Example Recommendation (Training Opportunities)

Pros:

• Listening to how high-performing agents handle calls can fill in the gaps of those with opportunities

• Trainees can rotate through their side-by-side counterparts each day of training.

• Empowers high-performing agents to develop their leadership skills for future management potential

• Training can begin immediately since no training material needs to be created

• Managers can commit their time to other tasks

Cons:

• Training effectiveness varies greatly

• Little to no control of training content

• Productivity drops to less than half across each pair, since the trainee is not handling calls and the trainer is partially occupied with teaching

• Agents may feel embarrassed that they are learning from their peers

Pros:

• Training managers can control what material is covered in the sessions

• Experienced agents help teach or lead the class in the correct direction

• Allows high-performing agents to develop their leadership skills for future management potential

• It is not obvious to the agents who is considered a lower-performing agent and is less embarrassing

Cons:

• Productivity is reduced to zero for all agents attending a training session

• Classroom-type setting is not realistic to emulate live conversation even if realistic role-playing is involved

Pros:

• Training manager can control what material is covered in the sessions

• Fewer resources taken off the floor; only the lower-performing agents are taken off the floor, so productivity is not affected as much

• More experienced agents not attending the session can help pick up the slack and/or help run teams while managers are running the training

Cons:

• The training session may not be as effective without more experienced agents mixed into the class to provide example situations and talking points

• Agents may feel like the training session is punishment for low performance

Pros:

• Each training session is specific to that agent’s opportunities

• Negative effect on agent productivity is minimized; only one agent is taken off the floor at a time.

• One-on-One training is typically not noticed at all within a call center

• Agents have the most opportunity to speak their mind and get their questions answered

• KPIs can be covered in detail without risk of embarrassing an agent

Cons:

• Requires the largest manager time commitment

• Depending on the layout of the call center, a private setting may not be possible