Background
Ventura, a wholly owned subsidiary of Next plc, is one of the UK’s leading outsourcing providers operating customer contact centres. Clients include well-known public, private and voluntary sector bodies. More than 7500 people are employed at four contact centres in the UK and Pune, India. Almost half the UK agents (front-line staff who receive calls and offer advice to customers) are located in two large state of the art call centres in the Dearne Valley, South Yorkshire – here Ventura is the dominant employer in what used to be a mining area.
Outsourced customer service management is a very competitive business and two years ago Ventura underwent a major restructure to permit a more competitive approach to pricing. A key element in securing and retaining business is the quality of the agents; they must demonstrate a good telephone manner, understanding and empathy with the customer’s requirements and have the written communication and keyboard skills needed to prepare accurate and appropriate reports. Certain contracts also require selling skills and in some cases a specialist interest or awareness. For example, those agents serving a client who specialises in internet and broadband services benefit from a technical appreciation and IT knowledge, whilst those agents working on a client’s charity helpline have expert knowledge and share empathy on the subject.
The human resources function at Ventura has close links with local schools and colleges. As the largest employer in an area where the profile of employment has changed rapidly they need to signal clearly what skills are desired and work in improving the quality and aspirations of the local labour pool. In addition, contact centre work has previously been seen as a “stop-gap” job and not a long term career option. However, whilst there can be a degree of repetition to the task, call centre work can be highly varied with many opportunities for promotion. The working environment is good, there is plenty of opportunity for interaction with colleagues, and there is satisfaction in assisting people with their problems or meeting their requirements. Beverley Connor, Ventura’s Recruitment and Training Delivery Manager says, “We must strive for recognition for our training efforts and seek to remove the stigma associated with contact centre work.”
Recruitment and training
Following the restructure the combined recruitment and training function has expanded in size. A reorganisation of training delivery was designed to create a much closer link with the business areas. In the UK there are six training managers each of whom are supported by six to fifteen training officers. Training is mainly focused on core individual skills (interpersonal and the use of the systems) and product knowledge and awareness.
The main challenges faced by the recruitment and training functions are, firstly, attracting quality candidates from a demographic pool where core skills might not naturally exist, in high volumes, over long periods of time. Secondly, providing expert “niche” training from a centralised resource, where each client is just as important as another, making prioritisation a continuous agenda item.
There is a close link with the recruitment process which proceeds through assessment and interviews. The interviewing process is conducted around seven key competencies – for example convincing and assertiveness, team working and communication skills.
A particular challenge, closely linked to the business offering, is the need to deliver training against very tight timetables. If a new client is secured it is important to be able to deliver their requirements quickly. This will prevent the client’s customer experiencing any uncertainty of service provision. In the space of as little as four weeks from signature it may be necessary to set up a unit, design material, organise IT infrastructure, and install trained agents at their desks. Minimising ‘time to competence’ is a major determination of the success of the Recruitment and Training function.
Induction and beyond
This emphasis on ‘time to competence’ requires that relevant business training is delivered at all times, but particularly at induction: initial classroom training, reinforced by a planned transition to the work-team is the preferred method.
Given the demands of the clients, between 15 and 60 new people can start each week. They are grouped from the outset, into units of 15 or so who will be serving the needs of a designated client. After an orientation to the area where they will be working the cohort will undertake up to five weeks training for full time courses, delivered by the training officer who has responsibility for this particular client. The subjects covered will include behavioural skills and IT/keyboard training as well as product knowledge.
This customer-specific training takes place in one of the on-site classrooms and a special technology system (SMART) allows the tutor to project what is happening on any individual’s training-room PC. In practice call handling, keyboard entry skills and product knowledge are inextricably linked as the new joiner progresses to competence.
Once this classroom training has been completed the new staff members are placed in a special part of the work area known variously as a ‘development centre’ or ‘graduation bay’. Here, over the next few weeks they receive coaching support from both the training officer and the team leader for the section. The new entrants will take some calls, but these will be closely monitored or treated as joint calls. Their progress and performance will be assessed and on occasions the training officer will take the cohort of new joiners away to the training room.
Once the new joiner is fully competent he or she will join the team and be given feedback by his or her team leader. At the customer centre key performance indicators (number of calls, duration etc) are produced for each individual on a daily basis. They are consolidated monthly into an individual scorecard which also includes development needs. It is the responsibility of the team leader and their manager in conjunction with the training officer to ensure that these are met.
Off-the-job training and competence
An example is one contract where more on-the-job coaching support is provided by increasing the number of training officers. Additionally, some e-learning is in place where training product knowledge for a government contact is compulsory. Unquestionably the classroom is still seen as the most effective vehicle. Bronnie Linley, Ventura Training Manager, comments, “if there were definite cost advantages in using e-learning we would adopt it, but these would mainly concern product knowledge. Generally no two people are the same so why would we put all people through the same training package?”
Training is taken very seriously at Ventura. As new clients and new service requirements are added to the portfolio agents must be trained quickly but thoroughly. The emphasis is therefore on speed to competence so the classroom, supported by feedback coaching in the workplace, will continue to be the main method of delivery. It is also a vehicle for consolidating and emphasising the need for agents to work as a team in meeting client requirements.
However, the role of the trainer is changing and Ventura Training Manager, Anne Seymour says, “In the past trainers were there to test people, now we teach, develop, guide and help.”