In my Logout editorial column for the August 2010 issue of Customer Interaction Solutions I wrote about the need to make the IVR (including speech rec) “ogre” customer-friendly so that they will use these cost-saving and potentially customer-service-enhancing inbound and outbound tools rather than zeroing out to live agents.

The editorial discusses improved technologies and applications including improved workflows, routing and grammar. It also mentions that these solutions’ customers are employing analytics tools to understand where the sticking points are in automated interactions and finding solutions to them.

Yet technology is only half of what it takes to civilize the “ogre”. The other component is training managers on how to get the most from these automated voice systems.

The RCCSP Professional Education Alliance provides precisely such call center/contact center training for IVR systems with a series of updated and expanded classes. The IVR Design Training class, titled “Streamlining the Customer Experience”, is a two-day hands-on training course that teaches the skills and knowledge required to plan, design and implement effective touch-tone and speech recognition self-service systems. Using the scientifically-proven techniques taught in the class, contact centers are able to make an immediate impact on the customer experience.

The IVR classes are being offered at several locations throughout the U.S. Here is the schedule for 2011:

Mar. 28-29 - New York, N.Y.

May 16-17 - Atlanta, Ga.

Aug. 1-2 - Chicago, Ill.

Nov. 7-8 - Dallas, Tex.

Dec. 5-6 - Las Vegas, Nev.

Attendees will learn how to design and structure an effective customer-friendly IVR system through employing human psychology principles. They will obtain instructions on how to create easy-to-navigate menus and scripting that effectively communicates their employers’ (or clients’) brands and which makes sense to the end-customers. They will also be taught on how to migrate from DTMF to speech recognition including on using natural language.

Tamed with the right training from the RCCSP Professional Education Alliance IVRs can be the customers’ best friend. A recent study conducted by Forrester (News - Alert) Consulting on behalf of Nuance reveals that consumers rate automated telephone customer service higher than live agents for certain straightforward interactions. The report also showed that the majority of consumers are not satisfied with their customer service experiences.

“As the research shows, there is a lot of room to improve customer service,” said Micky Tsui, Nuance (News - Alert) senior vice president and general manager. “Today’s enterprises have the opportunity to differentiate themselves by considering their customers’ needs and providing intuitive speech applications that improve customer loyalty at every touch point.”

 “More and more call center leaders are recognizing an opportunity to increase overall customer satisfaction by properly redesigning their IVRs,” reports Nina Kawalek, CEO for RCCSP. “RCCSP’s revamped IVR Training Classes provide practical hands-on guidance for designing the best customer-focused IVRs for your business.”