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3 Ways to Revolutionize Customer Service After the Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated change in customer service. Daily at-home life for customers and agents has forced organizations to look closer at digital transformation as a serious opportunity to provide scale and cost savings to human touch to people when they need it most.

On Shep Hyken’s Amazing Business Radio podcast, he recently spoke with Jonathan Lerner, president of TTEC Digital, about what it means to move beyond the new normal. Here are three takeaways from the discussion that are essential for providing meaningful engagement in this very different looking world.

1: Employee experience is a necessity

Creating moments that delight customers are crucial during the crisis, but employees need to be delighted too. The move to an at-home environment has given organizations a prime opportunity to invest in technology and digital transformation that make their agents’ job easier. The time to jump into intelligent automation is now.

Advancements in augmented tools such as chatbots proactively give agents information and insights during overwhelming volumes of interactions, which is essentially a digital shoulder to lean on. Augmented tools will be important for a remote-based future where the perks of having a co-worker nearby are all but absent.

Understanding the tools your front-line agents use to free up their time to work on the conversations that need empathy and authenticity will be crucial. Leaders who can orchestrate digital tools into roadmaps and strategies can take the lead.

2: Embrace change and charge

The COVID-19 crisis is and will continue to be incredibly challenging; companies need to embrace the innovations happening now to create moments that truly matter. While brands generally understood the importance of digital adoption for the future, the pandemic made it an urgent priority for the present.

Forced, global digital adoption—regardless of an organization’s readiness—has redefined the marketplace across industries, geographies, and customer expectations. Whereas organizations may have once relied on personal relationships to differentiate them from the competition, effortless experience is the new standard that defines the . In a support world that once operated mainly with voice, video technology can become a mainstay opportunity to deliver face-to-face moments that is incredibly important and will become an integral part of life in the future.

The pandemic has shown how customers can adapt to change. For customer service to be proactive, they need to take the lead on utilizing the channels that are out there.

3. Enable strategies with ROI potential

Your agents and team leaders are on the front line of the innovations happening today. They’re experiencing real changes that are affecting customers as well as themselves. They are dealing with incredibly emotional moments and working under these new conditions has enabled them to create better strategies for the future. Organizations with C-suites that are open to implementing these real-time strategies can better meet the modern expectations.

Proposing strategies to executives takes work. If agents want their strategies to be heard loudly it’s essential to attach an ROI to your strategy. Executives want to look at innovations that are affecting both their customers and employees, this is a very much a numbers game. Sharing an ROI with shareholders will give your strategy the extra punch it needs.

Great CX: A crucial differentiator

As brands exit crisis-mode, their ability to capitalize on these temporary innovations will be invaluable as they move forward. Now more than ever, the future of CX will be won by those able to create the best experiences.

Let’s continue this discussion when Shep Hyken is the featured guest on TTEC’s live webinar, Rise Above the Chaos in Uncertain Times, on May 14th 12:30PM ET.

How to Rebound from the Coronavirus: Your Top Sales Questions Answered

Like a massive tidal wave, the COVID-19 pandemic has upended business operations, supply chains, and economic activity, leaving a path of uncertainty. However, it has not changed the need for sales teams to produce results.

On a recent webinar, “How to readjust and future-proof your sales,” sales growth experts from TTEC addressed prevalent questions about selling in today’s new reality and shared proven tactics, tips, and strategies.

How do I enable a sales environment with at-home sellers?

The key to enabling sellers and other employees to work productively and successfully in a remote environment is to establish regular communication streams. Schedule daily video conferences to quickly review priorities and tasks just as you would for an office meeting. Set up a peer-to-peer communication channel for informal conversations and collaborations, such as over a messaging app, in addition regular training and coaching sessions. Offer virtual coffee breaks, lunch-and-learn sessions, and virtual happy hours to build camaraderie. And don’t forget to acknowledge wins at meetings. The goal is to help sellers feel that they are part of a cohesive team—wherever they are.

How do I justify adding more sellers when budget is tight or non-existent?

