Call Center Scheduling Featured Article
Tips for Training Seasonal Contact Center Employees
While for most people, the earliest days of fall may not be the time to start thinking about Christmas, now is the time that contact centers are rushing to get their seasonal hiring in place. Hiring employees for seasonal work is an important part of a contact center’s staffing strategy: many of the people who buy during the holiday season will have a first experience with your organization around the holidays, so it’s important to make a good impression.
It’s also critical to remember that you’re expecting these people to represent your company, so they should be treated accordingly without a “They’re just temps” attitude. Regardless of whether they are permanent or temporary, they’ll be talking to your customers, so they need the proper management support, training and encouragement.
Some tips for seasonal call center hiring include:
Keep their roles simple. You don’t want to overwhelm temporary employees with the full complexity of your call center operations. Whereas you might train permanent employees on multiple media (phone, chat, email, etc.), consider keeping it simple by confining temporary workers to their strongest media. This way, they’ll need the least amount of training to be up and running.
Outline your expectations. If the newbie workers don’t hear – in clear and concise language – what’s expected of them, they won’t be able to deliver it. Post the important message on simple signs around the contact center. Above all, ensure that temporary hires understand the terms and dates of their employment so there are no misunderstandings when the holiday season and the returns season that follows are over.
Let then know what they won’t be doing. In a busy contact center environment, temporary hires may try to accomplish too much: trying to cope with difficult customer calls, for example. Be sure they understand when to call managers or supervisors, and when to ask for help. It might also help to seat temporary workers near call center veterans so temp workers have a more experienced “buddy” to help.
Make them feel welcome. It’s important to treat temporary workers as you would full-time employees. Be sure there’s no hazing, bullying or belittling happening from permanent workers. Starting a new job can be scary, so be sure to welcome seasonal workers with a tour of your contact center and introductions to permanent agents.
Consider a mix of training methods. Your new hires are likely to be younger workers, so realize that this age group prefers a mix of media. Consider combining, mini-lecturettes with e-learning, simulation and role play and audio/video clips to maximize the younger workers’ development and build their morale.
Edited by Maurice Nagle