COACHING
Guess I am“ old” school in my thinking that a coach becomes a mentor for each employee’ s tenure.
Here’ s another connected, related disturbing trend: the amount of hours coaches spent on what used to be actual physical“ paperwork”( but done today mostly on computers and smartphones).
International Coaching Federation industry analysts project that the global coaching market will reach $ 5.8 billion by the end of 2026. Coaches who have adopted dedicated management platforms report reclaiming an average of 10-plus administrative hours per week.
Why are we looking at coaching administrative hours? Don’ t we want our agents to feel that their coaches have their needs and wants at the forefront to help them be the best at their jobs, NOT what AI thinks they need?
For me, the best strategy is to hire the right people with the right expertise who understand empathy and who have great listening / communication skills.
It comes down to getting back to basics. A training program should include( and cover):
• A classroom / lab / reference library / work floor
• A schedule / detailed curriculum / role playing / tests
• Manuals / workbooks
• Soft skills
• Customer service
• Telephone etiquette
• Cross-training
• Follow-up training
A formal monitoring / coaching policy should be in place and detail:
• Performance guidelines
• Tools and measurements
• How reviews are scored and will be communicated.
ARE YOU SEEING ANY CHANGES IN THE SKILLS THAT CONTACT CENTERS REQUIRE AGENTS TO HAVE AND BE TRAINED ON AS COMPARED TO WHAT THEY WERE HIRED FOR?
... THE BEST STRATEGY IS TO HIRE THE RIGHT PEOPLE WITH THE RIGHT EXPERTISE WHO UNDERSTAND EMPATHY AND WHO HAVE GREAT LISTENING / COMMUNICATION SKILLS."
-- LAURA SIKORSKI
A: Fortunately, no. You need to hire staff who are skilled for the job they will do. Here are some interview questions that will help:
1. Teamwork
• Tell me about one of the toughest groups you have had to work with to achieve a task or objective.
• Tell me about a time when you were able to help a team member.
• Tell me about a stressful interaction you had with a team member. How did you handle it?
• Describe a situation when you felt a team member was not contributing enough. What steps did you take?
2. Customer Service
• Describe a situation when you had to deal with demands from an unreasonable customer.
• Tell me about when you went the extra mile for a customer.
• Describe a situation when you had to calm down a very angry customer and how you remained composed.
• Describe a complex problem you recently had to sort out for a customer.
3. Problem-Solving and Judgement
• What would you do if the customer is not happy with your answer or solution?
• How do you deal with a customer’ s question that you do not know the answer to?
• Give me an example of a decision you had to make quickly while dealing with a customer recently.
• What steps did you take when you found out a problem was a result of inefficient service by your company or colleagues?
AUGUST 2026 25