Seen it both ways.

Financial services or another type of highly regulated environment- no way would the culture allow an "uncertified" resource access to the customer. Always fully tested "off the floor", and even when "certified", there is a shadowing period to make sure the standards are translating to the floor.

Less regulated more risk-tolerant organizations, I've seen them just put the person on the phone day one (with a mentor). Not only for size/technology/resource restrictions, but a cultural realization that any rep can say the right or wrong thing, so holding off for a 'certification' may be just delaying getting a resourse on the floor.

I think the middle ground is ideal

My current company does this and it is the best training I've seen. The new hires spend three weeks in the classroom first but after that we move them to "Peer Mentoring". They take live calls but it is a very structured three week program lead by a coach. I highly recommend this transition approach to any call center that handles something fairly complex.

quote:

..............so that during the training, trainees take live calls in the classroom with the trainer or coach there?
In my previous company, this was the practice, in addition to nesting on the floor.

Amazing that this goes on! What about the customer who has to suffer while all this is going on? Do companies that allow trainees to handle real calls know what kind of reputation that gives the company? Do they care? I'm sorry, but I just don't see any excuse for this type training. No wonder you usually have to ask to speak with a supervisor! IT is right.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: KaliKo,

We called it 'The Crib'. We'd pump calls into the training room. It led to the reps building up their confidence quicker and be able to learn how to help customers faster. The sup is nearby to help if the rep (and customer) has problems. If you don't have the resources, most of my clients don't, this is what I do. Have your class sit and empty cubicles. e.g. at shift changes or the late shift where there are idle resources. Use those workstations.

For outbound training I have them print fresh, key customer screens, then they sit in small groups of 3-4 at idle workstations with just phones. I also give each group a digital recorder. They make the calls and refer to the screen prints. The group will help them. They also listen to the recording to see where they can improve. It works and is the most exciting part in my call center training as they see how the training concepts actual work. It's especially powerful for new agents.

I'm a big fan of bringing ops into the training room. As trainers we talk about it all the time by stressing importance of relevant case studies & role plays, but so far this live calling beats case studies & role plays any day. My clients love it.