The challenge

A high Net Promoter Score (NPS) is coveted by every business and yet even MBAs sometimes struggle to understand this customer satisfaction metric pioneered by loyalty guru Fred Reichheld. If they don’t get it, why would laypeople like contact center associates grasp the importance of NPS? They don’t.

Associates at a major U.S. healthcare company kept missing their NPS goals. Many tenured workers didn’t know why NPS mattered; those who understood its importance doubted there was much they could do to improve scores. New hires received no NPS education whatsoever and offshore workers earned the lowest scores. Outmoded, inflexible training and lack of digital tools aggravated the problem. Learner engagement suffered and the company needed to reverse a customer experience pattern that was spiraling downward.

Our solution

TTEC collected data from the client and analyzed NPS scores, nuances of customer survey language and timing of surveys’ return to identify gaps, weaknesses and opportunities for improvement. TTEC’s Learning and Performance team designed three distinct, instructor-led modules to establish NPS aptitude for new hires at the outset of training to set the standard of excellence going forward.

New interactive training modules included scenario-based activities to equip associates with the skills to empathize with callers and anticipate their needs. By practicing various call handling techniques using Zoom chat and the Kahoot! gamification learning platform, associates would see for themselves the direct impact they have on the customer experience. The objective: to prove—not merely pontificate on—the critical value of customer surveys, Net Promoter Scores and why associates’ role is so vital.

The results

Overall NPS scores improved 164% among associates who underwent NPS-specific training. “Associates now have a better understanding of the surveys and can confidently speak to them with their customers,” the client reported. The healthcare company enjoyed a spillover effect, with NPS scores rising 23% among associates who had not yet received NPS training.

“Our offshore associates are starting to understand the surveys on par with our onshore,” the client added. Offshore associates who received NPS training improved scores 82%; offshore associates who did not receive NPS-specific training boost their scores 10%.

To capitalize on the positive momentum, the client will convert training to digital format and apply TTEC’s techniques and behaviors to training in additional lines of business, such as Retail.

Perhaps more important than any one performance metric is this: Associates are convinced they hold the power to achieve positive outcomes because the value of customer surveys and NPS scores was demonstrated in compelling fashion through training.