Correctly investing in customer service training for your agents not only ensures that customers receive the best possible service, but agent turnover is reduced, minimizing associated costs of hiring and onboarding new agents. Properly trained agents are more likely to stay with the organization.

We all learn in different ways

It would be easier for everyone involved if a one-size-fits-all approach could be used to properly train agents, but the fact is, everyone is different. So everyone absorbs and internalizes training in different ways.

It isn’t really realistic to think you can accommodate all people all the time. But you can try to group people into different types of learners and choose materials and strategies that might best serve the different types of learners. For example, here are some suggestions for four common types of learners:

1. Visual

People who prefer this type of learning would rather see information presented in a visual rather than in written form.

Tools for visual learners: shadowing current agents, video tutorials, documentation with screenshots, charts, and diagrams.

2. Auditory

Auditory learners typically absorb information from lectures and are good at remembering things they are told.

Tools for auditory learners: presentations, group discussions, and webinars

3. Reading and writing

These people prefer to take in information displayed as text.

Tools for reading and writing learners: written guides, handouts, an charts.

4. Kinesthetic (or tactile)

These learners might be a little more difficult to accommodate, because they react best to hands-on experiences.

Tools for kinesthetic learners: demos, hands-on tasks, and shadowing current agents.

Customer service training ideas

Here are sample training program ideas that uses multiple tools and activities:

Ice breaker

An activity like two truths and a lie is always a good warm-up when doing a live training.

Trainer presentation

A trainer presentation should be engaging and include a lot of questions for the audience to engage with. Virtual training should always include a poll every 5-10 slides, ensuring everyone is engaged.

Teach back

Trainees should be given an assignment that requires them to do some research and then present their findings. It’s always great to give each person something different so folks can learn from each other.

Group activity

Trainees should be assigned group work which requires a combination of skills-presenting, demonstrating, creating, etc.

Training never ends

No matter how well your agents perform, they can always do better. Continue to offer new training programs and encourage your team to engage in learning new skills outside of work.