TRAINING AND COACHING AT ING/POSTBANK ZAKELIJK

In 1991, two large banking and insurance firms in the Netherlands (Nationale Nederlanden and MNB Postbank Group) merged to form ING, one of the largest financial services companies in the world. The ING brand offers banking, insurance and asset management in more than 50 countries worldwide. Most activities are ING branded, but there are also some very strong local brands, eg Postbank. In the Netherlands, the contact centres of ING bank and of Postbank Zakelijk (Postbank Business) operate as one unit, as they both serve mainly business customers. Headquarters and central management are located in Amsterdam.

The contact centres of Postbank Zakelijk are located in Arnhem and Amsterdam and employ 100 FTE customer service representatives. Each location has a manager and teams consist of 12 CSRs and a unit supervisor. In addition, about 40 FTEs work in the correspondence department and deal with written mail and e-mails only.

Recruitment and induction

All new CSRs at ING/Postbank Zakelijk are hired by a temporary work agency that does the first selection. A group assessment and a click talk with the unit managers is also part of the selection process. Because of the high skill demands, CSRs need to have commercial experience in sales or other call centres, secondary vocation education (MBO level or more) and have the right attitudes and competencies. Words like dare, eagerness, charisma and team player must apply to them and they should have good communication skills.

Induction training is normally in groups of 10 and involves products, processes and systems, with different types of learning being used including simulated calls, presentations, cases, role plays, etc. There is some attrition during the early stages, approximately two people in every group of eight to 10 who start the training leave, either during the induction training or in the first weeks after the training. This may be because the level is too high even for graduates of tertiary vocational education (HBO). The final exam after the induction training is a big hurdle. If CSRs fail and their motivation and behaviour are considered really good, they can do a resit. If they fail the resit, they will have to leave.

Organization and structure of training

The training department of the contact centre is based at ING headquarters in Amsterdam and consists of a coordinator and a project leader. In addition, each contact centre location has a trainer, who is interchangeable; if necessary, trainers can work at different locations. The training department develops and gives training, determines ING’s training strategy and meets regularly to discuss issues. It has a central budget, which includes money to pay for external training given to all CSRs. In general, all product, process and system training is in-house. Sales training and conversation training are provided by two external training agencies. Basic sales training is covered during induction and this is supplemented later with more advanced courses. In addition to the central training budget, each unit manager has a decentralized budget (an amount of money per CSR) to develop CSRs.

CSRs do not use scripts and have a lot of freedom in their customer contacts, as long as targets are reached by the end of the year. They can look up information on customers, their contact history, and on all financial products and services in the electronic knowledge system. In addition, call guides on the CSRs’ desks help them with special promotions or sales. These call guides provide examples of standard phrases CSRs could use, the main objections of customers and how to refute them, and some information on the products.

Experienced CSRs also follow additional training on customer complaints, conversation skills, and on new products, special promotions and product updates. Major changes in products or services are announced by e-mail and explained in the regular team meetings. All updates are stored in the knowledge database. Sometimes, there will be a short (maximum one hour) instruction on a product change. There is also additional training on the knowledge database and on e-mail. Training for experienced CSRs is only done when workload allows it, ie in down-times. In addition, this training should not take too long. These limitations often lead to a ‘struggle’ between the training department and the planning department.

Coaching

CSRs receive a print-out of their performance each week in which they can see whether they are above, on, or under target. The unit managers personally bring these print-outs to the CSRs and then informally talk to them about the outcomes. Targets are, for example, on sales, call time, login time and breaks.

Coaching is done at least six times a year and there is a coaching calendar to keep track of the knowledge, skills and attitude of CSRs and their points of attention. As training can only be carried out in down-times, unit managers spend quite a lot of time listening in to calls and developing CSRs’ skills at work.

Coaching is done by sitting next to CSRs and listening in to calls. Sometimes calls are taped. There is a checklist for content per product and an ‘online sales model’ to score conversation skills. These checklists contain 30 items on which CSRs can score. In an individual interview, the items and targets are discussed and three points of attention are mentioned and agreed upon. For example, these could be listening in with a colleague who is good at selling a specific product; using a specific phrase three times a day in calls; or selling a specific product twice each day.

