the return on investment is not worth it.
For the most part, the learning doesn’t lead to better organisational performance, because people soon revert to their old ways of doing things - Harvard Business Review
The number one reason training fails is implementation. And the contact centre is particularly susceptible to this, and it happens for a few very valid reasons.
Being busy, this busyness distracts leaders from being present and intentional about building new patterns of behaviour.
Not having a structured and supported plan to embed the new skills and mindsets that supports forming new habits.
Leaders of leaders are not on the same journey and aren’t clear on what it is their learner needs to do, back on the job.
It is fair to say that contact centre leaders are the busiest leaders in the whole organisation. They have 10 to 15 direct reports to build relationships with, manage complaints, create reporting, provide coaching, recruit new team members, the list goes on.
They are often inexperienced with 1-2 years of leadership under their belt and so don't realise how important being intentional is, they are left to their own initiative, which is not a bad thing, but it means they will make common mistakes and they inevitably fall back into old patterns.
Once you deal with the challenges of implementation, how do you ensure that leaders keep learning and improving?
Contact Centre Leadership Training programs often miss these critical pieces of the puzzle.
Peer-to-peer learning – leadership is an emergent practice, and as leaders face old problems with new mindsets, they discover solutions they never knew existed. Sharing these experiences is one way to accelerate learning, build positive morale among leaders and build cross functional connections, but it’s often overlooked.
There is no time for 1 to 1 support, everyone learns at different speeds but in classroom training everyone is expected to finish at the same place. Training does not build in 1 to 1 coaching to ensure everyone is supported and many trainers aren’t equipped to uncover the root cause of leadership challenges.
Access to adaptive leaders – hearing directly from leaders about how they lead in the real world, the challenges they face and how they have overcome them.
Access to site tours of contact centres that have implemented adaptive ways of working - the chance to observe practices first hand and talk to the people who are doing the work is one of the most valuable ways to learn about adaptive leadership.
There are no contact centre training offerings in the market that offer all of this.
An investment in building leadership capability should have one goal to build better leaders, who thrive on complexity, lead with trust and purpose and build high performing teams.
This won’t happen in a training course.
Classroom based training should be one piece of the puzzle and it should be complimented with a range of interventions, and it should do this in the following ways:
> By building in skills and mindset practice well beyond the time in the classroom, the 90 days following training are critical to build new habits and practices.
> By engaging the leaders of the leaders so they know the role they need to play, these are the mentors and role models of these emerging leaders and must be as engaged as the learners.
> By supporting ongoing reflection and sharing of experiences so that peer to peer learning becomes part of the culture.
>Having a community of support and that opportunity to be connected to experienced leaders who can mentor them.
> By measuring progress from multiple perspectives, seeking feedback from team members, peers, and leaders.
> Review and develop goals, regularly and build in the flexibility for the leader to dial up or down the focus areas based on the demands of the role. This means they can keep momentum going even through the busiest of times.
> Provide access to leaders and contact centres who are the best in our industry who role model adaptive leadership.
Building leadership capability is an infinite game and to truly build better leaders takes real intent and an integrated approach.
