Call center agent training keeps agents up-to-date with customer support policies and helps agents understand how to interact with and assist customers while aligning with company goals. Call centers can invest in continuous training to upskill agents in their communication and support skills, which, in turn, may improve the call center’s overall performance. 

Whitepaper

How to Coach Using AI-Powered Insights Across Your Multi-Generational Workforce

Learn how smarter coaching can improve the employee experience and transform customer experience

We’ve rounded up 25 helpful tips to effectively train call center agents for better results, including: 

• Allow agents to self-score their performances 
• Partner agents with well-trained mentors 
• Create measurable targets as performance benchmarks 
• Tailor training to agents’ learning styles 

Keep reading to learn more about how effective call center agent training impacts performance, including:  

• Well-trained call center agents can elevate performance 
• 25 tips for effective call center agent training 
• Frequently asked questions 

Well-trained call center agents can elevate performance 

Call center agents are the company's voice when it comes to customer support. They’re the first to answer phone calls from customers with questions or handle customer support tickets, so the customer's interaction with them can quickly increase or reduce the customer’s perception of the company. 

Training ensures that call center agents understand the company’s products and services and how they meet customer needs, how to interact with customers, what solutions to provide customers, and how to reduce customer churn. But training is more than a one-time onboarding session; it’s ongoing training that touches on multiple responsibilities of call center agents, like upselling, protecting privacy, and using call center tools. 

Agent turnover is at an all-time high.

Download our latest whitepaper for 5️⃣ upskilling secrets to improve training tactics, drive agent performance and supercharge your contact center.

— CallMiner, Inc. (@CallMiner) March 31, 2022

25 tips for effective call center agent training   

1. Leverage speech analytics and conversation intelligence to personalize agent training & coaching. “With contact center attrition as high as it is, it’s essential for managers and supervisors to ensure agents are engaged in their work and motivated to succeed. To elicit the highest engagement from staff, managers should, for example, listen to employee feedback and opinions, praise staff and recognize good performance, make each employee feel invested in company goals and direction, etc.  

“This starts with immediate, actionable insight into employee performance.  “After all, agents can’t (and shouldn’t) be expected to excel in their work without proper feedback on what they are doing well and what areas might still need to be improved upon. It all comes down to giving employees the respect – and motivation – they deserve.  

“With speech analytics technology in place, managers are alerted to customer service issues as they occur, creating an awareness of inefficiencies across the organization and providing the opportunity for real-time training and personalized coaching. 

“The end result? Agents who are more engaged and likely to sustain improvement over the long term.”  

- Scott Kendrick, What’s the Best Way to Manage and Empower Call Center Agents?, CallMiner; X/Twitter: @CallMiner   

2. Identify gaps in your current practices. “Identifying gaps in your current customer service practices involves examining relevant data to understand your company's strengths and weaknesses.   

“Ask yourself questions like:   

• How do customers rate the overall service they receive?  
• How often are customer queries left unresolved or delayed?  
• Are customers leaving the company due to poor customer service experiences?  

 “For example, if customers on Twitter aren't receiving adequate attention from your customer service team, it's crucial to remember that social media platforms, which are often primarily used for marketing, can also serve as customer service channels. Customers will reach out to you on the platforms they feel most comfortable using and where they can find you easily. Therefore, it's crucial to analyze each customer service channel to pinpoint unique challenges and develop tailored solutions.   

“By addressing these gaps, you can improve the overall quality of your customer service, leading to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.” 

- Kiran Shahid, Customer Service Training: Effective Techniques for Success, Helpjuice; X/Twitter: @HelpJuice 

3. Start with thorough onboarding. “All call center training tips should start with onboarding. And actually, you should even start with pre-onboarding. Put together a welcome packet that includes goals for the company, a letter from the CEO about the company's mission, and other pertinent information your new customer service personnel need to know. This detailed communication will help your new employees understand the landscape of your company and help them to better serve your customers when on the phone. Once these employees start their new jobs, hold a call or meeting where they can meet the various department heads. The more they understand who to go to for questions or more information the better they can do their jobs from the start.” 

