Delivery of Training and Development Intervention - Essay Example

? Improving Performance through Learning, Coaching & Development Contents Introduction 3 Identification of Training and Development needs 3 Design oftraining and development intervention 5 Delivery of training and development intervention 7 Evaluation of Training and Development Intervention 8 Conclusion and recommendations 9 References 11 Appendix 14 Introduction The call center industry throughout the world involves outsourcing companies making the communication between the individual consumers and the companies possible. Outsourcing companies provide both inbound and outbound telecommunication services with an objective of maintaining a high quality of customer relation. After the recession hit the market, the outlook and approach towards the call centers have changed making it important for these companies to hire and retain good performers. Recruiting and retaining good performers in this industry is faced with much difficulty as the attrition rate is very high compared to other industries. So to retain and attract high performing employees, especially when there is high competition in this industry, it is important for the company to design and implement an effective training and development system which will help the company to support the employees growth and aspirations and also give the company a competitive advantage over the other players in the industry. Training and development plays a critical role in making a call center work successfully by ensuring a positive work environment and ensures the satisfaction of employees by supporting and guiding them and thereby providing them opportunities to grow. The report is being designed with the objective of improving the performance of the employees through an effective process of training and development in Endeavour, an outsourcing company operating in the UK and in India with approximately 5000 employees across the three sites maintained by the business. Identification of Training and Development needs The main drivers of a training and development program in an outsourcing business are new business opportunities, changes in customer requirements, management planning and changes in technology (Mayben, 1999, p.293). Taking up new business opportunities create the need for additional training and awareness. Often the launch of a new product or aiming at a new target group require proper training to be imparted to the call center agents. Industry issues arising newly also require additional training to review the processes and the work systems. Management planning is required in areas of resource management, specific technologies, queuing processes and real-time management. To support managers in these areas continuous training and development should be imparted so that the managers are aware of the new trends and developments in the industry. The introduction of new technologies in the business often requires training to be given to the employees to make them skilled to operate new systems and use unique technologies like reporting systems, online desktop tools and specialized telephones (Holman, 2000, p. 69). Also the soft skills of pitching a product, selling through different media and customer service are taught to the employees through new training programs. The increase in the level of customer expectations may often lead to unsatisfied customers. Training should be given in these cases to redefine the processes and the systems. Political or regulatory changes often lead to customers asking questions and the agents are liable to answer. So, they must be trained to handle these concerns so as to save the company from any negative publicity or legal action (Solomon, 2001, p.17). The competition in this industry is high making it difficult to retain skilled employees. The need to retain talent within the organization is another important driver for training systems. The key objectives of a call center training process include the alignment with the organizational objectives involving senior management guidance, improving quality and performance levels, motivation of the employees and the integration with the policies and procedures (Spreitzer, 1997, p 177). The basic training provided to prepare the employees for their work is absolutely necessary to guide the employees related to their communication skills, the process of addressing the inquiries of the customers and a comprehensive understanding of the correct way of processing transactions. In soft skills training, it is essential to train the employees to maintain professional interaction with the customers and to provide a high standard of customer experience. The training and development program should be designed systematically by the human resources by keeping in mind the quality assurance criteria, performance management, evaluation of the KPIs, specialty training and implementing them as and when required. The induction training would help the company to establish a psychological contract with the employee which is a very critical factor considering the fact that breaking of this psychological contract often results in unexplained attrition of the employees in a very short period of time (Feldman & Khademian, 2003, p. 89-90). Design of training and development intervention The training and development structure should be designed starting from the induction training program to the basic training program comprising of the soft skills training, the processes training and the use of technology on job trainings and qualifications program when the employees join the floor. The training system is designed keeping in mind considering whether the training is required by an individual, a team, or a site requires the training, the review of the training contents to ensure that they are in alignment with the objectives, the location of the training, the training provider, the content of the training, the facilitator and the style of the training (Forbes, 2012). After the employee has started with his actual day to day work, career management training is imparted by categorizing the performers into different levels. The company can distribute its employees into rising stars who are the aspiring and motivated workforce, the Stars who are the leaders and high performers, the Rocks who are the steady performers and the retiring staff, Sponges who are the new joiners in the organization and the Monkeys who are the continuous low performers. The training and development program should be effective for striking the right balance between guiding and developing the starters and providing the rising stars with development opportunities. The employees belonging to the Stars category can be used to mentor the other groups by using their knowledge (Cleveland, 2001, p. 96). The Sponges and Rising stars are provided with a clear path to keep them confident. Lack of confidence or disillusionment may cause their performance to drop and they may become continuous low performers like the Monkeys. Development opportunities should be provided to the established star performers so that they remain loyal employees of the company thus making sure of retaining their experience and knowledge in the company. The training instructor should identify the specific training requirements for each employee and provide one-on-one recommendations to the employees so as to ensure an effective training and development process working in the company. The use of one-on-one guidance increases the motivation of the employees and gives them a clear direction for their work (Bell & Staw, 1989, p.167). The basic training should be comprehensive and intended to make the new employees learn about the company, its products and services, the procedures and systems followed as well as soft skills training to train them to communicate more effectively with