5 Best Practices for Agent Training In Call Centers
Call centers are very social organizations. Unlike most of other fields, call centers are completely based on human interactions thus making them highly dependent on the vocal prowess of the agents. So, the capability of the agents is what makes or breaks a call center. Therefore, it is very important to train the agents in a better manner in order to provide better customer satisfaction and eventually, make more profit.
Here we discuss 5 best practices a call center can employ when it is training new calling agents:
1. Informed Agents is the Key
During the initiation, new agents should be introduced to the senior heads of the company personally or via a video. This instills a sense of loyalty in them as they are able to put a face on the name of the company. Agents get inspired and thus are able to work with a better mindset.
Moreover, the initiation process should thoroughly cover up the mechanisms involved in the working of the business. By understanding how the company and its products/services work, agents are better equipped with the right knowledge. They get to understand the workflow, thus enabling them to serve the informed and factual solutions to the callers instantly.
2. Explain the Importance of Adhering to Schedule
Many agents, especially the newly hired ones, don’t understand the critical role of schedule adherence for the maintaining the smooth working in the call center. So, list the adherence to schedule among Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Then, get a professional from the workforce management team to teach the agents on the importance and role of schedule adherence at the service level.
New agents should be introduced to the methods on how the performance will be evaluated, based on such KPIs. Guide them with the practices that can help them fulfill their KPI benchmarks. This will make these agents aware and careful of these KPIs so that they can adjust their approach to interacting with the customer as per needed.
3. Let Top Performers Deliver Training
It can prove to be highly beneficial for the new agents to learn from your company’s top performing agents. A good performance requires a better understanding of the business and its customers. Since top performers have that knack, they can give practical tips on how to excel as an agent. Moreover, new agents can be inspired in a productive way by setting the bar high and by being provided insight into performing their jobs effectively.
Besides this, these agents can offer more relevant answers to the questions that the new agents might come up with. Any professional advice or growth talk can be given by these experts effortlessly.
4. Stress on Building Customer Relationship
New agents often take some time to understand the value of a good customer relationship. So, the training team has to give in some sound efforts to teach them the importance of good customer relationship and the factors involved in building it.
Start with the benefits of a healthy relationship with your customers and then make them understand customer lifetime value as well as the impact of a bad interaction. Ensure that they understand that the quality of service they deliver directly affects customer conversion, retention, and loyalty as well.
5. Show Agents on the Right Ways to Resolve Issues
Trainees and new agents are bound to get stuck up once in a while. There could be a technical issue that they don’t know how to handle or a customer asks a question that has no answer. This often causes nervousness and breaks the workflow of both the agent as well the support staff. Teach your agents and trainees the correct way to find a solution to any issue.
If there is a knowledge base for all the company’s data, teach the agents how to access it. Got a technical support department? Teach the agents how to connect to them. Are there managers and senior agents free to help the trainee? Make sure they know how to contact them. Providing a way to obtain a solution will make your agent productive as well as a happy.
Conclusion
Following these practices will not only make your newly hired agents better equipped to handle calls but also make the entire workforce more productive as well as efficient. A student is only as good as his teacher so ensure the quality of your trainers as well.
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Having well trained agents should be foremost responsibility of any call center. An agent that has less than stellar training may make unpleasant interactions with the clients thus tarnishing the reputation of the company.
It is essential that the agents actually understand the products and services of the organization before they deal with customers. No matter how charming or charismatic the agent is, if he has no clue about the working of the product/service the customer WILL get angry.
Managers and senior staff should actively participate in the training process. It not only helps in imparting hands-on knowledge to the trainees but also promotes brand loyalty and dedication amongst them.
Great post Arsh. I would like to add that showing the negative interactions of poor agents to the new trainees can help out too. This way they will know what NOT to do which is even more important to know what TO do.
The main focus of any agent training regime should be making the new recruits understand the importance of being courteous and polite to the clients. Many agents become rude or condescending especially if they have had a stressful day. They should be taught that their personal mental state should never be reflected on their interaction with the client.