Your communication platform training just wrapped up. The trainer demonstrated the workflows, learners asked questions, and everyone left knowing more about Microsoft Teams, Webex, Zoom, Five9, Genesys, or whichever platform they are preparing to use.
So, they're ready for go-live, right? Not quite.
There is an important difference between knowing how a communication tool works and being able to use it confidently when it matters. Live training can provide knowledge. Deliberate practice helps turn that knowledge into skill.
Imagine a receptionist learning a new communication platform. During training, the learner watches how to answer a call, use hold and resume, and complete direct and consultative transfers. The next morning, the phone rings.
Now the learner has to perform those actions in a live environment, perhaps for the first time. Knowing that you need to transfer a customer and smoothly completing that transfer while someone waits on the line are different experiences.
Without hands-on practice, we leave learners to bridge that gap during real work. The first customer call shouldn't also be the first practice call.
Practice may feel uncomfortable at first. That's normal.
A learner may think, "I remember that we covered this. I know I need to do something here. I just can't remember exactly what comes next."
That isn't necessarily evidence that training failed. The learner recognizes the situation and knows an action is required, but hasn't built the fluency to perform it automatically. That's where deliberate practice becomes valuable.
A safe practice environment lets learners experiment, make mistakes, ask questions, and try again before the stakes are real. Time and exposure make unfamiliar actions more comfortable.
Deliberate practice doesn't mean spending hours exploring every feature. It's important not to conflate learner need with time spent in training.
Start with the work people actually perform. A receptionist, for example, should practice answering calls, placing callers on hold, resuming calls, and completing direct and consultative transfers. Those are day-to-day fundamentals. Advanced features and nice-to-knows can wait.
At CallTower, we've used this approach in practice resources such as our Teams Calling Chronicles. Learners work with colleagues through a fictional workday, placing and answering calls, practicing hold and resume, completing transfers, rotating roles, and eventually combining skills into a realistic call workflow without step-by-step instructions.
This doesn't require another half-day class. A realistic follow-up can fit within an hour:
Live Training → 30–45 Minutes of Protected Practice → 15–30 Minutes of Optional Q&A → Real Work
During practice, learners should have access to the training recording and supporting resources. When something doesn't work, the first checkpoint is simple: Can I revisit the instruction and solve this myself?
If not, the learner now has a useful question to bring to Q&A. Instead of ending training with the familiar "Any questions?" before anyone has tried the tool, practice gives learners context. They can arrive saying, "I tried this. Here's what happened. What am I missing?"
That's a much richer learning conversation.
Finding another hour on employees' calendars can be difficult. But the alternative isn't that employees avoid spending time learning. They will still have a learning curve.
The real decision is where that learning curve happens: deliberately, alongside colleagues with access to resources and Q&A, or while employees are trying to perform their actual jobs.
Employees may eventually figure out a new communication tool through trial and error, but the cost can show up in customer interactions, support needs, and everyday efficiency. Protected practice moves some of that learning curve into a safer environment.
When planning your next communication-platform rollout, don't stop after putting the training session on the calendar. Protect time after training for learners to practice.
Give learners a realistic, role-relevant resource. Let them work with colleagues, revisit the recording, make mistakes, try again, and capture the questions that remain. Then bring them back for Q&A.
Training gives people knowledge. Deliberate practice helps turn that knowledge into skill.
When real work begins, learners shouldn't be encountering essential workflows for the first time. They should be doing again what they've already had a safe opportunity to practice.
Ready to build practice into your rollout? If you're preparing for a Microsoft Teams, Webex, Zoom, Five9, or Genesys transition, the CallTower Training Team can help you build instruction and meaningful practice into your rollout. Contact CustomerTraining@calltower.com to start the conversation.