- 15 Top Call Centre Training Tips, Continu; X/Twitter: @continu 

4. Find the right call center software. “Equipping your staff with the tools they need will help them provide the most efficient service to your customers. Do research before investing or committing to the call center software and tools your reps will use daily. In addition, When you pick your favorite tools and begin implementing them, ensure you check for updates once in a while to keep them up-to-date.” 

- Lauren Gregory, The Quick & Easy Guide to Call Center Best Practices, HubSpot; X/Twitter: @HubSpot 

5. Use key performance indicators (KPIs) as a development tool. “For customer service agents to accurately assess their own performance on a regular basis, they need to know their own KPIs and how these relate to their specific skillsets. Establish the habit of routinely comparing KPIs to actions early on to help your employees manage their own growth within their roles independently.”  

- 5 call center training best practices, CallMiner; X/Twitter: @CallMiner 

6. Let agents analyze their performance. “Many contact centers use their quality assurance form as a template for new hire training. This makes sense since you want to train agents to the same standards you use to evaluate a successful call. 

“You can take this a step further by having new hires score their own calls. These could be either live calls or recorded role-plays. Self-scoring invites agents to view their performance more objectively and helps them learn to analyze their own performance so they can quickly make adjustments.” 

- Jeff Toister, 5 Ways to Train Contact Center Agents Faster, ICMI; X/Twitter: @CallCenterICMI 

7. Allow agents to learn how they like to learn. “A call center training program should be more than the traditional classroom training or voice and accent coaching. It should embrace flexible learning channels and techniques that allow the agents to learn from anywhere at any time. 

“How? You can use an internal knowledge management system such as Zoho Desk, Guru, and the HubSpot knowledge base software. These tools create a centralized repository of company data, including learning resources — self-help guides, audio/video tutorials, call scripts, and other training material for quick and easy access. You can also create a Flipbook, so it’s easy to skim if your team prefers to go over scripts and information while they’re on their commute or while they’re relaxing at home.  

“An employee can refer to these handy tools to find quick answers to their queries. These tools can even assist agents if they are stuck with a tricky customer issue. Some of these knowledge management tools can also integrate with your existing CRM tools to offer additional features. For example, they can fetch specific information from the CRMs, such as details of previous customer interaction and their preferences. This allows the agent to offer a more customized experience.” 

- Call center training: 8 strategies to empower your agents, Time Doctor; X/Twitter: @ManageYourTime 

8. Provide immediate feedback and reinforcement. “How many times have you seen an employee just nail it? In the moment, you can come to them and say, 'You did so great. Let's break it down. What did you do? Because you should do it exactly that way the next time.' How many times have you seen an employee struggle a little bit and they needed just a little nudge or a little coaching? That's training. So all those places where you're already helping your employees understand how to do their jobs better should be part of your customer service training program. No long, boring workshops required.” 

- Jeff Toister, Expert Advice for Supercharging Your Business's Customer Service Training, Entrepreneur; X/Twitter: @Entrepreneur 

 9. Consider incorporating virtual reality simulations. “Virtual reality (VR) technology offers immersive training for call center agents. It can mimic real-world customer interactions in a lifelike setting. This allows agents to refine their skills effectively. VR training boosts their confidence and readies them for various challenges they might face.” 

- Michael Kansky, Innovative Strategies for Training Call Center Agents, HelpSquad; X/Twitter: @helpsquadusa  

10. Connect trainees to powerful mentors. “Peer mentoring is a potentially powerful new-hire training tool where each trainee (protêgê) is paired up with a skilled and experienced agent (mentor) throughout the mid to latter stages of initial training – and often beyond. Contact centers with such extensive mentoring programs report shorter learning curves, increased performance, lower turnover among new hires, and increased empowerment/morale among the mentors themselves.  

