Sample Training Manual For Call Center Operations
In a call center setting, SOPs define everything from staffing schedules to handling workload. 4 Best Practices for Call Center Operations. Coaching sessions and document pertinent training-related information in the SOP manual. [Standard Operating Procedures] Simple Example of Standard Operating Procedures. The A+ Agent: Confidence and Professionalism for Call Center Employees. Appropriate questions, and using questions to guide callers through the decision-making process. These workshops are not offered in a public seminar format.
Administrative Policies Your standard operating procedures should clearly outline your administrative policies regarding attendance, punctuality, shift coverage, flex time, paid time off, overtime and other administrative issues. Call centers staffs can include hundreds of employees and scores of managers or supervisors. An SOP manual should be the rulebook by which these employees gain clarification on how various scenarios are handled. Many call centers have shift bids that let employees move from a later shift to an earlier shift or occasionally swap shifts with other call center agents. Your SOP manual should clearly define how employees go about requesting changes to schedules to ensure proper staffing levels at all times.
Performance Management Metrics are a key form of measurement that help define performance standards and expectations within call centers. Metrics help managers determine the average time callers spend on hold, how many calls were abandoned because callers got tired of waiting in queue and how many calls were answered and resulted in a resolution or sale. You also want to include a qualitative component to performance management that evaluates the quality of call interactions along with efficiency.
Sample Training Manual For Employees
Your SOP manual should specify what your expectations are for your call center agents when it comes to call handling and call resolution. Training & Coaching Training and coaching are vital in a call center environment, yet they may be difficult to schedule. Call center agents spend a majority of their time on the phone.
Still, it is critical to make time to host training and coaching sessions and document pertinent training-related information in the SOP manual. Many call centers have eliminated hard copy manuals in favor of electronic versions that reduce costs and can be updated easily as needed. It is not uncommon for these manuals to contain information on security and compliance issues or screenshots with instructions for performing functions within various applications. Some SOP manuals may even contain a link to a learning management system website where agents can take refresher courses with the approval of a supervisor. The SOP manual should serve as a supplemental training guide and should be updated periodically. Feedback Donna Fluss, a principal at DMG Consulting, says there are too many times in which call center agents are not included in system implementations or changes that may significantly alter their job performance.
Sample Training Manual For Call Center Operations Manager
It is critical to include call center agents in a discussion of any changes that may bear a direct impact on their performance, especially because they may offer valuable insight from their own or the customer's perspective. Your call center should have a definitive process in place that allows agents to provide direct feedback to decision makers who may be disconnected from what the company's customers are saying.