It is often been an area of debate in the field of management, whether the leaders are born or made. While there is no pre-defined formula to teach people how to be a leader, it is possible to create an environment that nurtures the leadership qualities in our employees. By creating the right atmosphere within call center outsourcing companies, many of the industry leaders have been able to achieve this feat of creating great leaders for the industry.

Let us now examine as to how every individual can emerge as a leader in a BPO company.

An Army of One

A few years ago, a leading BPO company tried to reinvent its image. In the process, the company came up with the slogan “An Army of one”. This slogan was meant to foster responsibility and individuality instead of an image of a group of mindless employees following orders. The phrase “I was just following orders” was no longer accepted as a viable excuse for an executive to deliver an incompetent customer service experience to a customer.

Individuality and responsibility are the most vital qualities that most of the leading call center outsourcing companies look to foster in their employees. It is stated in many of the company policies that employees need to follow the instructions given by their team leader or manager. However, if an employee believes that he/she has found a better method to perform a particular task, he/she can suggest the new ideas to the management before implementing it.

It is a highly recommended practice that organizations devise more flexible set of policies that will showcase an employee that their feedback is valued. If a BPO company decides to punish their executives, if their ideas don’t work out, such a company will miss out on the valuable opportunities to improve and evolve.

Internal promotion

Most of the managers of reputed call center outsourcing companies are on the lookout for individuals who can excel. Such managers are on the lookout for individuals who are willing to go the extra mile and help others as such individuals are seen as the right fit for the next open management position. Although, if a BPO company doesn’t foster leadership, people are less likely to help the executive next to them who is having difficulties or offer an idea for a better approach while selling a new product/service.

Executives have an innate sense of understanding when management approves or disapproves of a specific action. If an organization communicates that they foster individuality, but if the atmosphere on the floor is not conducive or stifling, executives will realize that the management is not receptive to the proposed ideas.

Managing panic situations

Call center outsourcing companies may not be responsible for creating a negative situation. It could be a certain set of insecure supervisors who might panic when certain executives threaten the manager’s position. While this may not be the exact case, an insecure manager can encumber the growth and development of those working under him/her, even if it results in hurting the BPO Company’s long-term prospects.

This is where the role of the top-level management plays a pivotal role as they need to make sure all managers and team leads understand the significance of fostering leadership qualities. There needs to be a direct message for insecure managers to look for jobs elsewhere.   

Encouraging little steps

It is absolutely vital to create an environment that encourages individuality and responsibility as it sends across a clear signal that even the little steps count, when we look at the overall picture. Making the fresh graduate selects sit adjacent to the experienced industry veterans provides an opportunity to learn from their experience. A blend of fresh ideas with the experience gained over the years can certainly reap huge dividends for any BPO company as it will help in improving the current set of processes. Asking an executive to run the entire project will showcase the management’s confidence in his/her abilities that will go a long way in boosting an employee’s morale.

It can be concluded from the above discussion that every BPO company needs to make efforts in the right direction for fostering a sense of leadership among its employees.