Customer Support Course
Highlights
Story-based eLearning
Visually interesting settings, characters, and user interfaces
Realistic, branching scenarios
Learners’ choices affect the customer responses and their scores in each chat-based scenario.
Gameful design with replayability
Learners can repeat individual scenarios to build up their total score, which is displayed on the certificate of completion and shared with their supervisor.
Features
Feedback is provided through both visual and auditory cues as well as scoring.
If learners choose an unsupportive response during a scenario, they continue with the conversation and can improve upon it instead of having to revisit the same interaction again. This models real-life chat interactions more closely.
Content is culturally responsive and connects with a wide variety of learners.
Branching scenarios are mapped out to avoid predictability (that is, the order of supportive and unsupportive responses are strategically randomized).
Scoring and feedback are provided at both the scenario- and course-level.
Audience
Customer support agents at TrustTouch, a global media and technology company
Problem
TrustTouch, a hypothetical, multi-product customer support agency, has experienced a sharp increase in turnover in the customer support department over the past three years, from 43% to 77%. Departing employees expressed feeling overwhelmed by their interactions with highly frustrated customers.
This training will provide a framework and realistic practice for supporting challenging customers, mitigating turnover to below 60%.
Tools
Articulate Storyline
Adobe Illustrator
MindMeister
Midjourney
ChatGPT
PowerPoint
My Responsibilities
Here’s what I did to create a unique, highly interactive customer support training course:
Storyboard, style guide, and design document creation
I developed “The Cactus Model” as a memorable, unique framework for learners to engage with content that might otherwise be boring and repetitive.
Drafting a mind map to weave the scenarios into a story
Character construction in Adobe Illustrator with various poses and expressions
Full development in Storyline
Collecting stakeholder feedback throughout
I consulted two colleagues with years of experience working at call centers. They helped me create the five archetypes of challenging customers, aka “The Cactus Model.”
Content revisions and final publishing
[ID Model] Gagné’s 9 Events of Instruction
To guide my efforts in delivering an effective learning product, I used Gagné’s 9 Events of Instruction.
1
Catch learners’ attention
A visually appealing color palette and illustration of cacti tied to customer support immediately intrigue learners
2
Inform learners of learning outcomes
From the beginning of the course, learners understand what to expect from the course and what is expected of them upon completion
3
Relate to prior learning
A series of five customer service questions recall prior learning tied to customer support in general
Learners must correctly answer each question to advance
