Customer Service & Paraphrasing E-Learning

This engaging scenario-based eLearning training teaches customer service representatives how to incorporate paraphrasing into their interactions with customers. Through the interactive experiences in this training, the user will learn and practice skills to use when supporting customers so they can apply them on the job.

OVERVIEW

Responsibilities: Instructional Design, eLearning Development, Visual Design, Storyboarding, Action Mapping, Prototyping

Target Audience: Customer Service Representatives

Tools Used: Articulate Storyline 360, SnagIt, MindMeister, Google Docs, FreePik

KPI: Formal customer complaints will decrease by 20% through the use of friendly paraphrasing during customer service interactions.

ADULT LEARNING THEORY

The scenario-based eLearning course is carefully crafted to align with the following four principles, ensuring that it is not only tailored to the needs of adult learners but also provides a rich, experiential learning environment with real-life applications and opportunities for active engagement.

    • Involving adults in the design process ensures that the course content is relevant and meaningful to their needs. This could be achieved through focus groups, surveys, or interviews with the target audience to gather insights into their preferences, challenges, and learning styles.

    • Adult learners might be consulted to provide feedback on prototypes or beta versions of the course. This collaborative approach helps to tailor the course to the specific needs of the adult learners, making it more engaging and effective.

    • The eLearning course is structured around real-life scenarios and practical examples that adult learners can relate to. This principle emphasizes the importance of connecting theoretical concepts to practical experiences, making the learning more relevant and applicable to the learners' professional or personal lives.

    • Scenario-based learning activities are incorporated throughout the course, allowing adult learners to apply their knowledge in context. This approach enhances retention and transfer of learning to real-world situations.

    • The eLearning content explicitly demonstrates how the concepts learned can be applied in real-life situations. This can be achieved through case studies, simulations, or interactive scenarios that mirror the challenges and decisions faced by adults in their daily lives or work environments.

    • The course content highlights the practical benefits of acquiring new skills or knowledge, emphasizing how it can positively impact the learners' professional growth, problem-solving abilities, or overall effectiveness in their roles.

    • The eLearning course employs strategies that focus on understanding and application rather than rote memorization. This may include interactive elements such as simulations, role-playing exercises, or decision-making scenarios that require critical thinking.

    • The course design promotes active learning, encouraging adult learners to reflect on the content, share their experiences, and engage in discussions. This approach acknowledges that adults prefer to learn through meaningful experiences and understand the practical implications of the information they are acquiring.

THE PROBLEM & SOLUTION

After conversing with a customer service SME in a technology company, I gathered information on what she is experiencing in her job and decided it would be a great opportunity to explore for my flagship project.

A fictitious client noticed that their customer service representatives were not engaging with customers effectively when they visited the store for support. This led to costly consequences such as lack of business, poor reviews, and lost customer faith.

After analyzing the performance problem, I confirmed that the customer service representatives lacked the skills and required knowledge to navigate these tense situations successfully. I proposed a scenario-based eLearning experience where the customer service reps could practice speaking to upset customers. They would also have the opportunity to utilize paraphrasing to gain trust and lead the customers toward the appropriate support.

I worked to enhance customer satisfaction and mitigate the financial repercussions of the issue by creating a risk-free environment for new hires to make decisions and observe outcomes. This approach facilitates learners in understanding the real-world consequences of their choices. Additionally, I proposed sharing customer satisfaction reports aligned with the learners' decisions, mirroring the reports encountered by customer service representatives in their actual roles.

Action Mapping

THE PROCESS

I consulted an experienced customer service representative as my subject matter expert (SME) to develop the action map and establish the overall goal for this project. We decided to measure progress by monitoring the customer satisfaction survey data. We then identified the actions required to help customer service reps utilize active listening and paraphrasing skills, as well as appropriate interpersonal skills, to work with high-pressure customer interactions and reduce customer complaints.

text-based Storyboard

I identified common on-the-job situations for customer service representatives through action mapping. I created text-based storyboards focusing on a new representative's first day in the store, offering a low-stakes learning experience. The organized scenario included scenes with guidance from Tasha, a seasoned representative, simulating real manager guidance. Learners faced different consequences based on their responses, with question prompts featuring correct choices and distractors. Incorrect choices prompted immediate retries or extended sequences with customer reactions and feedback, promoting learner growth. The storyboarding process was crucial in developing effective consequence scenarios.

Visual Mockups

Finished Product

With all elements in place and a programming framework for each consequence established, the comprehensive development of the scenario in Articulate Storyline 360 became a straightforward and efficient process.

RESULTS & TAKEAWAYS

After finalizing the text-based storyboard, I proceeded to generate visual mockups for the scenario using Articulate Storyline. (When working with a real customer, I would love to utilize Adobe XD to support my creation of mockups and get feedback before jumping into Storyline.) While designing, I maintained a uniform visual style across all elements, ensuring consistency from backgrounds to characters. I also created a custom color palette inspired by the mall and storefront backgrounds that are seen throughout the training.
Finally, I ensured the coherence of prompt boxes, buttons, and fonts, crafting a seamless and inviting learning experience for users.

After I was content with the aesthetics of the mockups, I crafted a visual storyboard that seamlessly integrated the visual mockups with the text-based script. This paved the way for further refinement of elements and the introduction of interactivity through the use of Articulate Storyline 360.

I shared the finished project with my online network and was pleasantly surprised by the enthusiastic response and compliments it garnered. Viewers praised the polished presentation, emphasizing its immersive quality and engaging scenarios. I believe this training would be beneficial for customer service representatives to experience and could be further tailored to meet the needs of a client.

Based on the feedback I received, I modified several elements of the prototype:

1) Increased Visual Clarity: Increased the padding on the text boxes to keep the learner from getting distracted by the illustrated backgrounds in conjunction with creating a stronger contrast between the background and the text boxes by using a transparent white shape over the background to provide a faded effect.

2) More Immediate Feedback: Learners shared that they preferred to have more immediate feedback when selecting an answer choice, rather than seeing how their choice unfolded in the scenario. With that feedback, I added direct feedback to the answers selected, then utilized their answer to see the real-life consequences of the choice they made. Adding the direct feedback allowed for learners to focus more on the reasoning of why their answer wasn’t the best instead of deciphering if they picked the correct answer or not.

3) Expand Customer Situations: This encounter focuses solely on a customer scenario, yet various situations necessitate customer service and paraphrasing. A comprehensive version would encompass diverse customer scenarios, each demanding distinct actions. These customers could be introduced randomly or sequentially, enhancing the effectiveness of the experience.

Engaging in this project offered me the chance to collaborate with a Subject Matter Expert (SME), work closely with peers, incorporate valuable feedback, and acquire proficiency in new programs and tools. As an instructional designer and eLearning developer, I have experienced substantial growth. Above all, I thoroughly enjoyed the creative challenges that pushed me beyond my limits.