Call center training ideas how to#

These little somethings often mean a lot, as they underline little successes, and if we make a big deal of these successes, we can generate enthusiasm. While, to me, it’s just a piece of paper, to them it signifies that they have achieved something. While, to me, it’s just a piece of paper, to them it signifies that they have achieved something.”Īt the end of my training courses, I give out a certificate and everyone really appreciates it. Helen says: “At the end of my training courses, I give out a certificate and everyone really appreciates it. Recognition is key to refuelling advisor motivation and, to do this, it’s key to actively celebrate advisor successes, even if it’s just with a thank you, a “call-out” in a team huddle or a certificate. Celebrate Success to Get Everybody Enthusiastic About Learning Otherwise, they just ask an open question, sit back and let the conversation build.įor more exercises like this, which are better suited to remote working, read our article: 10 Fun Customer Service Activities That Will Make Your Staff Smile 5. Just remember to have a coach or a team leader to facilitate the discussion, so practices that may not be in the best interests of the customer don’t spread. This will also help you in identifying which advisors may be best suited to a team leader position, when such a position arises.

Call center training ideas how to#

With these focus groups, you are encouraging open discussion of how to improve, helping you to create a culture of learning.Īlso, we encourage advisors to take on a leadership role. “Let advisors take the lead in facilitated discussions and focus groups by sharing their experiences and encouraging others to do the same, to compare what they do in certain situations,” says Helen.

Hold Facilitated Discussions to Share Best Practices We just need to remember to be positive with our feedback, using the right training models, so it’s not seen as an exercise to “catch advisors out”.Īs team leaders, we should also be thinking about the advisor’s goals within the organization and what they want to achieve in later life, to best tailor their development. One good initiative to help with this is advisor self-scoring, as they can fill in a scorecard alongside the team leader and discuss the variations in their assessments. Getting advisors to identify the gaps in their own skill sets and to say what they find challenging and where they need to improve is key to making training stick. While it is hard to admit when there are gaps in your learning, it is part of a team leader’s job to create an environment where people are confident to share.Īs Helen says: “Encouraging autonomy with their own personal development, by getting advisors to identify the gaps in their own skill sets and to say what they find challenging and where they need to improve is key to making training stick.” Teach Team Leaders to Help Advisors to Spot Their Own Skill Gaps “Classroom learning is not always going to be the best method of learning for everyone, so recognize different learning styles and add variety,” adds Helen.īy thinking of learning differently, we can take people away from just doing what they are used to by making sessions more interesting, which helps our key messages to become more memorable. With flexible working, it’s hard to get everyone into a classroom together, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as it’s testing us to vary the way we communicate with our teams in order to appeal to different learning preferences. It’s hard to get everyone into a classroom together, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as it’s testing us to vary the way we communicate with our teams…

There are many things that people can do to aid their learning without being in a classroom environment, and this is something contact centres are increasingly thinking about, especially with the growth of flexible working. Stop Thinking of Training as Just a Classroom Activity This means that they can support advisor development in the most efficient way possible. So, if a well-trained team leader knows how an advisor learns best, they can create and recommend learning materials that are tailored to that individual. VARK is an acronym in which each letter stands for a different method of learning. “Contact centres may benefit from putting their advisors through a VARK assessment tool to find out the best way individual advisors learn, before building a programme around each individual employee,” says Helen Pettifer, Director of Helen Pettifer Training. Think About the Different Ways People Learn (VARK) We share everything from customer service training activities to ideas for fun coaching games, as we help to freshen up your contact centre coaching programme.