You might know that millennials make up almost 20% of the world’s population. Here’s a statistic that matters more for your business:
By 2025, millennials will comprise 75% of the global workforce.
– Ernst and Young Global Generations: A Global Study on Work-Life Challenges Across Generations
Ignore this impending reality at your own peril – and not just because the balance of workers born between 1981 and 1996 is shifting so dramatically. This generation has unique characteristics that can help you transform the economics of your customer-care operations.
These were among the compelling facts that drew executives to global conferences where VXI was invited to share insights on delivering world-class customer experience (CX). Here’s a look at the opportunities this generational turnover potentially signals for your organization.
Addressing your agent-hire wish list
Millennials, raised on technology, have often been described in terms that … are less than complimentary. Flip that paradigm, as we have at VXI, and you’re looking at a workforce that, according to Nielsen research:
- Has the ability to switch tasks rapidly
- Can navigate through distractions/multitask
- Integrates and acts on data more quickly
- Is more receptive to more complex messaging
Sounds like a wish list for all your agent hires – right?
Your company might have multiple systems – CRM, knowledge management, payment processing – that agents must navigate to fulfill a customer request. On top of navigating communication channels, whether it’s phone, email or chat service. It’s imperative that these systems provide the tools your agents need to succeed, whether or not they are millennials.
Training that delivers on your KPIs
Let’s take a look at what customer-care employees believe they need to be better performers. In a survey of more than 5,000 agents by one of our largest clients, of the six recommendations that surfaced, one stood out:
Deploy training systems that mirror live accounts and live production tools
This is a key element to VXI’s award-winning track record with customer success. Getting agents up to speed in a client environment is hard, and turnover is rampant. VXI’s unique onboarding training platform, Training Simulator™, provides agents-in-training with what’s similar to a flight simulator for airplane pilots – but with a whole lot more that resonates with the millennial generation.
“With Training Simulator™, our clients have experienced a 20% increase in customer satisfaction and sales, and a 20% in average handling time.”
– Sarah Rebueno, Director of Training
Online, trainees are presented with real-world scenarios, customized to mirror the client’s customer-care environment – whether it’s helping a customer find the right size for a shirt or resolving a payment issue. It’s a conducive platform for workers raised on YouTube and who, by the age of 18, are likely to have 9,000 hours of videogaming under their belts.
Collaboration and communication are key traits of the millennial generation. Training Simulator™ addresses this by allowing trainees to ask for help from VXI staff during onboarding, and rewarding milestones met with badges.
More than 75% of VXI’s agents are millennials. With Training Simulator™, our clients have experienced a 20% increase in customer satisfaction and sales, and a 20% in average handling time. There’s a direct correlation between these results and comprehension of training data each time an agent practices a specific Training Simulator scenario. Armed with this knowledge our agents can confidently handle their first live call. The documented improvements in speed to proficiency have led not only to our clients deploying Training Simulator™ in their captive sites; it’s also led to other suppliers being required to deploy the tool in their centers to assure improved results and training consistency across entire programs.
