Workforce Management Featured Article
How to Speed Call Center Training
It’s a misconception to believe there is an end date when it comes to training call center employees. These individuals are vital to the successful operation of your business and they can always learn a new process, improve their efficiency or expand their knowledge on a new product. The best approach to workforce management is to view training as something that is never complete.
The longer, more strategic approach to training becomes instead career development. You can always make coaching a priority; but training the agent to get going on the phones should be an expedited process. A recent Monet Software blog offers some insight into how you can make this happen.
Monet Software borrowed from the expertise listed by INCI in an article. The idea is to expedite the training process so the agent can start delivering quality interactions from the word go. Ongoing training will continued over the course of their career, but delivering excellent customer care should start right away.
The advice given for speeding the training process so the call center can get the most out of workforce management includes keeping a log. Not all agents will struggle with the same things when they first get going and addressing parts of the job they find easy could just waste time. Instead, why not track performance observations to make it easier and more accurate to pinpoint issues and focus on those training elements that actually help them improve.
Form a group of individuals who are ready to take to the phones. Have them make their first calls with a supervisor observing the interaction. They can then work with the agent on what they did well and areas for improvement. In this process, encourage agents to assess their own performance on the call and areas they believe they can improve. The sooner they are able to spot their own shortcomings, the quicker they can adjust and improve on their own.
Make familiarity with the company, its products and its operations an important step for any agent new to the job. A tour of the training process that visits all supporting departments gives the agent the sense that they are a part of a larger team and their contributions matter. In the process, introduce new agents to those agents who will serve as mentors or direct connections when they have quick questions. You can also add chat or wiki access to build a knowledge-sharing database, or simply offer an FAQ page.
At the end of the day, proper training for the contact center agent never ends as coaching should be a key focus every week. But, getting agents on the phone and able to perform quickly ensures the contact center is ready to meet specific performance goals.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi