Last Updated on October 12, 2020

We’ve all heard those management mantras…

“Be a good finder”

“Catch them doing something right.”

“Sandwich every bit of criticism between two layers of praise.”

Still, many managers find themselves using call recordings solely for pointing out missed opportunities, identifying additional training needs or managing poor performance. There’s an outstanding opportunity to praise your team and recognize their hard work when you look for their very best calls and make a big deal about them.

Every day your team members are building loyalty with your customers by establishing rapport, answering questions accurately, and showing genuine caring and concern. Often they are presented with problems that require outside the box thinking. When your team members rise to the challenge with innovative solutions they deserve to be recognized.

Here are some ways you can use recorded or monitored calls to shower your people with the accolades they so richly deserve.

Hero of the Month

Award this to your most outstanding representative. When a customer was desperate for answers, this rep provided them and saved the day. When a customer was upset with your service or product, this rep smoothed things over and restored their trust in your company. When call volume was highest, this rep handled more than their share while still providing the highest levels of quality.

Personal Connection Award

This award is for the team member who earned a customer’s trust by taking the time to make a personal connection. The customer may have been hesitant or a bit difficult to deal with but with patience and good will, the rep won them over and turned them into a fan. It’s not easy to put yourself out there when you’re talking to a stranger on the phone but this rep had the courage to step forward and move outside their comfort zone.

Outside the Box Thinker Award

Finally, award this to a representative who applied a right brain solution to a left brain customer problem. Quoting policies and procedures and empathizing with the customer’s situation wasn’t enough. They knew there was a win-win answer out there and they were determined to find it. Their creativity and courage led to a solution that was cost effective, within the rules, and ultimately satisfying to all involved.

A little brainstorming will produce a host of other awards. Once that’s done, you’ll need a plan to determine your honorees.

How to Determine Award Winners

This will take commitment and a process, along with some trial and error. Start by answering these questions. More are sure to follow from there.

• How many recordings are reviewed per person?
• Can reps submit their own calls for review?
• How do you determine which recordings to review?
• Who will review the recordings?

This is a big, but worthwhile, undertaking that is not to be entered into lightly. The time investment must be enough to legitimize the awards but not so much as to take away from other important job duties. Start somewhere and keep working to find the right balance. This will lead to the final step.

How to Celebrate

What is success without celebration? After all, we’re talking about an employee recognition program. Celebrations can be tailored to the individual award winner and involve the entire team, upper management, or just the employee and their supervisor. Here are some ideas to get you thinking…

• A gift card for the employee and an email to the department announcing the award winner.
• A catered lunch for the team where the winning call is played. This celebrates the achievement and acts as a training session for the team.
• A lunch for the employee and supervisor off site where a certificate from the CEO is presented, along with a cash award.

There are also non-traditional gifts to consider like a ‘Come in 2 hrs late pass’, ‘Take a half day off on us certificate’, or ‘Dress down day w/ a t-shirt commemorating the award’.

Your imagination, and maybe HR, are the only limitations.

How to Get Started

The first, and most important, thing you need is a quality call recording system. The system must record all calls securely and provide easy access for retrieval. Being able to search for keywords specific recordings, in addition to date and time is important as well. Versadial’s Adutante Call Recording Suite provides all of these features and many more. To start building an employee recognition program your team willrave about, call us toll-free to schedule a demo at (877) 723-4252.

Last Updated on October 12, 2020