All CSRs, like all other employees of ING bank, have an individual development plan that outlines their personal training and development. CSRs have a formal talk with their unit manager three times a year. At the beginning of the year, they have a planning interview to set goals and targets. Half way (in June) there is a staff appraisal to check up on the CSR’s goals, and at the end of the year there is a performance appraisal to judge whether targets are met. ING says the system is ‘working successfully’. A good performance could lead to a small salary increase. A bad performance means that CSRs have to enter a specific coaching trajectory for six months in which clear expectations and actions are indicated. If they succeed and get a good evaluation, then they are allowed to stay. However, if they still score badly after the coaching route, they will enter a ‘last chance route’ in which they are stimulated to look for another job and eventually can be fired.

Tactics for active listening | COMMUNICATION SKILLS TRAINING

Make notes

In more detailed conversations or when one is tired it may not be possible to remember all the details. In cases such as these it is practical to write brief notes or use the computer system to store key information.

Building rapport

This can o en simply be achieved by mentioning the weather, or saying something like, ‘That happened to me once.’ Connecting like this with the customer personalizes the interaction and moves it away from being a standard mechanized procedure.

Avoid interruptions

Normally, it is much better to let a person complete what he or she is saying rather than interrupt. This not only demonstrates respect it also indicates that what the CSR has to say is not more important than the customer.

Use the customer’s name

Nearly all of us like to hear our name, so careful use of the customer’s name indicates that he or she is receiving attention and is valued as an individual. The fact that the CSR has also given his or her name indicates that he or she is willing to take responsibility for the transaction. The important thing is to use the name in moderation; if it is used too o en the conversation becomes too false and rapport with the customer will be lost. If you are not sure about the name because it is a new one or you couldn’t hear it properly, one strategy is to ask the customer to spell it. This can sometimes be done indirectly when getting the customer details.

Using the customer’s name is a simple way to develop rapport; however, one certain way to lose it is to use the wrong name. This can be very easy to do when dealing with many people during the shift, as the following example illustrates:

CSR: ‘Well, Fiona, we have a great deal for you.’

Customer: ‘That’s good news, but my name is Michaela.’

CSR: ‘Oh, I’m really sorry!’

Much more energy and attention is then required to retrieve the empathy and rapport during the interaction. If in doubt use ‘Sir’ or ‘Madam’.

Don’t become defensive

When customers describe their situation this is o en how they interpret it and, normally, this should be acknowledged by the CSR. It is best to try and understand their situation, even though it may appear unreal (or perhaps even untrue), and find a solution that is satisfactory to the customer and the organization. The important thing to remember is to keep an upbeat conversational tone even when things are not going in the desired direction.

Inform | COMMUNICATION SKILLS TRAINING

The ‘inform’ stage of the conversation cycle sets the stage for the adviser to guide the interaction with the caller. It also allows the conversation to keep momentum and flow naturally.

There are a number of strategies that can be used to encourage the conversation to flow and help achieve a successful outcome. A number of these are described below.

The KISS principle

KISS stands for ‘Keep it short and simple’, or, ‘Keep it simple, stupid!’ The aim is to keep the conversation as simple as possible and get to the heart of the customer’s wants as quickly and politely as possible.

Tell ’em

One of the main principles of communication is to explain what you are going to explain to them; then tell them; then repeat what was said. This can be summed up as:

• Tell them what you are going to tell them.
• Tell them.
• Tell them what you told them.

For example:

• Tell them (’em) what you are going to tell them: ‘I will begin by asking for a few personal details to confirm your status. Then I can take a look at your bank account and arrange payment of the bills.’
• Tell them: ‘Right, let’s begin. Would you give me your date of birth. . .’.
• Tell them what you told them: ‘Well Mr Federer, I have paid your electricity and credit card bills. Is there anything else I can help you with?’

Positive language

Use positive language as much as possible. For example, try not to say, ‘We cannot deliver on Wednesday.’ Instead, use, ‘We can arrange delivery for you on Tuesday or Thursday, which would suit you best?’ In this way the customer feels like they have a choice although in fact they are two options chosen by the CSR.

