From Two Weeks to Two Days

How a Targeted Training Revamp Improved Customer Service and Cut Onboarding Time

By Steven Linley, Ph.D.
Learning Strategist and Leadership Development Consultant

When I was brought in to help a mid-sized distribution company improve its customer service, the ask was simple: “Can you teach our call center staff how to be nicer on the phone?” 

But as is often the case, the real problem wasn’t what it seemed.

The Challenge: Frustrated Customers and Lots of Complaints

The company’s call center supported a large-scale warehouse and delivery operation. Their team was getting hit with complaints—lots of them. 

Customers were frustrated by long wait times and by staff who couldn’t provide answers. 

The call center supervisor described it as a “chronic issue,” and the VP’s marching orders to me were clear: fix the customer service problem.

At first glance, this looked like a classic “soft skills” training opportunity. But rather than jumping into course development, I started with a proper analysis.

The Underlying Problem: Inability to Find Critical Information

I spent time observing the team and reviewing their current onboarding program. What I found was surprising. The team was made up of incredibly friendly, helpful people. The issue wasn’t attitude. It was difficulty with internal systems.

They had a two-week onboarding program that covered everything from systems navigation to company policies. 

But despite all that time, new hires were struggling to find the information they needed—basic things like order details, shipment statuses, and inventory levels. 

When customers called, staff were forced to say, “Let me call you back,” because they couldn’t locate answers in real time.

The result? Frustrated customers. Overwhelmed staff. And a huge opportunity for improvement.

The Solution: Streamlined Training on the Top Issues

Instead of teaching “better customer service,” we focused on job functionality. 

I started by analyzing the call data. Over 80% of the calls were related to just 10 repeatable scenarios. That’s it. Ten questions made up the bulk of the workload.

I worked with the supervisor to create a streamlined training program that taught new hires how to resolve those top 10 issues—quickly and confidently. 

We built short, practical modules that focused on:

• Navigating the system to find key information

• Step-by-step resolution for each scenario

• When and how to escalate less common issues

We reduced the onboarding time from two weeks to just two days. 

By zeroing in on what really mattered, we helped new hires get productive faster—and eased the burden on supervisors and senior staff.

The Results: Shorter Wait Times, Fewer Complaints, Faster Onboarding

The impact was immediate:

• Customer complaints dropped significantly within the first month.

• Wait times improved, thanks to faster call resolution.

• Staff confidence increased, with new hires reporting they felt better prepared and less stressed.

• The company saved time and money by shortening onboarding and reducing repeat training needs.

All of this came from aligning training with actual job performance—not just generic skills.

Lessons Learned: Ask the Right Questions Up Front

This project reinforced a lesson I’ve learned over and over: the best learning solutions come from asking the right questions up front. 

It’s tempting to jump into content development, but real value lies in discovering the actual problem and designing training that solves it.

In this case, the issue wasn’t a lack of soft skills. It was a lack of access and clarity. And with a focused approach, we turned a struggling call center into a high-performing team in just a few weeks.