Employee Spotlight: Federica Basso on Training Concepts in Customer Service

Federica, please tell us about your dual role as a Trainer and Quality Manager within our customer service department.

Absolutely! As a Trainer, I’m dedicated to developing and delivering training programs tailored to equip our customer service agents with the necessary skills and knowledge. Meanwhile, as part of the Quality Management team, I support the implementation of new quality concepts to ensure that our service consistently meets high standards. It’s a juggling act that keeps me on my toes!

You’ve recently developed a new training concept for our team. What inspired this initiative?

The inspiration came directly from our team! Feedback from seasoned team members highlighted opportunities to enhance our training methods to cater to diverse learning styles. This initiative aims to elevate our training approach and reinforce our commitment to continuous improvement and top-notch quality in customer service. One thing is clear: if we expect excellent quality from our customer service agents, we must offer them the best learning experience and complete knowledge tools.

Can you walk us through the key components of your new training concept and how it differs from traditional methods?

Our new concept is a dynamic blend of self-learning, live Q&A sessions, and on-the-job learning. This hybrid approach incorporates interactive elements like role-playing and simulations, which enhance skill acquisition and foster critical thinking and decision-making. It’s about empowering agents to own their growth and decisions in a supportive, realistic environment.

What goals do you aim to achieve with this new approach, and how do you measure its success?

The goal is to empower agents to feel confident in making decisions by understanding our processes and embodying the “rebuy way.” We don’t expect rote memorization; instead, agents should know where to find information and develop instincts that guide them in assisting customers. Success is measured through regular knowledge updates, personalized learning plans, and quality checks to ensure effective knowledge transfer.

How does your strategy ensure quality is at the forefront of customer service training?

The concept that each of our agents is different is essential to me. At the same time, we can still strive for consistency in our quality without expecting them to be robots.

Having this in mind also helps to set the right expectations for our agents, according to the mantra, “it’s important for you to learn to be the best agent you can and want to be, and we are here to support you in this from the beginning.”

It’s important to note that quality is not only in the numbers but also in how much you care about what you do, a key principle in Learning and Development. Training and Quality are deeply connected; it’s a never-ending loop between one and the other, and only by monitoring one can we improve and be better in the other.

In developing this concept, how did you address the lessons learned from the challenges our department faced in the past?

Accessibility and motivation are always a challenge, especially in a customer service scenario — it’s not an easy job, and it’s so relevant that agents feel supported and seen.

Having different teams working on slightly different topics and sitting in various cities was a challenge when we started this, but I feel we are on the right path, feeling more and more like one team working towards the same goal. In this, self-learning plays a big part, empowering everyone to know more. This is also why documentation for all our processes is visible to every agent, even if they’re not directly working on these topics.

Transparency is key!

What methods do you use to keep the training sessions engaging and impactful for new and existing team members?

In our written documentation, I like to play around with images. Ask anyone, and they’ll confirm my obsession with GIFs! :D Colour patterns are equally important to create clarity in the text and highlight the most critical sections. I also plan activities that agents can do by themselves or in a group, pushing them to learn — and get feedback — from their peers.

During the training sessions, it’s vital for me as a trainer to “read the room”: each group and individual is different, and not everyone can learn with many actions and activities — adapting the material and approach based on the target audience is key!

How do you incorporate feedback from participants to continuously improve the training process?

After the self-learning session, we always have some sort of Q&A call, where we go through the material and collect direct feedback. The cool thing about the learning tool we are using now is that it allows me to make some small adjustments to the material directly and live on the call with the agents. This immediately gives them the sense that their opinion is heard and valuable and motivates them to keep the feedback coming! :)

I also collect feedback at the end of each Onboarding Journey of New Joiners, and this helps me understand what can be improved and also sometimes celebrate what was successful — motivation is essential on both sides ;)

Training and quality management require constant learning. How do you stay updated with the latest trends and best practices in these areas?

I like to be a learner myself — this is the most important thing. I attend trainings and workshops on different topics, not only related to training and quality. This helps me retain the learner perspective.

For example, this month, I joined an internal training session offered by rebuy on the topic of process documentation; I’ll do another one on storytelling and presentation skills soon. It’s effortless to get passionate about learning new things when the surrounding environment is so passionate about knowledge sharing!

I also have a very good friend who is a middle school teacher, and hearing about her experiences in the classroom sometimes gives me wonderful inputs — different environment, same passion! Inspiration and knowledge can be hidden anywhere! :)

What’s the most rewarding feedback you’ve received from a trainee after completing your course?

I recently got feedback that I’m “very chill and not at all difficult to communicate with,” which I really appreciate. You might say it doesn’t have much to do with training itself, but I want the focus of my job to be the exchange of knowledge based on honesty and transparency. I’m not afraid to say, “I don’t know, but I will find out,” I’m happy that this translates into me being “easy to communicate with” during my training.

Is there anything else you’d like to share about your vision for the future of training and quality in our customer service team?

I look forward to our next steps, especially implementing new technologies and even more teamwork and collaboration.

I’m sure we are on the right track to bring an excellent experience to our customers, building a team of competent and empowered agents to help customers in the best way possible… And have some fun doing it! :)

Federica, thank you for the insights and your time. With your efforts, we’re 100% sure we’ll bring our Customer Service Quality to new heights!

My pleasure!