Employee Evaluation and E-learning Join Forces

Training software applications are one of the latest to join the list of end-to-end business solutions. The recent agreement between Simtrex and Witness System will provide a closed-loop solution from identifying agent skill gaps to delivering customized training solutions for each employee. Through the agreement customers can leverage Simtrex's customized simulation training content in conjunction with Witness Systems' eQuality Now e-learning management software to advance agent skills and improve customer service. The two solutions enable contact center managers to develop fully customized simulation training, based on agent skill gaps identified through Witness Systems' eQuality performance optimization software suite and created with the Simtrex StarTrainer simulation training solution. Which customers can benefit from the combined solutions? Kevin Hegebarth, director of strategic planning at Witness Systems Inc. says the combined solution fits well in call centers that require their agents to be well trained on various client products or computing environments. "We certainly fill out Witness Systems' content offering and give the company a tool to make training simulations. Witness is successful in call center industry. What they do is adjacent to us, so it is a natural tie-in to combine evaluation and e-learning," says John Lamb, vice president of business development At Simtrex. The integrated solution will also give contact centers the ability to use quality monitoring recordings as the foundation for simulations, enabling managers to deploy examples of best practice interactions throughout their centers. The entire performance improvement process can be executed and tracked, including the ability to assign training to agents directly at their desktops, through eQuality Now. "Contact center executives and managers will now have a complete solution set that they can use to improve agent performance and instill the best practice standards of their top-performing agents into every member of their team," said Nancy Treaster, senior vice president of global marketing for Witness Systems in a prepared statement. "We believe the synergies between the technologies will address a real need as companies strive to develop and retain their staff, as well as create positive customer experiences." The agreement provides Simtrex, which has 20 customers, an opportunity to co-market and co-sell its products into Witness Systems' customer base of over 400 customers. The products will be sold separately but tweaked to integrate with each other. Simtrex is offering a new on-demand pricing package with a starter pack of 250 hours at $40 per hour, per agent. Witness Systems' eQuality Now solution starts at $600 per seat, with volume discounts available.