“When selecting who will serve as mentors, it’s important to note that the most talented and experienced agents don’t necessarily make the best teachers. Contact centers with successful mentoring programs look for mentors who are skilled, dependable, personable, autonomous, and who have never or rarely ever punched an inquisitive colleague in the face.” 

- Greg Levine, Call Center New-Hire Training: Getting Rookie Reps Ready, Customer Contact Week Digital; X/Twitter: @CCW_Digital  

11. Product training is as essential as customer service training. “Don’t just stop at training your agents on call center etiquettes and other productivity hacks.   

“Educate them about your client’s product. This goes beyond just knowing that the client’s product is called XYZ and does ABC for its customers. Thoroughly educate your call center agents on the specifications, features, benefits, and purpose of your client’s products.  

“And, if possible, get them enthusiastic about it. By doing this, customers will perceive them as knowledgeable and trust them to resolve their concerns. This leads to a better customer experience overall.”  

- 7 Call Center Agent Training Tips to Educate Your Reps, Expivia; X/Twitter: @expivia  

12. Use KSAC profiles. “After organizations develop goals and objectives, they should create role-based KSAC -- knowledge, skills, abilities, and culture -- profiles. KSAC profiles should establish what knowledge, skills, abilities, and culture requirements agents need for each role. An organization can use this profile for recruiting and for developing training programs.  

“When creating KSAC profiles, organizations should keep these questions in mind: What level of skill, certification, proficiency or knowledge must agents meet? Do agents need certifications or to meet education requirements? How many years of experience does the organization require? When organizations understand what each role requires for success at a KSAC level, they can hire and train more effectively.  

• Knowledge. Certain roles may require practical knowledge in a particular area. Examples include industry-specific knowledge, like healthcare, retail, and government agencies. Agents can gain knowledge from experience, education, or certifications. 
• Skills. Agents can learn technical, social, and CX proficiencies through training. Examples include customer service skills, technical skills, and proficiency in specific software tools. Hiring teams can measure, observe, and validate skills through tests and assessments. 
• Abilities. Call center agents should demonstrate empathy, task switch, and relate to customers' personal and social attributes. 
• Culture. Culture comprises an organization's beliefs, values, and behaviors. Organizations typically document these beliefs and they permeate through the company. Potential employees should align with the employer's culture.” 

- Fancy Mills, Best practices for call center agent training programs, TechTarget; X/Twitter: @TechTargetNews 

13. Yes, face-to-face training is still effective. “Face-to-face classroom instruction will always be a key component of new-hiring training. The problem is that in many contact centers, classroom training is about as compelling and captivating as the Sewing Channel or a conversation with Roger Federer. 

“In the best contact centers I have seen, when new agents head into the classroom, they aren’t trained; they are entertrained. Critical information, tips and contact-handling methods aren’t communicated merely via static lectures and manuals; they are experienced and embraced via training games, stories, role plays, videos, etc. Making training fun and interactive not only captures attention and reduces stress, it greatly enhances employees’ ability to absorb and remember training material. Studies have shown that, unless fully engaged, adults learn some but don’t necessarily retain information.” 

- Greg Levine, Call Center New-Hire Training: Getting Rookie Reps Ready,Customer Contact Week Digital; X/Twitter: @CCW_Digital 

14. Provide space for honest feedback. “Call center employees interact with real customers daily. This means they’re on the front line when it comes to customer feedback. They hear what customers think and feel before anyone else. This feedback should be harnessed to improve service and leveraged to enrich the training experience. 

“Create safe and open communication spaces in your call center training program for agents to share feedback from customers. These channels are also invaluable for asking questions during and after training.  Discussion forums are popular communication channels for questions and feedback during training. However, once training is complete, webinars can be better suited for regular check-ins with agents about their experiences. 

“Finally, consider using post-training evaluation surveys to improve your programs. Anonymous feedback from learners themselves can be invaluable for keeping training relevant and effective.” 

