Automation and Analytics for Customer Service Training

Problem Statement

The client, a Global IT Services enterprise with over 150,000 employees, was facing a hiring to production forecast which was unprecedentedly high. The existing system of instructor led training would not scale towards creating a reliable supply of highly effective customer support executives, who would serve a wide range of processes from IT support, e-commerce, travel, banking, finance and insurance.

Our Approach

To create a training solution that would work across the diverse needs of each process and accommodate the training needs of New Hire, Process Training and Floor Support, the team conducted an in-depth study of the client existing training processes and content.

The three key components of the deployment plan were the train the trainer program, content digitization, data reporting and analytics. 

We conducted a due diligence study and created a deployment strategy for each component. To enable trainers to perform they needed to be upskilled on the latest methods of classroom interaction with updated interactive content. 

Train the Trainer Program: The assessment centre and live audits of trainers highlighted areas of opportunity in the competency map. This report became the basis for the action plan for each trainer to fill skill gaps in migrating to a blended training model. Trainers were coached on how to transition existing skill sets for maximising performance in managing larger batches and different types of learners. 

Content Migration Plan: Keeping in mind the performance metrics of each process and the overall targets of the training team, all content was reviewed. A structured approach to the content migration was applied leveraging our expertise in instructional design. Our content management platform helped categorise, prioritise content basis topic and difficulty levels. Pre, mid and post assessments were designed on the Content Publishing front end software, for soft skills, accent and grammar. A content review plan was implemented to ensure ongoing performance and effectiveness.

Enterprise Reporting System: A critical element of the entire program was the enterprise reporting system. Our custom reports, automated reporting features and detailed analytics enabled the client to measure training content effectiveness. We provided our expertise in data mining and analytics to develop assessments that were aligned and calibrated to each process.

The Results

Over sixty trainers across five locations were retrained in two months to run batches in the new format. The training function was able to handle a 35% increase in volume, classroom sizes grew from 18 to 25 students. 500 new modules were created and a total of 1000 + modules were developed over two years. The function was able to show an average reduction of two training days per batch, training effectiveness increased by 15% overall. The total cost saving attributed to automation of the entire process led to a significant reduction in Operations that more than supported the additional cost of deploying the program.