Justifying the need to hire new sellers when most companies are tightening their budgets is challenging, but now is the time when talented, experienced sellers are most essential. An outsourcing partner that is experienced in rapidly training and ramping up sales teams is an effective way to extend resources. Additionally, remote workforces can be scaled up or down as needed and increase operational efficiencies while reducing costs.

What should our sellers focus on if deals are on hold?

Check in with clients and listen to what they need at this time. Be empathetic to the challenges that clients are facing. Even if a client puts a deal on hold, continue to reach out, share information, and maintain the relationship. When the client is ready to resume buying, your company will be top of mind.

Be proactive in providing useful insights and value. For instance, bringing your clients together in a group meeting where they can share notes and challenges is a valuable opportunity for your clients and increases goodwill toward your company’s brand. And with deals on hold, approach that time as an opportunity to pursue new markets. Be creative: what products or services could be retooled for a different industry?

How can I use data to deliver the right message?

With market needs evolving so quickly, data analytics and insights are more important than ever. An experienced partner can help companies identify, implement, and deploy the right data analytics tools to understand and anticipate buyer sentiment and behavior. Data insights are invaluable for understanding buyer intent and interest across the entire life cycle to drive growth and retention. These insights are also crucial to uncovering new demographic groups and opportunities.

How do I align field sales with inside sales?

A team effort has always been required to succeed in sales. This is especially true today. Sales organizations must effectively utilize all the available resources and be prepared to work in a more fluid model. Equipping field or outside sellers with the training, coaching, and resources to do inside selling maximizes resources and vice versa. From a tactical perspective, an at-home sales model also allows for greater flexibility and more personalized meetings. For example, a field sales team could line up meetings and pass them on to an at-home inside seller within the prospect’s geographic footprint to provide more relatable conversations.

The key takeaway is that these may be uncertain times, but with strategic planning and creative thinking, sales teams can emerge even stronger and well-positioned to meet their clients’ needs in a new reality.

To learn more, watch the on-demand TTEC webinar, “How to readjust and future-proof your sales.”

Here’s How Sales Professionals Can Succeed in the New Reality

At its best, sales is about helping clients succeed. When we help our clients win, we win as well. But these aren’t normal times and sales approaches that worked a few months ago may not work today. How can salespeople survive or even come out stronger in this new reality? The answer comes down to three core principles: be authentic, buyer-focused, and human. Here are four examples of how sales leaders can do exactly that.

1. Double down on providing value

The most important thing salespeople can do right now is ensure that they understand their clients’ needs. Check in with clients and listen to what they need during this time. Contact centers also hold a wealth of business intelligence and speech analytics resources. Make sure your organization’s sales team is aligned with its customer support team for insights about what your clients and prospects care about, sentiment about your company and your competitors, and emerging relevant topics.

2. Think seamless virtual interactions

In a quarantined environment, salespeople need to think in terms of virtual selling. At the same time, individuals have different preferences for how they want to be communicated with and sold to in the sales and buying process. Be prepared to communicate with buyers through a variety of platforms and devices from video conferencing tools to mobile apps, SMS, web, social, and voice. As buyers come to expect seamless and personalized virtual experiences at every step of the buyer journey, an internal flow of customer data and collaboration across the organization will be more important than ever.

3. Maximize efficiencies

Artificial intelligence and automation are invaluable in enabling effective and efficient selling. Even before the pandemic, AI was streamlining data-driven tasks, boosting productivity, and accelerating lead prioritization and data entry. Now is the time to lean into AI to drive speed to value. A buyer, for instance, could be greeted by an AI-enabled chatbot that quickly gathers information about the type of product that the buyer is interested in and routes the message to the right salesperson. On the backend, AI can provide the sales representative with relevant buyer insights in real time while also performing data entry.

4. Be human

Most sales professionals are already used to conducting business over the phone or video. But many people may not be used to this mode of communication. Remember to be even more conscientious about time spent communicating with prospects, buyers, and clients. Acknowledge that they’re busy and may also be adapting to a new environment. Plan out your outreach conversations as structured conversations, with plenty of research and thoughtful questions to ensure you’re using that time effectively and efficiently.

