As we often say, call centre work is hard work. This is why, if we’re being honest, most call centre businesses have tough times retaining their employees. A job as a phone agent – one that entails being on the phone for the majority of the day – isn’t for everyone. This is why strong recruitment processes and training practices are of paramount importance to call centres.
Here are three tips for training your new call centre employees:
1. Get your new hires acquainted with your company culture.
Our friends over at Hire Value Inc. regularly champion the act of promoting your company culture. They believe that placing emphasis how great it is to work for your company is a top way to attract new talent. This is achieved by making your current employees extremely happy. To continue to foster and grow your company culture, it’s vital to hire new employees who will mesh well with those who already work for you.
“Your new hires should have a comprehensive understanding of your business, product and call center operations,” writes Shauna Geraghty on Talkdesk.com, “They should also be provided information about company culture, mission, core values and vision and understand their role in achieving business goals. With this understanding, your agents will be more prepared to interact with customers in a manner that is consistent with your business values.”
2. Target trainee “gaps”.
Forgive us for stating the obvious: no two people are alike. And because of that, no two training programs should be alike. Remember that everyone learns differently. So, in order to truly have a strong training program in place for your call centre employees, it’s important to target the different strengths and weaknesses of everyone you train. Assessing the “gaps” of each employee is an important way to make improvements in performance.
On CallCentreHelper.com, Paul Wood of Silver Lining Solutions Ltd. advises trainers to personalize the training to meet the needs of each trainee. “Often training follows the ‘sheep dip’ approach where, regardless of knowledge levels or experience, everyone completes the same course,” he explains, “By assessing current knowledge levels you can target training to each person’s ‘gap’. This ensures that the training is relevant to the trainee, and ensures that the trainees are more engaged.”
3. Play call recordings.
Get your new call centre employees assimilated with their new jobs by demonstrating exactly how the job is done. By playing recordings of calls that showcase excellent customer service skills and sales acumen, you’ll offer your trainees great examples of what is expected of them.
“One of the best ways for call center agents to learn how to interact with customers is to hear recordings from previous calls,” says Geraghty, “Choose recordings that will help you demonstrate a specific point (i.e., how to handle an angry customer, what to say if you don’t know the answer to their question, how to give a customer refund, etc.).”
At MeloTel, we’d argue that, in addition to call recordings, live calls are the best ways to show your new hires how to do their jobs well. With the very-easy-to-setup Telephone Training Adapter Y Splitter + Mute Button, live call monitoring for training purposes has been made easier than ever!
For just $49.99, which includes shipping and handling and a one year warranty, the Telephone Training Adapter Y Splitter + Mute Button can be yours. Place your order by calling 1-888-MELOTEL or using the Live Chat feature on our website!
