The Competitive Edge for Contact Centers

Tip of the Week

Build Agent Confidence to Maximize Outbound Sales

Outbound calling can be a very successful strategy for building and retaining key customer relationships. When agents proactively contact customers with the goal of helping them gain the most out of their relationship with your organization, customers remain loyal and bring more of their business to you.

For some agents, outbound calling can be an uncomfortable experience. Here are three strategies for you to share with your agents to keep them motivated and confident when making outbound calls:

• Practice New Skills - Whether by rehearsing or experience on the job, fears will diminish as agents are exposed to new and different situations from which they can improve and build their competence and confidence.
• Prepare and Strategize - A strategy helps agents anticipate and prepare for their calls. Completing a pre-call action plan can provide agents with some sense of security and comfort, and help them approach their calls with confidence.
• Adjust Attitude - When agents examine how they feel and think about their sales role, they will feel less confused and better able to adjust to the tasks that make them uneasy.

Learn more about improving contact center performance ...

Feature Paper

Leading People Through Change
An Omega Performance resource to help you improve business.

Available for download now is our essential guide for building your change resilience, coaching your people to commitment, and increasing business results.

Get your complimentary copy now ...

Join Us Online for this Live Presentation

Corporate Finance:
Viewing Investment Decisions Through Your Customers' Eyes
May 15, 2008

More information and to register

Come See Omega

ICCM Canada Conference & Expo

When: October 8, 2008
Where: Toronto, Canada
Topic: Building Corporate Capability and Cutting Training Time through Product Knowledge Reference Tool
Speakers: Caroline Gray, Omega Performance Senior Vice President, Information Technology and Technology-Based Learning and Jeff Lachenauer, EQUI-VEST Training Manager for AXA Equitable

More information and to register

The Competitive Edge for Banks

Credit

Using a Real Estate Lending Strategy (Part 1 of 4)

The commercial real estate market may be in better shape than the residential one plagued by subprime loan defaults, but loans to developers and investors are still at risk and banks could face hundreds of millions of dollars in losses as a result.

A step-by-step approach to real estate lending that covers assessing the borrower, assessing the market and property, analyzing repayment, and documenting and managing the loan can help lenders:

• Improve new underwriting for commercial real estate transactions,
  
• Enhance existing portfolio administration of commercial real estate loans,
  
• Reduce problem assets, and
  
• Shorten the turnaround time for commercial real estate requests due increased underwriting efficiency and better decision-making.

When assessing the borrower, lenders should keep these two factors in mind:

1. The project needs to start with a bigger picture analysis of the borrower, not just looking at the project to be financed.
   
2. It's critical to determine the status of all of the borrower's other projects, as they may impact the success of the project under consideration by distracting the borrower or using cash flow from this project for others.

Look for the second step, Assessing the Market and Property, next week.

Learn more about improving credit performance ...

Sales & Service

Scorecard Coaching Best Practices (Part 3 of 4)

Scorecard coaching (coaching direct reports to achieve outstanding and predictable results) is one of the primary responsibilities of managers at all levels in a customer-centric arena like sales and service. To have the greatest impact in scorecard coaching conversations, managers must master four specific coaching best practices, the third of which is:

Action Planning

• Complete the action plan throughout the coaching conversation
  
• Ask the employee to summarize the action plan at the end of the conversation
  
• Ensure the steps meet the following criteria: accountable, concrete, and time-specific

Look for the fourth scorecard coaching best practice, Addressing Resistance, next week.

Learn more about improving sales and service performance ...

Leadership

Create a Safe Environment for Risk-Taking During Times of Change

Creating a supportive and save environment for direct reports is one of the most important things a manager can do when an organization is in the midst of change. Supporting individuals through the change process from self awareness to higher levels of commitment and action will go a long way in helping the organization achieve the business results the change is intended to bring.

Managers can create a supportive and safe environment by:

• Seeking out those who stand to lose something
  
• Coaching people to integrate change into their work routines and develop resiliency to the current and future changes
  
• Encourage experimentation through recognition
  
• Be open to "mid-course corrections"
  
• Give people time to adjust to the change
  

Learn more about improving leadership performance ...

