Simulation training is one of the fastest-growing training approaches for customer service agents. The new approach helps prepare customer service agents to deliver superior customer experiences before live customer interactions confidently.
Many of the leading contact centers in the world are leveraging simulation training to provide customer service agents with an automated role-play partner. The approach allows agents to practice and master any real-life customer engagement scenario in private from their home or office.
Astronauts, pilots, and even surgeons utilize simulation training as a safer, low-risk environment to prepare themselves for real-life scenarios. The same simulation learning approach is being enhanced through AI and Natural Language Processing to train customer service agents to solve complex customer problems.
Simulation Training for Better Human Engagement and Performance
Many believe that AI chatbots will replace human agents in contact centers, but that is far from reality. A 2022 research report published by Forrester states, “Service delivered by human agents (not robots) is what drives positive customer outcomes. The pendulum is finally swinging back from hyper-automation to human-led conversation.”
With the pendulum swinging back to the human-led conversation, AI is increasingly top of mind for employees, trainers, and coaches to improve training effectiveness and certify employees to deliver superior customer conversations and experiences.
Training managers and directors have found great success with new and emerging simulation training technology. How? Trainers have deep knowledge of customer engagement scenarios agents face, allowing them to identify simulation scenarios and associated best and required practices, like showing customer empathy. Taking inventory of these high-impact scenarios that customer service agents face during their interactions is the first step. Once training experts have decided on high-impact scenarios, they get to leverage AI to create life-like simulations.
Benefits of Simulation Training
Coaching customer service agents to have meaningful conversations is one thing, but how does Simulation Training improve overall employee training effectiveness?
- Simulation Training is Adaptive: Simulation Training environments have become increasingly agile, and training managers can quickly develop a new simulation for any customer engagement use case. Imagine being able to create dozens of hyper-realistic immersive simulations within days and modify existing simulations within minutes to improve a training organization’s effectiveness.
- Simulation Training is Simple: AI can sound intimidating, but Simulation Training platforms require no personal or account information and no IT integration to pilot or full-scale deployment. The only technical requirements are a browser and a headset. With a light lift and fast standup simulation environment, training leaders quickly deliver ROI.
- Simulation Training Removes Stress: Simulation Training eliminates the pressure and fear of making mistakes and the awkwardness of role-playing with another human being. If an agent makes a mistake, their simulator detects the missed best or required practice, provides real-time unbiased feedback, and asks them to try again until the agent completes the simulation. Once the agent masters the simulation with no best and required practice interruptions, the agent can share their best session with their trainer or coach for human feedback.
- Simulation Training Promotes Customer Empathy: Simulation Training helps customer service agents master soft skills, such as empathy. AI technology can detect empathy use and suggest soft skills and empathetic best practices while interacting with the agent. This active learning process repeats until soft critical skills are used and agents master best practices.
- Simulation Training Builds Confidence: Simulation Training removes customer service agents’ anxieties and empowers them to approach their first customer interaction with higher confidence levels. Leaders report improved performance metrics such as better CSAT and NPS scores and higher employee retention. When agents master the critical skills necessary to succeed and perform better in their roles, they report higher job satisfaction.
Simulation Training is a great way to integrate the practical and scalable benefits of active learning role-play for customer service agents without the awkwardness and inefficiency of role-playing with another human being. It promotes the benefits of active learning and improves both customer and employee experiences.
Simulation Training will continue to evolve, making active learning more efficient, scalable, and realistic—helping customer service agents prepare for and adapt to dynamic customer needs. If you would like to learn how Zenarate is helping customer service managers create top-performing agents using AI Conversation Simulation, please visit www.Zenarate.com
About the Author
Brian Tuite Is CEO and Co-founder of Zenarate. Its AI Coach is the “flight simulator” for customer engagement, where agents learn through life-like conversation simulations. Agents master high-impact call types, soft skills, and best and required practices before their first live customer call. For more information, visit www.zenarate.com.
