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Improving Telephone Skills at the Department of Labor's
Office of Workers' Compensation Programs

A brand-new study by Public Agenda, a US public policy research organization, confirms what most of us already know - customer service in many organizations leaves something to be desired. Telephone customer service, in particular, elicited one of the most negative reactions from survey respondents, with 94% saying the experience was "very frustrating."¹

A recent Department of Labor (DOL) survey of workers' compensation claimants produced similar results - marks for telephone customer service for claims examiners were found to be alarmingly low. In response, the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP), which is part of the Labor Department's Employment Standards Administration, conducted analysis to find out why. The analysis showed that, among other reasons, claims examiners lacked needed customer service skills.

New-Hire Training
CEP partnered with the OWCP to design Criterion-Referenced Instruction (CRI)-based training that would ensure that new-hire claims examiners would master the critical telephone skills needed to perform to expectations. CEP began the project by working with exemplary performers to identify the tasks that new claims examiners needed in order to be successful. CEP then determined the standards for acceptable performance, making sure that these standards were written in observable and measurable terms.

The new-hire training that CEP developed consisted of self-paced modules that were designed to give learners the skills and knowledge needed to:

• Be professional, pleasant and empathetic
• Process telephone calls according to established standards
• Handle difficult callers

To ensure mastery of each skill being taught, the training also included realistic call simulations, skill checks, as well as an Expert Telephone Skills Training Scorecard. The training successfully provided new hires with both the skills and the self-confidence needed to perform to expectations. Because of this success, within a year of implementing the new-hire training, the OWCP asked CEP to expand the program to encompass experienced claims examiners.

Training for Experienced Examiners
Designing and developing training to provide experienced personnel with skills that, for all intents and purposes, they should already have, presents unique challenges. It's not uncommon for experienced employees to react negatively to the mere mention of training. "Hey, I've been doing this for ten years! Are you telling me I don't know how to do my job?!"

To overcome this potential challenge, the OWCP made certain that the low marks from the claimant survey were communicated to all claims examiners, along with management's commitment to improve customer service. The OWCP also placed a time limit on the training program in order to minimize the time that employees needed to spend away from their jobs - the program had to be only one day in length.

CEP tackled the project by conducting a focus group comprised of exemplary claims examiners representing the various OWCP district offices. CEP and the focus group:

• Examined the new-hire training to determine what elements made sense for experienced examiners and what areas were too basic
• Identified additional needs that were unique to experienced examiners (for example, workload management, handling complex calls, etc.)
• Revised the call simulations to reflect the increased complexity and difficulty that experienced examiners faced on the job
• Ensured that the training program would be enjoyable and non-threatening to the experienced examiners

After making the necessary modifications to the training program, CEP then conducted a train-the-trainer session to prepare the district offices to roll out the training. The train-the-trainer session focused on giving OWCP "coaches" the skills needed to provide positive, constructive feedback to experienced examiners.

These actions helped CEP and the OWCP ensure the successful rollout of the telephone skills training program to the experienced examiner target population. In fact, the training has proven so successful that CEP is now helping the OWCP to design and develop customer service skills training for the Energy Employees' Occupational Illness Compensation Program.

For advice or support on your next call center project, call Paula Alsher at 770-458-4080.