Discover the Traits of an Award-Winning Contact Centre Agent
With Jane Horne, Customer Service Support at TSB Bank
Show Notes
Jane Horne is a Customer Service Representative at TSB Bank. She was awarded the CCNNZ (Customer Contact Network New Zealand) National Contact Centre Agent of the Year award in 2020.
Her traits and mindset are exactly the ones to look for when you’re recruiting CSRs.
Top 3 Tips:
Having enthusiasm and passion for working with customers is vital (05:41).
Being skilled at asking open questions like “what”, “how” and “tell me about” separates high-performing CSRs from average performers (07:06).
Consider all customer service based backgrounds when it comes to recruiting CSRs, not just people who’ve worked in a contact centre before (11:10).
You'll Learn:
The best tip Jane was ever told, which helps her prioritise customers waiting in the queue, and respect their time (03:12).
The four pairs of shoes Jane packs in her bag each day, and how they help her bring her best-self to the job (04:24).
The quick and easy way Jane saves time and stress during her work day (09:40).
Connect with Jane on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jane-horne-b400501b4/
Get your free copy of Game On here: https://bravatrak.com/game-on-book (you’ll also get the latest podcast episodes sent straight to your inbox).
Transcript
Blair Stevenson (00:00)
Welcome to the Secrets to Contact Center Success podcast, connecting you with the latest and greatest tips from the best and the brightest minds in the industry.
I'm Blair Stevenson, founder of BravaTrak, the High-Performance Coaching System for Contact Centres, that helps you to create and sustain a world-class coaching culture, so you can beat your targets without burning people out.
Today, I'm really excited to be joined by Jane Horne, who's a Customer Service Representative with TSB bank. And Jane won the CCNNZ National Contact Centre Agent of the Year award in 2020. I'm really honored to have Jane on the show.
Today she's going to provide you with insight into the thought processes of a high-performing CSR. You'll find your comments useful to consider when recruiting customer service representatives for your contact centers.
So, Jane, welcome along.
Jane Horne (00:58)
Thanks for having me. It's a privilege to be here.
Blair Stevenson (01:00)
Great. Congratulations on winning Agent of the Year last year.
Jane Horne (01:05)
Thank you. Yes, it was a real honor. It's been a definite highlight of my career so far.
Blair Stevenson (01:10)
Nice. So just, I guess as a starting point, just tell us a bit about you, your background and your expertise.
Jane Horne (01:16)
Yeah, definitely. So I came out of high school and I worked in hospitality for about four years, in a number of cafes. And it was a very fast paced environment, which I loved, and I liked being able to think on my feet and in the moment. So from there I knew customer service was an area I wanted to go into.
And then about two and a half years ago, a role came up at TSB, which stands for Taranaki Savings Bank. So we're a 100% New Zealand owned bank, which makes us really unique. I've grown up in Taranaki, so it was a real honor and I just jumped at the opportunity.
And to be honest, it was the banking side of things that really drew me to it, and the contact center side of things, I hadn't really comprehended. I didn't really know what I was getting myself into. I knew that I was going to be serving customers, but it was just a whole new world that I had never experienced.
So on the frontline, we assist customers with their queries. So all calls come pretty much straight through to us. And no two days are either the same. That's what I love about an inbound contact centre. You're picking up the phone and you've got no idea what you're going to be needing to help with.
Blair Stevenson (02:32)
Yeah. Very cool. Thank you. So one of the reasons I'm really excited to talk with you is I recently interviewed Amanda Law, who is a recruiter in the contact centre space. And she and I were talking about the of recruiting of CSRs, and how do you recruit the ideal CSR in this current digital world.
And she mentioned three things that she looks for in a CSR. Attitude, communication skills and resilience. So firstly, I'd like to start with an idea of attitude or mindset. I'm just curious about what's the mindset that you bring to your role as a CSR?
Jane Horne (03:12)
So the mindset I bring is I visualize the numbers queuing on the board in the contact centre as people standing right in front of me. So I draw from my experience working in a cafe and they've got a real sense of urgency. So in a cafe, there's people queuing, and they can see you at the till and you need to prioritize them and respect the time that they're spending, waiting for you.
And it can be easy to forget this in a contact center. So the best tip I was ever told was when you look at the queues waiting, just think about it as an actual queue. I see my customers in color. Like I visualize them, where they're calling from, and really tune in to the tone of their voice and like no two calls are ever the same.
So you can't bring the same kind of approach to every single call. You've really got to tune in and determine how you're going to deal with their issue.
Blair Stevenson (04:12)
Yeah. Yeah. And when we were talking the other day, one of the things you told me about was the 'five pairs of shoes' idea. I'd love for you just to explain that for listeners.
Jane Horne (04:24)
Yeah, definitely. So in my Agent of the Year application, I brought the idea - and the mindset that I bring - of turning up to work and packing five or four different pairs of shoes into my bag. So the shoes of my customers, the shoes of my colleagues, the shoes of my managers, and the shoes of my peers.
And I put myself, for example, in the customers' shoes. And I think about how I would like to be treated if I was calling a bank. And that really helps me connect with the customer. I'm not working against them, I'm working with them because I think about how I would like to be treated.
And it's the same with putting myself in my managers' shoes. So knowing where they need me to be at the right time. So if there's no calls waiting, then they'll need me to be being productive and maybe answering emails and stuff that come through.
Blair Stevenson (05:22)
Yeah. Brilliant, brilliant. So with all that in mind, I'm curious about what are the similarities in terms of your mindset with those of other high-performance CSRs that you work with?
