Telemarketing-Training For Multi-tasking (1,018 words)

By Liz Kislik

Having telephone reps answer e-mails when call volume is down has been catching on as e-mail volume increases. This and other forms of so-called "multitasking" have been touted as the next big thing in call center management—a way to manage work loads, leverage the skills of experienced employees and make rep jobs more interesting. But be warned: although multitasking is great for computers, humans don't switch gears as easily. Even with training the results are often mixed.

Need proof? Pat your head. Now rub your tummy in a circle. In general, trying to accomplish two different things in the same period increases stress and reduces accuracy, no matter what your teenagers may tell you about why it's perfectly fine to do homework while watching TV.

In call centers, phone reps have been expected to do this kind of double duty ever since it was first realized that reps could key mail orders at their stations when they weren't taking calls. The premise is valid: increase productivity and, as an added bonus, make the day pass more quickly. On the down side, though, switching back and forth between activities increases errors in both tasks, and can easily lead reps to treat live customers as interruptions.

In addition, answering e-mail when the phones are slow is very different from keying mail orders under the same conditions. It may use the same equipment, but the work requires much more analysis and judgement, not to mention writing skills. Instead of just interpreting handwriting, the rep who answers e-mails must be able to recognize the nature of the problem and what the customer's desired resolution is, as well as whether there is information that needs to be clarified before responding.

Picking and Prepping

Typically, e-mail correspondents are selected from phone reps who already have the experience and company background to deal with customer questions and complaints. In fact, handling e-mail is often treated as a career step for more senior reps because it involves obligating the company in writing and most reps view off-phone time as a reward.

But be careful with the selection process. Verify that applicants have at least basic composition skills: the ability to construct a clear and brief paragraph on a topic they know, as well as acceptable spelling, punctuation and grammar. Avoid choosing reps who aren't already congenial or compelling on the phone or those who are burned out and in need of respite from customer calls; the act of switching back and forth from live calls to messages can be even more stressful, and both tasks will suffer.

Don't plan to use the same training for everyone. Assess the skills of trainees before you train them. Even people who write well and enjoy writing will need instruction in your e-mail style and how to work efficiently. For example, many good writers are accustomed to writing several drafts; this is a fine process for many kinds of writing but probably too time consuming and costly for most e-mail responses.

What Your Training Needs to Cover

The customer who e-mails has probably perused your Web site. Make sure reps are well acquainted with everything the customer has access to online and that they know how to quote from it or tell the customer where to find something. Your reps will also need instruction in how to embed direct links into their responses. In the same way that phone reps are trained to use bulleted call guides, they should have access to a file of key sentences and phrases that embody company style and tone. Certain recurring inquiries may warrant a standard response that can be personalized or tailored as necessary.

In general, e-mails should follow the basic rules of good customer service, such as acknowledging responsibility, apologizing for problems and letting customers know what to expect. It's usually most effective to use the "reply to sender" feature if possible and build a thread so a record of the interaction is available as a single document.

Because e-mail recipients often "preview" and discard e-mail without opening it if the subject line and first sentence don't get their attention, correspondents should expend most effort on composing the opening sentence. They must begin with the essential content. "We're so sorry the widget was broken and will send a replacement today," is much stronger than "Thank you for letting us know there was a problem with the widget." If the response is not a turnaround reply, a cogent subject line is very important.

The major focus of e-mail training should be on the writing itself. Trainees should be given plenty of practice, drills, examples and their written responses must be reviewed. Check how quickly the trainee can produce clear and complete answers and also check for tone. For example, reps should learn to avoid excessively formal language, such as "response, provide, allow, obtain" and to use such simple words as "answer, give, let, get" instead.

Train the Trainers

If your trainers don't automatically recognize these differences in usage or aren't good writers or editors themselves (and many good verbal communicators are not good business writers), consider postponing the training until you've had a chance to get the personal writing tone to the correct level. It can be very effective to have staff writers work with your trainers to develop examples, to team-teach certain sections of the training and to critique participants' work.

Despite the ostensible breeziness of e-mail, many customers still believe that written communication carries more weight. Because it's easier than writing a letter but still creates a written record, e-mail is often the channel of choice for a customer about to invoke the Better Business Bureau, the state attorney general or other consumer authority. It may be advantageous to create a small unit of experienced specialists with lead or supervisory status to deal with more technically difficult or escalated messages.

Liz Kislik is president of Liz Kislik Associates, a consultancy specializing in customer care and employee development. She helps companies enhance customer satisfaction, employee success, and business stability. You can reach her at (516) 568-2932 or lizk@lizkislik.com.