I always think back to a certain Benjamin Franklin quote when we talk about learning, that being “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” For a quote that is over 300 years old, it certainly does resonate today.

However, with recent challenges in the industry, be that COVID-19, the cost of living and other hardships, opportunities for employees to learn and experience personal growth have been somewhat limited. Surely something needs to change?

What do the stats tell us?

Recent studies underscore the importance of continuous learning and development for call centre professionals:

• 44% of employees in the service sector will require reskilling during 2023 to meet the demands of evolving job roles. This will rise to 57% over the next 5 years (Future Skills);
• 87% of call centre leaders believe upskilling and reskilling are essential, yet only 40% feel prepared to address the skills gap (McKinsey);
• 32% of customers would leave a brand they loved after just one bad experience. With well-trained call centre staff, companies can mitigate these negative experiences (PwC); AND
• Companies that invest in employee training and development see 21% higher profitability due to increased employee productivity (Gallup).

Quite telling stats don’t you think?

What is clear, is that the numbers collectively highlight the critical nature of proactive upskilling and reskilling in the service sector. Businesses that prioritise and act on this will not only safeguard their employees and customers but also realise enhanced profitability and future-readiness.

Making it personal

It’s always important to remember that no two employees are the same. Businesses need to ensure each employee’s learning journey is highly personalised. There needs to be a departure from the ‘one-size fits all approach’ that many standard training and induction courses deliver.

AI-powered, learning and development solutions help with personalising a learner’s journey, as these platforms can identify and close knowledge and skill gaps whilst giving managers the analytics to see exactly where those gaps are.

Rather than having to redeliver training on a whole subject, they can focus on the content that is performing the lowest, thus freeing up time and budget.

Solutions that are bucking the trend

Such solutions are helping to quash these stats by embracing the principles of continuous engagement and development, helping to create a deep sense of ownership in each employee’s learning journey.

I recently sat down with Georgia Harbison, Head of Sales at Cognito Learning, to discuss her thoughts on these statistics:

“The statistics speak for themselves. Investing in L&D and upskilling for contact centre staff is not just a nice-to-have; it’s imperative. As the nature of customer interactions shifts and the role of call centre professionals evolves, continuous learning will be critical to success. Businesses that recognise this and invest in their employees’ growth will not only see improved customer satisfaction, but, will also benefit from improved staff loyalty and productivity as well as enhanced profitability.”

Sound familiar?

If you too are going through a renaissance with your learning & development strategy, then give us a shout. We can help to supercharge your employee’s learning journey.

What Winter does highlight is the vice like grip the cost of living still has on us Brits, and it’s no wonder why we are all worrying about money.

Whilst some are trying to tackle the gap in pay in their own way (overtime or 2nd jobs), over two-thirds (68%) of UK employees with money worries do not tell their employer about their concerns [Wagestream]. Of this 68%, most cited the feeling of shame and embarrassment, or a cultural belief that you shouldn’t talk about your finances with others. Some cited a lack of trust in their employer – or a fear of discrimination or job loss once their issues had been divulged.

Tackling the mental health stigma

Whilst progress has been maintained in tackling the mental health stigma as a society, people are much more likely to talk about their mental health in the workplace. If we want to open the conversation so people can improve their financial wellbeing, we need to do the same with money.

3 ways employers can tackle the money stigma at work

1. Train money champions to signpost and be visible: There’s been progress on the mental health stigma and one of the reasons is the success of the Mental Health First Aiders and similar schemes. Without training, it can be hard for managers and colleagues to know what should and shouldn’t be said, but this type of training gives confidence that makes people approachable but also more likely to open a conversation.
2. Never waste an opportunity to talk about money: It’s not only societal trends that offer opportunities to talk about money. Internal changes, such as promotions, are good opportunities to encourage employees to review their short-term and long-term financial goals. The same is true of external changes in an employee’s life: for example when people apply for mortgages they often talk to their HR department. o Don’t waste these opportunities to start a dialogue – it’s a great way to build trust with employees. In fact, nothing says you’re more open to having a conversation than by clearly showing you’re interested in starting one. If you have money champions, using them to start conversations within their departments or cohorts can be an easy way to take action at scale.
3. Celebrate Talk Money Week throughout your organisation: Talk Money Week is a yearly campaign aimed at encouraging conversations about money – it’s not limited to the workplace, but it’s an ideal existing initiative that organisations can use as a catalyst for their own plans. In 2023, Talk Money Week begins on November 6th. Spearheaded by the Money and Pensions Service, Talk Money Week offers a participation pack for employers looking to take part, that includes various useful materials and insight so you can get off to a good start. It’s a great way to start a conversation internally and provides a yearly date for your diary.

Are there ready-made solutions out there?

We have seen some innovative solutions out there that are tackling this issue head on. However, the best solutions we’ve seen at CCP work with some of the top brands in the UK to provide in-depth financial education materials to help staff with budgeting. One includes the use of an intuitive app which provides employees with an easy way to help manage finances all in one place.

Such solutions have seen huge improvements, with one UK business citing the following since introducing said programme and app:

• Increased retention by up to 16%
• Increased shifts worked by up to 26%
• Reduced payroll queries by up to 40%

By rolling out such a programme, the business in question has been able to retain good people, who are doing a great job in looking after their customers.

That feels like a win-win to me!

Looking for help?

Need help in planning a better financial future for your employees? Let us know,