How to Bounce Back from a Call Center Performance Mishap

by Margaux Panlilio, Quality Supervisor

Many agents feel that it’s the end of their world if they fail their call center performance, perhaps, their monthly quality score or schedule adherence score.

Dealing with situations like this becomes an issue in all inbound call centers. So why do you think this is a problem? It is because agents quit and go on attrition. Maybe you have heard this adage, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” As a tenured employee in a customer service call center, however, I have heard another version that goes like this: “When the going gets tough and the tough fall, they bounce back.”

Bouncing back from a performance crisis matters significantly if you want to succeed in the customer service industry and, ultimately, in life. All the successful people in the world have gone through a crisis, not just in work but in everything else, and have successfully bounced back from it. When you are working in the competitive contact center industry, maybe as an order taker or a help desk solutions rep, remember that ‘Failure is inevitable!’ if you want to succeed;  but without taking the risk of failure, you will also not be able to take the risk of experiencing great success; don’t just quit… take it as a challenge!

As an employee of this industry, agents, managers, team leads, directors, COOs, and sometimes CEOs fail at some point or another. However, what makes a winner is someone who can turn failure into success.

Donald Trump, the real-estate tycoon, was one tough guy who could bounce back successfully from a crisis. During the 1990s recession, property prices crashed, and he had millions in debt. However, in just ten years, he was able to earn billions.

Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Inc., was a college dropout and even kicked out of the company he founded earlier in his life. However, he could turn his failure into a success because he persisted and never gave up. Now, he is one of the wealthiest men in the world.

So, WIFM? (What’s in it for me, as an agent?) The values you will learn from the call center industry are the foundations of “Service to Humanity.” As an agent, failure doesn’t mean the end of your career; it means the start of it.

As a Quality Supervisor, I always believe that areas of opportunity are not focused on what you did wrong on the call. Still, it is focused on the chance to make you the best you can be, and the more opportunities we find, the better person you can be and the faster you’ll be there.

Those people in front of you, your team lead, your OM, the GM, and the company CEO did not allow the crushing performance failure “crush” them completely. Their mindset, problem-solving skills, resilience, and championing way of thinking made them who they are today – the BOSS! The right attitude leads to the right thoughts and actions, which produce great results.

So when experiencing crisis or failure, please take it as an opportunity in disguise and continue to act consistently towards your goal. Who knows, in 3 months you are already one of your company’s bosses. I’ve seen this, and it happens.