As you’re reading this, a business has just lost a customer due to a poor contact center experience. That’s according to a recent Microsoft survey, which found that nearly two-thirds (61 percent) of all customers globally have switched brands due to poor service – with nearly half having done so in just the 12 months prior to the survey.
Statistics like this confound me – because they’re unnecessary. In the “people business” of contact centers, training and support are often the make-or-break factors in a representative’s ability to successfully resolve customers’ issues.
VXI Global Solutions has a long track record of providing award-winning results for clients. A big part of that is our leadership mentoring program – a “trickle-down” approach to scaling our values, principles and operational strategy to power the success of both our clients and all associates.
A framework to succeed
VXI’s mentoring program is designed to strengthen our leaders today while providing a platform to groom the next generation of leadership. It’s also based on mutual trust between our organization, mentors and mentees. We take a structured approach in order to create the best opportunities for success. The guiding principles in our employee mentoring program include:
Authenticity is key: Mentors serve as confidantes, inspiring and encouraging other individuals to create their own success stories. To ensure a productive, trusting relationship, they must be confident that their own leadership comes from a place of authenticity.
Have an action plan: Following conversations with the mentor about the individual’s priorities, needs, and the support required to turn goals into reality, a personalized learning plan helps plot out the “next steps” to progress in development.
Respect for the individual: Learning plans and approaches should be flexible and designed for success based on both the mentee’s goals and working styles. For example, consider the “What animal describes you best: Panther, Peackock, Dolphin or Owl?” paradigm.
Practice facilitates proficiency: Classroom experience provides a good foundation for developing leadership skills – but there’s no substitute for practical experience. Developmental assignments completed at the mentee’s own pace allow the individual to hone skills in a safe, real-world setting.
It isn’t a one-way street: Mentoring is as much about getting as it is giving. Mentors themselves are also enhancing their own leadership skills, which develop individuals’ future opportunities and future opportunities for the overall organization.
We’re all in the business of people. And the bar will continue to be raised for customer experience expectations – as shown in the Microsoft survey, in which nearly two-thirds (59 percent) of respondents said they have higher standards than they did just a year ago. VXI’s leadership mentoring program provides a framework to succeed for VXI’s doers, thinkers and facilitators – which translates into success for our client partners.
Interested in a partner that’s invested in turning every customer interaction into value for your organization? VXI would like to talk to you.
