This article is part of our series on the 70:20:10 Learning Model, exploring how organizations can blend experiential, social, and formal learning to enhance agent development.

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Nowhere is the tension between speed and quality more apparent than in the contact center. Leaders balance the need to get new hires on the floor quickly with the critical need to deliver excellent customer experiences. Move too slowly, and you risk losing productivity. Move too quickly, and you risk costly mistakes and frustrated customers.  

The solution isn’t just more training hours or faster onboarding modules. It’s about designing a learning experience that builds real skills in less time without lowering service expectations. That’s where the 70:20:10 learning model, combined with AI-powered simulation, comes into play.  

What is the 70:20:10 Learning Model? 

The 70:20:10 framework suggests that employee learning and development is most effective when it’s broken down into: 

• 70% experiential learning: on the job experiences, decision-making, and problem-solving.
• 20% social learning: feedback, mentoring, and collaboration.
• 10% formal learning: structured courses, workshops, or classroom training. 

How the 70:20:10 Model Improves Readiness Without Cutting Corners 

Traditional onboarding leans heavily on formal training, but that only covers 10% of how people learn. The 70:20:10 model shifts the emphasis of learning toward doing and experiencing, giving agents hands on practice and feedback that benefits them.  

• 70% Experiential Learning: Real or simulated on-the-job experiences. Instead of waiting weeks for real calls, agents practice with AI driven scenarios from day one. They make decisions, solve problems, and learn from mistakes in a safe environment.
• 20% Social Learning: Feedback and mentoring are embedded into the process. Managers and peers can review practice sessions, highlight strong responses, and correct errors before they become habits.
• 10% Formal Learning: Classroom sessions and e-learning still matter, but they serve as the foundation for learning. Formal training becomes a gateway into practice instead of an endpoint.

This blended approach ensures agents aren’t just memorizing policies but actively applying skills, developing judgment, and gaining confidence before they ever handle a live customer interaction.  

Why Ramp Time Is a Challenge in Contact Centers

Contact center ramp time isn’t strictly about memorizing scripts and procedures. New hires must: 

• Handle unpredictable customer needs
• Apply both hard skills and soft skills
• Make decisions under time pressure
• Maintain accuracy while managing high call volumes

Traditional onboarding focuses heavily on the 10% formal learning. This usually consists of classroom training, presentations, and e-learning modules. While these are necessary to grasp the basics, they rarely prepare agents for the complexity of real calls. This gap is why many agents still feel unprepared in their role after training. 

Where AI Simulation Fits In

AI-powered simulation acts as a safe, consequence free version of the contact center floor. New hires can: 

• Experience a wide variety of customer scenarios, from routine requests to high stakes escalations
• Practice as often as they want, at any time, without affecting real customers
• Receives immediate, targeted feedback after each session 

Instead of waiting for real customer calls to gain experience, agents can practice as many realistic interactions as they want. This hands-on exposure reduces the time it takes to reach proficiency.  

How This Doesn’t Sacrifice Quality

A common concern is that speeding up ramp time means lowering expectations. However, AI-powered experiential learning raises quality level by: 

• Exposing agents to more scenarios than they’d encounter in a typical first month
• Reinforcing company standards through repeatable, measurable practice
• Allowing managers to identify skill gaps early and address them before agents take live calls

This results in agents gaining confidence and consistency in their performance.  

The Payoff for Leaders 

Reducing ramp time without sacrificing service quality results in:

• Lower training costs per agents
• Faster ROI on new hires
• Improved customer satisfaction from the start
• Reduced turnover by giving agents early confidence in their abilities

When approached consistently, this approach transforms onboarding from a dreaded task into a performance accelerator.  

By shifting training towards experiential learning, leaders can reduce ramp time without lowering the quality level. The result is a contact center where speed and excellent service go hand in hand, and where every new hire is set up for success from their very first call.

 

This is part 2 of a 3-part series on the 70:20:10 Learning Model. Read the rest of the series:

Post 1: The 70:20:10 Learning Model: How AI-Powered Practice Drives Real Performance
Post 3: The 70:20:10 Learning Model: Coaching at Scale in a Distributed Workforce

 

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