Keeping the customer informed

The CSR should always keep the customer informed when they are carrying out an action. Phrases that help the customer include:

‘I am just going to check what happened to your shipment. This may take a little time.’

‘Please bear with me while I book the ticket for you.’

‘The computers are running a little slow today. We should have your information soon.’

Silence

The term ‘dead air’ is o en used to describe situations when there is no conversation happening between the CSR and the customer. A span of approximately four seconds silence is unlikely to be noticed by the customer but beyond this we get what can be called a ‘pregnant pause’. When there is no communication this can be unsettling for the customer and it is important that the CSR explains what will happen so that the silence doesn’t become oppressive, eg: ‘I am just going to explore our computer system to see if I can find a solution to your situation. Please hold the line for a moment.’ When there is a space it can also be filled with, ‘Sorry, to keep you waiting’, or, ‘Just looking for you.’ If it is going to be a long time then the offer should be made to call the customer back.

On occasions the CSR may need to use the mute control when he or she wants to sneeze or cough; or ask a colleague or supervisor for information. This is normal use of the technology; however, it should not be used to make fun of or abuse a caller. There have been recorded instances when the mute did not work and the customer heard this ‘private’ conversation. Naturally, this is not good for business and, furthermore, indicates a culture that suggests a lack of respect and professionalism.

The conversation cycle | COMMUNICATION SKILLS TRAINING

The conversation cycle (Figure 1 describes in a simple yet effective way the basic structure of many conversations. In particular, its main value is to allow the customer service representative (CSR) to effectively guide the interaction so that the customer feels valued, and the call achieves a satisfactory outcome in a short period of time. The whole conversation should have a balance between speaking and listening so that the customer feels he or she is being listened to and action is being taken.

 
Figure 1: The conversation cycle

It is especially important that the CSR takes responsibility for the conversation because it is less likely that the caller has the same degree of communication skills. If the CSR feels the other person is talking too much, or they are not making themselves clear, or that they don’t understand properly, then it may be the result of the CSR not using his or her communication skills effectively and he or she should recover the situation as quickly as possible:

• Inform: Provide information/explanation so that the other person knows what you are doing or planning to do.
• Invite: Invite the other person into the conversation or encourage them to make a response.
• Listen: Stop talking and actively listen to the other person.
• Acknowledge: Verbally acknowledge what they are saying by using: I appreciate; I understand; ok; I see, etc.

Once the cycle is completed you continue with ‘Inform’ and so the cycle begins once again, eg:

• Inform: ‘Good morning/afternoon/evening, Home Banking, Jane speaking.’
• Invite: ‘How may I help you today?’
• Listen: ‘May I check my account balance, I need to see if I can pay a large bill?’
• Acknowledge: ‘Yes, of course Mrs Jones. Just let me get you the details.’
• Inform: ‘You have £867 in your account.’
• Invite: ‘Would you like me to make a payment for you?’ etc.
  
  

TRAINING AS MOTIVATION

Providing training not only enhances knowledge and skills, it also motivates employees, many of whom have come to expect a good provision of training. ‘From the employee’s perspective, training is no longer seen as simply a benefit. It is rather a prerequisite that will allow them to evolve and get a better salary in the future.’

At one pre-employment training programme a endees did not feel confident that they had the skills required by employers. They were also uncertain about the nature of the jobs but this was substantially dispelled after they had visited a call centre. Furthermore, on completion of the course the trainees said that they were more confident and empowered, and were motivated to seek a job.

Training of employees is not only useful in the development of skills, making the person more productive, it is also a signal from the employer that they have an interest in the employee. ‘Human resource incentives are of four types: ongoing training, employment security, pay level and electronic performance monitoring. Ongoing training indicates a firm’s commitment to employee development’.

In many cases the response to training provision by employees was encouraging and one adviser said, ‘I have permission to do my course work in work hours when we’re not busy, which is good. They want you to do training! They are pushing us towards training courses all the time, it’s really good for the staff, everyone feels supported’ .

Other advisers commented: ‘I’ve worked my way up from reservations. The courses and opportunities are there – they will push you if you want to be pushed.’ ‘I’ve put my name down for all the courses – I’ve done them all now.’ ‘The training in my PDP has motivated me to be team leader – its very useful’.

