5 General traits of a successful BPO manager

It is without a doubt that the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector is one of the fastest growing industries. Over the years, organizations of all sizes and types have been utilizing the outsourcing process to aid with their overall growth and development. 

Outsourcing has become a vital part of nearly every business landscape. It has always been a strategic practice for organizations to amp up their performance and productivity while massively saving on costs. 

Given the BPO industry’s wide array of services and numerous employees, BPO companies turn to BPO managers to help them manage, handle, and regulate their staff. 

As for business leaders that are seeking to hire a BPO manager, in this article, we will help you look for the perfect candidate for the job. 

What are the duties and responsibilities of a BPO manager?

The overall duties and responsibilities of this kind of job function will mainly depend on the type of BPO manager. However, in general terms, a BPO manager usually has the following duties and responsibilities: 

• Create and establish work plans, including operation goals and objectives.
• Execute regular meetings to monitor the team’s performance, help boost their productivity, improve their product knowledge, and work on enhancing customers’ satisfaction. 
• Perform complex client engagement to craft, establish, and implement business solutions that are tailored according to the client’s needs and requirements. 
• Manage and supervise team relationships to make sure they are able to deliver quality work and excellent performance. 
• Manage and supervise the quality of deliverables and make sure they are accomplished effectively. 
• Partake in planning out and in presentation of proposals for the company’s overall business development.   

To be a BPO Manager, a candidate should have a bachelor’s degree preferably in Business or any related degree. Most employers would also opt for candidates with any advanced degree or MBA. 

A good candidate should also possess at least two to three years of related experience. However, BPO employers usually prefer candidates with five or more years of BPO management background.

Five general traits of a successful BPO manager

Have you been searching for the traits that make up a successful and an effective leader in a BPO company regardless of department?

Here are the five significant traits of a successful BPO manager:

1. They talk to their team

We’ve all experienced a distant leader at some point during our careers – the manager who sits in their private office for seven hours a day, leaving only to replenish their dwindling instant coffee supply. These managers ignore the incredible value that open communication channels can provide in a call centre environment – allowing agents to voice both concerns and ideas, for the benefit of internal processes as well as customer service.

A truly successful BPO manager places an emphasis on the simplest and most powerful means of communication: talking. Naturally, emails and phone calls have their place – but the value of a face-to-face discussion is unparalleled when it comes to improving motivation and, subsequently, productivity. Taking the time to listen to and engage with members of your team will allow you to strengthen these relationships, while gathering all-important staff feedback – ultimately improving your call centre processes in the long run.

2. They lead by example

An effective leader must demonstrate their own aptitude and inspire their team to follow suit – leading by example to motivate and encourage their workforce. Managers who don’t practice what they preach risk losing the trust of their team, so it’s well worth taking the time to show your agents the ropes and help out wherever you’re needed.

Leading your team from the front line doesn’t have to be time-consuming, either. Taking a few minutes out of your schedule a couple of times a day to assist a member of your team with a particularly difficult call or advice on a subject they’re unsure of will solidify your position as a strong and capable leader – inspiring others to follow suit.

3. They show their support

Empathy is a sign of any great leader, and showing you truly care about the progression and motivation of your team is a sure-fire way to inspire others to do their very best. Support comes in many forms – from ensuring staff have the right training to perform their job effectively to providing the necessary tools they need to be confident in their role – but however you choose to support your staff, it’s crucial that they feel they have a network available to them.

An effective approach utilised in many call centres is to create a resource library in the Content Management System (CMS), so that agents have access to a network of product, industry and customer-related information during their ‘idle time’. Providing this resource will not only improve productivity, but also ensure that any periods where agents are not on the phone can be utilised to improve their skills and knowledge.

Offering support can be as simple as speaking to the team on a personal level, deepening the relationship and demonstrating your ability to empathise on a one-on-one basis. It’s important to understand the personal issues that your team members face; the best managers know they’re not the only ones who experience stress, and offering support to those who are struggling shows you really care about your team.

4. They keep things fresh

Monotony is the enemy of motivation, and introducing a sense of variety to your agents’ day-to-day routine will keep things fresh and give your team a welcome motivation boost. Shaking up the office environment can be tricky – particularly in the inherently repetitive call centre environment – but there are tactics used by the best managers in the industry that can have a powerful positive effect on productivity.

In call centres servicing a number of clients or promoting a range of different services, having agents switch campaigns halfway through the day can be effective when it comes to improving morale and keeping your agents on their toes. This way, you can encourage your team to expand their skill set – improving the adaptability of your workforce as a whole.

Better yet, keep your incentives fresh by updating reward schemes in the workplace – offering additional cash bonuses for exceptional work, or adding exciting alternative rewards to the mix to ensure that your staff are always motivated and striving for professional excellence.

5. They hold onto top talent

Retaining top talent is a constant struggle in call centres, so it’s no surprise that improving employee retention is often top of the call centre manager’s priority list. The ever-present threat of employee attrition is often wrongly labelled as a problem rather than a symptom – and there are a number of simple, effective steps managers can take to hold onto top talent.