Contact Centre Case Study: Large Multi-National Bank

In a contact centre, few things are as permanent as change: procedures change, products are launched and improved, a few new screens are added and software is upgraded just about every day.

This Bank's contact centre had an excellent Knowledge Management team and system which kept staff informed through daily bulletins and updates to on-line Help Files and Resources. But some changes were more complex and staff skills needed tweaking or upgrading. Bulletins were not sufficient to support the ongoing changes and continuous need for staff up-training.

The contact centre's training support group reacted to several requests per week for up-training. Topics large (4 hours) and small (30 minutes) were addressed in the same way-by dragging staff into a classroom. Training methods consisted largely of "Let's go through this PowerPoint presentation"

By the time hundreds of staff could be scheduled to attend, the urgency had usually passed. In any event, staff frequently did not show up for the training or were pulled off at the last minute to keep up service levels on the floor. With multiple lines of business supported in the contact centre, this was a 'no win' situation for the trainers and contact centre management.

As a result there were:

• Increasing error rates


• Declining customer service ratings


• Low staff morale as evidenced in employee surveys and complaints about inconsistent communication

Installing basic management practices around call monitoring, individual coaching and team meetings was the first step. These practices, across all lines of business and at each level of management in the contact centre, were fundamental to establishing disciplined and consistent communication.

The second step was to provide consistent and easy-to-facilitate content for team meetings. These bi-weekly 60-minute meetings were changed to include:

• A 30 minute 'training' segment complete with notes, easy exercises and handouts. The techniques and methods employed were a complete departure from previous experiences.


• Recognition events


• Listening to selected exceptional calls

Implementing the practices became part of 'managers' goals and facilitating staff development through coaching and team meetings, became important competencies. Team Leaders were trained in facilitation skills and Section and Department Mangers sat in on meetings regularly to provide coaching and feedback.

The changes had an immediate impact:

• The training group has been freed up from day to day up training to focus on larger programmes such as their new hire curriculum


• The Knowledge Management team knows their bulletin broadcasts aren't simply going into the ether; they will be discussed in front line meetings


• Staff are receiving a steady and consistent drip feed of communication and related skills training

More confident, knowledgeable and better skilled staff are serving customers
Contact centre management now has a much more consistent and high quality cascade mechanism