By
Mark Pereira
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Date Published: May 24, 2021 - Last Updated May 12, 2021
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Comments
Gone are the days when we had an experienced agent or member of the contact center leadership team sit down with the class and review through the operating procedure manuals (OPMs), and then move the class to shadow with a mentor. In the past, that rarely worked. Today, it’s just not possible.
New trainees still need to be trained to keep up with key performance indicators (KPIs). Below are some of the emerging trends in training that have been devised to help ensure trainee safety and effectively train new team members:
Hybrid classes
A combination of both in-person and online classes, where critical training material is communicated while trainees are in the office, while review sessions, knowledge checks, and web-based training are performed on days where a class is done online.
Increased interactivity
Engage learners through high-energy interactions such as quick-learning clips embedded into PowerPoint instructor-led training (ILT), knowledge checks, and reflection sessions to help trainees dig deeper into their understanding of a concept. Over the past few years, we've noticed that having more than one trainer present in a day and bringing in guests such as experienced agents or team leads has helped increase engagement in the class.
Constant feedback
Trainers need to be flexible enough to tailor learning sessions to their trainee's solicited or unsolicited feedback. We as trainers need to make adjustments to suit their needs. Feedback needs to be timely and precise, without beating around the bush. Also, don't skip those evaluation sessions, as they help improve training, making trainees feel that you value their feedback.
More hands-on
The learning-by-doing principle is employed in contact center training through practice sessions, crossword puzzles, scavenger hunts, role-playing, call evaluation, knowledge checks performed through Kahoot or Quizziz, and fillable forms.
Web-based training
Courses need to be designed with gamification elements. Courses need to add interactivity such as practice sessions, fun learning checks, click-to-reveal, enacted stories, audio, and even animated videos using Toonly or even whiteboard animations such as VideoScribe.
Trainee and leadership connection
Gallup found that consistent communication, whether it occurs in person, over the phone, or electronically is connected to higher engagement. Whenever a class has the opportunity to spend about 15 minutes or so in a week with a team lead, supervisor, or manager, it seems to create a feeling among the trainees that the contact center management cares about their success and that they are not just another employee number or phone extension.
Repetition of material
Learning takes time. Finding ways to repeat information is essential as today's learners are bombarded with a lot of information and tasked with many decisions to make. Retrieval games such as Family Feud or Jeopardy help make learning fun, leading to higher retention of information.
Mentoring works
Find a way to do mentoring by using a meeting platform to share the soft phone's audio and sharing screens. Handpicking mentors who want to help and have been cleared by the quality assurance (QA) team ensures that your trainees are getting the most out of training.
Learning never stops
Even once the trainee has graduated from the class, the learning never stops. Keep checking on trainees, coach whenever necessary, and send micro-learnings.
The old ways of training are no longer possible, and that may be for the best. These new methods may have the added bonuses of utilizing best practices in teaching and tailoring instruction to individual needs of your learners.