the customers. The training should involve the modules of the company overview, services and systems, soft skills training and system skills training. The company overview module should aim at providing an overview of the company, scope of the business, organization structure, the structure and functions of the different departments, the policy coverage and the rules and guidelines that the company expects the employees to adhere to while interacting with the customers. The system training module includes knowledge about the technology used and the systems like IVR, servicing channels, entering calls and emails, navigating through the phone and computer systems, call queuing, call back processes and transaction processes (Bocklund, 2009, p.16). The soft skills training module would include voice and accent training and imparting knowledge about the key points to be followed on a call including courtesy, patience, professionalism, dealing with frustrated customers etc. These training modules prove to be useful in the daily work of the employee as it helps them in handling the practical situations easily. Dealing with angry or frustrated customers remains a major challenge for a call center agent. Proper guidance provided to them as to how to handle these situations prevent dissatisfaction and stress on the part of the agent and thus ensures a low attrition and retention of talent in the organization (Liden, 1995, p.64). Delivery of training and development intervention Endeavour may use cost effective tools like the fee online tools. The company can make training sessions can be made interactive and engaging by using social video sharing websites like YouTube. This is a cost effective tool of training as well. These video sharing websites work as a discussion booster in training sessions, often help in newer training techniques such as role-playing and other interactive techniques (Harvard Business Review, 1993). The trainers may use the video clips to demonstrate examples of effective customer service techniques and also poor customer service ways and may use these videos to interact with the employees regarding their opinion of what should have been the ideal way of interaction. The employees should be trained using real world examples and experienced trainers should be used to encourage and advice the employees. Also, making top-performing employees interact and share their experiences with the employees is an important part of the basic training process. That way, the top performing workforce can give practical examples and share their passion and energy to instigate enthusiasm and motivation among the trainees (Deloitte Touche Consulting Group, 1999, p. 3). Providing a library of books and collection of DVDs for the employees to refer to for increasing their knowledge would be another way of developing the employees. Endeavour should ensure the presence of enough resources for the training and development process so as to not only improve the communication and technical skills but also have psychological benefits of motivating and retaining the talented workforce. The use of different activities and games to develop soft skills and customer service skills should be stressed upon during the training process (Jacques, 1996, p. 54). Online training simulation programs may also be used. In this method, a facilitator trains the employees sitting at their desks using virtual customer’s response and feedback on the calls. The pre induction online portals can be used as a tool to improve the engagement level of the employees as well as preparing them to be confident and competent in their job from the very first day (Walton, 1999, p. 231). The supervisors are generally subject matter experts and they should be encouraged to participate in the development and delivery of the training courses and contents for the employees (Holdsworth, 2003, p. 59). They must also monitor the performance of the employees and provide feedback on the performance of the employees on a regular basis so as to enhance the training and development process. Training should not be considered as a process having specific time period. Training and development should be an ongoing process to be implemented on a regular basis according to the requirements of the situation (Sharp, 2009, p.12). The points as discussed above can be seen in the appendix. Evaluation of Training and Development Intervention There exist a number of critical strategic decisions which are taken while designing a training and development system. The evaluation of the training process should be able to determine the effectiveness of the training module, to decide whether to expand or end the program, and the ways of improving the training module for future use. The training and development system should be evaluated in the following levels: Reaction, Learning evaluation, Application of the job and Return on Investment (Taylor & Bain, 1999, p. 27). The reaction level is considered by filling out evaluations by the trainees at the end of the training program. It is used as a survey and includes feedback on the quality of training contents, the methodology used, the group activities and exercises used in the training process. The learning evaluation is done by gathering information and analyzing them to gauge the number of employees taking the course and applying the lessons practically. The application to job level is used to measure the degree of job application of the skills and knowledge used in the training program. The evaluation of ROI is used to determine the effect of the training system on the productivity of the business, the strategic business plan and the improvement in customer satisfaction level. The impact of the training on the business metrics and the return on the investment done for the training are assessed to evaluate this level. The feedback received from the evaluation process helps the managers to make decisions regarding the changes to be made to the training and development system (Holtgrewe, 2007, p. 489). The evaluation is done to assess the effectiveness of the training materials used in the training system in terms of the contents and the priority of the materials with the aim to decide whether the present instructor is suitable for the program or any change or addition to the facilitators is required to see whether the instructional strategies are practically applicable (Nadler, 1994, p. 234). Conclusion and recommendations To operate successfully and achieve maximum profit levels, an outsourcing business must optimally use its key resources i.e. its employees. The employees should learn to operate as a single team oriented to achieve a common objective. The performance of a call center depends upon the performance of individual employees as well as the performance of the various business sites. For increased customer delight, the company has to ensure the maintenance of a high performing and motivated workforce who can be created only when they are constructively guided by the company through its continuous training processes. The importance of implementing as well as evaluating the training system is critical for the success of the business. To evaluate the performance of the training system implemented, the system should be reviewed upon whether these strategies have blended in the organization and whether they have improved the performance of the employees as well as the company. There are a number of methods of training and development available for a company. To develop new talent and retain high performing employees, the company should be able to combine these strategies and also align them with the existing performance management and employee development processes. References Bell, N.E., & Staw, B.M. 1989. People as sculptors versus sculpture. New York. 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