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Feature Article
August 2000

 

Improving Customer Communications Through E-Learning

BY HARVI SINGH


Today's call centers feature the latest in technology and software, enabling those who communicate with customers to handle all types of interactions more efficiently than ever. As any call center manager can attest, operating in the fast-paced environment of customer relationship management (CRM) demands the best tools of the trade.

Sophisticated technologies for computer telephony integration give the CRM business ever-increasing efficiencies. But when it comes to the technologies used for training the people on the front line of customer communications, many call centers seem rooted in the past. Traditional classroom-style, instructor-led classes -- perhaps supplemented with a CD-ROM -- still accounts for the bulk of training for customer service representatives. The instructor shows new agents how to operate the system, and the agents go off and perform their jobs -- often with no additional training until the next technology installation or upgrade.

It doesn't have to be this way. With the advent of e-learning, or Web-based training, call centers have a new option to help employees excel at their jobs. Companies involved with CRM are beginning to embrace e-learning, mostly as a supplement to, rather than a replacement for, existing training efforts. Their results so far indicate that e-learning will become one of the primary means of delivering learning resources to workers in the call center environment.

WHY E-LEARNING IS BETTER
When deployed as an integral part of the call center training function, e-learning offers several distinct advantages over traditional instructor-led training. There is improved efficiency through anytime, anywhere learning; greater personalization and interactivity for the learners; and a better means of managing learning resources for the trainers. Not every e-learning program is alike, but those designed with an eye toward solving the problems encountered in traditional training are most likely to produce the desired outcome -- namely, training that results in better communications with customers.

Anytime, Anywhere
One of the advantages often cited with e-learning is that its Web-based architecture enables learning to take place anytime the learner is logged on to the Internet. This is an especially important consideration in the call center environment. Traditionally, training requires employees to go to a classroom to take courses led by an instructor. This method requires employees to be away from their work stations for extended periods until the training is complete, which is one reason why call center managers are sometimes reluctant to invest more than the bare minimum in time and resources for training.

With e-learning, employees can remain at their work stations and take training in smaller proportions. Instead of spending an entire day in a training room, they can devote much smaller blocks of time to learning the skills necessary to perform their jobs. E-learning programs that make use of the concept known as "learning objects," or specific pieces of instruction broken down into manageable sizes, are becoming more common in CRM-related training because they enable workers to break up their learning into bite-sized chunks.

Tailored Instruction
Personalization is another key reason why many organizations are making the move to e-learning. Traditional classroom-style training hinges on what the instructor wants or needs to teach. This instructor-centric method often can't accommodate individual learning needs or styles because everyone in the class receives instruction pretty much the same way -- listening to the instructor.

Successful e-learning initiatives, however, take individual needs into consideration. For example, a learner who has mastered the first release of a new software program doesn't need to start from scratch when the second version comes out. Many e-learning programs are also being designed with individual learning styles in mind. One learner may gain greater understanding from text, while another may learn better visually. When e-learning enables employees to pre-test their skills, the trainers, course administrators, and employees themselves can then easily select the instruction best-suited for specific learning needs.

Group Input
E-learning also offers tools that enable everyone involved in delivering training to employees -- course developers, subject-matter experts, course administrators, and trainers -- to create and manage learning resources. An e-learning platform should consist of content composition and integration tools, a learning management system to deliver and manage learning, and a system of tagging data so that trainers and administrators can store and search for the resources they need. This e-learning framework is especially important in the call center environment, where it is possible that hundreds of employees are receiving instruction at any given time. Training administrators need a powerful and manageable e-learning platform to ensure that the right learning resources are being delivered and that learners are indeed improving their skills through the training.

GETTING STARTED
Since e-learning is a relatively new field, organizations considering an e-learning program often aren't sure where to start. The multitude of choices in e-learning platforms, off-the-shelf courses, and service providers involved in e-learning can make the task of getting started seem bewildering.

Any organization weighing a move to e-learning should begin by carefully considering what business goals it wants it wants the training to achieve. When training isn't tied to business objectives, it often winds up being one of the company's lowest objectives, with no greater goal than making sure employees know how to use their computers.

Call centers can readily identify several business objectives that a good training program will help them meet. Better-trained workers, for instance, are more likely to complete each communication with a customer in a satisfactory manner. They also are able to handle communications with greater efficiency. And the oft-cited business goal of reducing staff turnover is addressed by ensuring employees are well-trained, and thus less likely to become frustrated and leave. For each of these objectives, e-learning can help make the difference.

Companies should then evaluate how their existing learning resources should be used in the e-learning environment. It's not enough to post an existing course on the Web. The e-learning environment is considerably different from the traditional classroom setting, and courses must be tailored to the interactive, anytime, anywhere environment that is the crux of e-learning. Providers of e-learning platforms can help organizations make this transition seamless.

Once these key considerations have been weighed, the various e-learning platforms themselves can be evaluated. Companies should examine a number of key requirements, including: 

  • Accessibility (providing access across the company on an anytime, anywhere basis);
  • Scalability (the ability to add users, functions, and courses);
  • Interoperability (seamless flow of data across the organization via the Internet, regardless of systems and locations);
  • Reusability (ensuring that learning content can be created, stored, broken down into components, and reused by others); and
  • Flexibility (the ability to create different types of procedures, concepts, and processes with interactive practice and feedback).

E-learning platforms often differ considerably in their ability to offer these features.

The use of e-learning to improve workforce skills -- and ensure greater business efficiency and performance -- has grown markedly in just the past year. Nowhere is this more true than the call center environment, where effective training is crucial to business success. By carefully considering the advantages of e-learning, the business goals it should achieve, and the methods of implementing an e-learning program before such a solution is deployed, companies can count on e-learning to provide a solid framework for more effective customer communications and more satisfied agents.

Harvi Singh is co-founder and chief learning technologist of MindLever.com, a provider of e-learning environments. MindLever.com provides an anytime, anywhere global e-learning environment that enables organizations to maximize knowledge transfer. Venture capital-backed, the company�s unique approach to e-learning enables customers to teach, learn, collaborate, assess, and organize their knowledge assets without the cost of complex IT infrastructure and support. MindLever.com�s solutions enable sales organizations, subject matter experts, training professionals, and others to solve immediate business problems by improving product and service time-to-market, reducing new employee learning cycles, and increasing talent retention. The company�s integrated, component-based platform allows customers to cost-effectively deploy e-learning capabilities on an as-needed basis, including enabling quick and easy content development.



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