Here’s what customer service training programs do for businesses

Organizations with a large customer base can get a world of benefits from customized and end-to-end customer service training programs. Whether they are branded retail stores or call centres or banking institutions, tailored customer service training programs are designed to help their people get equipped with the best practices, strategies and techniques for an improved customer experience.

Today’s evolved customer service training programs or customer relationship management programs are meant for all, whether they are new recruits or seasoned professionals. Through customized programs, businesses can ensure common minimum standards of service at their retail stores, or call centres, and thus can impact their key performance indicators in a pretty positive manner.

Here’s what a customer service training program comprises:

• Under the program, the trainers provide on-the-job training and audit of the stores, leading to improved customer experience and repeat business
• Trainers also conduct monthly knowledge tests to ensure customers are provided with correct information about products and/or services
• Store managers and staff are equipped to better manage new product launches

Customer service training programs are value for money programs and are designed to impact your business outcomes. But the business must ensure that its people are regularly trained on the required skill sets; one time training may not do much to up-skill your people.

How to create an extraordinary and highly effective training program?

Training Programs were always considered significant for enhancing the productivity of the employees. The importance, however, has risen sharply in the last couple of years due to economic recovery and because corporates are now seeing huge gaps in the skills of their employees. Although most corporations are fully aware of the incredible outcomes of the training programs, they often have trouble getting their employees excited about these programs. It is because most employees see trainings sessions as a waste of time or extra work pile on their desks. However, with a little homework you can make your training programs extraordinary and highly effective so that your employees develop a whole new perspective on training programs.


1. The fun element
The moment employees hear the word ‘training’, they start thinking about long, dull presentations that take up hours at a stretch and give little that they can use in their daily office life. So, first and foremost, you need to make the training fun, interesting, and engaging. Whether you are conducting customer service training programs or sales & distribution programs, plan the training content in advance. Thanks to technology, you can use some interesting training videos, set-up a quiz or plan a debate around interesting issues.

Look around for ideas (both online and offline) to add the fun element to the training programs that you wish to conduce in the near future.

2. The focused training

Your employees are not going to like the program if they feel the training would not help them in the slightest. Often, it’s the employees who know what would help them in performing their jobs effectively and efficiently. So, you better speak to your employees and design the training program in such a way that it truly aims to strengthen the skills of the participants that they can put to use the very next day. Keep your training focused on what would help your employees do their work better and faster. A training specialist can help you develop customer service training programs or other training programs in such a way that it primarily focuses on the individual needs of the training attendees.

3. Recognizing and rewarding your employees

Human-beings – whether they are school kids or grown-ups working in corporations - love to be rewarded and recognized. Take a clue from this insight and find innovative ways to reward the participants. The reward could be as simple as a certificate or a cash prize. There can be many other ways to recognize and reward the attendees so that they always come back enthusiastically when other training programs are conducted by the company.

Last, but not the least, your employees should know well in advance what they are expected to learn from the programs and how the learning would enable them do their office tasks faster and more effectively.

Banks hiring seasoned companies for soft skills to ensure excellence in customer service

When was the last time you saw an ATM or make a transaction there? When was the last time you paid for a product and/or service using Internet Banking?

A typical answer to both of these questions would be, “just an hour back,” or “yesterday only,” or in some cases, “in the last 2-3 days.” The point that I’m making here is that banking is now all over us. No matter where you work, what you do, how much you earn, banking seems to be everywhere with a host of world-class services.

Now banks are even offering account opening services right at your doorstep! The consumer seems to be in the best phase of his life! But…

Customers, it seems, have forgotten the need of being loyal to their banks. What I mean is, if a typical bank customer goes to his bank and isn’t attended and taken care of as per his/her expectations, he/she won’t mind changing his bank.

When a customer enters a bank premise, he is expecting a world of goodies to be conferred on him. And when he feels he is being dejected or not answered properly, he moves to the competitors.

Public Sector Banks experienced this behaviour first hand, but soon realized the gaps in their services, and went out for the best solutions in sight. Customer Service Training Programs came to rescue the banks that were rapidly losing their customer base and finding it hard to get new customers.

Training companies soon spotted the reasons why public sector banks were losing their grip over the market. The top reason was the lack of soft skills in their staff that would directly and indirectly come in contact with the banks’ customers.

Front-staff, bank managers, customer care, everybody needed a dose of soft skills, and how to answer customers effectively. Customer service training programs were being customized in order to empower the bank staff in communicating better and maintaining relationships with the customers.

Public as well as private sector banks are aggressively hiring services of training companies. And why wouldn’t they? They are seeing impressive results, and happy customers.