Educate Your Agents And Reduce Turnover: Can E-learning Help?

Customer Inter@ction Solutions, Jun 2004 by Beck, Todd

There's growing consensus that training is effective in reducing turnover, even in the "revolving-door" environment of the contact center. The questions, however, are: "What type of training can be most effective in the contact center?" and "Will all training methodologies produce comparable results?"

Managers in organizations of all types and sizes have grappled for years with the question of the value of training for "revolving-door" organizations with high employee turnover, such as contact centers.

With contact center staff often serving as the primary source of customer support after the sale, their level of product knowledge and interpersonal skills are critical factors in maintaining a company's competitive edge. And for outsourced contact center operations, their very survival depends on the performance of frontline agents.

Although success begins with selection and hiring, the real key is how well the organization equips its contact center staff with the tools and skills they need to deliver on the company's value promise while meeting their own personal and professional goals.

The Case For Contact Center Training

There are a number of compelling reasons for training employees, whether or not they become long-term employees.

To attract and retain customers. The defining moments that occur when the customer interacts with a contact center agent determine whether that customer will come back, and the tools and strategies needed to be effective in this respect far exceed what can be acquired through experience alone. Poorly trained agents can significantly damage a business, even during a brief tenure.

To maintain a competitive edge. Today's customer is much more "service savvy" as well as demanding of a high level of product knowledge from the contact center agent.

Training as a recruitment tool Surveys conducted by the Gallup Organization indicate that employer-sponsored training is a major attraction for employees entering the workforce or deciding whether to remain in their current position.

The learning contract. Years of downsizing have irrevocably changed expectations of an employer's loyalty to the worker. This has been replaced by a more explicit quid pro quo: "We'll offer you new skills while you work for us - skills that can be taken with you when you leave. While you are here, you not only complete tasks, but also use your talents to improve our competitive position." Thus, training benefits both the individual and the organization, even if only for a short time.

Training as a retention tool. Trained employees who feel they contribute to the organization are less likely to leave prematurely. When people have skills to deliver and are recognized by managers for delivering these skills, they are less likely to look for another job. Although it's true that the better you train your staff, the more attractive they are to other organizations, it's equally true that your organization becomes more desirable and your recruiting becomes easier by offering training opportunities.

Creating a unified culture. Training can be particularly valuable in keeping employees motivated during periods of uncertainty such as downsizing or pre-merger by confirming that the organization is willing to invest in them, whether they are short-term or long-term employees. Such training can also be a cost-effective way to establish a common language and iocus, speeding the transition to effective, integrated operations.

Commitment and innovation. The more skilled and efficient your contact center agents become, the more likely they are to be committed to organizational objectives and interested in seeking innovative ways to become more effective. Untrained workers seldom look for a better way or suggest workable improvements.

Profitability. Logic suggests that achieving the benefits listed above will improve any organization's overall profits.

Unique Training Challenges In The Contact Center

Training can be particularly challenging in the contact center, and some of these challenges have led to the widespread consideration of e-learning. Let's examine these challenges and how e-learning fits into the picture.

Balancing time requirements with production goals. Traditionally, training was delivered in a classroom setting, requiring agents and supervisors to leave their workstations and offices. E-learning was perceived to be an on-demand system, capable of being accessed at a time and sequencing individualized to the learner.

The need for "systemic" as well as "systematic" training. It's particularly important for softskills training to "cascade" from level to level within the contact center to create lasting behavioral change and keep staff engaged. Although e-learning can provide systematic product-related training, it has distinct limitations in the systemic, soft-skills training area because staff participate in training in'silo" situations, with no opportunities for integration. Lacking feedback and reinforcement, frontline staff may become disaffected and leave.