Failure to adhere to rules and regulations can be very expensive; thus, you invest lots of time and money training and refreshing your agents. Whether it’s the TCPA, state and local licensing, FDCPA or the new CFPB, call centers and collection departments face an ever-increasing daily compliance challenge as rules and regulations pile up, with no end in sight. Keeping agents updated is a task often shared by the employee’s manager and the training and education departments – it’s not an easy job.
I’d like to share some of my recent observations and recommendations regarding how call centers are improving compliance, helping to keep costs down and service levels up.
One of the components of Snowfly (our agent incentive program) is a module to conduct quizzes and surveys. It was originally conceived to enable call center management to test and reward employees for knowledge of products, services and policies as well as to assess employee morale, engagement, opinion, etc. We recommend that our clients use it daily (one to three questions) and immediately reward employees for success or participation.
My suggestions below apply whether you are using a home grown or vendor supplied incentive program or a formal or informal training program.
Most call centers conduct formal and periodic refresher training covering the rules and regulations that apply to their business. Very few tie the training to their incentive program; at most, passing an exam is often a condition of employment or promotion. In many cases, informal training requires no test or quiz at all. Lately, we have observed a marked increase in the use of our quiz/survey module to conduct daily quizzes (one to three questions) that cover rules and regulations mentioned above, not just questions about the company’s products and policies.
There are multiple benefits to integrating frequent regulatory compliance quizzes into your incentive program, provided your incentive program is properly structured and administered. My recommendations for a successful incentive program: reward the daily homework, have fun, pay immediately and offer valued rewards.
Numerous web sites can supply sample questions for the various regulations. Simply search for “sample questions TCPA” or contact any of the various industry associations such as PACE or ACA.
The bottom line: it’s even more critical that you conduct frequent, small quizzes about regulatory issues and closely tie the results to your incentive program. Everyone should participate in success: agents, managers and trainers. This will produce better knowledge retention than large, infrequent tests. When it comes to regulatory compliance, be proactive! Your mantra should be “reward the daily homework.”