Case Study: Transforming Customer Support
at a Technology Company
Executive Summary
In response to a shifting competitive landscape and declining market share, a leading IT services company partnered with TrainingPros to revolutionize its customer service and sales capabilities. The company recognized the growing complexity of customer needs and the necessity of equipping its global support teams with advanced skills to meet these demands. Together, the organizations launched a comprehensive learning program aimed at enhancing technical and sales expertise among over 3,200 global agents. This initiative delivered measurable improvements in customer retention, sales performance, and satisfaction.
The Challenge
Despite a robust platform for hosting and website development tools, the IT services company faced a significant decline in customer retention after the three-year mark. Customer feedback highlighted inadequate support, especially for complex inquiries, as a primary reason for attrition.
An in-depth needs analysis including a pre-assessment to all agents revealed critical gaps in the support team’s ability to handle advanced troubleshooting and personalized interactions. This underscored an urgent need for a transformative learning program to:
- Upskill support agents.
- Improve customer interactions.
- Address customer churn and boost overall retention.
The stakes were high, as improving customer satisfaction and retention were key organizational objectives for the IT company.
The Solution
TrainingPros collaborated with the technology services company to develop a comprehensive learning program focused on four key performance metrics:
- Customer Net Promoter Score (NPS).
- Sales and Support Guide Confidence.
- Average Handle Time (AHT).
- Repeat Contact Rate.
The solution included:
Five eLearning courses: The eLearning designed and developed by TrainingPros covered foundational customer service, technical support, and sales knowledge. These courses used in this initiative are also part of new customer service agent onboarding.
Four Virtual Instructor-Led Training (VILT) workshops: These VILT sessions featured facilitation guides, job aids, and interactive activities. For future delivery they were transformed into meetings for supervisors to hold.
A dynamic introductory video: As part of the change management, a video was designed and launched to generate excitement and engagement in a fun, accessible format.
Online Learning Certifications: Part of the curriculum included the purchase of specialized technical certifications for advanced level agents to deepen troubleshooting expertise.
The program’s tailored approach addressed specific knowledge gaps identified during the needs analysis phase. Over 3,200 global agents, including offshore vendor teams, benefited from custom learning pathways designed to meet their unique role requirements.
Elements of the program design included:
Interactive simulations and roleplays: Simulations of the system and roleplays of customer interactions provided hands-on experience with complex customer issues.
Knowledge checks and job aids: Knowledge checks were used to encourage and check retention. Job aids were created to provide agents ongoing reinforcement.
Custom learning paths: Custom learning pathways were created to address different experience levels and different agent support levels.
The courses were deployed via the company’s Learning Management t System (LMS), supported by a Train-the-Trainer (T3) model to ensure consistent and effective global delivery.
The Result
The program delivered significant, measurable improvements across all targeted performance metrics:
The company’s Customer Net Promoter Score (NPS) increased by 13 points, rising from 69 to 82 by the end of 2022.
The confidence level of the agents for this technical product improved by 0.4 points, the highest gain among the company’s product portfolio.
Average Handle Time (AHT) for calls about this product decreased by 30 seconds, enabling faster resolution of customer issues while accommodating new responsibilities for guides. This provided the learning team with measurable cost savings to report to the company.
The number of repeat calls from the same customers about this product line dropped from 45.4% to 41.2%, indicating better first-contact resolution. This is also a measurable cost savings.
These outcomes not only validated the program’s effectiveness but also contributed to the company’s overarching strategic goals. This collaboration stands as a testament to the power of innovative learning solutions in driving business success.
Creating a Future State Description
Resources Provided
Tecnology used
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