age

7 CAREER PATH Moving into the role To move into a Contact Centre Manager role, you need to have previous management experience and a post-secondary education in a related field such as business or management studies. Knowledge of product offerings and the financial institution in which you are working are key when supervising roles. The Contact Centre Manager is a central point of contact for the team. It is critical that that the manager be familiar with software systems, processes and controls utilized by the organization. Progression beyond the role As you gain experience in the Contact Centre Manager role, you may move into the following positions/career streams: In large financial institutions, movement to more internal operations (i.e., operation and processes) versus client facing roles, or liaison type roles (i.e., shared services positions) is not uncommon Due to the knowledge required for managing process, compliance may also be a logical career path for contact centre managers. Due to the introduction to training design and delivery and some recruitment, some contact centre managers may move into human resources roles. Moving into a different sector of contact centre management (i.e., client services to sales call centre) may also be an option. 7 P age

8 Career Impacts External environmental factors impacting the role Changes in any regulation/legislation that may impact the financial services industry can impact the qualifications for the role. As there is a demand for French and other language client services representatives, there is demand for multi-lingual Contact Centre Supervisors as well. Demand The demand for this role has been increasing as the need for contact centres continues to grow as organizations must be able to respond to their clients in order to compete with competitors. As more products and services are introduced into the Canadian financial market, this typically also increases questions from clients which require contact centres to be available for clients. For example, with the introduction of tax-free savings accounts, many financial organizations provided this new product for clients and would require contact centre personnel to be on hand to answer questions with regards to that product. Increased use of various technologies in financial institutions (i.e., mobile banking and internet applications) has created more situations for clients to interact with financial institutions on a regular basis which requires customer service centres; in addition to a higher level of technical expertise in the delivery of client services. Compensation Compensation typically would consist of base salary and bonus based on individual, team and organization performance. Measurable performance may consist of qualitative and quantitative metrics such as sales and service targets. 8 P age