There is a problem – What does it mean? – You should be more careful! – There was an error! – I do not understand – now what do we do to get back on track? … Do these phrases sound familiar? These requests represent daily life for those involved in the front-line: sales assistants, telephone operators, agents, salesmen, project managers and all those who are on the front line every day to greet and satisfy customers, and try to gain their loyalty. Hence, proper training can support these people for:
- solve problems
- improve customer relationships
- have a better professional life
- develop skills.
Before venturing into the development of an e-learning course regarding the front-line, it is essential to plan an exploratory investigation. Facing numerous contexts that are so different from each other, it’s good to directly investigate training needs and how best to use training in the field. Motivation, a sense of belonging, proactivity and flexibility are the key skills to strive to develop participation and a desire to improve. What requirements are a must in a eLearning course of this kind? Here are 3 fundamental characteristics.
1 – Liquid – One of the requirements that are common to all these areas is the lack of time. Since operators are always in direct contact with customers, they do not have moments of pure concentration to be dedicated to a training course. There are many interruptions and often the available time is occupied. The first characteristic a training course for the front-line cannot have is what we can call liquidity: liquid training, in other words training that is constant, flexible, adaptive. Courses must be developed as micro-pills to be followed as a stimulus to learning, as fast input, with a completely operative approach, and advice that is immediately applicable. 2 – Smart – It is better to have training that can be followed as a guide that is always, arranged to give customers the right answers at the right time: a kind of pocket eLearning … to use where necessary. This cannot be separated from the mobile use of content: tablets and smartphones are the most suitable tools. 3 – Social – Providing examples, typical situations and comparing ideas with other colleagues is essential: let’s implement a network! Training also arises from comparison and sharing of experiences, mistakes, of people’s successes. So why not create a front-line community that enhances a sense of belonging to the company and team work?
This topic was covered in posterLab no. 13: “eLearning for front-line quality” Elisa Cipriani