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In this week’s Tips & Tricks sessions, our host Jamie Leckband shared 10 tips for creating a better Sym and enhancing training. These tips from Jamie will make your Syms more engaging, practical, and aligned with real-world scenarios. By implementing these strategies, learners can improve their performance faster, become more self-reliant, and retain knowledge more effectively.

Key Takeaways

• Break it Down: Break down complex conversations or processes into smaller parts. Shorter, focused Syms allow for more repetition, which helps learners master specific areas or steps much faster​.
• Make it Fun: Use humor, “Easter Eggs,” and friendly competition to make learning more engaging. This not only makes the material more memorable but encourages faster adoption.
• Explain Why: Clearly explaining why a process is important improves adherence. Both new and tenured agents need to understand the reasons behind each step to avoid making mistakes. Use coaching tips for this!
• Branch it: Use random branching in Syms to simulate different conversation outcomes. This variety helps learners handle multiple scenarios and reduces anxiety in real-world interactions​.
• Involve the Users: Let the users guide the creation of Syms by asking for their input on processes they struggle with. This increases engagement and ensures the content always stays relevant​, taking into account the agents’ opinions and performances.
• Use Strategic Alternative Words: Teach flexibility in language where appropriate while emphasizing strict adherence to compliance scripts when necessary. This helps learners become more conversational while maintaining compliance​. For example, using the words “help” and “assist” synonymously.
• Make it Conversational: Incorporate realistic small talk and a balance of urgency and relatability. This helps agents develop stronger customer relationships without losing focus​.

If you want to learn the rest or our 10 tips for creating a better Sym , missed something, or want to revisit the session, check out the full session video:

In our first Tips & Tricks October session, Jamie focused on training plans that cater to different agent levels and performance needs in contact centers. She covered how effective training plans not only streamline onboarding but also support ongoing development, coaching, and compliance tracking. These plans are essential for ensuring agents consistently improve their performance, and they allow managers to set clear expectations and meet departmental goals.

Key Takeaways

• Versatility of Training Plans: Training plans are highly adaptable for various scenarios, including onboarding new hires, preparing agents for promotions, system-specific training, new processes, compliance updates, and ongoing leadership development. Repeated coaching sessions or compliance trainings (monthly, quarterly, etc.) ensure agents stay updated on evolving requirements.
• Customized for Agent Levels: Plans should be tailored based on the agent’s experience and current performance level. For instance, new agents may need foundational training, while tenured or returning agents might focus on specific areas where they’ve fallen behind. Special attention should be given to struggling agents or those returning from leave to ensure they reintegrate effectively and address performance gaps.
• Establish Clear “Passing” Criteria: Define what success looks like for different types of agents. For example, the criteria for passing could differ for a new hire versus a tenured agent. Training plans should outline the steps needed to meet these standards, whether through consistent click scores, practice sessions, or goal-specific milestones. By establishing these parameters, agents and supervisors can track progress more effectively​.
• Ongoing Coaching and Development: Training plans should not be static. Regularly scheduled coaching sessions—whether weekly, monthly, or quarterly—are essential for ensuring agents continuously improve. These ongoing touchpoints give agents the opportunity to work on weak areas and build on their strengths, ensuring long-term growth and compliance with organizational standards​.
• Goal Alignment for Performance Improvement: Training plans allow managers to align agent development with the department’s larger performance goals. By breaking down areas for improvement, these plans ensure that agents contribute to meeting key performance indicators (KPIs) on a consistent basis. When there are deficits in reaching targets, particularly toward the end of a quarter or year, training plans can be adjusted to meet these objectives more effectively​.

If you missed anything or want to revisit the session, check out the full session video:

During our last Tips & Tricks session in September, Jamie covered how to use SymTrain to enhance empathy as a critical soft skill for agents. She demonstrated creating simulations that help agents practice empathetic responses, with AI coaching providing real-time feedback to improve their customer interactions.