- Nikos Andriotis, Call center training tips: The do’s and don’ts of training call center staff, Talent LMS; X/Twitter: @TalentLMS 

15. Pinpoint top customer needs to include solutions in training. “Use data analytics to find common customer questions and problems. Tailor training to these areas to make training time more effective and focus on key customer service parts.” 

- Michael Kansky, Cut Training Time of Call Center Agents to 1 Week, HelpSquad; X/Twitter: @helpsquadusa 

16. Consider talk-and-type training to develop efficiency and multi-tasking skills. “In a call center role, your agents should be able to listen to a call and talk to the customer while also typing as necessary. These are crucial skills to have, especially when they are dealing with stressful customers or situations. This works by learning from a mentor or an experienced call center agent.  

“First, the mentor will handle the calls and talk to the customers while your new agent is the one navigating the system on-screen and typing in real-time, giving them a hands-on training activity. Then, after mastering how to navigate the system while controlling the keyboard, they’ll take over the task of handling the calls while the mentor does the typing. Once they master both skills, they’ll finally be able to do the talking and the typing simultaneously.” 

- Shera Bariuad, Call Center Training Guide, SafetyCulture; X/Twitter: @SafetyCultureHQ 

17. Make sure new agents know that empathy trumps call time. “Agents shouldn’t have to worry about adhering to strict Average Handling Time (AHT) targets when dealing with an emotional caller. Instead, the conversation should be led by the customer and with the view that it will “take as long as it takes”. 

“Only when there is a natural lull in the customer’s story should the agent take back control of the conversation by asking ‘…And what would you like us to do for you today?’. This will support both the customer and the agent in achieving a positive outcome for the conversation.” 

- Megan Jones, Support Employees Handling Emotionally Challenging Calls With Empathy, Call Centre Helper; X/Twitter: @callcentrehelp  

18. Be diverse in your training methods. “People learn and absorb information in many different ways. Organizations must offer training programs in various styles and not all online. Management teams can assess how each agent learns best and tailor training to the agent's preferred style. How management teams conduct training may depend on the topic and requires understanding the learning goals and learners.” 

- Fancy Mills, Best practices for call center agent training programs, TechTarget; X/Twitter: @TechTargetNews  

19. Recognize trainees who go above and beyond. “Implementing recognition programs is a purposeful move within personalized call center training. These programs serve as a tangible expression of appreciation, contributing to a culture of continuous call center agent development.  

“Recognition programs, when integrated into personalized call center training, provide a structured way to acknowledge and reward achievements. This structured recognition guides agents toward specific goals and objectives.  

“Moreover, it reinforces the link between individual accomplishments and the overall success of the team, promoting a collaborative learning environment.” 

- Faith Ocampo, Quick Tips for One-On-One Call Center Training, Open Access BPO; X/Twitter: @OpenAccessBPO 

20. Make sure your trainers do the job right. “One tip I’ve picked up over the years is just a brutal fact of business. If your trainers came up through the organization at a time when the company wasn’t performing up to standards, then take a long hard look at them. 

“Some trainers will often unwittingly encourage the same performance standards they ‘grew up with’ in the company. Then you have a never-ending cycle of trying to break bad behaviors right out of the gate. This is especially true for training programs that last for extensive periods of time.” 

- Chris McCallister, 50 Call Centre Training Tips, Call Centre Helper; X/Twitter: @callcentrehelp  

21. Implement regular checks. “Have a secret or mystery shopper act as a customer calling your center and have them demonstrate a variety of problems your customers face. It’s important to know how your reps are handling customers on the day-to-day so you can ensure the best service is coming out of your call center, and this type of call will give you that information.” 

- Lauren Gregory, The Quick & Easy Guide to Call Center Best Practices, HubSpot; X/Twitter: @HubSpot  

22. Create a knowledge library for agents to reference. “A customer call library is where you can store or archive customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction calls, which can serve as learning materials for your new agents and even existing ones. Having the recordings of these calls, including all their relevant information, will help new agents set their expectations for the different types of situations that they will encounter. It will also guide them on best practices on how to resolve various customer issues.” 

