In the Call Centre agents’ world, a new Team Leader position posting is something rare and wanted. Also, on most of the postings I have seen in my career, I read the note: “Strong internal candidate”.
I agree, promoting individuals from within your company is a great idea to keep the employees happy and reduce attrition. Often I have seen the best agent on the floor become the next Team Leader. Then, the best Team Leader become the next Manager.
At the same time, I have seen this process fail. Especially in Call Centres where the Call Centre content was very specific. To work in this type of Call Centre, for example deep IT support, you need to have specific training. In this case, the best agent might not have the skills and knowledge to manage a team. Their core training was on IT, not management.
This knowledge gap can often be seen when new corporate goals are broadcast to the Call Centre. For example, how can we transform a high level goal into a day-to-day agent target? Also, how to motivate, evaluate and adjust the day-to-day plan based on current results? etc.
Managing a team is not an easy task. This is why, we often see a new Team Leader from another company joining the Call Centre, with management experience.