Contact center work can be rewarding because it’s such a great test of quick-thinking, multi-tasking and customer service. Finding an employee who excels at all of those things can be challenging, however, and contact center work can often be the first job of a young person who’s just entered the workforce.

So the challenge is to create a training program that helps these new workers learn the ins and outs of contact center work without becoming overwhelmed or discouraged during the training process.

Here are some tips for creating a training program that will both prepare and encourage your new employees to excel at your contact center.

Introductions Are Key

It might seem obvious, but often, with such a large amount of information, policies and procedures to get through in training, the act of simply introducing the existing team to your new employees can get lost by the wayside.

The more familiar a new employee is with your contact center team, the more comfortable he or she will be communicating with them.

And it’s also helpful to establish a more family-like atmosphere, which can make a new employee feel a lot less unsure or out of place at their new job.

Keeping To The Schedule

We’re not necessarily talking about a training schedule in this case. We’re talking about teaching your new employees that following a schedule once they’re working in the contact center is vital.

Part of what a high-functioning center does is handle calls quickly and efficiently. Customer service is important, but so is getting the right amount of calls taken care of.

Often, the technical aspects of a contact center job, along with the customer service requirements, take precedence, but leaving out the part of the job that concerns keeping to a tight schedule could add more pressure to an employee’s average day later on.

Bringing In The Best Performers

Every contact center has employees that perform above and beyond their job requirements, and they can serve as the best possible example for new employees.

Bringing in those high-level performers will not only give your new hires a chance to learn what these employees do to stay ahead of the curve, but it can also give them a chance to ask questions in a less time-sensitive environment.

Wouldn’t you prefer having an employee ask about how to handle a certain kind of call in the training room instead of the contact center floor?

Make It About Relationships

One of the best ways to avoid making a customer-contact center employee interaction hostile is to present that interaction as the building of a relationship. Yes, the odds are pretty good that, if the caller question or issue is resolved, the employee probably won’t be speaking to them again, but the time they’re on the phone together can most definitely be a relationship, however brief.
The employee should try to think of a conversation with a client as a chance to create a good bond between the business you’re representing and themselves. Thinking of it as a potential good relationship is a great way to do that.

Individuality Counts

If possible, it might be best to coach each new employee individually. This might not always not be possible, but it could be the best way to figure out what each employee’s strengths and weaknesses are.

It can also allow you to tailor an effective training program for that specific employee that works for them based on their level of education, how complex this particular contact center work will be, and the different management strategies that might be involved.

This Is A Recording

Rather than fictional scenarios, it might be a good idea to play actual calls, both good and bad, for your trainees. Few things will teach a new hire how to act, and how not to act, more quickly than listening to a live, real situation rather than a simulation.

Verint Media Recorder is an excellent tool for helping trainees learn, as it allows users to search and playback calls easily. Supervisors can select calls based on specific criteria, making it easy to train new employees on particular scenarios.

To learn more about developing effective contact center training, read “Emotions and Empathy Training for Contact Center Agents.”