CASE STUDY

The Science of Smarter Training: How AI, Microlearning, and Color Psychology Transform Call Center Performance

Combining the Precision of Artificial Intelligence with the Proven Science of Microlearning and Color to Drive Sales Excellence.

Author: Michael Clingerman

Project Summary:

Voice Ops is a San Francisco-based startup that has completed several financing rounds. The primary value of the software and service is to act as an AI-assisted training and educational tool for call center associates and trainers.

The technology - listens to calls completed by call center associates. Then, the text is categorized into tags with different training categories. The trainers on the floor are then queued with training opportunities for individual associates and teams. The software can allow teams to compete against each other in a game of education manor.

Quote Source
VoiceOps Customer - Homelight.com

“Call center floors can be described as crazy-busy. We almost never have the time we need to train staff the way we want to, so we are always looking for better, faster ways to help improve our team's skills.”

Customer Problem:

Voice Ops’s customers need to push the ”Middle of the patch” of their call center sales reps into the “High-performing Reps.” on the distribution curve. Low performers are weeded out.

The Science :

Voice Ops’s unique AI and Call Transcription modeling tags reps’ calls live. Floor Trainers can access and queue training from a tablet or computer and task reps with small training sessions.


The Science:

Microlearning Elevates Focus and Retention

Smaller learning sessions or bite-sized chunks work better than larger classes or longer sessions primarily because they allow for more latent, between-session learning to emerge. This approach reduces mental fatigue, leading to higher engagement rates and improved knowledge retention. Additionally, shorter sessions enable students to process and consolidate information more effectively, resulting in faster learning and better overall performance.


Shorter, focused learning sessions are more effective because they optimize the brain's ability to absorb and retain information.

Research Performed:

UX Research

  • Qualitative Interviews and Observations

  • Proto Persona - The Supervisor

  • Proto Persona - The Coach

  • Proto Persona - The Agent (Rep.)

  • Empathy Mapping

  • Journey Mapping

  • High level Workflow (anatomy of the transcript bar)

Findings: User pain-points

  • As a Coach, I am spread thin, and coaching takes a backseat.

  • As a Supervisor:

    • Finding a good call to a coach takes time.

    • Pinpointing the ideal coaching opportunity is daunting.

    • There are so many calls to go through I don't know where to start.

  • As an Agent (Rep): Which will improve my performance? Review my coaching vs taking calls.

  • As a coach, I have no confidence that my coaching is being read, digested, and bought into by agents.

  • As a supervisor, I find it painful to chase after reps to get them to acknowledge coaching.

  • As a Coach, I can't remember what I have previously worked on with Agents.

  • As a Coach: It's time-consuming to recap coaching.

  • As an Agent (Rep): I don't know how to prioritize the coaching I receive.

Empathy Mapping:

Proto Personas:

Proto personas were created post-customer interviews in just a few days to confirm hypotheses and update older marketing personas.

Journey Mapping:

A journey map was created and updated in a longitudinal study over 1 year to understand the Persona of the call center trainer.

Solution and Science :

The Science: Color Association

Brain activity patterns are specific to colors. Studies using MEG recordings have shown that the brain produces unique activity patterns for different colors, allowing researchers to predict what color a person is seeing based on brain activity.


Result: Color-coded information in microlearning could create distinct neural patterns, potentially aiding recall.

Tagged AI Behaviors:

Example behaviors below are different for different companies and industries.

  • Acknowledge

  • Asks about a specific cruise

  • Asks for sale

  • Asks for supervisor

  • Asks questions about package

  • Attempts to gain agreement on pricing

  • Buy-in question

  • Discovery: Other

  • Discovery: travel habits

  • Expresses frustration/anger

  • Expresses urgency

  • Isolate

  • Mentions discount

  • Mentions putting down a deposit

  • Mentions Rescission

  • Objection: Already have too many points or weeks

  • Objection: Busy right now

  • Objection: Need to talk with spouse

  • Objection: Need to think about it

  • Objection: Other

  • Objection: Pricing

  • Overcome

  • Pitch: Starts or elaborates on subscription ($3999, $2899, $2299, $999)

  • Presentation

  • Pricing: ($3999, $2899, $2299, $999)

  • Puts customer on hold

  • Third party stories

Color-Coding Behaviors:

Behaviors tagged in the call transcript.