TRAINING DURATION | IN-HOUSE TRAINING OR OUTSOURCED?

The duration of training depends significantly upon the industry and the employer. The greatest emphasis on training tends to occur during induction with a fall off after this, which is replaced with on-the-job training and coaching. It would appear in some cases that, ‘Whilst organizations recognize that induction is essential, ongoing training is o en viewed as a luxury’.

In general, there would appear to be a positive correlation between the degree of job complexity and industry regulation, and the length of induction training. For jobs requiring low skills levels, induction periods were relatively short, but for those that were more complex the training period was considerably longer.

The average duration of induction training in the UK during 2003 was 36 days; however, this significantly decreased during 2004 to 21 days. Undoubtedly the upfront costs of training will have been reduced as a result of the shorter duration; however, the long-term costs would appear to have increased. The reduced length of induction appears to have contributed to decreases in customer satisfaction and first-contact resolution, and increases in call abandonment and staff attrition during the same period. It is a matter of judgement about the trade-off between the costs of training and the costs of employees not functioning well. Yet, using the word ‘cost’ is rather misleading; training should be considered an ‘investment’ not a cost!

With regard to ongoing training, agents receive approximately 3 weeks of training per year; however, those in outsourcing tend to receive the least. Much of this training is in the form of coaching, with agents receiving approximately 20 minutes per day, which equates to four hours/day in a team of 12 for a team leader. ‘Public services team leaders are said to spend most of their time in coaching – which we believe should be the main role of team leaders.’

Also, team leaders in small contact centres tend to spend almost twice as much time coaching as those in large organizations: 1.9 hours/agent versus 1 hour/agent. This may be due to more paperwork and administration in larger centres. Smaller contact centres tend to have fewer agents per team leader, which may mean that they are able to offer more coaching. Alternatively, it may be that because the agents receive less induction training they are more in need of it when they are in a fully operational role.

Furthermore, ‘99 per cent of people working in call centres today have undergone formal training for their current jobs’. In addition, 90 per cent of employers had a written training plan and 87 per cent possessed an annual training budget. Most training is delivered in-house and 69 per cent of organizations use on-the-job training and 69 per cent use coaching.

MARKETING AND PROMOTING TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

It is not just a case of providing training and development opportunities within an organization: employees need to be informed about them and the provision needs to be structured to ensure that they have access to the courses. Marketing and promoting training provision informs potential consumers of availability and their benefits. To be successful, it needs to:

• use a medium or channels that the learners use;
• use language, tone and style that match those of the learner;
• make contact when it is timely for the learner. Methods of contacting and informing potential learners include:
• e-mails;
• corporate newsletters;
• website;
• online booking services;
• posters;
• advertisements;
• sponsoring events;
• brochures and inserts;
• learning and development newsletters;
• trainers informing delegates of other complementary courses;
• presentations in the workplace;
• using line managers to communicate training details.

It is a necessity to ensure that training has a high profile in the organization otherwise the benefits it provides may not be noticed or acknowledged. This lack of recognition may then translate into reduced financial resources being made available. Also, a higher profile can lead to greater influence and encourage stronger commitment to training. Successes should be communicated. For example, one manager described the introduction of a BTEC programme: ‘We implemented it throughout customer services, and made a big song and dance about it! It drew attention to training!’

RESPONSIBILITY FOR TRAINING

In most medium and large call centres there is a human resource development department that has responsibility for the identification of learning needs, and the design, delivery and evaluation of training. The department should create the strategy and coordinate training activities so that performance is closely linked to organizational objectives. Day-today training and coaching activities will o en be delivered by team leaders and dedicated coaches, if the latter are available. In small organizations there may be no qualified trainers and here the responsibility lies with management and team leaders. The consequence of this is that the training is likely to be less professional and less effective.

According to Dimension Data’s ‘Merchants global contact centre benchmarking report’:

Part of these contact centres’ inability to effectively handle customer inquiries may stem from their inadequate training and lack of quantifiable targets for trainers; only 60 per cent of contact centres set targets for their trainers. Nearly three-fourths of contact centres (74 per cent) designate team leaders to assume full training responsibility with little training in the delivery of training, while just 16 per cent of centres have a dedicated coach responsible for performance through training.

