The answer is quite simple, train personnel who’ll care for my call center as much as, and in the way I do.

Training Employees

In fact, training employees effectively is not only the key behind a successful and smoothly run business, but actually easier, and less costly when done right.

We all remember either absolutely dreading a specific time or day of the week when our less than favorite subject came up, or studying harder than anyone else and still just barely making it while the kid who apparently never did his homework still got an A.

The reality is that not everyone learns the same, some of us like reading, others would rather watch TV and still others would rather spend time on a PC, or with a game.

Effective Call Center Training Programs

The fact that people are fundamentally different would make one-size-fits-all training programs not at all very practical.

The old “have everyone read the manual and get them to work right away” doesn’t work.  The expectations of most companies using this method were met with less than stellar results.

In short, people have to be taught in the same way they learn the things they like.

Some you can teach with illustrations, some with specific documentation, others with hands-on training, and a few with lectures or discussions.

A mix of visual, auditory, documentation and hands-on training is necessary for effective retention.

Have detailed but easily indexed manuals readily available; simple, fun-training videos with quick reviews at the end and trainers who can communicate in simple terms and engage and maintain an audience.

Customer Service or Help Desk Technical Support Positions.

It is crucial that trainees be able to play with the applications and hardware they’ll be required to use and/or support on a daily basis.

Guaranteeing that the employees drew enough knowledge to perform from simple reading, revision and a quick test is highly improbable when a scenario not specifically covered in the manual comes up.

Furthermore, one could see these scenarios increasing as one gets further away from training especially with new technology being implemented, not to mention customer bases varying and new policies being put into the mix.

With a customer service or help desk technical support program, ongoing periodic training is necessary whenever a new policy/product/software solution is going to be implemented.

Start early, in small increments, so information is easily digested and retained.

Make your tests fun but competitive and it’s also important to have the ability to them be retaken; you’ll find your trainees falling over themselves to learn the information.

Training is the cornerstone of effective production, whether it’s a customer service or a help desk support program.

In today’s service oriented industries it’s in addition, what makes or breaks the foundation of your client relationships.