01/11 2012

Posted in:  Books and articles, Call center management, Communication Behaviors

It’s interesting to me how we can make ourselves believe anything we want to think just by changing our perspective on how we look at something.  I was talking with a client the other day about performance in their call center and when I asked how things were going, he responded with, “It’s going great!”  He showed me report after report of the numbers; and the numbers were certainly looking really good as compared to last year.  The abandoned rate was down, the handle times of the representatives were more consistent and the answer rate was greatly improved.  So his vision was that everything was great!

Then we started listening to a few calls together.  The tone of voice was monotone,  the word choice was not as positive as it could have been and then one of the representatives let out a big sigh when a customer had a special request, indicating that she seemed irritated by the question.  He then started to talk about WHY we were hearing those things. “That is a new employee.”  “That customer is always a challenging customer for us.”  The reasons why things happen can sometimes change the reality that we see in our minds.  We can actually find ourselves justifying and validating the current reality and before we know, the way we see things is GREAT! 

But is it really great, or are we looking at things through a lens that is not enabling us to see the real truth?

According to Peter Senge, “Commitment to the truth does not mean seeking the Truth, the absolute final word or ultimate cause.  Rather, it means a relentless willingness to root out the ways we limit or deceive ourselves from seeing what is, and to continually challenge our theories of why things are the way they are.  It means continuously broadening our awareness, just as the great athlete with extraordinary peripheral vision keeps trying to see more of the playing field” (2006, p. 148).

So when I was talking with my client, and my friend, I validated those reasons why the performance was what it was.  But we continued to ask more questions about why it could possibly be that way and also why it wasn’t improving.  We questioned and theorized and developed a list of many possibilities.  Now it is time to bring those theories to those who know best- the employees who demonstrated those behaviors.  When he approaches his employees with respect and appreciation and starts asking them WHY these behaviors are the way they are- his employees may shrug their shoulders and they may start telling him all the reasons why they are doing things  the way they are doing them. “That’s the way I was trained”, “That’s the way I have always done it and no one ever said it was wrong”, “That’s the way everyone else does it”. 

Those might be the reasons that are presented to that call center manager and those might be the same reasons that would be presented to you.  It is now in his power (and yours) to help the employees to see the truth- to become more aware of themselves and the role that they play in the outcome.  Seeing the truth raises our levels of accountability and responsibility for what goes on around us.  When we talk about empowerment- that is true empowerment; having the personal power to peel back the layers of a situation and uncover all the real truths that lie within a situation. 

MOMENT OF REFLECTION
How are you raising your awareness of the layers of truth that surround you?  Are you taking an honest look at what is really going on with your performance? How relentless is your willingness to see the truth?     

Reference
Senge, P.M. (2006). The fifth discipline. The art and practice of the learning organization. New York, NY: Doubleday.

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