Why Management Skills Training is Critical to BPO Success

If ever there was a time for ensuring renewal among outsourcing executives, it is now.

Clearly, the entrepreneurial-minded leaders of the late 1990s and early 2000s that built this sector are now aiming to recruit a new crop of young, dynamic, and progressively-minded managers to push BPO forward.

However, as this generational shift continues, smart organizations will be those that find ways of mentoring new leaders to ensure their readiness for both tactical operational management and navigating customer experience disruption.

In an industry that moves this quickly, such investments are crucial.

Developing The Necessary Skills

One thing that many contact center outsourcers deserve credit for is recognizing and acting on the need for skills development. More often than not, this has come in the form of accentuated agent training, in the belief that adept front line staff serve consumers more effectively (and enjoy doing so).

Invariably, this will result in lower attrition, better NPS scores, and client renewals.

Some BPOs have gone a step further by implementing training programs for supervisors and mid-managers, with the objective of improving tactical delivery efficiencies and maintaining strong agent morale.

However, what is now emerging as a training priority for many vendors is that of executive skills development, specific to outsourced customer experience.

Top-level Renewal

With so many in outsourcing leadership positions approaching mid-career point (or even preparing to retire), vendors need top-level renewal if they are to remain competitive. Thus, it is crucial to identify the BPO leaders of tomorrow and to mold this talent accordingly.

By approaching this right now, such individuals can reach their maximum career potential as part of an organization where they can drive value over the long-term.

An example of this was highlighted during a recent analyst event held by Teleperformance University in Guadalajara.

For those unfamiliar with the concept, Teleperformance University is an initiative that has been operating for several years. It identifies leadership-calibre team members from across the global organization, and provides them with the chance to participate in an executive skills development deep-dive over a number of weeks.

During this time, the participants are immersed in all aspects of the company’s corporate global culture, learn best-practices from different parts of the world, and are pushed to challenge established outsourcing sector norms.

By taking the time to bring together potential leaders in such a forum, Teleperformance is proactively ensuring long-term executive development, crucial in a sector where management consistency can make a strategic difference to clients.

BPO Leaders of Tomorrow

Moving forward, there can be no doubt that BPOs will find themselves searching for ways to augment their development and retention strategies. However, this needs to be done across the organization, not just on the front-end.

Fostering leadership skills among up-and-coming executives benefits both internal operations and clients, thereby ensuring the outsourcer’s long-term commercial viability.