Is there a critical part missing from your call center orientation and training program?

 Most call center training programs focus primarily on equipping the agent with the knowledge and skills to accomplish the “transaction” part of the call with most of the time devoted to system navigation .  Some will also include an overview of the company, its history, mission, and so on.  And a few will also include training in some of the important communications skills needed for the “interaction” part of the call, such as phone etiquette, word and phrasing choices, and how to handle difficult calls.  However, with these three components covered, there’s still one more important component to turning out a well-rounded agent equipped to live up to their full potential as a representative of your company.

Many call centers fail to help agents understand the overall functioning of a call center and this is a mistake. Unless agents understand the “big picture” of call center operations, they don’t really have a context in which to be fully productive and effective at their jobs.  At a minimum, a basic training program should include a look at the operational functions that support their daily call handling.

Help them understand the technologies at work in the center so they know what the customer has encountered and what technologies support them in the handling of the call. Educate them on the forecasting and scheduling process that created their work schedule and why it’s so important the schedule is followed.  Show them how the call center measures  overall performance and how that translates into individual performance you’ll want to see  from them.

It’s also important for agents to see their call center role as something more than a dead-end job or one that is purely an entry-level position that they should be figuring out how to exit as soon as possible.  Giving them an industry overview may help them see that this call center job can turn into a lifelong profession for some of them.

Join us for The World of Call Centers: An Operational Overview for an overall introduction to call centers. You may want your staff to join us on a regular basis for this training, or you may wish to license our training content for delivery by your own trainers on an ongoing basis. To learn more about The World of Call Centers and how to educate your frontline staff on these important concepts, join us for an online class or call us at 615-812-8400 for more information.