Session 2: Demonstrating Customer Engagement

(45 minutes, Synchronous)

Session Objectives ● Demonstrate effective customer engagement for various kinds of calls.

Key Points ● Effectively keeping a customer engaged means keeping them interested, participatory, and preventing them from
hanging up.
● Moments customers may feel disengaged include:
○ During the opening (for outgoing calls especially)
○ While CCEs are looking up information or solutions
○ While being put on hold
● Strategies to keep customers engaged include:
○ Clearly explain the purpose of your call
○ Explain next steps as you take them so customer knows what's happening
○ Let customer know before being put on hold
○ Avoid "dead air" on the call
● A successful agent will employ tactics to keep a customer on the phone which include speaking in a strong and
confident tone of voice.
● A customer service agent should always give honest and accurate information or quickly work to solve problems
via investigation or escalation.
● Appropriate reasons for placing a customer on a brief hold:
○ If you don't know how to help.
○ If you need to research additional information.
○ If you need to escalate the customer to a more senior colleague.
● When placing a customer on hold, always set clear expectations regarding why I am placing them on hold and
how long the hold will be.

Performance Goals ● a. Diagnose, troubleshoot and resolve customer issues quickly and accurately, either independently or using
escalation when required.
● b. Demonstrate specialized call centre skills to achieve sales and collections (e.g. making a strong sale using the
sales steps, an effective pitch and product knowledge; negotiating with customers to ensure collection).

BSM Connections ● Behavioural Skill: Customer Focus

● Mindset: Personal Responsibility

Assessment ● During Practice - Role Play observe participants to see if they are meeting the goals of a customer care call/chat.
© 2021 Generation: You Employed, Inc.
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 Session 2: Demonstrating Customer Engagement
(45 minutes, Synchronous)

Instructor Prep ● Read through the key points ahead of the session
● Review Handouts
● Prepare Breakout rooms
● Ensure the participants have the mobile and keyboard arrangement set up for the practice sections in this session

Materials ● PPT
● Video
● Role Play Handout

Time Activity

10 min Opening
<Slides 2-4>
● Share objectives and agenda
● Ask the following questions. Share Out.FT
○ What is meant by customer engagement?
■ Possible answer: Effectively keeping a customer engaged means keeping them interested, participatory,
and preventing them from hanging up.
○ How can you create a good first impression when you greet and authenticate the customer?
■ Possible answer: One way to positively engage customers is to employ strategies to build rapport. The
sooner you build rapport with a customer, the more likely the customer walks away content with the
service you’ve provided them. When building rapport, find opportunities to quickly:
● Find common ground.
● Be empathetic.
● Give compliments.
● Call them by their name.
● Pay attention to detail.
○ What are some moments when a customer may feel disengaged?
■ Possible answer: Moments customers may feel disengaged include:
● During the opening (for outgoing calls especially)

© 2021 Generation: You Employed, Inc.

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 Session 2: Demonstrating Customer Engagement
(45 minutes, Synchronous)

● While CCEs are looking up information or solutions

● While being put on hold
○ What are the strategies to keep a customer engaged?
■ Possible answer: Strategies to keep customers engaged include:
● Clearly explain the purpose of your call
● Explain next steps as you take them so customer knows what's happening
● Let customer know before being put on hold
● Avoid "dead air" on the call
○ What are some appropriate reasons for placing a customer on hold?
■ Possible answer: Appropriate reasons for placing a customer on a brief hold:
● If you don't know how to help.
● If you need to research additional information.
● If you need to escalate the customer to a more senior colleague.

10 min Identifying Customer Engagement Strategies

<Slides 5>
● Explain that this session will involve observing customer care interactions and customer engagement actions

Customer Call Sample

● Tell participants that they will watch a video of a typical customer call interaction. As they watch they should make notes
about the following:
○ Which key moments did you notice where the customer may feel disengaged?
○ Which strategies did you see the CCE use to keep the customer engaged?
● Share screen and Play the video from 4:20s
○ Disconnect your headphones so audio can playback to learners from your speaker
○ Instruct all learners to be on mute to avoid echo
● Ask participants to Share Out FT their responses to the two questions
● Remind participants that new CCEs are often nervous when they begin this role. It is easy to feel scared or nervous
about talking to strangers. But: They have every reason to be calm and confident.
● Ask: How can the mindset of personal responsibility help you master customer engagement? Share Out FT
○ Possible answers: A high performing CCE will proactively learn from every customer interaction, practice with
his/her peers and continuously make efforts to improve themselves in order to provide the best possible
experience to the customers.
© 2021 Generation: You Employed, Inc.
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 Session 2: Demonstrating Customer Engagement
(45 minutes, Synchronous)

20 min Practice: Role Plays

<Slide 6-7>

Role Plays: Breakout Rooms

● Explain that the participants will be placed in breakout rooms of 3. They will have the opportunity to role play the call
and chat interactions.
● Tell participants that there will be 3 rounds of the role play so that every participant plays the role of the CCE at least
once.
● Explain that the participants have to follow the strategies of customer engagement as they try to resolve the customer
issue. Explain that each round will be 3 minutes.
○ Apply one of the questions to place the customer on hold and then thank the customer for holding/waiting.
○ In the shortest time possible keep the customer engaged by applying customer engagement tactics and building
rapport strategies.
● Give Directions
○ Chat the link to the script to the participants
○ 30 sec - Assign roles
■ Customer - Speaks/chats with the CCE - they should always start the role play
■ CCE - Interacts with and engages the customer to achieve the purpose of the call
■ Observer - Makes notes and provides feedback
○ 2 mins - Read the scenarios silently and independently.
○ 2 min - Round 1 - Participants carry out the role play as a call interaction
○ 1 min - Observer gives feedback
○ 3 min - Round 2 - Switch roles and complete the role play as a chat interaction. Tell participants to use the chat
window on Zoom for the role play.
○ 3 min - Round 3 - Switch roles and complete the role play as a call/chat interaction
○ Tell the participant playing the customer that they could choose their response for each role play.
○ Tell participants you will chat a one minute warning before the end of each round and that you will join multiple
break out groups to check in.
○ Tell participants to role play the additional scenarios as well if they have time.

● Highlight that observers should provide feedback according to the below questions. Chat the questions to the group.
■ Did the CCE clearly support the customer?
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 Session 2: Demonstrating Customer Engagement
(45 minutes, Synchronous)

■ Did the CCE explain next steps?

■ Did the CCE let the customer know before being put on hold?
■ Did the CCE avoid "dead air" on the call?
■ What was the moment of potential disengagement? What did the CCE do to engage the customer?
● Monitor time. Ensure participants are following the strategies to keep the customer engaged
● After 12 minutes, get participants together.
● Ask 2-3 pairs to present the activity in front of the rest of the class.

5 min Debrief and Closing

<Slide 8>
● Ask the following questions. Share Out.FT
○ Why is it important to adapt the Generation behavioural skill of customer focus to keep customers engaged?
○ When placing the customer on hold, what did you do well on and what do you need to improve upon?
○ If you felt like you were given an exceptional customer experience by your CCE, what did the CCE do?

● Tell participants to Share OutFT one customer engagement strategy they will commit to when they are on the job.

© 2021 Generation: You Employed, Inc.

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