Rethink Training Delivery Methodology to Keep Agents Engaged

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With current events going on, many of us have had to alter our thinking about how we are training our agents on everything from new hire training to anything that has changed with the existing staff.  Communication methods, in general, have changed, so we may have had to re-evaluate our delivery mechanisms.  With the advent of virtual training, webinar platforms, and all that goes with them, we have the ability to reach individuals not physically facing us in a classroom or chair beside us.  But moving our training to a virtual environment requires us to rethink some of our delivery methodology in order to keep folks engaged and maximize learning.  Just lecturing from Powerpoint slides is likely to give you a class of snoozing participants.

One point to keep in mind is that although you may have the same material and information that you have used in leader-led, classroom delivery, it’s critical to gauge your student’s engagement level at various times to ensure they are still with you and up to speed.  We can do this by asking questions more frequently, opening your chat area or phone for discussions, using polling questions, whiteboards (available in many platforms), using break-out rooms for team exercises, and giving more frequent, short breaks.  The thought is to never have more than 10-15 minutes of lecture without interjecting some engagement methods into the mix.  This will keep your audience on their toes and hopefully keep engagement to a maximum.

This tip provided QATC Board Member Todd Gladden of PlanMen. He can be reached at todd.gladden@planmen.com.