Blame technology for the extra training you have to do. Then use our tips on the three best times to train agents. More customers than ever use email, chat and web-based FAQs to find answers and solutions these days.
Then agents get the more complex and involved issues to handle personally on the phone. It’s those interactions that can make or break customer satisfaction and loyalty, says J.D. Power and Associates researcher Mark Miller.
Customers don’t get as upset over an issues when using chat, email or phone menus. But if the person on the other end of phone makes a poor impression, loyalty can suffer, Miller found.
That’s why contact center leaders need to train as much as possible. Here are three perfect times, according to customer care expert and author Barbara Burke:
- In the moment. Leaders can use quick sessions when they see a frontline agent do something either very well or incorrectly. For good work, leaders can praise agents for it on the spot so others hear what went so well and learn from it. For less-than-ideal work, leaders want to take reps to a quiet place, explain what was done incorrectly and how to improve it, and have the rep try the better method immediately.
- Escalated calls. When customers demand “a supervisor,” leaders will should keep agents on the line so they can hear firsthand how to handle the situation.
- Monthly one-on-one. In addition to using these meetings to check that agents’ can handle their workload, managers want to touch on one important training topic.
