When you hire someone into customer support or purchase a new customer service software application, is training one of the first things on your mind?
It should be. Studies have shown just how much impact the proper training can have on the customer experience and on retention – both employee and customer. And not just the “how-to” tutorial with your new software. Your employees need to know exactly how you expect them to interact with your customers. Don’t assume that this will just come naturally.
For this to work, management needs to be on-board with it and everyone needs to see training as an investment, not something to get over and done with so the newbie can get right to answering calls, chats, or emails. A learning culture must be present. And as with all activities for your business, before you begin training decide what your requirements are.
How do you want them to answer the phone? Have you shown them some ways to cope with angry or upset customers? Did you make sure they learned all about your products? Do they know what needs to be documented and how to classify issues for tracking and trending? Guidelines about product replacement and returns?
Granted, the smaller your company is the less time you will feel you have for training and that you can’t offer the type of training a large call center can. But training cannot be skipped on that account. It’s your business. Make sure everyone in the company knows what to do to keep it going.