Call center software technology has made incredible progress in the past 20 years but many managers are still using the same call center agent training techniques they have used for decades. Are you one of these managers? With tools such as real-time call reporting, live agent monitoring, and high-quality call recordings, there is a wealth of information at your disposal. Using data from these technologies in your training can help new agents prepare and current agents prosper in their positions.
One of the most important factors of training is that it be consistent and never-ending. There are always new pitches to try and techniques to master. If you are not utilizing these latest call center software features for training, you are missing out on an opportunity to maximize growth and revenue at your company.
1. Update your call center agent training materials
Using high-quality call recordings ensures that no part of the call is missing, making use of every moment your agent is on the phone. If you have been using the same call recordings for years in a row, now is the time to update them. You likely amassed a number of both good and bad calls over the past few years. Use them to train new agents and educate current agents. Good calls provide an example of how an ideal interaction with a prospect, lead, or customer should happen. Bad calls offer the chance to coach on existing best practices or to alter your approach entirely.
2. Deliver strong training from the start
Call recordings should be used in new agent training to show them how calls should and should not go in your contact center. By educating your recently-hired employees, you ensure they receive a better chance to prosper and represent your brand in a positive manner. Avoid any potential new hire pitfalls by setting the bar with call recordings. In addition to call center recordings, it is still a great idea to bring in top-performing agents to guide new agents in the direction they should be headed. Having your new agents shadow the top-performing agents will also show them how they can rise to the caliber of your center.
3. Establish measurable goals
If you do not establish KPIs from the beginning, neither you nor your agents will have a framework to operate in. With real-time reporting statistics on your manager dashboard, you can keep track of important call metrics such as time spent on calls and dispositions made. Use your existing data to establish KPIs for you and your agents to work towards. Ensure that you set up measurable goals that you can track and work to meet on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. With continued use of real-time reporting, you can monitor how your team is keeping up with the goals you have established.
4. Share goals and progress with your team
If your agents are not aware of the KPIs you set up, they will not be able to work towards them. During call center agent training sessions, share these goals and current progress with your team. Set up a television monitor in the main area or another high-traffic location in your office that displays the daily, weekly, and monthly KPIs. Additionally, you can display their current progress with real-time reporting on the screen. By not only establishing measurable goals but sharing them with your employees, you will lay the groundwork for a productive and profitable business. When these performance metrics are on display, employees can be reminded of what they are aiming to accomplish throughout the day whenever they pass by.
5. Switch up the training format
Train not only on a team basis but on an individual one as well. Group training and meetings can be an excellent avenue to deliver wide-scale news to your agents. When it comes to teaching specific tasks or methods, though, it is better to work on an individual level. You can command greater focus and receive better results, as well as provide more direct guidance without embarrassing the individual in front of their coworkers if they had any mishaps. Individual training is a great opportunity to play an agent’s call recordings for them and show them where they went wrong and what they did well.
6. Provide training on-the-fly
With the power provided to you by live agent monitoring, you can listen in on your agents’ phone calls while they are still on the phone. Features like whisper allow you to coach your agent in the middle of a call without the prospect, lead, or customer hearing you. Barge in gives you the ability to take over a call if something is going wrong or if the individual needs to speak with management. Live agent monitoring is revolutionary in its ability to pass true authority on to you.
7. Hold regular training sessions
Holding consistent training sessions is imperative to the wellbeing of your agents and your company. There are always new things to learn and information to impart on your employees. Not only should regular call center agent training be provided for new employees but existing employees as well. There are always new things to be learned while working in a contact center and training will keep your employees informed.
Do not let yourself be left behind. Adopting the newest technology will help you to maximize agent performance which keeps your prospects interested, your leads engaged, and your customers coming back. Call center agent training in the present day gives you much more control over your contact center than managers used to possess.