- Shera Bariuad, Call Center Training Guide, SafetyCulture; X/Twitter: @SafetyCultureHQ  

23. Teach tech tools using tech tools. “If proficiency with technology or digital tools is one of your call center training needs, use the very tech call center agents will use on the job to train them. Call center trainers could accomplish this in a variety of ways:  

• Computer-based modules – Call centers can use standard station equipment (like desktop computers, headsets, or special script-prompting call center software) to train employees using computer-based training modules. 
• Routine proficiency tests and quizzes – To measure trainees’ progress in the training program, trainers can provide a series of tech-based tasks and monitor how the trainees complete them using their on-the-job tools. 
• Follow-along lessons – Call centers can provide trainees with standard station equipment to follow along with a trainer’s lessons. While educators work through example scenarios on a projected or shared screen, trainees follow along on their own devices.

“Instead of using only paper customer service training material to teach critical workplace tasks, trainers should teach new employees to use provided technological tools by utilizing them for lessons.” - Jeff Mosler, 5 Strategies To Improve Call Center Training Initiatives, Nexa; X/Twitter: @callnexa  

24. Make training tools—and all call center tools—accessible. “While it’s true that technology can be both a boon and bane for your senior customers, by equipping your call center with tech that supports accessible communication from the agent’s side, you can drastically improve the customer experience. Here are a few ways to leverage technology for improved contact center accessibility:  

• Text-to-Speech and Speech-to-Text: Incorporate text-to-speech and speech-to-text technologies to assist customers with hearing impairments or speech difficulties. This technology facilitates accessible communication and limits misunderstandings for all parties. 
• Screen Reader Compatibility: Ensure that your call center’s online platforms and information are compatible with screen readers. This allows visually impaired customers to access your services independently. If you have online platforms or interact with customers via digital communications, ensure that the text is large and easy to read. 
• Intuitive UX: Design user-friendly online platforms with intuitive navigation systems with easily accessible support resources. Use clear type fonts and appropriate color contrasts to enhance visibility. Before choosing your technology vendor, be sure to do your research and ensure partnership with an organization whose products meet all of your contact center accessibility requirements.” 

- 15 Top Call Centre Training Tips, Continu; X/Twitter: @continu  

25. Help agents visualize their career path. “Agents who feel their career prospects are limited will be less motivated than those who can see a clear pathway for progression within the organization. Outline how high-performing agents can progress their career within your company and ensure agents are made aware of the opportunities that lie in wait for high performers.” 

- 12 call center best practices, CallMiner; X/Twitter: @CallMiner  

Leveraging a conversation analytics solution like the CallMiner platform is one of the most effective ways to improve call center agent training while managing both employee and customer experience.   

CallMiner offers a suite of tools to improve every aspect of call center operations. CallMiner Coach, for example, aggregates insights from conversations to provide insight into which agents are most effective based on customized manual or automated scoring.   

Armed with this data, managers can identify performance trends, target behavior for reinforcement or guidance, and cultivate a culture of continuous improvement. Watch a Coach demo to discover how to leverage automation to improve agent performance.    

Frequently asked questions 

What are important skills for call center agents to have? 

To assist customers effectively, call center agents should have excellent communication, time management, empathy, problem-solving, and organizational skills. In modern call centers, basic tech and computer skills can also be useful for using contact center software. 

How frequently should call center agent training happen? 

Comprehensive call center agent training should occur before agents work with real customers. Continuous training is key to keeping agent skills fresh. Consider offering training sessions throughout the year and providing feedback and reinforcement as often as necessary. 

What are some best practices for call center agent training? 

For successful call center agent training, call centers should maintain updated knowledge centers for agents to refer to, provide extensive onboarding and continuous training programs, and personalize their training systems to cater to different learning styles. Managers should also be thoroughly involved in their agents’ training, leaving the door to communication open for feedback to and from agents.