Abstract
Controlling is one of the most important processes in the managerial practice that allows determining strengths and gaps in the performance of individual workers and the whole organization. If a manager in the call center needs to decide on control measures and evaluate the performance of employees, it is necessary to determine strategies used to assess the performance of an individual employee and the whole team working at the call center. To decide how effective individual employees concerning performance or working activities, it is necessary to focus on such approaches to collect information as personal observation and reporting. The approaches to evaluating the work of the entire call center are different, and they include the focus on the feedback control and benchmarking.
Introduction
Managers of different organizations are interested in the constant monitoring of the employees’ activities to guarantee high results regarding productivity and effectiveness. In this context, managers refer to certain control measures to decide whether the work of employees and the whole organization is effective in terms of increasing productivity and quality of services and accomplishing the corporate goals. Being a manager in a customer call center, it is necessary to measure not only the performance of individual employees but also to evaluate the work of the whole call center. From this point, to decide how effective individual employees in their performance, it is necessary to focus on monitoring, observing, and reporting their successes and weaknesses; moreover, to assess the work of the whole call center, it is necessary to refer to benchmarking and to the feedback control.
Control Measures to Assess Employees
To decide whether the performance of individual employees is effective, it is important to state criteria according to which the performance is controlled and measured. In case of employees’ performance, the main criteria include the quality of their work, the efficiency of performed tasks, the orientation to the organizational goal, the level of job satisfaction and organizational commitment, the level of absenteeism, and the character of the relationship with colleagues (Daft, 2009, p. 49). To receive important information on the employees’ performance, a manager should focus on observing and collecting the efficient data on the work of individuals in the organization. There are several approaches to collecting the necessary information on the employees’ performance. The first approach is the managerial observation during which a manager focuses on all the details of the employee’s work and communication within the organization (Robbins & Coulter, 2012, p. 488). Even though the managerial observation is a rather subjective approach to collecting the information, it allows measuring different aspects of the employees’ activities in the organization. The second approach is statistical reports based on the information collected with the help of tests and other measurement systems (Robbins & Coulter, 2012, p. 489). These reports allow analyzing and comparing the quantitative data regarding the employees’ actual performance and productivity.
The third type of information to measure performance is oral reports. Thus, oral reports are used to receive the information answering the concrete question related to the performance evaluation process. However, it is almost impossible to document oral reports and refer to them appropriately while finishing the controlling process and making a decision (Robbins & Coulter, 2012, p. 489). The other approach is the provision of written reports that are formal and well-documented. Written reports on the results are the next step after conducting the managerial assessment of employees’ performance with the help of observation, tests, and other measurement tools (Daft, 2009, p. 124). However, although written reports are objective, it is effective to combine the data received from personal observation, tests, and reports to make the final decision regarding the efficiency and effectiveness of the concrete employee.
The Measures to Evaluate the Entire Call Center
In addition to the evaluation of the work of individual employees, it is also necessary to measure the performance of the whole organization. As a result, it is important to use specific control measures to assess the work of the entire call center. These control measures are associated with the idea of organizational performance in contrast to the notion of individual performance of employees. Therefore, the work of the entire call center is controlled and evaluated in terms of the organization’s productivity and effectiveness. The focus on productivity helps understand what real outputs are observed and how the entire call center works to produce higher results. The focus on effectiveness allows understanding the correlation of the organization’s goals and activities (Daft, 2009, p. 112). From this point, the control of the work of the call center is realized according to these factors, and specific control measures include the feedback and benchmarking.
Managers constantly need to provide feedback on the work of employees to be able to correct the current activities to increase productivity and effectiveness. The feedback on the work of the entire call center allows determining areas where all the employees perform effectively and where many weaknesses need to be addressed. The results of the feedback control are usually presented to employees at meetings along with the plans of corrective actions (Robbins & Coulter, 2012, p. 495). Even though managers often use the feedback on activities of individual employees, the feedback on the work of the whole team is also important to improve the work of employees as part of one organization. Furthermore, much attention should be paid to the feedback provided by customers.
Benchmarking is the other important approach to controlling and evaluating the performance of the whole organization. While evaluating the work of the entire call center, the manager needs to assess productivity, effectiveness, efficiency, and quality of the performance regarding certain criteria or standards. Benchmarking is a process of the continuous comparison of the quality of the work with the value proposed by the other companies (Daft, 2009, p. 52). The manager at the call center can set the standards for performance while referring to the experience of other companies in the market. In this context, benchmarking is a process of evaluating the work of the organization according to the best standards followed in the industry. This approach is effective to identify performance gaps, to apply strategies for improving performance, and to guarantee the excellence of performance in the future.
Conclusion
Control measures used in management differ regarding the assessment of employees’ performance as individuals and performance of the whole organization because it is necessary to evaluate the employees’ activities concerning such criteria as productivity, effectiveness, and efficiency. Control measures for monitoring employees are associated with observation, assessment, and reporting. Also, control measures for evaluating the work of the organization are associated with feedback and benchmarking.
References
Daft, R. (2009). Management. Clifton Park, NY: Cengage Learning.
Robbins, S. P., & Coulter, M. (2012). Management (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.