Customer Service Training Secrets of Success with Vasudha Deming

This week we spoke with Vasudha Deming, VP of Global Learning at Impact Learning. Impact Learning helps organisations to deliver an exceptional customer experience through a structured training and motivational programme.

We loved reading a phrase on the Impact Learning site that said “Training is an expense, changing behaviour though, is an investment that pays off many times over.”

We wanted to know more about what makes the difference between training and changing behaviour.

Create a goal everyone can rally around

“The key is to look at training from the perspective of everyone involved,” says Vasudha. ”It needs to be positioned as an investment, in the company and the reps’ future. This way it becomes something that everyone can rally around.”

We asked Vasudha whether there were good or bad times to get training underway. ”You have to treat training as a proactive strategy,” says Vasudha. ”Don’t wait for failure. If your reps see the training as remedial then they are already starting from a negative viewpoint.”

Vasudha believes that the best way of focusing everyone involved on the same goal is to pick out a specific metric that you are trying to change. ”Take your CSAT for example. Let’s say it is at 90% and the goal is to reach 94%. That is a specific goal and a structured training programme can be delivered to help turn the dial. Focus on fixing the metric,and involve the team in this; allow them to own their progress and success. If they see training as an opportunity rather than an obligation, they’ll be more inspired to engage.”

Managers need to attend

Once a goal is set and training is scheduled we asked Vasudha what signals whether training is going to be effective or not. ”The really important sign is whether the managers attend,” says Vasudha. ”Managers must attend – it’s critical. How can you re-enforce the training if you weren’t there? A manager attending says to their team ‘this is real, this is important to our company.’ ”

A full day, or a two day training course can cover a lot of material, too much to implement in one go. Following theirattendanceat the training Vasudha suggests managers should develop an action plan focusing on one or two key points each week. ”Managers can use their employee reviews to discuss each point, develop strategies for implementing them in their daily work. Again, it’s impossible to do this with your team if you weren’t there!”

We’d like to thank Vasudha for taking time out to speak with us. Impact Learning have a fascinating blog which focuses on training in the customer service arena. You can also find out more about Impact Learning’s services on their website.

How have you implemented training in your contact centre? Do you see training as an expense or an investment? We’d love to hear your thoughts and questions in the comments section below.