Featured Papers

A New Era in Retail Financial Services

Get your complimentary copy of Omega's guide to harnessing the profit potential in creating, advancing, and sustaining customer connections.
Download Now

Leading People Through Change

Available for download now is Omega's essential guide for building your change resilience, coaching your people to commitment, and increasing business results.
Download Now

Join Us Online for these Live Presentations

Corporate Finance:
Viewing Investment Decisions Through Your Customers' Eyes

May 15, 2008
More information and to register

Webcast Replays ...

The Profit Potential in Creating, Advancing, and Sustaining Customer Connections

Originallly aired March 25, 2008
More information and to download

Unraveling the Mysteries of K-1s and Pass-Throughs:
The Secret to Understanding U.S. Personal Tax Returns

Originallly aired April 15, 2008
More information and to download

Quick Links ...

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The Competitive Edge for Credit Unions

Performance Improvement Tip

Serving Small Businesses - 3 Must-Have Skills

Although the needs of small businesses vary, having employees that can make cash flow projections, cross sell your credit union's products and services, and negotiate with members is a great asset for your credit union. Consider these 3 skills when developing employee training programs:

1. Cash Flow - Are your staff members able to test and challenge financial projections, anticipate cash flow changes, and understand economic cycles that affect business?
2. Cross-selling and Member Focus - Have your staff members presented themselves as professionals who understand your members' business and personal finances, and know individual member's business objectives and long-term goals?
3. Negotiating Skills - Do they understand your members' businesses well enough to offer creative solutions? Can they find the win-win in lending negotiations and determine whether business members are will to pay for value-added services?

Learn more about improving your credit union's performance ...

Featured Paper

Leading People Through Change
An Omega Performance resource to help you improve business.

Available for download now is our essential guide for building your change resilience, coaching your people to commitment, and increasing business results.

Download now ...

Join Us Online for these Live Presentations

Corporate Finance: Viewing Investment Decisions Through Your Customers' Eyes
May 15, 2008
More information and to register

Come See Omega

Business Lending and Other Business Services Conference
Williamsburg, VA
July 14, 2008
Topic: Building Successful Commercial Lending Strategies
Speaker: Dr. Jerry Crigger, Senior Consultant, Credit and Risk

Quick Links

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The Competitive Edge for Banks

Credit

4 Keys to Quality eLearning in the Credit Environment

eLearning is the answer for many banks looking to train their commercial and consumer credit staff quickly and cost-effectively. It may be the answer for yours as well. When evaluating online learning solutions, be sure to take into account the following elements:

1. Comprehensive instruction. The solution should deliver a media-rich, intensive learning experience that is enhanced by multiple practice opportunities to build and reinforce new skills.
   
2. Skill-building at individual speed. Trainees should be able to work at their own pace, skipping or skimming areas in which they are strong and investing more time in areas of weakness.
   
3. Coaching. Trainees should have access to a mentor 24/7 for answers to questions as well as on-the-spot coaching when needed.
   
4. Tracking and reporting capabilities. A system should be in place for monitoring and evaluating each trainee's progress and success.
   

Learn more about improving credit performance ...

Sales & Service

Scorecard Coaching Best Practices (Part 2 of 4)

Scorecard coaching (coaching direct reports to achieve outstanding and predictable results) is one of the primary responsibilities of managers at all levels in a customer-centric arena like sales and service. To have the greatest impact in scorecard coaching conversations, managers must master four specific coaching best practices, the second of which is:

Provide Balanced Feedback

When providing feedback, managers should focus on five key areas:

1. Discussing the employee's successes before any improvements to performance that need to be made
   
2. Asking the employee first about his/her performance, then telling what he/she observed
   
3. Discussing future behavior, using the term "next time"
   
4. Being specific about what could be done next time by using examples and explaining the benefits
   
5. Describing the impact the employee's performance will have on business results

Look for the third scorecard coaching best practice, Action Planning, next week.

Learn more about improving sales and service performance ...

Leadership

Help Employees Commit to an Organizational Change

Research shows that it takes at least 30 days to make a new behavior into a habit. As an employee moves toward committing to an organizational change, his/her manager should focus on the activities and on the effort of trying, more than on the effectiveness of results—the desired results may not be forthcoming immediately.

The critical stage is between three to eight weeks, when the "buzz" of the new commitment wears off and the reality of the change sets in - at this point, there is a risk of setbacks and regression to earlier change readiness states like doubt, indifference, or even rejection.

