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What makes an employee exceptional?
Human resources experts say one defining quality is the desire to learn and to keep learning. At iQor, we foster a culture of excellence by giving all employees continuous opportunities to learn, grow and enrich their skills and knowledge. Our training and leadership development programs regularly win top honors from leading HR organizations.
“Our customer care agents currently support eight million customer conversations a year across digital channels.”
Our newest training program prepares agents to deliver an exceptional digital experience (DX) with content focused on chat, social media, messaging apps, email, text, web, and self-service forums. We created it because the need for digital customer care training is acute.
“Our customer care agents currently support eight million customer conversations a year across digital channels,” says iQor VP of Global Learning, Mark Monaghan. “In some programs, 80 to 90 percent of all customer interactions are digital. Even the most tech-savvy agents need specialized digital training that keeps pace with rapidly evolving technologies and trends so they can deliver a consistently excellent customer experience.”
Digital Tones and the Human Touch
iQor has a long history of digital leadership. We were one of the first major service providers to launch an all-digital technology platform, and currently, almost 2,000 agents in four countries support eight million customer interactions a year across digital, non-voice channels. Over 90 percent of our digital programs are ranked #1.
By now we know how digital customer behaviors and expectations differ from traditional voice interactions—and how they’re sometimes the same. For instance, customers expect speedier service and solutions when they use digital tools, but they still want to talk to a human when an issue becomes complicated. They expect agents to figure out how they’re feeling and empathize with them from what they write in chats, texts, or emails, with no spoken words to provide emotional clues. That can be tricky.
“One of our modules is called Digital Tones,” says Mark. “It deals with the special challenges of digital communication. One section gives agents exercises in critical reading to draw out deeper meaning or emotions hidden in the words. Another uses simulation software to create mock chats so agents can practice de-escalation techniques.”
The First Digital Training Certificate Ever
The simulation app, nicknamed Qori, can also simulate multiple queries, so supervisors can determine how many digital interactions agents can handle at any one time and monitor the response rate. Opportunities to monitor and coach are special features of the supervisor curriculum.
The instructor course, limited to existing Level III trainers, concentrates on higher-level training topics such as omnichannel strategy, curriculum development, and platforms. Participants are required to develop a digital training component for course completion—and certification.
“iQor introduced our Train the Trainer program four years ago, and now a great many corporate HR programs have similar programs,” adds Mark. “We’re excited now to introduce one of the first digital training certification programs in the world and see where it leads.”
Digital Skills for Digital Careers
Recent research shows that more than eight in ten middle-skill jobs today require adept digital skills, which leads to higher earnings and greater career opportunities. With DX aQademy, iQor aims to help close the digital skills gap and open up new career advantages for our workforce, while delivering a new level of customer experience for our clients.
The content for DX aQademy was developed by Tarisse Grant-Shelton, Global Learning & Corporate Trainer, along with Mark Monaghan. When the program rolls out, about 1,000 agents in various iQor locations around the world are expected to participate.
You can read about our other training programs and our award-winning iQor University here.
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