Recalibrating for a new normal

Sales professionals today are walking a tightrope in acknowledging the COVID-19 crisis without being opportunistic while still producing results. Instead of despairing, sales professionals have an opportunity to find new ways to connect with clients and do what they do best—help clients solve their problems.

To learn more, register for the TTEC live webinar, “How to readjust and future-proof your sales” on April 28 at 12:30 p.m. ET.

Work-at-Home Benefits: A Primer for the Move to a Remote CX Workforce

As COVID-19 spreads and impacts work around the globe, work-from-home options become more enticing to keep contact center business continuity customer operations running smoothly. To help prepare an organization for the shift to an at-home workforce to ensure business continuity and employee health, we’ve outlined key benefits of using home-based contact center agents for some or all of your customer sales and support.

Business continuity

When a crisis hits, geography can be the deciding factor if your business succeeds. Moving work to an at-home model reduces geographical risk of an on-premise contact center. A remote workforce is especially crucial during pandemics like COVID-19, where close contact among large groups of people is discouraged, and in some places banned. Moreover, if unforeseen regional macro challenges occur in offshore contact centers, e.g. ISP failures, remote workforces in more stable regions can offer a viable contingency plan.

Significant cost savings

A home-based model provides much more value to a business (and customers) than traditional contact centers, both in terms of cost savings and the quality of the customer experience. Low operational costs make it an attractive onshore option for companies looking to move back to the U.S., and the highly skilled and trained associates provide a higher standard of service.

When moving to a home-based model from a complete brick-and-mortar contact center operation, TTEC clients typically see real estate and equipment costs shrink by 70% and 25%, respectively. At the same time, employee retention increases by 65%, and performance management efficiencies increase by 20%.

A broader (and deeper) talent pool

Recruiting for home-based associates isn’t limited by geography, so the quality and volume of the talent pool automatically rises. Companies can find the best employees for both part- and full-time work from anywhere. And with an average age of 40 and an average work experience of 11 years, at-home associates bring professional and life experience to a client program, along with higher educational backgrounds.

Keeping data safe and secure

Information security is the number one concern when it comes to the at-home model. Often, fear of data breaches prevents companies from implementing home-based associates. TTEC takes data security very seriously, whether our agents work at home or in our brick-and-mortar sites. We have been operating an at-home environment for different industries for almost five years and can rapidly stand up PCI, HIPAA, HITRUST and GDPR complaint at-home solutions. Our on-going investment in best practices, into training, and vulnaribiity testing positions our clients for success when they use our at-home platform.

Playing the long game

Forward-looking businesses recognize the benefits of flexible staffing far outweigh sticking with a static, traditional work environment. When it comes to meeting customer expectations and maintaining productivity, the more flexibility companies have in ramping up or down quickly with a variety of dispersed staff; the better organizations will be at meeting service levels and delivering a great customer experience—regardless of what comes next.

Getty Images: The Secret to Impactful Images is Thinking Consumer First

Chinese, migrant, queer, femme, first generation, Gu Zheng player, artist, friend, roommate, spiritual, Relaxed, curious, joyful, sleepy, caring, capable, self-assured, comfortable, committed, driven

What insights can be found in the many photos, images, and other visual content that brands use to convey messages to customers? In a survey of more than 10,000 consumers and professionals across 26 countries conducted in partnership with the market research firm YouGov, Getty Images set out to understand the trends underlying the visual content that marketers and creative professionals select from its enormous database and what resonates with consumers.

As part of the survey, respondents were asked about their personal values, likes, dislikes, and the responses were analyzed alongside Getty Images’ search and sales data, internal findings from its creative visual team, and other market research data. The learnings included recommendations on what to consider when selecting images for popular areas such as technology, wellness, sustainability, and realness.

For example, when looking to visualize technology, Getty Images recommends showing technology as the “center of the action” and using “graphic illustrations that represent the connections that technology enables” for greater impact. We also reached out to Dr. Rebecca Swift, global head of creative insights at Getty Images, for a deeper dive into the key insights that marketers and creative professionals should consider when making decisions about visual content:


When selecting images for content, how should businesses balance gut-based decisions with decisions that are based on A/B testing and other data-driven methods? Is there still room for gut-based decisions?

