According to a recent study by the
International Customer Management Institute, contact centers are not doing the best job of either preparing experienced agents for supervisory roles or of providing adequate training to existing supervisors.
Only 44% of centers surveyed stated that they had supervisor development programs in place for experienced agents, and only 37% of centers said they have a formal initial
training program for newly selected supervisors. And only 39% of those thought the new supervisors received enough training.
In addition, nearly three in four centers surveyed reported that they provide fewer than 40 hours of ongoing training annually for existing supervisors, with the vast majority of those centers providing between just 1-20 hours of ongoing supervisory training each year.
Not all of the findings were negative. For instance, most of the centers that do have a supervisor development program in place appear to be covering the most critical supervisory skills and processes.
Many contact centers are also doing a decent job of evaluating job candidates prior to offering them a supervisory position, according to the study.