Key Takeaways

1. Difference Between Empathy and Sympathy: Empathy involves understanding and sharing in the customer’s experience, while sympathy is merely feeling concerned or sorrowful. Teaching agents to differentiate between these can enhance their customer service interactions.
2. Business Impact of Empathy: Companies that prioritize empathy increase their monetary value more than twice as much as those that don’t. They also generate 50% more earnings, showing the financial benefits of empathetic approaches in customer service.
3. Higher Empathy Scores in New Agents: Customers report a 7% higher empathy score with new agents compared to long-standing ones, highlighting the importance of instilling empathy early in training.
4. Sentiment Scoring in SymTrain: SymTrain’s sentiment score measures three key areas—confidence, concentration, and energy—each contributing to an empathetic response. Agents need to focus on listening, understanding, and conveying empathy effectively.
5. Common Empathy Phrases: While common phrases like “I’m sorry” are useful, it’s important to add new layers to these responses, such as “I can understand how this situation affected you,” which prevents defensiveness from customers. Phrases like “I understand how you feel,” “I’m sorry that happened to you,” and “I can imagine how difficult this must be for you” help diffuse tension and make customers feel heard and valued. Phrases like “I’m here to help” and “I’ll do my best to resolve this for you” build trust and demonstrate commitment to finding a solution, which strengthens customer relationships.
6. Creating Scenario-Based Branched Syms: By categorizing empathy phrases by scenario types and creating branched Syms, agents can practice relevant responses for specific situations, reinforcing their ability to respond empathetically. Using branched Syms in SymTrain allows agents to practice empathy phrases repeatedly, building muscle memory and helping agents retain and apply these phrases in real-world situations.

If you missed anything or want to revisit the session, check out the full session video:

In this week’s Tips and Tricks session, Jamie showed Audio-Random Branched Syms with many use cases to use when managers need their agents to learn and practice multiple scenarios which can go into 1 Sym instead of creating various Syms, and SymTrain will give the agent a random scenario every time.

Key Takeaways

1. Use Cases:

• New Hiring Orientation: Reinforce the topics learned during orientation and key topics new hires should know.
• Objection Handling: Know how to respond and convince when customers say no.
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Learn the main questions you might get asked and be prepared.
• Soft skills: Empathy, resolution, active listening, etc.
• Compliance Questions: Avoid getting in trouble and say the right words every time.
• Repetitive conversation: How you answer a call or ending the conversation are usually the same, get confident at it
• Difficult Processes: Use repetition to master challenging parts of a process to learn and execute quickly.
• Scripted responses: Sound confident instead of reading the script.

2. Keep them Short & Create Muscle Memory!

3. Create the script like a regular Sym:

• Upload Script
• AI generate
• Upload Audio
• Record Convo

4. Repetition and consistency are key to retention:

• You can get your agents to practice 5 minutes at different times of the day instead of 15 minutes straight.

5. Name the Main Sym and Branches accordingly to easily identify them.

If you missed anything or want to revisit the session, check out the full session video:

In our last Tips and Tricks session, we delved into a different use for SymTrain: Assessment. With SymTrain’s innovative assessment tools, you can go beyond the resume by using simulations that test real-world skills, offering a more accurate and efficient way to identify top talent for your team.

Key Takeaways

1. SymTrain as a Game-Changer for Hiring

• SymTrain allows you to assess new hires effectively, offering deeper insights than traditional interviews or resumes.

2. Why Go Beyond the Resume?

• Resumes are often not enough to gauge a candidate’s full potential or readiness.
• SymTrain helps test real-time knowledge, decision-making, and practical skills before hiring.
• Avoid costly hiring mistakes, which can cost up to 30% of the employee’s first-year earnings.

3. Streamlining the Hiring Process

• Longer hiring processes do not necessarily mean better results.
• SymTrain can help shorten the process by providing simulations that gauge candidates’ qualifications faster and more accurately.
• Use pre-interview simulations to screen candidates based on deal-breaker skills (e.g., coaching for managerial roles).
• Develop tailored training plans for different departments and roles within your company.

4. Pre-Interview Insights Using SymTrain

• Identify the minimum required skills for the role and ensure the candidate meets these through simulations.
• Review past successes and failures in hiring to refine your SymTrain assessment approach.
• Create simulations that test practical skills like proficiency with tools (Salesforce, HubSpot, etc.).
• Self-assessments in resumes (e.g., “I’m a 3 in Salesforce”) can be misleading. SymTrain allows you to assess whether their skills match what they claim.

5. Stock Questions for Pre-Screening

• Questions like “What do you know about our company?” or “Why do you think you’re a fit for this role?” can be added to SymTrain to assess preparation and fit.
• This saves time by filtering out candidates who haven’t prepared.

6. Round One: Post-Simulation Evaluation

• After candidates complete initial simulations, review their responses:
  • Did they follow instructions?
  • Did they ask questions when unclear?
  • Did they complete tasks on time?
  • Were they confident and aligned with company values and the role?
• SymTrain helps you assess the candidate’s overall approach, including their ability to follow directions, communicate, and complete tasks effectively.

7. Advanced Role-Specific Simulations

• Use role-specific simulations in round one to assess proficiency with tools and tasks required for the position which helps ensure candidates not only talk the talk but walk the walk.

