In recent months, high fuel costs have forced various types of businesses, most notably airlines, to scale back their operations. As is typical during an economic downturn, companies in various industries seem to have few choices other than to cut costs. But if you want your company to stand out in how it cares for customers, reducing costs need not require you to lower standards for service. At a time when companies are likely to cut back on service in an effort to reduce costs, now is the best opportunity for companies to distinguish themselves in customer care.
An investment in service is primarily an investment in people. In many industries, employee compensation typically accounts for the majority of a company’s costs. The same is true throughout the overall U.S. economy, given that employee compensation has represented between 57% and 59% of the U.S.’s gross domestic product throughout this decade. If you seek a return on your call center’s investment in service, your best option is to focus on agents.
Various types of software help agents become more productive. But e-learning software is unique in that it accelerates your efforts to increase agents’ value to your company and customers. This type of software delivers material, such as slide presentations or video courses, to agents’ computers only when agents are available for training. Some e-learning tools automatically assign an agent specific material based on how your quality assurance team evaluates the agent’s proficiency with certain skills. In this scenario, quality assurance and training teams determine in advance which training material corresponds to certain skills, and which material reflects the degree to which agents need help with developing these skills.
E-learning software enables agents to use their time more efficiently than if they only receive training in classrooms. A more efficient use of agents’ time…