Training and the Call Center – Shifting the Paradigm and Learning

During a recent job interview for a training position, I heard the following from a trainer, “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is the only foundation our training department needs.” Then the leader of the training department went on to extol the knowledge of the trainers they led and summated that “the trainers know everything, so they do not need to learn from the front line.” Thinking this was a test, I responded regarding lessons learned, how a trainer’s first duty is to be a learner and advocated how to encourage training improvement. I live the words of John F. Kennedy, “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” Mentally, I regarded the “Trainer knows everything” attitude as possessing Muy Grande amounts of Chutzpah; in short, I was shocked!

“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.”  ~ Pres. John F. Kennedy

The following is a breakdown of the argument presented during the interview:

1. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
2. Trainers do not need to be learning

 Maslow, while attempting to quantify his regime on needs, found less than 5% of a population fit Maslow’s hierarchy, and this does not include all the other issues with Maslow. Thus, I conclude that Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is not the answer to training. Hence, one is left concluding that where Maslow is found, logic has been suspended, and the needs of the frontline agent are not being met through corporate training processes and procedures. Much has been written, both for and against Maslow’s hierarchy of needs the needs pyramid, and why proponents choose one side or another where the hierarchy of needs is concerned. Suffice it to say, I am not a fan, nor a detractor of Maslow, I simply offer that Maslow might not have been applicable to a generalized audience, and as such, there is sufficient need to grow from Maslow to a high-performance training department.

Long have I advocated for call center leaders, beginning with call center trainers, to spend time regularly and consistently on the phones to best know how to train new staff and understand the dynamics of change. I know of several companies who have used this model to improve employee morale, show effective leadership, and improve their call centers dramatically, all because the leaders spend time every month on the phone. Yet, trainers and other call center leaders continue to deem working the frontlines as beneath their station and office. I met a vice president of customer relations who monitored the call volume, and every time the call center went red due to calls holding, he would stop meetings, grab a headset, and start working wherever there was a desk free. He encouraged his other leadership staff to do the same, and his call center was a model of learning.

Thus, I offer the following as steps to begin improving the call center training experience:

1. Immediately ditch Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Talk to the employees of every training class and find out what motivates them, and then have the trainers mirror the student’s motivation to improve learning. What a person “needs” is never hierarchical, nor are those needs met through one-size-fits-most motivation techniques.
2. Get out of the office, stop hiding in a cubicle, and spend time on the phones. How can a trainer know how to train, and remain current in the skills and behaviors taught, if they are not on the phones? Show me a successful trainer who does not know the work they are training, and I will show you an organization in serious trouble, where learning has stopped, and resource waste is astronomical. The call center is a unique environment, that must flex, be structured, and serve in the dichotomies of change. Thus, as leaders and trainers, we must develop flexibility, collaboration, and teamwork to survive.
3. Build trust. Learning cannot occur in a vacuum, nor does learning occur with helicopter trainers doing everything for the representative. Thus, the only sure method in improving training requires building trust between trainer and trainee, building trust between organizational leadership and the new hire and other frontline employees, and honing confidence through shared experiences over time. Where trust is growing into faith and collaboration occurs naturally, when leaders build trust, they are naturally developing smoother operations, processes, and procedures.
4. Social networking is not just to find a new job or meet a need; social networking promotes “belongingness” as the premier motivating factor pushing human behavior. Thus, encourage belonging through trust, through honest communication, through making connections with people. One of the most egregious problems in the modern call center is the wealth of quantitative data, where the people get lost and forgotten in the forest of statistical reports. When the monthly reports come in, when the yearly reports are submitted, ask yourself, have I remembered the person? If not, those reports are less than meaningless and possess no value.
5. Use the power of society to meet organizational goals. When social validation occurs and forms the social identity (professional brand of the individual), emotional engagement enhances team attachment and begins to spark social comparison. Social comparison establishes and will foundationalize the call center leadership structure while promoting order in the often-chaotic world of call centers.

I did not secure the position I was interviewing for, and I am delighted that the interview bore no fruit. When call center managers refuse to train, and when trainers refuse to learn, the mental disingenuity of that society is the dominant hindering factor, not economic conditions. A trainer’s first job is to be a learner, then lead others in learning. As a bonus, here is the single factor to tell whether your trainer is doing their first duty, ask them the following questions:

1. What book are you currently reading to improve professionally?
2. What book are you reading for fun?
3. What did you learn this week? Who did you learn it from?

?? 2019 M. Dave Salisbury

All Rights Reserved

The images used herein were obtained in the public domain, this author holds no copyright to the images displayed.