This assignment focused on creating a section of a course brief for a corporate client. Identifying the issue that the client is having and proposing an after-training ideal state. It focused on identifying the target audience beyond just what their positions in a company were, looking at age, education, and a typical mindset toward their jobs. It also introduced the idea of subject matter experts and how to pair with them to create content.

1. Training Needs Assessment
Name: Mike Shear
Tellotech
08/12/2020
1. Subject Area and SME
Determine a subject area from your current or future learning environment and identify a source that you
will use for developing the instructional content from a subject matter expert
The subject area will be the step by step procedure for processing calls in a more efficient manner while
maintaining professional standards. The goal will also be to establish a step by step protocol on how to
achieve the efficiencies for new hire training purposes. There should also be a consideration for placing
new efficiency tools in place such as virtual assistants that can automate some tasks and expedite the call
process. Any consideration of putting automation tools like this in place must include detailed training on
the new tool or tools for both the operators and managers within the call center. This will assure a unified
vision of the process for all current employees.
The subject matter experts will be from internal and external sources. It will be a combination of a shift
manager with at least two years of experience, as they will have an understanding of how the call
processing has changed over the last two years and what some of the factors are that caused the longer
call processing times. The top ten percent of call processors on staff ratedby a mix of time per call and
quality of user experience will also be used for internal sourcing of subject matter experts. We will bring in
JD Fairweather from The Taylor Reach Group to consult about updating workflow processes and
procedures while integrating new technologies as an external subject matter expert who can offer up
ideas with a fresh set of eyes (Fairweather, 2020).
We will also incorporate ideas from a small selection of book these will include Building call center
culture: Strategies for designing a world class performance-based environment within your customer
contact center (Koole, 2013)and Call Center Optimization(Koole, 2013). These books will focus on
optimization through changes to the workflow within each pod and the team as a whole.
2. Target Audience
Define the specific segment of the target audience
Although the focus will be on employees hired in the last eighteen months, all call center operators and
managers should go to the training to best achieve a unified understanding of the desired workflow for
updated procedures. With this in mind, the average age of a call center operator is 25-34 years of age
(Mahoney, 2019), when including management, our age rangewill be between 25 and 60 but heavily
weighted towards the twenty and thirty-something demographic due to the operator to manager ratio.
Due to this demographic, material and family status will vary greatly, as will background. Altogether, the
training will be for an estimated 220 people when counting both operators and managers. As the
operators cannot afford to be taken away from their phones for long periods of time, the training module
will be done in asynchronously through utilizing a series of training videos and modules that aredesigned
to take between ten and fifteen minutes each and taken over a two-week period.
Client:
Date:

2. 3. Desired State
Identify the knowledge or skills required for the target audience to achieve success in the subject area
The priority outcome is to make the call routing process more efficient for all operators. This will be
done through understanding the steps that the most efficient operators currently perform and teach them
to all operators. We will also be integrating new strategies and technologies to assist operators and teams
in building efficiencies. Pending a successful evaluation of the training, these procedures will be developed
into an onboarding training module for new hires and become the formal training stakeholders have
requested.
4. Current State
Identify the target audience’s current knowledge or skills and the gap betweenthe current state and the
desired state
The current state the call operators are too slow to manage the amount of call traffic. As call traffic has
not increased but the needed number of operators have, we can deduce that the length of time required
to process a call has gotten longer. Operators must learn how to process calls faster while maintaining
professionalism. An understanding of how each pod operates including the prioritization of the incoming
calls and internal hierarchy of the pod must be analyzed to fully understand the current state. An analysis
on the differences in pod performance will need to be completed to understand if there is a correlation
between the top individual performers and top performing pods to fully understand the current state of
call center performance.
References:
Coen, D. (2001). Building call center culture: Strategies for designing a world class performance-based
environment within your customer contact center. Tarzana, CA: DCD Publishing.
Fairweather, J. (2020, June 12). Preparing Your Contact Center for the Age of Virtual Agents. Retrieved August
11, 2020, from https://thetaylorreachgroup.com/preparing-your-contact-center-for-the-age-of-
virtual-agents/
Koole, G. (2013). Call Center Optimization. Netherlands: MG Books.
Mahoney, M. (2019, September 24). Call Center Attrition Rates: Call Center Turnover Statistics 2019.
Retrieved August 11, 2020, from https://www.avoxi.com/blog/call-center-attrition-turnover-rates/