Ultimately, the people responsible for learning are the learners themselves. Most people have a natural curiosity and desire to improve, and learning is a vehicle to make the job easier and more rewarding. However, there may be less motivation to learn if the organization does not encourage this behaviour and provide opportunities for this to happen.

STRUCTURING TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT IN SCOTTISH GAS

Colin Mackay, CCA

Background

Under the British Gas name in England, the Nwy Prydain and British Gas names in Wales, and Scottish Gas in Scotland, the company supplies gas and electricity to residential customers throughout Great Britain. It is the biggest supplier of residential gas and electricity to approximately 14 million gas and electricity customers. British Gas is also the largest domestic central heating and gas appliance installation company and in addition provides maintenance and breakdown cover, home insurance and personal loans. Support for customers is provided by five contact centres located in Cardiff, Leeds, Southampton, Manchester and Edinburgh.

Arising from the open market in the supply of energy to residential users about 100,000 electricity customers are switching supplier each week; of these 56,000 in net terms are choosing to leave their former regional supplier. This situation has implications for agents who are expected to identify opportunities to up-sell and cross-sell services during all contacts and are measured on this aspect of their work.

Training and development need to understand, function within, and support the main operations. The main forecasting and business planning process is carried out and managed from the Southampton site with local input from the Edinburgh contact centre. Considerations include historical data, average handling time, seasonal fluctuations, training and planned leave and absences, etc. The national plan covers all sites and identifies projected resource requirements for each site. Resource requirements are identified in the local plan and the resource team for the Edinburgh site monitor the deployment, commitment/utilization via an e-workforce management system at frequent intervals throughout the day. Local contingency plans are implemented to address any shortfall between planned and actual resource requirements.

The top-level business objectives are set for the contact centre and are aligned to the business plan cascaded throughout the organization. These include average speed of answer, average handling time, sales conversion, commitment/ adherence, quality monitoring/quality experience, customer satisfaction index, absence, etc.

Scottish Gas’ Edinburgh contact centre has an onsite labour force of almost 1,400 staff of whom 800 are call centre operators. In addition to the direct contact centre roles 200 staff process paper overnight and a further 150 respond to correspondence from customers and members of the public. The centre also provides a base for 50 staff who have national roles which they carry out from home. The centre is open for inbound calls from 8 am till 8 pm.

The centre is structured around teams of 12 agents each of which has a team manager. There are 10 teams in each group reporting to one of six call centre managers who in turn report to an operations manager and finally to the regional operations manager.

Recruitment and induction

There is a legally compliant recruitment policy and guidelines covering all aspects of the process including internal and external recruitment. The processes cover the identification of resource requirement, the need to recruit, authorization, job advertising, selection process, job offer and engagement. All documented processes are accessible on the company intranet.

The centre experimented with an under-18 apprentice scheme that was not successful. Approximately one in 18 applicants is successful at first interview and at subsequent selection one in six is the average acceptance level for employment. There are no minimum educational qualifications required by the centre but previous experience in customer service, not necessarily in a call centre, is essential. It is felt that both recruitment and retention of staff are affected by the quality of training provided.

Operational context

Induction training is carried out over a period of eight weeks of which five weeks are spent in the classroom, and a further three weeks in a safe environment/graduation zone where the initial training is consolidated and supported by buddies and floorwalkers. Sales training is delivered in week seven of this process. The targeted measures are reviewed each week by the team managers listening to calls and providing appropriate feedback.

Structure and organization of training

The Central Training Academy is responsible for identification and delivery of training across all of the domestic sites. Training is driven by operational need and is often initially identified within the local site. There is a dedicated training team within the centre that reports to the Central Training Academy and not to local managers. The team, under normal circumstances, consists of a Training Support Manager supported by 15 full-time trainers of whom four are training team managers.

Training is delivered on a cascade basis other than for specific issues (such as the implementation of an accounting system). Trainers are given the required knowledge and then have the responsibility for transferring that knowledge to the operational team managers who deliver it to agents.