Imagery is such an emotionally driven decision that unless there is an implicit understanding about how all the elements work together in the frame, it is difficult to determine image choice. Machine learning can do so much but it cannot predict the response to content when the elements do not create an emotional connection. (The reasons are multitudinal – visual memory/seen as cliched/color palette doesn’t work/seems inauthentic etc).

We have found that data can point us in the right direction but there needs to be a sentient being involved in the final decision-making process. We can predict what is most likely to work but we are also continually testing what will work best next by imbibing creative ideas into the content and analyzing how our customers react to it.

What is the key takeaway for companies that want to select images that resonate with their customers?

You must take the time to unearth understandings about what matters most to your key consumer groups—specifically, what impacts their decision-making. Luckily, we’ve done the legwork here. While the audience for each brand is different, our data identifies several points for consideration among four key Forces. 

In terms of realness, consumers resonate most with brands who come across as transparent, honest and real with their imagery and messaging. Not a surprise, per se, but an understanding brands can feel better about now that we’ve got the data to back it up. 

For wellness, we found that consumers value physical health and mental health equally, and place a high value on both–suggesting that brands should consistently concern themselves with visualizing both in an effort to better reach consumers. 

When it comes to Technology, we’ve found that visuals related to the “hottest” and “newest” devices are all well and fine, but consumers are most concerned with their relationships with technology, both good and bad. For instance, 97% of consumers say technology makes them feel more connected, but 41% say that technology has damaged their relationships, too. It’s a push/pull dynamic and one brands should concern themselves with. For that reason, and based on our findings, brands should emphasize visuals which highlight the positive aspects of technology and the interconnectedness it enables. 

And lastly, while people claim to value sustainability across the board, their actions don’t consistently line up. Specifically, half of consumers say they only buy products from brands that try to be eco-friendly, but roughly just as many (48%) also say that convenience is more important. There’s an opportunity for brands to help consumers shift their actions to mirror their attitudes.

What was most surprising about the survey responses in relation to the 4 categories or forces that were identified as most popular among companies?

One of the most surprising takeaways arguably came from our sustainability findings, through which we found that sustainability is important to consumers of all ages, across generations, continents and cultures. One might assume that sustainability is something favored only by younger generations, but that’s likely not the case–which means there’s a veritable opportunity for brands to better reach consumers across all groups by embracing sustainability-forward visuals.  We’ve also identified a missed opportunity stemming from a lack of older generations being depicted in imagery. For instance, our findings show that the percentage of Gen X’ers and Baby Boomers that value overall wellness, wellbeing and “living by one’s principles” is greater than that of younger generations, and yet most visuals depicting wellness show Gen Z and millennials. As we see it, there’s a clear correlation between the importance of wellness and age, and brands should take note.

How sustainability is reshaping relationships with consumers and clients

On Feb. 17, Jeff Bezos announced the “Bezos Earth Fund,” pledging $10 billion against what he deemed Earth’s biggest threat, climate change. “It’s going to take collective action from big companies, small companies, nation states, global organizations, and individuals,” posted Bezos on Instagram.

Sustainability, and consequently climate change, have become an intense area of conversation as organizations and experts fear drastic tipping points. In his 2020 Letter to CEOs, Larry Fink, the CEO of the global investment manager BlackRock, cited climate change as a leading factor that may shape the long-term profits of companies and the planet.

The letter represents not only wider acknowledgement of the forces shaping the planet, but also the urgent sense of responsibility and action that the current and next generation will face in the marketplace. As Fink wrote, “a company cannot achieve long-term profits without embracing purpose and considering the needs of a broad range of stakeholders.”

A healthy planet is good for business

Recent findings from ING, stressed the repercussions of organizations who turn a blind eye to the market’s growing environmental concerns. Their report, “Learning from consumers: How shifting demands are shaping companies circular economy transition,” stated that 61 percent of consumers would be less likely to buy from companies with poor environmental practices and less than half under the age of 34 would boycott food companies that fail to address environmental concerns.

