Equiniti: Significant ROI with gamified learning

Significant ROI with gamified learning

Gamified simulation training transforms learning at global share registrar business where top-class customer service means everything. When global share registrar business Equiniti (EQ) set out to transform its call center onboarding training, the organization turned to Attensi.

Call centers are the frontline of customer service – confidence and competence are key

It was a big task, especially when you consider the complexity and scale of the customer services operation at EQ. EQ provides shareholder support for 2,500 publicly-listed companies all over the world, and EQ’s call centers are the first point of contact for stock owners.

Staff answer queries on every aspect of share ownership and stock dealing, not just from certificate holders themselves but from brokers, attorneys, estate managers and more.

The challenge is magnified when you know that calls are potentially major events for customers – involving investments which represent an individual’s life savings or a family’s financial future.

The pressure to get it right every time, to provide perfect service and expert guidance is immense. It is a shared burden that falls on the shoulders of operations managers from across the globe, including a man from Milwaukee named John Horvath.

Expert-level knowledge

He manages a 120-strong customer care center team – and John knows better than anyone just how crucial great staff training really is.

“The induction process for a new hire is intensive. It’s at least six months before someone is truly comfortable with the subject matter, and able to answer questions with expert-level knowledge, which is what we expect out of our agents.”

“The business is unique. It’s a niche segment of the broader financial services marketplace, and the individuals that we’re hiring into agent roles, we’re looking for excellent customer service skills, the ability to communicate effectively with a whole host of different stakeholders. With that we don’t necessarily expect the depth of industry knowledge that other industries might be looking for when they bring people in. We understand that it’s not out there on the street today, so we have to train to that.”

EQ needed a solution that could equip those people with the knowledge to provide expert guidance for callers – and they found that Attensi gamified simulation training was a perfect way of closing that gap in expertise

Digital natives

EQ and Attensi chose the Process solution, and co-created 15 playable modules based on the real work-life experiences of staff, using realistic avatar and 3D technology, with elements of points-scoring, leaderboards and friendly competition to inject a spirit of fun into the learning. The super-engaging format made learners want to repeat the modules– and that repetition makes knowledge stick.

Crucially, it also provides a risk-free environment away from live calls where errors don’t matter. People learn in a stress-free space until they are ready to talk to actual customers.

Horvath said it is especially successful in the context of a changing employment profile.

Younger recruits – drawn from the ranks of Gen Z and millennials – are digital natives and tend to take to online learning and games-based training perhaps more readily than more mature colleagues. That’s important at a time when baby boomers are beginning to retire, and Gen X are beginning to think about retiring.

Caleb is among the employees who have loved the learning.

“This solution definitely has made me more comfortable in my role,” said the Customer Care Associate.