Process and product training development sits with team managers who have one-to-one meetings with staff on a weekly basis. Where a specific area is identified for an individual training need (eg, achieve average handling time targets) access to specialized coaching is available. Agents are measured on a balanced score card across a range of targets. Some, for example sales, are considered more important and carry greater reward even though the target is not high.

Skills and qualifications

The ethos is lead – develop – motivate.

Launchpad is a team leader development programme that identifies agents who meet set criteria for progression. A selection process identifies groups of 12 potential team managers who then are given classroom-based development training and ‘buddied’ with an existing team manager. Support is provided for team managers, pre-appointment, through the Orbit system, which allows softer skills to be developed, and experience is obtained through filling vacancies on a short or longer-term basis. Team managers attend workshop modules as and when required as part of their ongoing development needs as impacted by business changes.

Scottish Gas holds the CCA Standard qualification, which is an operating guide designed to assist organizations in delivering increased levels of efficiency and customer service. It looks at achieving consistency through standard processes, which are non-prescriptive, whilst allowing complete freedom for commercial decision making. Contact centres are independently assessed by approved Accreditation Bodies and CCA Standards Council approves recommendations for accreditation.

Skillsoft accounts are held by team managers who can use them to develop individuals in their teams. Skillsoft is a portal providing access to a range of key skill training modules.

In addition to regular one-to-one individual meetings every week there are daily group discussions covering key issues of performance and development. The Pod structure allows no specific workstation for the team managers since they are expected to be working with one or more of their team dealing with issues or seeking to improve performance through coaching. This is considered to make the leaders more closely aligned to the needs of their team. Where a specific development need has been identified there is a support area for intensive coaching on performance shortfalls. The balanced score card bonus system requires all aspects of performance to meet specific targets with some key areas affecting payments, such as sales. The Centrica group intranet, ‘Essential’ enables e-briefs, team briefs, notice boards, etc.

A record of attendees is maintained by team managers for all formal and legislative briefings and copies are held on file. Any advisers not in at the time are asked to read and sign to acknowledge them on their return to work.

There is a formal Centrica annual employee engagement survey carried out in September and an interim survey in March. There is evidence that full trends analysis is carried out down to departmental level and action plans are put in place as appropriate for any area below target.

Learning practices

All CSAs have a personal development folder that stays with them from the day of induction through their academy training programme. These folders contain personal development/coaching plans, supplemented where required with personal enhancement plans, which are implemented to address weaknesses in development.

There is an assessment process in place that tests out the effectiveness of the training with feedback from the trainees. Records are also kept of quality assessment scores and one-to-one meetings. Training is managed by members of ‘The academy of customer excellence’ who deliver the training and design and develop the training packages.

Conclusions

There is a clear view, particularly among the training staff, that positive and supportive training has a positive impact on ease of recruitment and on retention of staff.

In addition to the training and development support much consideration is given to the cultural and environmental processes within the centre. This is considered to lead to higher morale and consequently improved performance. The existence of a clear development programme and access to progression for those staff who want it is a positive feature in developing a customer-focused spirit.

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How many trainers are necessary?

The answer to this question depends on which people are regarded as trainers; for instance, are specialist coaches trainers? Certainly, line managers and team leaders are expected to deliver training and o en a major part of their work is to provide coaching, listening to recorded calls, etc. For this reason it is difficult to place a precise figure on the number of trainers needed.

In the UK it has been estimated that the ratio of trainers to trainees is 1:41 and a suggested benchmark ratio of one trainer to 50 employees is appropriate. A ratio of 1:75 might be more appropriate in more stable environments, but not all the trainers are allocated 100 per cent of the time . Although a figure of 1:41 appears appropriate, the Call Centre Association suggested that there was a shortage of trainers with industry experience and that this should be addressed by a specific educational programme.

SUPPORTING REGENERATION THROUGH TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

Calls centres in Britain, France, Spain, the United States and many other nations have been relocated to other countries that possess suitable language skills and offer cheaper labour costs, eg India, Algeria, South America and the Philippines.

At national levels agencies are competing to attract inward investment and incentives include taxation-free periods, grants and subsidies, and support at organizational levels. Non-governmental organizations have also been successful in positively communicating the skills and financial benefits of offshoring, eg Nasscom in India.

