Managers can strengthen call center training by modeling the service they want, making room to practice, and recognizing specific good work. They should also check whether targets, scripts, or procedures leave agents enough room to listen and solve problems.
How can managers help agents use new skills on calls?
In your call center, Choose Your Attitude can help agents decide how they want to approach a busy queue and reset after a tense interaction. A supervisor might model a calm, curious response to a customer who has been transferred twice, then invite the trainee to use their own words rather than recite a script.
Make practice realistic and safe: after a role-play, ask what the agent noticed and what they would try next. Recognition can be specific, such as noting that an agent paused to hear the whole concern before offering a solution.
What can managers change in the training environment?
Review whether call targets allow time for questions, scripts permit clear explanations, and procedures make common fixes unnecessarily difficult. If agents need permission for a routine adjustment, clarify what they can decide themselves and where to seek help.
A practical routine is to model the intended approach before and during a shift, schedule brief rehearsals for difficult calls, and notice a useful behavior after real calls. Ask agents which rule or target gets in the way of good service, then review one barrier at a time.
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