Call Centre Training Programme Well Received By Co-operative Bank
October 10th, 2007 by Katrina Gallagher
There are many companies who offering specialised training to call centres throughout the UK but very few of these will carry out any research before starting a job. Beyond The Box was commissioned by the Co-operative Bank to identify the training needs and requirements of 100 inbound telephone sales staff. The overall objective of this exercise was to deliver increased levels of sales and customer service by providing the right training course for the right staff.Christine Knott, Director of Beyond The Box, undertook extensive research in order to meet this objective. The purpose of the research was to establish whether the department had a suitable foundation on which it could reach its desired goals. This included looking at whether the current method and times of training delivery was suitable and gauging the response of the advisors towards the training they received.
“It is vital when designing bespoke training courses for companies to ascertain what the current level of understanding is at all levels within the company. If individual objectives have been set then these need to be compared with the overall objective of the training. To do a training job properly you have to get under the skin of an organisation and understand how it works so that the course that you design will actually work from the ground level up,” said Christine.
The research used several methods including interviewing staff at all levels including those in the front line, dealing with the calls, through to staff at managerial level. Beyond The Box also prepared an analysis of current call standards and attended team meetings to assess communication levels within the department.
The Co-operative Bank also had objectives for each member of staff and Beyond The Box looked into all of these objectives and how these linked into the departments’ overall objectives.
The results of the research indicated that certain measures needed to be taken before any training delivery would be beneficial. Julie Marsh, Customer Service Manager at the Co-operative Bank comments, “Following Christine’s recommendations and guidance, we have carried out some extensive groundwork and any training delivered will be far more successful as a result.
“The research undertaken by Beyond The Box was, in my experience, far more detailed than any other company I have worked with and it exceeded my expectations. More importantly it was undertaken in a professional and non- threatening manner. Positive feedback about Christine’s approach and style were made by all members of staff who came into contact with her. It is refreshing to see a forward thinking company who are keen to see real results rather than just delivering empty training solutions for financial gain.”
