Characteristic #2: They Have a Supporting Culture 

Culture — the inveterate principles or values of the organization — tends to guide behavior, and can either support and further or, as some have learned the hard way, ruin the best-laid plans for organizational change. While there is no guaranteed formula for creating a supporting culture, many seasoned managers agree that shaping culture — or, more correctly, enabling it to flourish — is a primary leadership responsibility. As a result, they devote a significant amount of time to understanding the organization and the people who are part of it.

How do leading contact centers create high-performance cultures? How do they communicate their mission and values in a way that gets buy-in and alignment? There are some notable characteristics that stand out:
• They have a people-first perspective.
• They are committed to effective communication.
• They have — and use — an up-to-date customer access strategy, which
ensures that everyone is “on the same page”.
• They cultivate a collaborative planning process so that their operations run smoothly, enabling them to focus on higher-level issues that matter most.
• They ensure that everyone across the contact center and larger organization has an understanding of their contribution to the organization and its customers.

Excerpt from Call Center Management on Fast Forward, Brad Cleveland.

This blog post is part of a series on the 12 Characteristics of the Best Managed Contact Centers. Read about Characteristic #1: They Produce High Levels of Value.