BlackRock’s Letter to Clients stated sustainability as the new standard for investment, and with this proclamation came both an assurance to help clients adjust to environmental standards and a word of warning to those teetering or tampering with negative environmental actions. One example is its pledge to further evaluate, and potentially exit, sectors it deems to be at high environmental risk such as thermal coal producers.

One of the biggest promises in terms of sustainability is Microsoft’s effort to combat carbon emissions, a factor in climate change. Microsoft pledged to be carbon negative by 2030 and by 2050 it will remove the entirety of its carbon emissions since its founding in 1975.

These drastic calls to action from some of the world’s highest-ranking CEOs exemplify the power of large corporations to shape the market and world with their capitol and resources, as well as their will to adapt to new expectations of the public.

Going beyond purpose

In late 2019 when I interviewed Jeff Fromm, a speaker and writer on consumer trends, we discussed what it meant to be purpose driven, Fromm stated, “it’s purpose in combination with other factors.” Unless you are the Amazons or Microsofts of the world, it’s going to take a lot more than saying you promise to do good.

In 2020 organizations may continue to make pledges to positively impact or right the wrongs that are important to their customers and clients, and subsequently the world, but what will truly drive exceptional moments of authenticity is their ability to drive change with innovation to stand out and survive in a changing marketplace.

Redefining Disruption

Photo taken in Berlin, Germany

When Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed his company’s internal motto was to “move fast and break things” back in 2009, it perfectly encapsulated the nature of disruptive companies. Disrupting an industry meant figuring out how to get a product or service to customers faster and more cheaply than competitors. However, companies today are being asked to redefine what it means to be disruptive.

Disrupting disruption 
In some ways, it’s easier to be a disruptive company than ever before, says Suman Sarkar, a partner with Three S Consulting and author of the book, Customer-driven Disruption: Five Strategies to Stay Ahead of the Curve. “So much information and technology is readily available that anyone with an idea could start a business,” he says. 

But there’s a growing disconnect between businesses and the customer, Sarkar notes, that’s only going to get worse unless businesses take a different path. “The more time I spend in business, the more I realize that business leaders are focused on the wrong things when they should be focused on the customer and other stakeholders,” he says.

Consider disruptive giants like Uber, WeWork, and Instacart, which a few years ago were heralded for introducing services that emphasized convenience for the customer. Today, many of those companies are facing worker strikes, lawsuits, and increasing government scrutiny. What went wrong? 

In the race to disrupt markets and deliver customer innovation, companies failed to acknowledge other people who are affected, such as the workers providing those services and even the environment, Sarkar says. “Companies need to do the right thing and work with all their stakeholders, which is why we’re now seeing a backlash.”

As corporations face rising discontent over dismal working conditions, harmful products, and income inequality, some business leaders are calling for a redefinition of business goals. 

Salesforce founder and co-CEO Marc Benioff told Fortune that businesses need to move to a “new capitalism” based on equality, fairness, and sustainability for both stakeholders and shareholders. 
The core of Benioff’s new capitalism is the idea that “values are creating value.” He pointed to Salesforce’s “1-1-1 model” of giving 1 percent of product, equity, and employee time to philanthropic causes as an example of how a company could operationalize its values. 

Benioff’s message of business transformation echoes the Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs that issued a statement about “the purpose of a corporation.” The statement maintains that companies should no longer advance only the interests of shareholders. Instead, they must also invest in their employees, protect the environment, and deal fairly and ethically with their suppliers. Yet it remains to be seen whether companies will make any impactful changes to the way they do business. 

A good indication that a company is likely to transform its business is if it has a clear understanding of its future customer, according to Charlene Li, principal analyst at Altimeter, a Prophet company. 
“I think it’s interesting that the number one characteristic of disruptive organizations is that they focus very hard on future customers, building the right experience, and basing decisions around them,” says Li, who recently wrote about disruption in her book, The Disruption Mindset: Why Some Businesses Transform While Others Fail. “And yet when I ask most organizations, do you know what your future customer looks like, they’re still trying to figure out what the customer looks like today.” 

