How to Make Time for Coaching in a Busy Contact Center

Last week, we explored how contact center leaders can reframe the way their teams approach quality assurance. (ICYMI, check out the full post here: Shift Your Contact Center QA Mindset). This week, we’re digging into another challenge that almost every contact center struggles with: finding time for coaching.

It’s a topic that sparked a lot of conversation during our latest ICMI Idea Exchange, where I had the pleasure of chatting with Rob Dwyer, VP of Customer Engagement at Customer Direct and happitu, host of the Next in Queue podcast, and an ICMI Top 25 Thought Leader. Rob’s insights were equal parts practical and encouraging, and I’m excited to recap the big takeaways here.

Coaching Competes with Everything, So Advocate for It

We kicked off our conversation by asking participants to weigh in on their biggest barrier to effective coaching. Not surprisingly, lack of time ran away with the lead.

Rob wasn’t surprised. “It’s one of the biggest struggles in any contact center,” he said. But that doesn’t mean we should just accept it and move on. Instead, Rob urges leaders to consider what drives how time is spent in their organizations. Spoiler: It often comes down to priorities at the top.

“If coaching is a priority for your team, it needs to be a priority at the organizational level, too,” Rob explained. That might mean advocating upward — making the case to your leadership about the long-term value of coaching. Show how better coaching improves performance, drives engagement, and reduces attrition. Because when execs understand its impact, they’re more likely to help carve out the time.

Treat Coaching Time Like You Treat Customer Time

If you're in a contact center, you already know how important it is to honor customers' time. Appointments are scheduled. Wait times are tracked. Interactions are optimized. So why not treat coaching the same way?

Rob recommends applying the same mindset to coaching sessions: build structure around them, plan them consistently, and treat them as non-negotiable. “You wouldn't just blow off a customer call,” he pointed out. “You need to take the same approach with coaching.”

Structure doesn’t mean rigidity. It’s about creating efficiency and ensuring that coaching isn’t the first thing to fall off the to-do list when things get busy.

Know Where the Time Goes

Part of the challenge with coaching isn’t just making time — it’s managing it. Rob suggested leaders get curious about how long coaching sessions actually take. Is a 30-minute block always needed? Are some conversations better served with a focused 10-minute check-in?

Time tracking can help identify patterns and opportunities to streamline. “Sometimes we overengineer these sessions,” Rob noted. “But a quick, focused coaching moment can be incredibly impactful.”

By knowing where the time goes, you can start to coach smarter, not harder.

Schedule Proactively, Flex Responsibly

Of course, no two days in a contact center are the same. That’s why Rob encourages leaders to schedule coaching proactively and be flexible. “The reality is, things come up. Calls spike. Systems go down. But the goal is to reschedule coaching, not cancel it altogether.”

He likened it to rescheduling a doctor’s appointment: “If something urgent comes up, you don’t say, ‘Forget it, I’m never going to the doctor again.’ You find another time.” The same mindset should apply to coaching. Protect that time, even if it has to shift.

Up Next: Real-Time vs. Scheduled Coaching

Making time for coaching is just one piece of the puzzle. Next week, we’ll explore the pros and cons of real-time vs. scheduled coaching. (Spoiler alert: there’s a place for both!)

Until then, we want to hear from you: How do you make space for coaching in your contact center? What’s worked, and what’s still a challenge? Drop me a note ([email protected]) or join the conversation on LinkedIn.