The following is an article by Brandon Hopkins who is a call center consultant and blogger.  You can read more about him and his project on this page.

For most call centers, the supervisor can either make or break the operation in terms of customer service. A great call center supervisor means great customer service, but a bad supervisor means angry customers. Recently LJ wrote about the average earnings of a call center supervisor so I thought I would share my experience with what makes a great call center supervisor.

Here are 10 steps to make you the best call center supervisor (or manager in general):

1. Desire to be the best.

Without a doubt, the number one way to be the best manager is to want to be the best manager. If you have a desire to see your company succeed and are willing to go the extra mile to make that happen, you’re already on your way to being the best call center supervisor out there!

2. Fix it quickly.

A good supervisor fixes customer issues. A great supervisor fixes those issues quickly. If you on the top of the totem pole, make sure you get those issues fixed as quickly as possible.

3. Be the example.

An unhappy boss will create unhappy employees. If you smile your agents will smile. While a smile may not be able to be seen by the customer, the effects of working in a happy office will definitely been seen by all of your customers and clients.

4. Use the Golden Rule.

This doesn’t mean to only treat the customers properly, but also treat your coworkers and employees in the same fashion and with the same respect you expect them to treat you with. The Golden Rule has to start somewhere, and it should start with you.

5. Don’t be negative about your company.

While you may not own the company, an ownership mentality is absolutely necessary. Being negative about the company your work for can be extremely devastating to your employees because if their boss doesn’t believe in what he/she does, why should they believe in it?

6. Dress for success.

A great supervisor I worked for didn’t have a dress code and was allowed to wear anything he wanted. Every day, he came to work in a suit and tie. He was always dressed better than his boss. One day I asked him why he didn’t dress down more often and he gave me this piece of advice, “Dress for the job you want, not the job you have.”

7. We CAN do it.

When one of your agents transfers a call to you, the customer is probably getting upset. What the customer doesn’t want to hear is the same thing that they were just told by your agent. If customer service is a priority in your organization then you’ll want to tell the customer what you can do for them. Replace the phrase, “We can’t do that,” with “Here is what I can do”.

8. Be polite.

Nothing is worse than calling a call center and being transferred to the supervisor and then have him be rude to you. Remember that even though this customer was not originally your customer, you need to do everything in your power to resolve the situation and this resolution will go better if you’re polite.

9. Become the expert.

If your agents are selling a product or service, you need to know the product or service better than they do. Not only are you the supervisor, but you should be able to be their coach and trainer as well. If you take the time to learn and understand the same things that they learn, you’ll further show your usefulness as a supervisor.

10. Never say, “No.”

In the customer service industry there is no place for the word “No”. You should begin replacing, “No,” with “Let me see what I can do.” Another option is to say, “Not at the moment,” or “Currently we do not offer…” “No” should be removed and a good experience give to each customer.

Well there you have it, 10 steps to becoming a great supervisor at your call center. Your next step should be to print this list and put the steps into action by figuring out which of these you need to work on. Don’t try to figure that out yourself. Ask an experienced agent to rate you on these 10 steps, then you can be sure you’re getting an outside and hopefully honest answer!