What does the future customer look like? Research shows that Millennials and their younger cohort, Generation Z, are calling for values-driven companies—and they’re not the only ones. Today, four in 10 of those ages 50 to 59 consider company values when making a purchase, along with a third of those ages 60 to 70, according to Forrester. 

In other words, “More than a fleeting trend or an advertising tactic to attract Millennials, committing to company values has emerged as an imperative for corporate success,” writes Anjali Lai, senior Forrester analyst, in Forbes.

Giving customers what they want
Lemonade, a five-year-old property and casualty startup, is focused on simplifying the process of purchasing homeowners and renters insurance and paying out claims quickly. As per its website, its value proposition is, “zero paperwork and instant everything by replacing brokers and bureaucracy with bots and machine learning.” 

Customers can start the process on the web or mobile and are guided by a chatbot named Maya. Maya asks customers questions about their insurance needs, and based on the responses, serves up a policy that fits their answers. The company charges a monthly subscription fee starting at $5 for renters insurance and $25 for homeowners insurance. Once the policy is in effect, policyholders can manage the policy and file claims on the Lemonade app. 

In addition to convenience, the company also highlights its “giveback” program. Policyholders select a nonprofit to donate to when buying insurance through Lemonade. The monthly payments are pooled with those of other policyholders and after paying expenses and claims, the company gives any money left over to the customers’ charities.

The company’s target customers are people who aren’t looking for highly customized coverage and have a preference for user-friendly, digital-first insurance. Lemonade co-founder Daniel Schreiber tells eConsultancy that the company “appeals to an underserved market” and the “evidence” of that is that 87 percent of its customers are first-time insurance buyers. 

Another way that Lemonade tries to distinguish itself is by attempting to be transparent about how it handles claims. 

In a blog titled, “The Secret Behind Lemonade’s Instant Insurance,” co-founder Shai Wininger outlines the role algorithms play: “As smart as algorithms may be, they aren’t always perfect. This is why we only use our claim algorithms to help us reach one single decision: should a claim be handled automatically or not. AI Jim will either pay claims instantly or call in human Jim to take charge.”

Venture capitalists like what they see about Lemonade. Last year, the fintech startup, which is backed by VCs such as Sequoia, General Catalyst, and Ashton Kutcher’s Sound Ventures, raised $300 million in a funding round that valued the four-year-old company at more than $2 billion.

Of course, Lemonade also has its share of disadvantages. Its rates are still affected by factors such as location, value of the home, and potential risks. And if you want to speak face to face with an insurance agent at Lemonade, you’re out of luck.

Industry experts have also pointed out that Lemonade’s business model isn’t revolutionary and is, in fact, similar to other insurers. So, is Lemonade truly an innovative customer-driven company? 
“The real KPIs are retention, combined ratios, and customer satisfaction,” insurance expert Nick Lamparelli writes on InsNerds.com. “Those will take years to sort out. Are they [Lemonade] truly in it for the customer, do they really want to revolutionize the business model or is the exit strategy already in place? The world is watching.”

Costco’s strategy for beating Amazon
Companies don’t have to be startups to be disruptive. Costco, which is known for its loyal customers and employees, has a long track record of strong financial performance and is regularly listed at the top of best employer and customer service lists. 

The nearly 40-year-old retailer’s strategy of selling merchandise at low prices in a treasure hunt model, combined with its strong employee culture and attention to customer experience—in stores and online—continues to give the company incredible momentum.

In 2019, Costco even knocked Amazon down to second place for online shopper customer satisfaction in the American Customer Satisfaction Index; Amazon had held the top spot since 2010. What did Costco do better than Amazon?  

“What takes it to the next level is the customer experience,” writes customer experience expert Blake Morgan in Forbes. “The combination of value, technology, and a human touch puts Costco in the top spot for customer satisfaction. While Costco doesn’t have the amazing quantity of items like Amazon, it excels in personal and convenient service. And apparently, that matters with customers enough to give Costco the edge.”

