3 Types of Contact Center Huddles

Football season has officially begun! One of the most recognizable things about the sport is the huddle. Before nearly every play, the offensive players gather to prepare for the next play.  Huddles are used for motivation, planning and celebrating success as a team. With that in mind, here are three types of huddles you can use in your contact center.

Team Huddle

• Purpose: Energize, celebrate success, update team and set the focus
• Preparation: Update team board; verify with workforce management
• Participants: Team leader and all agents
• Program: 15-minute run-time containing a few success stories, team plan, updates and an inspirational closing

Team leader/supervisor plays the role of quarterback for the team huddle: energize the team and call the plays for the day. Begin with an opening inspiration: a quote, a team chant, an organizational motto or mission, or anything else that will help agents begin the day with a strong mindset.

Quickly reinforce success by eliciting one or two success stories from the previous day/shift that focus on how agents delivered a great experience. Point out any team KPIs that stand out, especially trends that you want to continue or reverse. Ask a handful of team members to identify a KPI they're focused on for the day and what they'll be doing to impact it. 

Provide your plan for the day and on an ad hoc basis and share updates with the team (new processes, new products, etc.). Close by breaking the huddle with an energizing rallying cry.

Pro tip: The huddle leader drives the pace and it's essential that the pace be fast. As a huddle leader, it’s your responsibility to ensure you wrap things up before the "play clock" expires.

Skills Huddle

• Purpose: Accelerate skill performance
• Preparation: Verify time with workforce management
• Participants: Team leader and three agents
• Program: 15-minute run-time containing practice of single skill leveraging peer coaching/demonstration

This huddle relies on peers of different skill levels to advance the performance of all participants.

Discuss what the skill is, why it's important and what KPIs it impacts. Demonstrate the skill at a basic level. Ask the least proficient agent in the skill to build up what you've demonstrated. Ask the agent to demonstrate the skill with the improvements. Repeat this process with each agent in order of proficiency. Each practice should build and improve upon the last. Have the least proficient agent demonstrate again, incorporating improvements from their peers.

Ask each participant for a key takeaway and to set a KPI goal related to the skill and performing it based on this huddle. 

Pro tip: Before the huddle, challenge your most proficient agent in the skill to bring their best so their peers can learn from them. You are facilitating peer learning: the agents should be learning from each other; not from you. 

Leader Huddle

• Purpose: Energize, celebrate success, update team and set the focus
• Preparation: Update team board
• Participants:  Manager and all team leaders and supervisors
• Program: 20-minute run-time, reviewing a few success stories, team plan, updates and inspirational closing

Team leaders and supervisors should participate in a huddle with their leader. This is a great way to start the day/shift because it brings energy and focus to center leadership. It can also drive friendly competition and serve as a vehicle for peer learning.

This huddle should mirror the team huddle with one exception: this huddle is intended to focus on what team leaders are doing to drive success.