Promotional material from Trade New Zealand highlights an advanced telecommunications infrastructure; support from the local government; well developed language skills; and a well educated and low-cost workforce. A Call Centre A raction Initiative encourages the development of an infrastructure of call centre consultants and training providers to deliver advice and support. In addition, Work and Income New Zealand also provides support for relocating companies through the supply of training course.

In England, support for inward investment is also provided at regional levels as a means of boosting local economies. Regional Development Agencies such as North West RDA funded the development of CallNorthWest and Yorkshire Forward funded The Yorkshire and Humberside Call Centre Network to provide the supportive infrastructure for the industry.

One means by which regeneration agencies provide support is through education and training initiatives, which are considered to be a very important strategy in providing potential employees. This is because some incoming employers believe certain groups do not possess the necessary skills. To address this agencies have funded pre-employment training courses thus creating an employee supply line.

These pre-employment programmes can be relatively expensive and given the high rates of employee turnover it is important to select suitable candidates. To add to these challenges, one employer was still reluctant to recruit programme participants because it believed the trainees might not have the required levels of skills. Therefore, it is important that development agencies carefully direct their funding. ‘We need to make sure that the money we spend on training these people isn’t wasted’.

The objective of regeneration agencies is to improve the economy and get people into employment. Pre-employment training is one means of achieving this but it would sometimes appear to be of a variable standard. Belt and Richardson noted a mismatch between training providers and call centre employers regarding skills requirements. They recommend that training providers avoid playing the ‘numbers game’ of ge ing people into employment and instead focus on long-term employment sustainability.

The links between trainers involved with pre-employment training and employers would sometimes appear to be inadequate. One piece of research noted:

[There is a] general lack of engagement between trainers and employers. In fact, in one of the case study training programmes, none of the trainers had even set foot inside a call centre. Meaningful and ongoing dialogue between trainers and employers on skills issues was infrequent or nonexistent in all but one of the case studies. Unsurprisingly, this situation seriously restricted the ability of the initiatives to meet employers’ skill needs.

Although most regions and countries consider the introduction of new jobs positively there are some critics. Call centres have been described by Belt as being mainly ‘careerless’. She referred to the TUC and stated that employers were ‘accused of providing large numbers of part-time, low-skilled, highly repetitive, pressurized and dead-end jobs’. She also concluded that because call centre jobs tended to be located in old industrial areas there was a developing production of geographic inequality.

To achieve the best outcomes inward investment agencies and call centres need to work cooperatively together and develop their relationship. For example, in a list of ‘top tips’ employment agency Adecco  recommended that contact centres, ‘Assess initiatives, such as pre-employment training as a way of demonstrating commitment to the local area and building links with potential employees of the future.’

BARRIERS TO LEARNING, TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

Although there are many forces encouraging learning, training and development there are also a considerable number of barriers. Not surprisingly the financial cost of agent downtime is the principal obstacle to the provision of training. Budgetary constraints have also resulted in external training being stopped after initial training, which affects the skill levels in the sector. Furthermore, Chamber Business Enterprises reported that 23 per cent of employers cited training barriers; specific ones identified were the cost of training (42 per cent); staff time (37 per cent); and timing of training (25 per cent). CallNorthWest also noted practical difficulties with staff signing-up for a programme and sometimes not being able to a end because too many had applied for the programme. Also, there were a significant number of ‘no-shows’ because there was no mechanism for ensuring that those who registered actually a ended a programme.

Another significant barrier to training is the fact that some employers suggest that the benefits of training were greater for the employees than the organization: ‘Staff come here, undertake the training, get the experience and then leave; we are not going to invest in people who are going to go elsewhere for higher wages.’ One case study trainer commented similarly: ‘A number of staff have le to take up other jobs in other organizations. We train them too well.’

It is not just the employer who is responsible for learning. The most successful forms of learning occur when the individual has developed a personal ‘hunger’ or interest in learning. Where people are self-motivated and take personal responsibility the quality and quantity of learning are found to be much higher.

Another obstacle to training is the flat structure of call centres, which have few hierarchical levels. This may result in few positions becoming vacant even though there are advisers queuing for promotion.

