A four-week new hire curriculum that was built, then evolved twice as the business grew. From a 2-day informal walkthrough to a structured program that fully equips every agent before they take a single live call.
When I joined Quadient in July 2022, the Customer Relations department had been running the same two to three day informal onboarding for years. Operation leads would walk new hires through the systems, referencing whatever materials they had, and agents would be on live calls within days. There were no reference guides, no structured workflows, and no consistent process. Agents relied on a question chat that wasn’t always responsive.
Turnover in the first 90 days was high. Agents who made it to the floor weren’t confident, and it showed in their call handling. Leadership knew something needed to change but hadn’t yet tied the problem to training.
Before I built anything, I sat in on calls and watched agents struggle in real time. No reference materials, no consistent process, no way to get help fast enough. I started from nothing and built the first structured program: one week of training, one week of nesting, and a full package of materials to go with it. Leadership wasn’t convinced it needed to be two weeks. Then retention improved and the conversation changed.
As the department evolved, so did the training. New processes meant the core material needed a real refresh, not just a quick edit. The program was updated to reflect how agents were actually working. This was also when CP360, a third-party weekend support partner, started using the program to train their own staff.
When Quadient acquired Package Concierge and upgraded to PP+, the original plan was to train agents on the new systems after 90 days. But calls were already coming in across all three brands from day one, and the gaps were showing. Some agents knew things others didn’t, and nobody could keep track of who was trained on what. I made the case to the director: everyone needs to leave training knowing everything. The program grew to two weeks of training and two weeks of nesting.
Tech comfort varies across cohorts. I structured the curriculum by brand system stack so agents build fluency in one environment before moving to the next - Parcel Pending in Week 1, PP+ and Package Concierge in Week 2.
Observation showed that introducing systems on Day 1 spiked anxiety before agents had any context. Day 1 became orientation only - WFM, QA, HR, and leadership all present before a single screen is shared. System access begins Day 2.
Every day builds toward going live. Agents move through instruction, scenario labs, daily shadowing, and daily TalkDesk mock calls before nesting begins. Week 2 ends with a full day of email queue practice - in the systems, no live caller, no pressure. Two weeks of structured practice before the first real call.
Before the program went live, I ran a formal TTT session covering every component - facilitator guides, the training schedule, the trainer checklist, and how to run scenario lab reviews and mock calls. The goal was consistent delivery across all facilitators, not each trainer interpreting the material their own way.
“We can’t afford to keep agents off the phones for two weeks.”
That was the initial pushback when I proposed the structured program. I held the position because the data was clear: agents were struggling on calls and leaving within 90 days. Once the program launched and managers saw the difference in readiness and retention, the conversation shifted. Leadership has supported the program without question ever since.
The full training package includes 9 daily facilitator guides, a participant guide, scenario labs, mock call scripts, a trainer checklist, and a training schedule.
Full outcome data available on the Impact page. View Impact →