If you missed anything or want to revisit the session, be sure to check out the full session video:

In our latest Tips and Tricks session, we explored the latest updates in SymTrain and delved into our Frequently Asked Questions, focusing on efficient Sym creation, and addressing common challenges. These updates are designed to streamline your training processes and enhance agent performance. Here are the key takeaways from the session:

Key Takeaways

• New Voices: SymTrain now offers three new female and four new male voices, in addition to the ones we had, giving you more options within our platform.
• New Languages: We have now new language options including French, Japanese, Korean and many more. This expands your ability to create more diverse and globally relevant Syms, enhancing training experiences for agents in different regions.
• Beginning Your Sym Library: Start your Sym library with 3-10 targeted Syms. Focus on areas where agents need the most improvement and build from there. From one Sym you can create Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced levels, ensuring a progressive learning experience.
• Optimal Sym Length: Keep Syms between 3 to 5 minutes long. For longer processes, break them into smaller, manageable steps. This approach helps agents quickly retain and master critical information.
• Effective Sym Creation: Ensure your SIMs are clear, concise, and aligned with specific training objectives. Whether it’s teaching a process, a workflow, or specific communication skills, your content should be tailored to meet these goals effectively.
• Bulk Upload/Delete and User Management: Pay attention to case sensitivity when performing bulk uploads. For user deletion, consider using the “inactive” status instead of deleting, to preserve data for future reference.
• Need support with building Syms? At SymTrain, we offer professional services with our group of Sym Creators to assist with Sym creation, especially when your company is undergoing changes or you lack the bandwidth to develop new training content. Get in touch to know more!

If you missed anything or want to revisit the session, be sure to check out the full session video:

In our recent Tips and Tricks session, we explored the various ways to create and edit coaching Syms, focusing on how they can be tailored to meet specific coaching needs. Coaching is indeed a challenge, but with the right tools and methods, we can create effective and engaging Syms that help agents quickly retain important information. Here are the key takeaways from the session:

Key Takeaways

• Tailored Coaching Syms: Creating short, focused Syms that address specific areas where an agent may struggle allows for a more personalized and effective coaching experience.
• Upskilling and Process Changes: Utilize Syms to help agents adapt to new processes, promotions, or added responsibilities, ensuring they are up-to-date and confident in their roles.
• Proactive Coaching: Identify common struggles in new hires or tenured agents and create Syms to address these proactively, helping agents improve before issues become critical.
• Breaking Down Processes: Segmenting processes into smaller Syms (e.g., opening, discovery, closing) allows agents to focus on and master each part before combining them into a complete process.
• Utilizing Existing Syms: Repurpose existing Syms by cloning and editing them to focus on specific coaching needs, saving time and effort while still providing targeted training.
• Intelligent Coaching: Leverage data-driven insights to create automated coaching plans based on agents’ call recordings and QA scorecards, ensuring consistency and efficiency in coaching efforts.
• Branched Syms: Create branched Syms to simulate different scenarios (e.g., difficult customers) and provide agents with varied experiences, helping them handle a range of situations effectively.
• Training Plans: Assign Syms within a structured training plan, ensuring agents practice repeatedly and meet specific criteria before moving on, fostering continuous improvement.

If you missed anything or want to revisit the session, be sure to check out the full session video:

In our latest Tips and Tricks session, we discussed the exciting launch of SymTrain’s New Scoring System. This update is a significant enhancement to our platform, designed to provide more detailed and actionable insights for agents. With the guidance of Reece Lincoln, our AI and Machine Learning Technical Lead, we explored the various components of this new system and how it will transform agent training and performance measurement.

Key Takeaways:

• Introduction of Sym Accuracy Score: This new metric measures the semantic similarity between an agent’s response and the intended script, helping to ensure that agents not only say the right words but also convey the correct meaning.
• Enhanced Sentiment Scoring: The sentiment analysis has been upgraded to focus on what is being said rather than how it is said. This allows for a more accurate assessment of an agent’s confidence, concentration, and energy throughout an entire simulation.
• Keyword Score by Script Line: While the keyword score remains a crucial metric, it now includes a breakdown by script line. This feature enables agents to pinpoint exactly where they need to improve, especially on compliance-related phrases.
• Comprehensive Sym Score: A new overall Sym Score has been added, which averages all the scoring components within a simulation, including Sym Accuracy, Keyword Score, and Click Score.
• Agent-Focused Feedback: The new scoring system is designed to provide more specific feedback, allowing agents to focus their efforts on the areas that need improvement, ultimately leading to better performance and confidence.
• Updated Reporting: All new metrics, including the enhanced sentiment analysis and Sym Accuracy, will be reflected in the reporting tools, ensuring that team leads and managers have a clear view of agent progress.

We encourage everyone to watch the full session to see these new features in action and understand how they can be utilized to improve agent performance.