It is largely financial pressures that affect the degree of support for employees. With staff expenditure representing 71 per cent of the overall budget it is inevitable that it is regularly targeted for cost reduction; however, the savings have potentially negative implications. Dimension Data  noted that:

The reduced levels of agent training, performance appraisal and staff satisfaction investigations. . . support the observation that many centres are failing to focus enough attention on the development of the agent. The long-term consequences of declining agent development and focus could be extremely damaging to organizations and the risks far outweigh any short-term cost improvements that have been realized as a result.

DRIVERS OF LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT

The purpose of training within an organization is to improve knowledge, skills, attitudes and ultimately financial performance. Learning at individual and organizational levels is not a goal in itself but a major foundation in providing a successful interaction with the customer and ensuring that the organization prospers and survives into the future. There are a number of primary drivers for call centre training.

Business opportunities

Commercial organizations are frequently looking to expand provision and increase market size and share. Thus, each contact with the customer is o en used as an opportunity to sell new or upgraded products and this may result in wider and more complex demands on CSRs, requiring different knowledge and skill sets.

Problems

Problems within the organization are o en addressed through focused training, which can provide a quick solution to unanticipated situations. This form of reactive training may reduce resources and limit the potential for delivering ongoing development training. Furthermore, it can be stressful for trainers because of the need for rapid responses to the sudden challenges.

Management planning

Managers have responsibility for the smooth operational running of centres and for this reason need specific knowledge and skills as well as generic management skills. In particular they need training in the specific technologies, systems, so ware, planning, queuing principles, industry developments, etc.

Changes in technology

One of the main reasons for the growth of the contact centre industry has been the advancement of technology and this continuing development means that employees need to regularly update their knowledge and be able to use the various systems and technologies. In addition, as the number of communication channels increase, eg e-mail and text chat, agents will need to develop new skills in written communication. Furthermore, the so er skills of selling and customer service may alter when provided with different contact media.

Changing customer requirements

Customer expectations of quality of service are continually increasing, o en as a result of competition. For this reason increased knowledge, skills and rapport need to be developed to attract new customers and prevent existing ones from defecting to alternative providers.

Political/regulatory changes

As the main point of contact for the organization with the customer, CSAs (customer service agents) must be up to date in order not to put the organization at risk of negative publicity or legal action. New legislation, product recalls, etc need to be conducted accurately.

Labour issues

Training is o en used to address agent attrition and when the labour market is tight good quality training is used to attract potential advisers. The delivery of induction training has been found to retain new recruits for longer if the induction programme is provided at intervals rather than in one intensive block. Staff who receive ongoing training feel that their skills are progressing and recognize that this may then enable them to advance within the organization.

Reward

Training is also provided as a form of reward rather than being essential. It can be motivating in its own terms without being directed at specific issues. In one organization it was reported, ‘The mentality of training used to be that it was a reward not a necessity’.

High involvement work practices

In high performance work organizations  that have integrated human resource functions, productivity and profits tend to be higher. Also, in high involvement work practices ‘unions are likely to spend less time in workplace grievances and more time on initiatives such as joint training programmes’.

Training CSR staff

A wide variety of training programs and methods for call center training programs exist, including,

§  Classroom activities—workshops, seminars

§  Call observation

§  Product knowledge tests

§  One-on-one monitoring and coaching

§  On-line tutorials

§  Tool kits

Call-handling guidelines should be fully documented and communicated to CSRs on a continuous basis. Documentation should be included in initial CSR training and available at the CSR workstation for quick reference. These standards become part of individual and center performance measurements and are the basis of CSR assessment using call monitoring or other performance measurements. In addition to initial training, CSRs should have ongoing training, which may focus on new technologies, sales or help desk skills, collections, or other topics that can improve the knowledge and skill level of CSRs.

Examples of recommended CSR workshop topics for half-day, one-day, and two-day training sessions are provided next. The CSR workshops described are examples of training syllabuses that provide participants with the foundation knowledge and skills required for individual and team success. Along with an emphasis on handling a variety of customer communications, are included the "why" of customer relations, customer requirements, the changing demands and expectations of customers, good and bad customer service, and how to exceed expectations.