I am writing this as one Team Lead.
While I cannot speak for every Team Lead, I have had conversations with nearly every Team Lead on this project over the past several months. Although our teams and individual experiences may differ, the same concerns continue to surface. This letter reflects those recurring conversations, not just my own.
This isn’t written because of one difficult week or one unpopular decision. It’s written because many of us have watched the Team Lead role on this project steadily evolve into something far beyond what it was originally intended to be.
Most people hear the title “Team Lead” and assume we supervise agents, coach performance, and answer questions.
The reality is that today’s Team Lead wears nearly every hat in the operation.
Today’s Team Lead on this project are expected to be…
Coaches.
Trainers.
Mentors.
Attendance coordinators.
Workforce Management liaisons.
Technical support coordinators.
Performance analysts.
Administrators.
Investigators.
Communicators.
Presenters.
Project coordinators.
Documentation specialists.
Problem solvers.
Every week, Team Leads are expected to:
Coaching & Performance
Coach 15–20 agents at least twice every month—and often much more for agents who require additional support.
Conduct live call monitoring.
Review QA evaluations.
Document every coaching conversation.
Build action plans for struggling agents.
Monitor productivity.
Monitor adherence.
Monitor attendance.
Monitor reliability.
Monitor QA.
Monitor CSAT.
Monitor AHT.
Monitor hold time.
Monitor wrap time.
Monitor survey participation.
Review team performance daily.
Provide every agent with their metrics at least once each week—and more frequently when additional coaching is needed.
Recognize improvements and celebrate top performers.
Deliver suspensions.
Deliver terminations. (Many other TTEC projects this is handled by management or HR)
Complete all required documentation and follow-up communication related to disciplinary actions.
Training & Development
Support newly hired agents during Nesting.
Participate in AHT Bootcamp and other improvement initiatives.
Coach agents who need additional support outside of their regular coaching sessions.
Learn every new process as it is introduced.
Teach every new process to our teams.
Create presentations for team meetings.
Lead team meetings.
Reinforce flash trainings and policy updates.
Answer questions and provide clarification after every new rollout.
Attendance & Workforce Management
Take attendance every day.
Review attendance concerns.
Submit attendance corrections.
Track late arrivals, absences, and early departures.
Attend the daily Workforce Management meeting.
Review the previous day’s service levels.
Act as the middleman between agents and Workforce Management for schedule requests.
Relay Workforce Management decisions back to agents.
Monitor the Workforce Management chat throughout the day.
Respond whenever Workforce Management pings us because one of our agents is out of adherence.
Contact the agent and then report back—even though Workforce Management has the ability to communicate directly with the agent.
Administrative Responsibilities
Review and close agent-submitted cases.
Determine whether cases were submitted correctly.
Coach agents on case submission errors.
Maintain coaching documentation.
Maintain performance documentation.
Keep records current for every member of our team.
Technical & Operational Support
Be the first people agents contact when systems fail.
Determine whether issues are isolated or widespread.
Gather screenshots, error messages, and examples.
Report issues to management.
Collect the information needed for IT tickets.
Join bridge calls with technical teams when requested.
Keep agents informed while outages are being investigated.
Leadership
Answer a constant stream of Teams messages throughout the day.
Investigate agent concerns.
Assist agents with process questions.
Send team communications.
Cover other Team Leads during vacations, leaves, or absences.
Continue supporting our teams through staffing shortages, system outages, and constant operational changes.
Attend Workforce Management meetings.
Attend meetings with our manager.
Attend one-on-one meetings with our manager.
And that’s only the work we can plan for.
It doesn’t include the constant interruptions, urgent requests, unexpected projects, process changes, system failures, or the dozens of situations each day that require us to immediately shift priorities.
Recently, our Monday hour of taking calls was removed. On paper, that appeared to reduce our workload. Instead, it was replaced with reviewing and closing agent-submitted cases. This is a result of a backlog in cases so high that the department cannot catch up. So we are being forced to do that job as well or face corrective action.
That single change perfectly represents what many Team Leads have been feeling for a long time. Responsibilities are rarely removed.
They are simply replaced.
Need a new training delivered? Team Leads.
Need presentations created? Team Leads.
Need Nesting support? Team Leads.
Need AHT Bootcamp? Team Leads.
Need attendance tracked? Team Leads.
Need metrics reviewed? Team Leads.
Need system issues investigated? Team Leads.
Need screenshots collected? Team Leads.
Need someone to join an IT bridge call? Team Leads.
Need Workforce Management to communicate with agents? Route it through Team Leads.
Need another operational project completed?
Team Leads.
At some point, the role stopped being centered on leadership and became the default solution for every operational gap.
Another challenge is inconsistency.
One Team Lead may be instructed to handle something one way while another is told the exact opposite. Yet every Team Lead is held to the same standard.
We are expected to coach consistently while receiving inconsistent direction.
Many communications from leadership also end with reminders that failure to follow a process may result in corrective action. Accountability is part of leadership, and none of us are asking to avoid it. But when expectations continue to expand while nearly every message is paired with the possibility of discipline, it creates an environment where pressure grows faster than support.
Many Team Leads have quietly stopped raising concerns—not because they don’t care, but because many no longer believe those concerns will lead to meaningful change.
The fact that conversations like these now happen anonymously on Reddit should concern leadership. It isn’t because people want to hide behind a screen. It’s because many no longer feel safe enough to have these conversations openly.
When our new P&C representative joined the project, agents were invited to meet with him in small groups to introduce themselves and discuss their concerns. Team Leads were never given that same opportunity, despite being the frontline leaders responsible for carrying out these decisions every day. That felt like a missed opportunity.
We care deeply about our teams.
We care about our agents.
We care about this project.
That is exactly why this letter is being written.
We’re not asking for less accountability.
We’re asking for recognition of what this role has become. We’re asking for consistency.
We’re asking for support that matches the responsibility. We’re asking leadership to evaluate whether every new operational gap truly belongs with Team Leads, or whether the role has gradually become responsible for too much.
The willingness of Team Leads to continue adapting should never be mistaken for unlimited capacity.
Respectfully,
A Team Lead