Thursday, September 3, 2009

BPO TRAINING Quality Matters the Most

The quality of service (QoS) depends on the type of training the employee receives and subsequently how he implements his knowledge while working. This becomes particularly important in the Indian context when there has been lot of criticism over the quality of service and training of the call center agents. In initial days call centers companies saw training as a burden on their revenue and preferred giving ‘some’ in-house training. However, slowly the need for specialist trainers was realized and training today, has been developed as an integral part of the whole process.

Training Modules: Every training course keeps in mind that degree of skill requirement varies according to calls being handled and situations being tackled. The task of the trainer is to provide those skills to the agents on a varying scale. This scale has to be adjusted not only as per the needs of the call centers, but also that of the individual.

The degree and type of training would vary for domestic or offshore call centers. The scales would tilt further according to the diverse cultural background of the country from where the call originates.
A training plan has its priorities set according to the requirements and ideally, would be categorized into ‘must know’ (vital information that the trainees need in order to do the job effectively) or ‘should know’ (the knowledge which is useful but not essential to the job) sections.

The ‘should know’ training of an agent is almost the same for all call centers. The first step for a call-center fresher would be the induction orientation. He will then graduate to culture-training module. Culture training depends on the clients that he would be dealing with and helps in acclimatizing and empathizing with the customer’s lifestyle.

Then comes the training in voice and accent. For Indian agents, learning an accent is not the first priority. Rather he needs more of accent neutralization. By the time a graduate joins the BPO industry, it is very difficult to teach him the grammar of foreign languages as well as train him in accent. At the most, he can be trained not to let his mother accent take over, while speaking to a customer. India has the first mover advantage of knowledge of other languages, but the accent still needs to be modified according to the client requirements.
The next module is the campaign training. This is a process that never ends and the agents are constantly updated on the current campaign. Campaign training is attached to the product being offered and is often conducted by the clients or the vendors themselves. Regular trainers are also used for this module but they have to be familiarized with the campaign first.

Quality and Standard of Course Material: Though the need to have the content certified has been felt across the industry, as of now, there is no government or private authority which monitors or regulates the course content. Creating such an authority will improve the quality of training, but there is no immediate plan or move to create such a body.

Initially, most of the course material was developed abroad, but now foreign course modules form the base on which India-specific courses have been developed. This has been done by the training institutes and each one claims that their course complies with the industry standards.

The basic training modules would not change, but there is always a scope to improve the training aids and methods. Some agencies have adopted the latest software, which scans the facial movements and suggests ways to improve the accent. Interactive and practical techniques have been introduced to give the agent a feel of things before he is put on the job. And as the market matures and demand for better training arises, the industry will adopt newer methods.

Training Never Stops: The traditional wisdom says training is an ongoing process and is never completed. The BPO companies have to find strategic alternatives to outsource training. Realizing that very qualified students will are not likely to make make this a career, companies are preferring people with low skill set and trying to train and retain them in the outsourcing business.

This poses another challenge as far as training goes. The intensity and the style of training have been changed accordingly. For this trainers have to be specialists with a high level of understanding of the job. As the market matures, an academy to train and certify trainers is also being recommended. A good call-center agent needs to have the 7 P’s of tele-services—being prompt, prepared, professional, polite, precise, practical, and positive.

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