Supervisor Interview Report - Essay Example

Supervisors help in shaping an organization's working environment. Their attitude towards work whether positive or negative highly influences their team members (Griffin, Patterson, and West 538). Supervisors have different techniques when it comes to leading their teams. This paper presents the report of an interview conducted with Mr. Riley Peterson, a customer service supervisor who has been working in a telecommunications company for ten years now. His job focuses on the daily monitoring of employee-customer relationships. It is his duty to assess the performance of all employees working in the customer service department, their way of handling customer transactions, and to reprimand them when needed. He directly supervises a total of 20 employees in the customer service department.  

He graduated with a degree in Management. Before becoming a customer service supervisor, he was a customer service agent. Because of dedication and hard work he got promoted to this position. While he was still studying he was able to join seminars on work ethics and professionalism. He had also undergone management and leadership training provided by the company.

He said that there are a lot of qualities a good supervisor must possess but if he needs to mention three very important qualities, he will consider the following:

• Superb Leadership Skills- To effectively lead a team a supervisor should have this very important quality. Although it takes time to develop this one, once a supervisor has it, then leading the team to success will be easy.
• Good Communication Skills- One of the most important components of business management is communication. Communication is not done in a way that will discourage an employee, there must be some sense of respect and openness to fully reach out to the members of the team.
• A Positive Attitude Towards Work- This type of job carries with it a big responsibility not only to the company but also to the customers. If the supervisor is able to show eagerness to perform the job efficiently then the employees will be inspired to follow what their leader does.

It's hard for him to determine the things that he wishes he knew before he became a supervisor. He just thought that he wishes he knew earlier the reason why we encounter customer complaints but he guesses it is true that you can never please everyone no matter how much effort you make. Secondly, he wishes he knew more about the things that cause signal disruptions because that is the usual complaint of our customers. 

He narrated that there was one time that a customer service agent received a call from a very angry female customer. She had complaints about signal disruption. The woman was so angry that the agent got frustrated and asked him to help her figure out a way to calm the customer down. Being the one in charge of handling these types of problems, he did not waste time; he talked to her politely and explained to her some possible causes of signal disruption. He then apologized to her for the inconvenience that interrupted her dealings and promised to take the necessary actions to solve the problem.

He further stated that as a supervisor, he is the role model of the team. His own way of motivating his team members is by letting them feel that they are essential to the company. As much as possible he pushes them to do their best every day and gives them compliments every once in a while to boost their self-confidence. He is lucky to have team members who are good listeners and followers.

He advised me not to stop believing in my own capabilities. Never let other people ruin your beliefs and aspirations. He said that if you wish to become a supervisor in an instant that's definitely impossible not unless you come from a highly influential family. So he said to keep working hard and never surrender.

Part II: Analysis

Through this analysis, I will share my learnings and realizations from the recently conducted interview with the customer service supervisor. The interview shows an example of how supervisors are burdened with many responsibilities. It started with the question with regard to the main role that Mr. Peterson plays in the company. Mr. Peterson answered that he handles the day-to-day dilemmas in customer service, particularly customer complaints (interview). Upon hearing this answer I came to a realization that the job is really tough; that one must have an ample amount of patience and dedication to survive in this type of profession. We can never deny the fact that we need them not only at times when we have complaints but also during those instances when we have to ask something about product features or information.

When a company is able to provide the customers with what they need, it shows that they have an effective marketing strategy (Silk and Harvard Business School Press 3). Marketing campaigns will be ineffective if a company's reputation is ruined by poor customer service. Poor customer service will cause dissatisfaction among customers and will eventually lead to business failure. A supervisory position in a company carries with it a huge task and responsibility (Humphrey and Stokes 2). If one has no knowledge of how to properly supervise people, then there is a possibility that a person will fail. The training that is provided for supervisors helps them become better and more effective team leaders (Kirkpatrick 6). That is why it is crucial for a person to be equipped with the right amount of knowledge, skills, and abilities before accepting any offers for a supervisory position. If all those factors are present, rest assured that the team led by the supervisor will be motivated and will surpass any obstacles that may come their way.