Redefining customer obsession
A cardinal rule for business growth is customer obsession. Companies that understand their customers and keep up with their ever-changing needs will avoid disruption. While consumers still crave convenience and affordability, they also value worker fairness and environmental sustainability. Transforming a business into one that upholds these values and more requires immense disruption to existing business models, but the companies that don’t will soon find that they have fallen behind. 

Enter a New Reality of Employee Training

selective focus of smiling multicultural students using vr headsets

When virtual reality (VR) technology first came out it was a novelty primarily seen as an innovative way for gamers to dive into a digital world. It has grown into something so much more—a collaborative and interactive application that is a key tool in any modern workplace’s arsenal. Organizations that want to meet the expectations of the millennial and Gen Z workforce need to understand the types of technology they prefer to use, both for personal and professional use.

The state of VR
VR is gaining traction in immersing users and overlaying digital content on top of the physical world to enhance the traditional training environment in many industries. According to SuperData, 71 percent of organizations have access to VR are using it for training.

Fortune 500 companies are now taking a blended learning approach with VR technology to appeal to a new generation of workers and provide real-time experiences.

In 2019 UPS deployed a VR program that replicated a roadway to create opportunities for drivers to learn road culture and safety education to help prevent accidents in the real world. And Walmart uses VR headsets to test employee knowledge of the store layout, product information, and how to deal with customers.

VR adoption is growing. Zion Market Research estimates that the global augmented and virtual reality market will be valued at $814.7 billion by 2025. For companies focused on employee and customer experience, VR capabilities can help shape the workforce of the future.

4 best practices for VR/AR employee training
It’s time to let Walter go. In your office the two of you talk. It’s a tough discussion, but in the end, Walter understands and shakes your hand. The screen goes dark, you take off your VR headset, and your co-worker takes the tool for a spin. This is the new reality of training.

The beauty of VR technology is that it gives employees the opportunity to perfect training scenarios, such as difficult customer interactions or complicated product instructions, in a safe and responsive environment on their own time, while also enjoying an increasingly relevant and fun technology.

VR technology is not a one-size-fits-all approach to training, however, and it cannot replace everything learned in a traditional training environment. Rather, think of it as an enhancement to immerse employees into key scenarios that will be present in the workplace.

VR capabilities need to be deployed as part of a blended learning strategy that can be incorporated into classroom activities. Here are some best uses of VR for employee training:

1. Conversational training: This is the “Walter” example from the beginning of our story. With VR technology using headsets and joysticks, employees can create incredibly interactive environments to interact with digital characters to converse about situations that would be otherwise difficult or awkward to have with an employee or fellow trainee. Furthermore, it gamifies the experience with video game elements by giving feedback and scores that can be compared with others.

2. Process-based training: VR is becoming more than just “seeing” another world. The controllers that come with most headsets (usually held in each hand) let employees interact and move objects and products that encompass their daily work life. Electricians can learn a protocol for changing faulty wiring several times over without putting themselves in danger, for example, letting them identify the intricacy of their task stress-free. Many programs also offer “randomizer” options, which can create multiple unique scenarios, such as different house floorplans or customer moods.

3. Object-based training: Another hands-on approach, object-based training lets users virtually deconstruct or pick apart their organization’s products to get an in-depth feel for what they are working on. For automotive workers, this is a fantastic method to peel away at the layers of a car to see the extent of damage and how each piece affects another.

4. Collaborative training: A growing field in augmented reality (AR) technology, VR’s cousin, is the ability to connect two smart devices to let workers and “customers” see the same scenario together on one screen. Shared screens can allow multiple trainees to interact on a virtual task together, showing real-time updates, directions, and advice to users while they watch their colleagues’ “digital” hands get to work. This type of training is especially useful in group training, such as classes of customer service employees.

