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Training Tips and Creative Approaches

by Melissa Wood, Director Operational Excellence for Leadership Development and Effectiveness Team, Etech - June 24, 2013

Training Tips and Creative Approaches

Melissa Wood

The hiring and training process is the cornerstone of every customer contact operation. Decisions made here will have a domino effect on quality and performance delivery capabilities and have direct implications on whether we can meet our service promises.



Before Initial Training Begins:

o Screen your applicants by setting expectations clearly during the interview process. Make sure they understand the hours, the environment, how their performance will be measured and how often, as well as what constitutes grounds for dismissal before they accept a job.

o Prepare by looking online for valuable training resources including simulations, scripts, and tutorials that you can adapt to increase effectiveness and engage the training agents.

o Start the learning before training begins. Set up a pre-training learning portal to cover product knowledge, compliance topics, and sales simulations. This allows new agents to walk in the door with added confidence and competence.

During Initial Training:

o Be flexible. Adapt your teaching approach to different situations and learning styles. Use a variety of mediums (handouts, posters, PowerPoint, video, actors, games, and contests).

o Incentivize performance with treats, trinkets, or privileges to create a sense of gentle competition among the trainees. Use group activities to encourage cooperation among teams.

o Bring in the experts.

o Involve Workforce Management and Operations leadership to set expectations for adherence and performance.

o Top agents who have walked the talk can give real-world examples, demonstrate how to overcome problems, and show what success looks like.

o Demonstrate when you can, lecture only if you must. Keep your agents-in-training engaged by showing them, not just telling them. Then let them practice and hone their newly won skills. For example:

o Show them a call script and let them practice with each other one on one.

o Demonstrate compliance requirements and help them build their ability by acting scenes out in pairs or small groups.

o Split the class into teams and let them challenge each other’s knowledge.

Incubation

o Incubation is crucial to the transition from trainee to call center agent. During this time, trainers, leaders, and experienced agents help new agents put their learning into practice.

o Have new agents side-jack and listen to experienced agents, then take calls themselves with an experienced agent or trainer alongside to critique performance, explain concepts, praise things done well, and identify opportunities to improve.

o Provide time for trainees to critique and score each other and experienced agents during actual customer engagements, giving feedback to the trainer and training class. This real-world application emphasizes the points made during classroom training.

o Leaders and trainers close gaps by using recorded calls and QA scoring techniques to calibrate and demonstrate clearly the expectations of the client’s campaign.

o Use this period to identify and correct any misunderstandings by trainees. Determine if there is a pattern of miscommunication or points that may need stronger emphasis in future training.

Refresher courses for established agents

o Training never stops! As markets evolve and clients’ needs or offerings change, agents need regular training to stay abreast of the latest information.

o Take advantage of technology. Set up short simulations to allow agents to practice how to handle calls for customer service, technical support, or sales. Online, at the desk, independently - tutorials lasting five to fifteen minutes work well and can be documented on completion automatically.

o Set the expectation that agents refresh their knowledge regularly and independently.

Quality Monitoring and Coaching

o Agent performance should be monitored frequently and feedback provided. Your options for approaches are limited only by your time, capabilities, and creativity, but could include:

o QA monitoring and scoring reviews

o Coaching sessions with team leaders and QA personnel

o Self-critique of contacts by individual agents

o Discussion of opportunities in small group settings

o Provide feedback in a balanced and sensitive manner. Every opportunity for improvement should be grouped with at least two things done well. Agents with low confidence must be built up with praise for their successes and positive action steps to correct shortcomings.

o Agents failing to perform to expectations should be given close support by their leaders and provided action plans for improvement that clearly identify the steps needed to achieve success. If progress is not sufficient and timely, the agent should be removed from the campaign and possibly assigned to refresher training specifically designed to re-establish needed skills and behaviors.

Closing the Circle

o Evaluate the effectiveness of your training programs and train your trainers to continually improve their approach as well as performance.

o Use training exit surveys for immediate feedback from trainees

o Track performance using QA Scores and calibrations for trainees vs. successful long-term agents for at least six weeks

o Keep operations and training in constant communication. As client needs change, operations leaders are often among the first to see it. Ensure trainers are informed of any curriculum changes needed.

Training is for Leaders, Too

Leadership development is crucial to the success of any company, as it contributes to the overall strength of the company, improves succession planning, and broadens the skill set of current and prospective members of your leadership team. Companies should provide options for leaders to continue their own development through:

o Online courses, webinars, and tutorials

o Seminar and conference attendance

o In-house group leadership development training efforts

o Active leadership roles in community organizations (Bonus: This raises the company’s local profile!)

Much of this training can be done by individuals on their own schedules.

Encourage your leaders to engage themselves and others in training and continuing education as they strive to remain true to their company vision and goals.

o Include training and development goals in your annual, departmental, and individual plans

o Annual, semi-annual, or even quarterly self-assessments can be used to identify opportunities

o Monthly goals and progress reports allow leaders to re-focus as needed and remain on track


This article was written by Melissa Wood, Director of Operational Excellence for the Leadership Development & Effectiveness team at Etech. Melissa is also a contributor to “Hey Leader, Wake Up and Hear the Feedback!” published by WalkTheTalk.com. Etech Global Services is a foremost provider of intelligent sales and service solutions utilizing inbound and outbound voice and live chat. Etech Global Services also understands the importance of customer relationships. Today, and in the future, all of Etech Global Services’ solution strategies will be driven by the ‘voice of the customer’. Etech Global Services’ goal is to provide industry-leading service, stellar CSAT scores, and high performing sales and service solutions that enable clients to increase revenue and delight customers. If you would like to learn more about training or have questions about this article, please contact info@etechgs.com.

Useful Websites with Training Material
http://www.training-wheels.com// 
http://www.walkthetalk.com/

 
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