Top Tips for Training and Induction

Here are some great tips provided by our readers…

During our Live Chat discussion on training and induction, we collected some hints and tips on how to keep agents engaged in training, as well as ideas on ice-breaker activities and how to make training an enjoyable experience.

1. Introduce ice-breaker activities to make your new recruits feel comfortable

Talk to the person next to you, find out about them and introduce them to the rest of the group.

With thanks to Sarah

A good ice-breaker activity – give 3 facts about yourself, one is a lie. Which is the lie?

With thanks to Shona

Break the ice by asking a seemingly simple question then expanding on it… Something like ‘What’s the best biscuit?’ works well.

With thanks to Adam

A favourite is the toilet paper game. You hand round a toilet roll and ask each person simply to ‘take what they need’, providing no further explanation… Then for each sheet of toilet roll they have, they have to give a fact about themselves.

With thanks to Emma

2. Try not to throw agents in at the deep end

Throwing agents in at the deep end doesn’t add any value, especially from a customer’s perspective.

With thanks to Joshua

Agents will get despondent and look for an exit route…

With thanks to Colin

Some people take time to develop, but end up very capable in the long term. You may lose them by throwing them in at the deep end.

With thanks to Chris

This can have disastrous consequences. Some will swim, but some will unfortunately sink!

With thanks to Donna

By throwing them in at the deep end, you will lose some excellent staff who learn differently.

With thanks to Chris

People have different learning styles, read here for more Customer Service Training Ideas

3. Have a cautious approach to new recruits having their first live call

Live experience, alongside great training, gives agents the confidence required for the role.

With thanks to Katy

It works well if, prior to their first live call, you buddy-up recruits and do combined classroom learning and call listening.

With thanks to Sarah

4. Try to run regular top-up training sessions

It just helps people keep fresh on the phones to do regular coaching.

With thanks to Harriet

Try something called ‘Lunch and Learn’ if you are finding it hard to fit in time for training sessions.

Advisors give up half an hour of their lunch to do some training and the organisation pays for the lunch.

With thanks to Seetum

5. Try to make training sessions as enjoyable and engaging as possible

Personality of the trainer is a huge part. If you can incorporate humour into your training it will be engaging, no matter how dry the subject matter.

With thanks to Shona

If you use virtual training in a home-working company, it is important to keep everyone engaged and focused from the beginning and beyond.

With thanks to Katy

If you put a lot of real-life scenarios and current events in place to explain points in your training, the delegates appear to engage and take more away with them.

With thanks to Tom

Even the most boring of material can be made interesting with a little humour – related anecdotes from the trainer always go down well, even if sometimes it goes off-track for a couple of minutes…

With thanks to Colin

Ensure one trainer has a continuous presence during the induction process to maintain progress and consistency.

With thanks to Emma

6. Include role-playing exercises in your training

Introduce a ‘phone coach’ system where advisors can actually call each other, using two different rooms and scenario cards.

There will be a few giggles and it delivers great coaching, as well as the opportunity for instant feedback.

With thanks to Teresa

Mystery Shopper is a good way of providing agents with feedback on their customer service, the way they have handled your issue/request, etc.

With thanks to Cathy

Click here for our additional 50 Call Centre Training Tips

What do you do in your contact centre to keep your training and induction programmes fresh and interesting?