Jane Horne (05:41)
Mm. So I guess, a lot of my colleagues bring that same mindset of working with the customer and putting themselves in their shoes.
And a lot of similarities I see with my really capable colleagues is just the enthusiasm that we bring. I had a girl sit next to me and often we'd be so enthusiastic and getting into the call so much that the customer who I was speaking with - for example - would be like "what did you say?" because the girl that was sitting next to me was talking so enthusiastically.
So I guess lots of body language and enthusiasm. Just real passion in the role, and working with the customer.
Blair Stevenson (06:20)
Yeah. Cool. I think one of the things that is true is that digital channels are now handling a lot of customer inquiries. And organizations are ensuring that people can get their needs met really quickly through those digital channels.
But what that seems to have meant for many contact centers is that there is an increased demand on CSRs because now you're dealing with more complex situations. And I'm just curious about what's your take on the specific communication skills that CSRs now really need to kind of navigate this sort of current era?
Jane Horne (07:06)
Definitely. So effective questioning is the main one. When I first started, it wasn't something that I was super good at, but as I've grown in my career, I've learned. And I tell everyone coming into the contact centre who I help train and get on their feet, that "you need to be asking the right questions".
So a customer might be calling in for one thing. But by asking them the right questions, you actually figure out that there are three other things that you needed to help them with.
So asking the right questions and doing research yourself, personally, into what makes a good question. So the, "what", "have you tried?", "how", "why". Those sorts of questions,
Blair Stevenson (07:47)
Right. So I was going to ask you what your top tips are. So you talk about open questions, "what", "how", "tell me about".
Jane Horne (07:55)
"Tell me about" is a really good one. "Tell me about what you've tried" and the customer will often give you lots of information, without you having to probe too much. Or "tell me about what happened".
And it doesn't feel like you are interrogating them. It's just one simple question and they come back to you with so much information that's really valuable.
Blair Stevenson (08:18)
Yeah. One of the things I do for clients is help them to identify the behaviors that distinguish a high-performing CSR from an average performing one.
And it really doesn't matter what the key metric is, whether it's a sales metric, a customer experience metric or a productivity one, what I've noticed over time is that average performing CSRs ask a lot of closed questions. While high-performing CSRs, like you, ask mostly open questions.
So it’s a key characteristic and it's kind of interesting that you've identified that as something that's really important to work on.
I guess one of the other things I've been thinking about, particularly over the last few months, is that new technology is almost like a constant in the contact center space now. And I'm just curious about what mindset and skillset you bring to the job, which allows you to navigate that whole issue of new technology sometimes coming at you quite quickly. How do you handle it?
Jane Horne (09:40)
Yeah. So I bring a mindset of being really excited. There's so much excitement with this new technology coming into contact centers. As you said, it's coming in so quickly. I think back to when I started two and a half years ago, it feels like a world ago because these days there are so many new things. So I just try and be really excited by it.
So it is sometimes difficult to adapt to change, and you do get people who do resist a little bit against it. So I always try and encourage them.
I really do my research as well into the technology to find out how it can make me work better in my role, and might make me work more efficiently. And I encourage my colleagues to do that. So, you know, at the end of the day spend five minutes looking up the ins and outs of a new software or a tool.
Blair Stevenson (10:35)
Yep. Yep. So basically using a little bit of your own time, just to slowly master it.
Jane Horne (10:39)
Yeah. Just a little bit. Yeah. So it actually saves you time and stress in your day when you really nail a software or a tool that's been implemented. Yeah.
Blair Stevenson (10:50)
Cool. Cool. Thank you so much for this. Just thinking about Contact Center Managers and Team Leaders who might be watching this, I'm just wondering next time they are recruiting for Customer Services Representatives, what would be your top tips for recruiting someone who's as good as you are?
Jane Horne (11:10)
Thank you. I truly believe just have an open mind and consider all backgrounds. Just because somebody hasn't had experience in a contact centre - like, for example, I had no idea about contact centres. I never thought it was something that was so rewarding.
So I think just having an open mind. So hospitality, like any kind of background, often it does have to be customer service based.
But that's probably the biggest tip, because I think you can dismiss someone who doesn't have contact center experience quite easily, but with the right training and that, you can build them up to be really great.
Blair Stevenson (11:54)
Yeah. Yeah. It's the difference, I guess, between recruiting for potential, and recruiting the right kind of personality in terms of actually enjoying working with customers.
Jane Horne (12:04)
Yeah. The personality, that's a big thing. So you're looking at personality as opposed to contact centre skills.
Blair Stevenson (12:11):
Technical Skill.
Jane Horne (12:11)
Yeah. Yeah. That's it definitely.
Blair Stevenson (12:13)
Yeah. Fantastic. Great tips. Thank you very much. Well, that's all we've got time for today.
Thank you so much to Jane for coming on the show. You're given some wonderful insights into how you approach your job. And I think your comments will be extremely useful for Team Leaders in Contact Centre Leaders alike.
Now, for listeners, you'll find the link to the show notes in the episode description below.
And if you'd like to connect with Jane on LinkedIn, you'll also find the link to her LinkedIn profile in the description as well (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jane-horne-b400501b4/).
Now, if you've tuned today looking for a way to create and sustain a world-class coaching culture, so you can beat your targets without burning people out, have I got an offer for you!
You're welcome to a copy of my book Game On: How to Increase Sales, Productivity, and Customer Experience by Turning Your Managers into High-Performance Coaches.
The link to that offer is also in the episode description below (https://bravatrak.com/game-on-book).
Well, that's it from us today. Have a productive week.