Why Job Shadowing Shouldn't Be the Prime Tool in Call Center Training

Training employees – it’s one of those things that you absolutely have to do, but do you know how to do it for optimal success? Those who work in a call center management role have to be able to train new employees effectively or they run the risk of making customers mad, producing employees who are disengaged and running up attrition numbers that hurt the bottom line.

The reality is that training can make or break your next hire. Without the proper tools and understanding of how to do the job effectively, he or she is likely to leave instead of becoming the best employee you’ve ever had. If you’re using job shadowing as a key method in your training, your turnover numbers may be higher than necessary, simply because you’re relying on a method that doesn’t work.

This was the argument in a recent Middle Me article as the author has experienced bad training in the call center environment on more than on occasion. It isn’t hard to imagine where the failure originates as call center management expects a new candidate to learn complex computer software just by watching someone else. It also doesn’t help that the individual doing the training is trying to also hit their own metrics and performance goals, which often contributes to a hurried training session.

In the scenario described, the situation was so hurried and complex that the author didn’t feel confident in any of the steps she had been shown and didn’t want to start on a whole new system on day five. Instead of communicating this frustration to her human resource department or the individual that hired her, she panicked and quit the job. While the call center is only out the four days invested in her training, they now also need to spend time and resources replacing her, and then start the training over again.

These situations are happening too often when call center management doesn’t recognize the problems that exist within the training of new agents. This is not to suggest that shadowing should never be used, but instead recognize the challenges that exist when it is the only training method put in place. The individual who has received no other training in a particular call center is ill-equipped to shadow another individual and learn from the experience.

The important point here is for call center management to take a step back and examine their current training procedures. If shadowing is the only tool in the mix, it may be time to reassess and improve the overall approach. 

Edited by Stefania Viscusi