How do you train a BPO worker?
I have a very small company, and we do tasks very similar to what people in BPO companies do. We do call center work in small quantities — perhaps an average of two hours a day of outgoing calls, and then we have one dedicated full time incoming phone attendant. We do about two hours a day of data entry work filling in online forms. We even do KPO type tasks (we meaning myself individually) such as SEO analytics which includes keyword analysis. Content writing is another specialty which I personally engage in, etc.
The hard part is how to train others to do all of the 20 types of tasks that I do daily. Training BPO call center workers is not easy. The manager has to create a SCRIPT for the call center worker to use when doing outbound calls.
Hi, this is Don from ZYX company, we are calling in reference to your account with us … etc.
The script is easy to write, and to say. The tone of voice that you require for reading the script might require a special personality. Perhaps a strong man, or a caring woman. Or, perhaps a tough woman, or a sensitive guy! The hard part is training them to answer questions. There are so many questions that someone could ask, and how do you train a worker to answer all of the possible questions? I think that creating an online cheat sheet is super, where all of the answers to common questions are there, and you can search by keyword. Workers should be trained in the main topics, and be quizzed regularly to make sure they understand things well.
The next question is, how often do you check up on your workers? Some people get better with experience, while others keep making the same mistakes endlessly no matter how many times you correct them. There should be periodic checking up on workers, and regular evaluations. If someone has been on a project for three weeks, and hasn’t mastered the basic questions after receiving regular coaching, maybe it is time to say good bye! On the other hand, perhaps your star employee is having trouble dealing with some of the finer points of answering more subtle or less common questions. How detail oriented should your staff be before handing a question over to the manager?
If you are training a BPO data entry clerk, it might make sense to show them the process, have them repeat it a few times in your presence, and then to do a few hours on their own, and then have a reevaluation. Data Entry seems to me to be less involving than call center work because there are no incoming questions — the complexity of the work is hence, more limited which makes it easier. But, how do you teach a disorganized person good formatting skills? You are on your own! Good luck!
Training for KPO work is much more sophisticated, and I don’t want to touch that topic today! Let the folks in Bangalore deal with that — there are so many highly qualified KPO workers there.