Virtual means = real outcomes
Despite its steady growth, VR is still a fairly new technology. Here are some examples of how companies are realizing various benefits from VR: 

Safety: VR training isn’t just practical, it can save lives. Verizon is taking VR to the next level by placing employees in one of life’s most dangerous situations: an armed robbery. As reported in a recent NPR article, “Virtual Reality Goes to Work, Helping Train Employees,” Verizon employees enter a simulated environment where they are held at gunpoint to learn various techniques to ensure the safety of themselves and others. Those who have experienced such situations in real life reflected on the accuracy of the simulation in the article.

Manufacturing environments are also using simulated learning to replicate disasters such as faulty equipment or hazardous scenarios. Platforms can allow them to practice on virtual equipment that replicates the real thing. This can instill a sense of repetition and confidence before they hop onto live production.

There are also the literal safety implications that are developing as well. Geo-fencing capabilities within a VR environment can identify if the user is stepping out bounds and can quickly exit to reveal their actual surroundings. No more wandering into walls or unsuspecting co-workers.

Preparation: Holiday seasons are incredibly taxing for both new and seasoned retail employees. That’s why VR tools can be incredibly useful for critical mass times such as Black Friday. A Vox article highlighted how Walmart is utilizing Oculus Go headsets to replicate the sensory overload that is Black Friday by incorporating large volumes of people in their crowded hallway to create “situational awareness before the big day.”

VR is an excellent application to get employees comfortable with what they may experience during the holidays and to practice improving the soft skills (empathy) needed to communicate with frantic and frustrated customers. “There is not historically a widely accessible safe place to fail when trying to improve your soft skills,” says Kyle Jackson, CEO of Talespin, an augmented and virtual reality technology company (and TTEC partner). “Roleplay is typically reserved for smaller groups of employees and when done in front of a group, it greatly diminishes the learning outcome.”

Reduced costs: VR is very much meant as a tool for people to engage with one another. It also reduces training and enrollment costs. According to SuperData, enterprises that adopt XR training technology will save $13.5 billion that would otherwise have been spent on traditional training that includes instructors, dedicated learning spaces, and travel.

Traditionally, the cost of VR technology has been a barrier to entry. In a 2018 survey, YouGov found that 55 percent of participants saw price as their biggest obstacle. This barrier is lowering, however. We’ve already seen prices dip as the technology continues to improve, with platforms like Oculus Quest coming in at a lower price point and not requiring a separate computer to operate it.

“Products like this make hardware costs associated with adoption and the logistics to get trainees into XR training programs much lower,” says Stephen Fromkin, chief content officer at Talespin. “One of the best ways to go about addressing these issues is by educating industries on how the tech can easily be adopted, lowering the barrier to entry to recognizing ROI.”

Improved decision making and learning: When an employee completes a process, whether it be a repair or a safety walk around a manufacturing floor, the more times they do it the more they understand it. E-learning and classroom lectures have their place, but just think about throwing the perfect pitch in baseball. You can read all you want on it, but it won’t make a difference until you get outside and practice.

Research from the National Training Laboratory shows that learning retention rates for VR are around 75 percent compared to only 5 percent for lectures. That’s because leaders are giving their employees the opportunity to build muscle memory by running them through scenarios that mirror real life.

“Immersive technologies like VR are extremely effective in rapidly transferring knowledge and skills to support employee performance and learning retention,” says Jackson. “This makes it a game-changer for workforce training. Employees can practice key skills for a specialized role, roleplay challenging workplace conversations, or train for emergency situations in a much more realistic, immersive way in comparison to traditional training methodologies.”

And simply put, VR training is more fun than traditional methods. Individual ownership of VR devices is still quite low, resting at just over 10 percent, according to the YouGov study. For many employees it’ll be their first opportunity to test out an unfamiliar but incredibly engaging tool. If given the choice between sitting in a classroom or putting on goggles to be transported to a digital experience, I think many will choose the latter.

It’s time to make VR a reality
This tool isn’t the end all, be all solution for employee training. But it is a step toward reinventing the small ways we engage in an increasingly digital world. If you want to invest in this technology for your employees I suggest you do it slowly, seeing how your workforce adapts to something many might not be familiar with. But I assure you, once they step into this world it’ll be hard to go back to the way things were before.

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