KnowledgePool helps Orange meet record demand for induction training
KnowledgePool has helped Orange, the mobile communications giant, to provide induction training for 1,000 new customer service representatives in six months, after a series of advertising campaigns created a significant increase in customer response calls.
KnowledgePool assigned 20 experienced associate trainers, in four days, who could work alongside Orange's in-house trainers, to run the company's three-week induction programme for new recruits. Delivered at Orange's five UK contact centres - in Bristol, Darlington, North Tyneside, Peterlee and Plymouth - the programme includes a mix of workshops and e-learning and covers brand awareness, product and systems training and customer service skills.
"KnowledgePool provided excellent trainers who could hit the ground running and this enabled us to meet the demand without compromising the quality of the training in any way," said Lisa Blewitt, Training & Development Manager at Orange. "This is an unusual relationship which bridges the gap between outsourcing and in-house training. It shows that organisations don't have to choose between the two. You can get the best of both worlds."
KnowledgePool provided a project manager to co-ordinate and review the activities of its trainers.
"We gained the expertise of their trainers without having the administration and co-ordination headaches that are involved in making sure they're in the right place at the right time," said Lisa Blewitt. "These issues were handled by their project manager. This was a huge benefit and it really helped to ensure a very successful working relationship. In effect, we now have a virtual training team which gives us the flexibility to respond to the peaks and troughs in demand for training. It is a tap that we can turn on and off, without impacting on our other training initiatives."