APPLICATIONS OF ONLINE TRAINING

Customer service training is in fact the blueprint for a company’s entire support process.   A solid training program ensures that a team operates to consistently deliver  good  service  to  customers,  with  or  without  a game plan. Whilst a variety of elements go into creating a successful business, customer service is center-stage and every interaction the company has with a customer can affect its bottom line. In today's competitive marketplace, companies are perpetually searching for business practices that will set them apart and often customer  service  is  what  separates  companies  that thrive from those that fail. Offering customer service training to employees has been shown to drive sales and give businesses a strong competitive advantage. This is why  it  is  imperative  that businesses invest  in  quality programs.

Broadly defined, customer service training refers to teaching employees the knowledge, skills, and competencies  required  to  increase  customer satisfaction. E-learning provides employees with those skills  and competencies without taking too large of a bite out of the company's HR budget. As far as learners are concerned, a main advantage of e-learning in customer service training is that participants can be scheduled for training in a staggered fashion, and can also work at their own pace.

Training programs yield several benefits for the organization, employees and customers:

a) Increased       employee       motivation       & engagement:  providing  training  allows employees to better understand the impact their role  has  in  the  organization.  Investing  in employees also demonstrates that the company cares about their continual development and progress - they feel more valued and this improves motivation and engagement. Employee efficiency is thereby increased and they are better equipped to deal effectively with customers.

b) Improved  customer  service  skills: through customer   service   training,   employees   improve their knowledge, skills, and competencies and/or acquire new ones. Specific customer service training programs focus on improving communication  (such  as  questioning  to understand the customer’s need or problem, listening, confirming understanding, responding with value, using positive language), problem- solving and organizational skills. Training employees on the same set of competencies gives them a standard process to deal with customers - which   in   the   end   gives   customers   a   more consistent and  professional experience.  Through effective  training,  customer service representatives increase their ability to resolve issues  and decrease  the  number  of return  calls. Often, trained employees are able to address the concern at the first point of contact, which greatly increases customer satisfaction (see benefit (c) below). The increased motivation and engagement coupled  with  the  new  skills  creates  improved customer service in the company.

c) Increased      customer      satisfaction:     the improved  manner  in  which  employees  interact with customers leads to consumers feeling appreciated and respected. This is critical to any company’s continued success. According to Wikipedia,  employees  who  are  properly  trained and who   demonstrate   professional   customer service skills can and do improve customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. This, in turn, helps the business retain customers and improve profits as it costs less to retain a customer than to acquire a new one.

d) Increased       profit:      increased       customer satisfaction means pleased customers who are more open to additional sales messages and more likely to refer others as potential customers. Basically, what quality customer service training achieves is higher customer retention, the acquisition of new customers, reduced employee turnover and increased sales. Training has a great impact on employee motivation and morale, leading  to  increased  productivity.  It’s  a  simple equation: improved customer service + increased customer satisfaction + increased customer loyalty
= an increase in profit


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