To help employees move to commitment, managers should use their coaching sessions to:

• Request specific action steps
  
• Identify and address obstacles to commitment, both now and in the future
  
• Establish accountability and measures of success
  

Learn more about improving leadership performance ...

Featured Papers

A New Era in Retail Financial Services

Get your complimentary copy of Omega's guide to harnessing the profit potential in creating, advancing, and sustaining customer connections.
Download Now

Leading People Through Change

Available for download now is Omega's essential guide for building your change resilience, coaching your people to commitment, and increasing business results.
Download Now

Join Us Online for these Live Presentations

Corporate Finance:
Viewing Investment Decisions Through Your Customers' Eyes

May 15, 2008
More information and to register

Webcast Replays ...

The Profit Potential in Creating, Advancing, and Sustaining Customer Connections

Originallly aired March 25, 2008
More information and to download

Unraveling the Mysteries of K-1s and Pass-Throughs:
The Secret to Understanding U.S. Personal Tax Returns

Originallly aired April 15, 2008
More information and to download

Quick Links ...

Our Website | Events | Omega News | About Us | Complimentary Resources

The Competitive Edge for Banks

Credit

6 Keys to a Quality Credit Skills Assessment

A skills assessment is a great first step to assuring consistent performance for credit quality. Here are six features to consider when choosing one:

Measurement reports that indicate how lenders score as a group and individually in each of the content areas.

Objective, uniform results that measure the same standard of performance throughout the organization.

Field-tested questions to ensure they measure the skills they are intended to measure.

Flexibility so it can be tailored to the requirements and specialized lending practices of the institution.

Rapid and accurate scoring so the skill-building phase can immediately begin.

Online delivery for convenient, cost-effective implementation.

Learn more about improving credit performance ...

Sales & Service

Scorecard Coaching Best Practices (Part 1 of 4)

Scorecard coaching (coaching direct reports to achieve outstanding and predictable results) is one of the primary responsibilities of managers at all levels in a customer-centric arena like sales and service. To have the greatest impact in scorecard coaching conversations, managers must master four specific coaching best practices, the first of which is:

Utilizing a High-Impact Questioning Strategy

The questioning strategy should focus on four actions:

1. Base the content of the questions on the results to be achieved, the activities to be performed by the employee to achieve the results, and the skills and knowledge required to perform the activities
   
2. Stay on one topic at a time
   
3. Start with open, then move to focused questions
   
4. Listen, paraphrase, and take notes

Look for the second scorecard coaching best practice, Provide Balanced Feedback, next week.

Learn more about improving sales and service performance ...

Leadership

Experiencing Organizational Change? Help Staff Increase Awareness.

When an organization experiences change, it is important for managers to help each of their staff members move to higher levels of commitment and action toward the specific change. Coaching staff through the process of self awareness helps them to create a willingness to move toward commitment and achieve the business results the change was intended to bring to the organization.

Here are nine questions to help increase employees' awareness about a particular change:

1. What are your thoughts about the change?
   
2. How does this new approach compare to what we have done in the past?
   
3. Why do you think we're committed to the change?
   
4. Tell me what you've seen so far.
   
5. What do you think about that?
   
6. What's the impact on you and your team?
   
7. How will this change impact your customers?
   
8. What's the potential future impact on you and your team?
   
9. What success do you hope to achieve?
   

Learn more about improving leadership performance ...

Featured Papers

A New Era in Retail Financial Services

Get your complimentary copy of Omega's guide to harnessing the profit potential in creating, advancing, and sustaining customer connections.
Download Now

Leading People Through Change

Available for download now is Omega's essential guide for building your change resilience, coaching your people to commitment, and increasing business results.
Download Now

Join Us Online for these Live Presentations

Corporate Finance:
Viewing Investment Decisions Through Your Customers' Eyes

May 15, 2008
More information and to register

Webcast Replays ...

The Profit Potential in Creating, Advancing, and Sustaining Customer Connections

Originallly aired March 25, 2008
More information and to download

Unraveling the Mysteries of K-1s and Pass-Throughs:
The Secret to Understanding U.S. Personal Tax Returns

Originallly aired April 15, 2008
More information and to download

Quick Links ...

Our Website | Events | Omega News | About Us | Complimentary Resources