There’s no doubt that call center training is crucial. But most companies are only accustomed to delivering in-person training. But in a pandemic and ever-evolving world, call centers are starting to look very different.
And while we’ve been huge fans and advocates of delivering call center training online long before the pandemic, our passion for effective and engaging training has only grown over the last few years. That’s because we think it’s necessary, it’s manageable, and it really does work.
Importance of call center training for agents working from home
High-quality employee training reduces employee turnover, and an astonishing 94% of employees would stay with a company if there were an investment in learning.
So yes, call center training is important regardless of whether the agent is in the office or working remotely. HuffPost tells us that not investing in employee training is risky and companies that invest in training earn 24% higher profit margins. But given the growth of remote work in the last two years, we can’t ignore the importance of bringing training into a digital platform as well.
After all, agents who work from home present different benefits and challenges for call centers. Agents who are physically in the call center have the opportunity to learn from walking around the office or listening in on a neighbor. Remote agents miss out on these opportunities and experiences. But the thing is, training remote agents isn’t necessarily easier or more difficult than in-office. It just requires a new way of thinking, such as the intro of call center training software! Tools like training videos, online training courses, and the development of mock call scripts are all valuable ways to make sure your work-from-home agents are fully armed for success.
Why is call center training software helpful?
Call center training software gives agents and other customer-facing employees the tools to provide exceptional levels of support. It allows agents to practice interactions and gain immediate feedback on their performance, which helps them improve not only their technical skills, but also soft skills and overall understanding of processes, products, services, and compliance.
With call center online training software, support teams can create call center training courses that agents can access from home. This means that teams can deliver consistent training to each and every team member, no matter where they’re located. These online lessons focus on product and service training, changes to policies or processes, and essential call center skills that agents need to know.
Tips and tricks for training agents working from home
Now for the fun part! There are lots of components that go into training. It requires a little bit of everything, from online courses to one-on-one video training, virtual classroom sessions, call center script best practices samples, remote training tools, and more. Here are our top recommendations when it comes to delivering effective and engaging training to your remote agents.
- Mix up your learning and development strategy: For example, first examine your organization’s values and then determine which agent capabilities are most important to your success. All too often, organizations deliver training that’s the same for every single department and role, but by creating a strategy that considers agent’s strengths and weaknesses, you’ll create a much more effective training program.
- Set up 1:1 video calls: Face time plays a vital role in making communication a priority. It’s clear that video calls are effective for improving the connectedness of remote team members. You want that. So while agents may complete training online, set up additional video calls where you can answer questions, provide feedback, and simply build a stronger relationship.
- Build trust with your remote peeps: If your agents feel trusted, then they’ll deliver better service quality to your customers. While you can’t train for every situation an agent might face, you can put trust in your agents to optimize the way they work, learn from their mistakes, and keep moving forward.
- Build a strong, engaging variety of training content: Learning formats that range from videos, online tests, interactive exercise, downloadable resources, and more help your agents learn at any time from anywhere. By setting your agents up for autonomous training, you empower them to take charge of their own development and how they help customers.
- Give them the tools they need: Giving them access to online training is one thing. But it’s just as important to set your agents up for success with things like Slack and Google Drive for remote collaboration. Additionally, make sure your training software integrates with the other tools they use so they don’t have to jump from tool to tool.
Give your call center training a boost
Online call center training should be able to simulate real situations so agents get a better idea of what they’ll face. Customer service and call center teams use Lessonly by Seismic’s training software to learn new information, practice important skills, and provide high-caliber levels of service.
