7
Tips to Smoothly
Onboard
Remote
Agents
Much of what you already
do to make employees
feel part of the team
will need to go virtual.
By Ann Sung Ruckstuhl
T
he first day at a new job can be stressful,
whether you’re working in the office or
remotely. Smart brands that employ remote
workers have well-defined onboarding
programs and the experience to walk a new
remote agent through it all. A smooth onboarding
and training process is essential to help prepare agents
to provide excellent customer service. If your brand
doesn’t have a defined program or is interested in ideas
for improvement, here are seven tips for a smooth onboarding process with remote agents.
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SPRING 2015
1. Provide constant, clear communication.
If there is one essential element for successful onboarding, it is good communication. It doesn’t matter
what format the communication takes—what matters is
that it happens. Provide a roadmap of what a new agent
needs to do and communicate progress, what’s next
and how they can get help. Perhaps there is a centralized dashboard with all the information in one place,
or a series of emails that are triggered when steps are
completed. Maintain a friendly tone to make people
feel welcome.
2. Ensure the
technology is in
place for people
to be successful.
A virtual water cooler is a
good idea to allow people
to get to know each other.
The cloud has revolutionized remote work, and
there is no shortage of technology tools available to
help remote agents. Implement the right tools for the
jobs to be done and train agents how to use those
systems. Include some tools for web conferencing so
“face time” can be part of training sessions or meetings.
3. Offer virtual training sessions.
Whether the agent is new to the industry or just
new to remote work, training is important to ensure
success. Offer self-paced e-learning classes, as well as
virtual classroom sessions, so people have the option
of doing the training themselves or engaging with a
group—a combination of the two is ideal. Training
topics can include teaching remote agents about the
products or services offered, how to use the technology, sales tips, communication tips and tricks or how
to handle a challenging customer. The options are
nearly endless.
4. Establish a sense of community.
Working remotely can be isolating. It’s important for
remote workers to feel connected and engaged. Make
sure agents know they are an important part of the
team. You could send a welcome email to new agents
that includes photos and short biographies of each
team member who supports them. It’s a simple way to
put a name with a face and show that there is a team
dedicated to helping them be successful.
Another idea is to establish an online community
using cloud-based technologies. It can include FAQs,
discussion forums, web chat, learning games, online
resources and other tools. A virtual water cooler is a
good idea to allow people to get to know each other as
they would face-to-face in an office break room.
5. Make it easy for remote workers to communicate with each other.
Encourage remote workers to interact with each
other and with office-based staff. You could create contests or challenges in the online community
or encourage people to offer best practices or advice
and answer questions. Make it possible for people to
participate in simulations before taking live calls or
practice with a
peer. The more
people feel part of
a brand and a team,
the happier and more satisfied they will be—and that
translates to how they interact with customers.
6. Offer multiple opportunities for feedback and
questions.
Establish a virtual open door policy. Make it easy for
remote workers to contact a peer or supervisor with
questions. Offer surveys to determine opinions on
training sessions. Monitor and engage on discussion
forums. Encourage peer-to-peer support. Make sure
remote workers know their feedback is valued.
7. Be there to support, help and encourage when
needed.
At the end of the day, remote workers are representing your brand, the same way employees in stores do.
Customers may not see them, but their attitude and
demeanor influences a phone call or online interaction
just as much as an in-person interaction. Help your
remote agents when they need help and offer support
and encouragement on an on-going basis.
There are always things that could be done to improve processes and onboarding is no different. Take
a look at your onboarding process. Think about what
can be done to make things go more smoothly and
make joining the brand a bit less stressful—and more
welcoming—for remote workers. Happy agents =
outstanding service = satisfied customers. And that’s
the ultimate goal. CRM
Ann Sung Ruckstuhl, senior vice
president and chief marketing officer of
LiveOps, drives overall marketing and
revenue generation strategies across
the customer lifecycle. In this role, she
has developed a unique perspective on
what is required to successfully recruit,
onboard, license and deploy a community of 20,000 independent agents for LiveOps, one
of the largest and most successful work-from-home BPO
businesses, and service well-known retail, financial service,
insurance and health-care brands in the United States
since 2000.
SPRING 2015
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CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
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