Testing New-Hires Before They Go on the Phones

Answers

• Marnee Downing Posted at 12:00AM on Mar 21, 2008

  Yes, we do test. We find testing useful for a number of reasons: is training hitting the mark? One person not understanding the material is the trainee's issue, more than one may be a reflection on the trainer's skills. The intervals for testing depend on the duration of the training and the complexity of the job. In my experience a long training class and complex jobs need more tests or quizzes to validate the trainees' ability to live up to or exceed the expectations of your customers. Each major process taught includes role plays for as many trainees as time will allow (those who don't participate in one set are the first group for the next set). We also use paper quizzes to determine retention and application of information. Everything is "open book" other than asking a trainer for the answer; we want the test to come as close as possible to simulating the real world. I suggest looking first at your pain points. Where are new agents struggling when they graduate to the call center? What are the frequent mistakes? The questions that supervisors and or leads hear over and over? What, if any, pattern is there in complaints from customers? These are the items to validate the content and effectiveness of the training, and then test for the competency level needed as a new agent. -- Marnee Downing

• Dan Churukian Posted at 12:00AM on Feb 23, 2009

  The real test lies within the contact centers ability to provide easy access to information the agent can reference quickly which allows them to be more comfortable and confident when dealing with the customer. It seems that to often we try to over educate agents on details rather than just good old fashion customer service skills and make things harder than they need to be for a new-hire. If we focus more on training to use tools effeciently we can rate agents using time as a measure. How they talk to people should have already been evaluated during the hiring process and will always require coaching to meet QA standards. But the most important test is not that they know everything but that they are familiar with it and know where to get the answer for themselves using the tools provided by the company.

• Jorge Tovar Posted at 12:00AM on Feb 23, 2009

  The testing of new hires is certainly critical to evaluating their training experience as a reflection of them and their trainer. Another word of caution is to consider the challenges in many call centers where agents have a great deal of information piled on them during a condensed training period that does not truly reflect the real-world requirements. This is often reflected in job dissatisfaction and impacts attrition. If your environment can support a progressive approach, it may help provide a more satisfying work expereince for new hires. By progressive I am referring to the ability to give them initial training on the less complicated call types followed by phone time. This may require an IVR desigened to sort out the call types. Once they have a sense of comfort and mastery of the simple calls, move back to the classroom to move on to more complex situations, followed by more phone time. Testing can be conducted during both sessions and generally results in better trained representatives with a greater sense of confidence.