Step 1: Review corporate and call center goals

Purpose: to ensure that your training strategy aligns with the current business strategy and call center strategy.

The benefits of this activity to the training organization are: 

• Helps define training mission and strategies

• Serves as a guide for discussions

• Enlists corporate support

• Aids in decision-making

Begin by answering the following questions about your corporation:

• What is your corporate mission statement?

• What are your corporate goals?

• What is the vision and mission for the call center?

• What are the call center's goals?

• Does the corporation consider the call center a cost center or profit center?

• Would the training component be a cost center or a profit center?

Step 2: Examine corporate and call center strategies

Purpose: Corporate strategies will provide you with information and direction about:

• product line and service offerings

• customer demographics

• competitive position

• responses to market conditions

• other

In addition to the corporate strategies, call center strategies must be examined from the following four perspectives:

• The customer – the person calling in to, or being called by, call center personnel.

• The customer service representative (CSR) – the organization’s front line representative of the company. 

• The call center manager who has the responsibility for the daily operations. 

• The organization’s professional image which is contributed to by the training of the contact personnel.

Step 3: Develop training mission statement

The mission statement of the training organization is a few lines or paragraphs describing the mission and purpose of the training organization.  It must align with the corporate mission and the call center mission.

Purpose: to ensure compatibility and alignment between corporate strategy and training strategies and goals.

The training organization’s mission statement will answer these questions:

• What is the main function or purpose of the training center?

• How does it fit in with the corporate and call center missions?

• What are our defining characteristics?

• What are our priorities?

Having a training mission statement includes the following benefits:

• helps define and align training activities

• focuses discussions

• aids in decision making

Your call center training program mission statement should be developed with the following considerations:

• List the products and/or services offered by your company that impact the call center.
• What changes are planned for the product line or service offering?
• Will the demographics of your customer base change with the introduction of new products/services?
• What will be your company’s competitive position?  Cross-sell? Up-sell?
• Outline the general strategy of the business (include specific strategy elements that relate to customer service).
• Outline the general strategy of the call center for customers, agents, managers and the company overall.

The next tutorial in the Evaluating Your Call Center Training Program Series will focus on conducting a needs assessment for your organization.