As a manager, you are expected to uphold discipline. You ought to be in control of your team and always be prepared to face any challenges that arise during the course of work. But the common mistake which most managers do is that they take this brief too seriously.
The managers misconstrue that imposing strictest of discipline and keeping their team under tight control is their rightful duty as well as primary responsibility. The resultant excess of management transforms our managers into school Headmasters who start micro managing instead of managing their team.
Micro management occurs when a manager focuses on trivial little things and fails to see the bigger picture. The manager tends to focus on tiny irrelevant details, makes too many stifling rules and demands too many reports from the sub ordinates. Whether they actually are or not, they always enjoy the perception of being in control by reserving the decision-making authority and not sharing it with their subordinates. It can prove to be detrimental for the entire team, especially in a call center environment.
5 reasons why call center manager must strictly avoid micro management are:
1. It increases stress in the workspace
Any agent of an inbound call center who is dealing with irate callers is understandably already quite stressed. Nagging by the manager is likely to only increase the stress levels further and create a dismal work environment.
2. It demotivates the employees
Such managers usually point out the bad qualities of their team members, more than they ever appreciate them. This makes each employee feel dejected and adversely affects their morale and self-confidence.
3. It slows down functioning
These managers are usually unable to make quick decisions. A 24x7call center where each second is precious, cannot afford such delayed responses to problems that require urgent attention.
4. It leads to inefficiency
Peter Drucker has said that there is no point in doing those things efficiently, which shouldn’t be done in the first place! But contrary to this advice, a micro-manager insists on lots of reports to be made by his subordinates. So apart from the reports made for clients, the employees are compelled to make dozens of reports to appease this manager with reportomania.
5. It decreases the fun at work
They doen’t give the employees enough liberty to have fun while they work. And when employees aren’t enjoying what they are doing, their efforts would also be half-hearted and it would adversely impact the team’s performance.
So a call center manager should analyze oneself and determine whether he/ she is a micro-manager or not. And if yes, then they should shed all such habits and emerge as a successful manager who is adored and admired by the subordinates.