Let's be honest. Who aspires to be a contact center agent? It's a dead-end job that someone has to do in order for businesses to succeed... Except it's not! There are so many opportunities for agents to learn and develop into leadership roles. Lisa Guzman returns to the stage to show us how to embrace every skill and trait agents have that will transform them into the best leaders.

[ 2:36 - 3:14 ] Agents are sometimes viewed as replaceable and there is a certain level of attrition that it just accepted in customer service, but that’s actually a really big loss of knowledge.

[ 5:50 - 7:34 ] Agents can tell when they aren’t valued, but if you invest in them they’ll pay you back with their performance. Encourage them to be the CEO of their own career, and give them a track for career growth.  

[ 7:58 - 9:49 ] This human being is a very valuable asset. They know things you don’t know, and they talk to your customer all day. The contact center shouldn’t just be thought of as a cost. It’s a customer retention center. It’s an interface for the business and the customer. Q: How can we communicate this to leaders? A: Break down the silos that separate customer support from the other departments of the company.

[ 15:17 - 16:24 ] Agents are trained to look at their metrics. As they move into leadership roles they need to learn that there are less concrete ways to show their value. They either need to save the company money or make the company money. 

[ 17:40 - 18:08 ] Don’t be disappointed if your idea doesn’t pan out and the company doesn’t go with it. The important thing is that you’ve shown yourself as a thinker. 

[ 22:20 - 23:50 ] Should agents continue pursuing higher education to move up in a contact center?

Yes, empowering agents is the right thing to do morally, but it’s also the right thing to do for profitability. 

As always, thanks for tuning in! To listen to a recording of this and other episodes, visit vistio.io/podcasts. And to join our show live each week, go to vistio.io/cxlive.