Quote Source
VoiceOps Customer - Homelight.com

“VoiceOps is very simple yet efficient in breaking down and analyzing calls, especially compared to a lot of the call monitoring software that I have had experience with.”

Solution and Science :

The Science: Microlearning Retention %s

Incredible findings from a 2018 study revealed a remarkable 18% improvement in knowledge retention among students taught using microlearning principles. And that's not all! Other sources have reported even more astounding figures, reaching as high as 80%. It's truly a game-changer!


Result: 18% improvement in knowledge retention among students taught using microlearning principles.

Flow: Finding and searching for calls to train on, as a trainer.


The left side menu bar is the market source he wants to train against and the tags he wants the system to look for inside of the calls. This is a three click flow.

The system returns a list of calls for the trainer to choose from.

Flow: Assigning training & Commenting on calls

Once the trainer has selected a call, a comment window or modal appears with pre-existing comments and past comments for the trainer to work with. These comments are then associated with the calls. This is considered assigning training.

Flow: Viewing and Listening to calls

The trainer can easily View the call and context of the transcription and all of the embedded Color tag behaviors by clicking the “View Call” button.

The Call Metadata is available so that the trainer see who the call was with and share the call with other trainers.

Three Phases of work: Discovery, Confirmation, Coaching

Discovery: First the trainer searches for people and calls to train on with the appropriate focus.

Confirmation: the trainer confirms that in fact the call is worthy of training against.

Coaching: the trainer applies Micro learning lessons and assign them to the individual.

Flow: Use of the Transcript Bar.

The transcript bar can be used to play and listen to the call, see where voice activity is visually through the graphical visualization, and investigate the tagged behaviors in color stacks on hover. It can also be used as a scrubber bar to quickly shuttle through longer calls. Additionally, coaching comments and coaching opportunities can be set and investigated, as well as bookmarked.

UI: Utilization of analogous color palette in call cards

I chose to utilize analogous colors in user interface design for several key purposes:

  1. Creating visual harmony and cohesion: Analogous colors naturally blend well together, producing a sense of unity and coherence in the design. This harmonious effect is pleasing to the eye and reduces visual strain.

  2. Enhancing user experience: The seamless flow between analogous colors fosters a more comfortable and calming user experience, making it easier for users to navigate and consume content.

  3. Establishing visual hierarchy: Designers can use analogous colors to guide users' attention and create a clear visual hierarchy, enhancing website usability and encouraging desired user actions.

UI: Utilization of analogous color palette in call cards

Our user interface accessibility design prioritizes readability and inclusivity by adhering to AAA-rated contrast ratios and testing across multiple font sizes to ensure clarity for all users. By incorporating on-brand colors and high-visibility alternatives, we enhance the usability of highlighted search phrases for diverse visual needs. This approach not only meets industry standards but also fosters a friction-free experience, ensuring that critical information is easily recognizable and accessible to everyone, regardless of their abilities.

Conclusion:

In our research, we identified that coaches and supervisors face challenges in finding time to focus on specific behavioral coaching opportunities. By leveraging AI-driven tools such as call list search and daily AI feeds, this program streamlines the identification and correction of key behavioral patterns. Microlearning principles, combined with AI's ability to tag and analyze call transcripts, enable tailored, bite-sized coaching sessions that enhance knowledge retention, reduce mental fatigue, and improve training outcomes. This approach fosters a more positive coaching culture, addressing weaknesses efficiently and refining playbook terminology for long-term performance gains while ensuring an engaging and effective learning environment.