Tech Solution: Agent Training Applications

The contact center serves as the primary point of interaction between a company and its customers. An agent's ability to deliver superior service is crucial to maintaining strong, profitable customer relationships. To maximize this customer touch point, organizations must provide training and ongoing feedback to address specific needs so agents are motivated and prepared to quickly and competently answer questions, conduct transactions, solve problems, and identify additional selling opportunities.

Verint's ULTRA IntelliCoach
Delivery Model: installed software
Price: Sold as an optional module to ULTRA Contact Center Quality solution and priced at $350 per seat, before volume discounts, product packaging, or channel delivery
Business Benefits: ULTRA IntelliCoach is designed to increase training efficiency and cost effectiveness in contact center operations.
The program also provides a multichannel communications platform by which call center managers can communicate with their CSRs.
Capabilities/Functionality: The Supervisor Dashboard enables call center managers to track agent status, conduct live evaluations in real-time by viewing agents' screen activities, receive actionable alerts when predefined call-handling thresholds are exceeded, and deliver immediate assistance via feedback and guidance. Bidirectional feedback establishes a private communication channel to share secure discussions. Supervisors can create personalized messages that are routed and flagged for individual agents. Using targeted content delivery, call center supervisors can evaluate agent performance to identify weak areas, and then assign Web-based training materials addressing observed knowledge gaps. Managers can also create libraries of best-practice clips on recorded interactions, track training assignments and activities to ensure proper follow-up, and leverage existing content to deliver targeted training based on individual requirements.
Contact: For more information: Tel.: 1-800-4-VERINT; Email: info@verint.com; Web: www.verint.com

Global Knowledge's OnDemand Personal Navigator 8.6
Delivery Model: Web-based on-demand hosted solution
Price: $15,000 for the OnDemand Personal Navigator Developer platform and end-user pricing starts at $50 per user
Business Benefits: OnDemand Personal Navigator is a synchronized platform for business process documentation, tailored role-based training, and application performance support. Targeted for enterprises that are in the process of integrating a new application, Personal Navigator provides guidance and support that reduces time, money, and resources required for the support and implementation of an enterprise application.
Capabilities/Functionality: OnDemand Personal Navigator provides a Web-based training environment for trainees to participate in a classroom or self-paced learning experience. Three training modalities ensure that trainees understand their role-specific use of applications--delivering user proficiency, continued employee productivity, and reduced need for help desk support. Synchronized Content Platform is a single authoring session that helps the implementer create and deploy the proper documentation, training, and performance support materials. Context recognition helps mitigate the problem of users forgetting 70 percent of their training within two weeks by automatically recognizing fields, objects, user interactions, and screens. Track OnDemand Personal Navigator provides integration, tracking, and reporting functionality to identify areas in the application where users require additional training and support. This also enables competency measurement to ensure accuracy of data and system use.
Contact: For more information: Tel.:1-800-387-8878; Email: ondemandinfo@globalknowledge.com; Web: www.globalknowledge.com

Witness Systems' eQuality Producer
Delivery Model: installed software
Price: $335 per agent seat, offered as a standalone module
Business Benefits: Through monitoring, evaluation, and integrated e-learning, companies can automate learning management, augment existing training programs, and incorporate targeted recording and evaluations.
Capabilities/Functionality: eQuality Producer enables contact center supervisors to edit recorded customer interactions and add interactivity, enabling CSRs to meet new challenges and address changing market conditions. Managers can create a customized piece of learning based on real-world examples and deploy it to a team of CSRs. Managers can also create interactive learning sessions that integrate with an e-learning resources library. Finally, eQuality Producer incorporates virtual real-life customer service situations for both new CSRs and seasoned agents to solve. It allows for agents to interact with customers and test their knowledge of technological resources and procedures under simulated, controlled conditions.
Contact: For more information: Tel.: 1-888-3-WITNESS; Email: info@witness.com; Web: www.witness.com

Contact Editorial Assistant Colin Beasty at cbeasty@destinationCRM.com