"While looking for a technology training solution to supplement our Language & Accent training program we stumbled upon neuroLanguage. Choosing to partner with them has proven to be the wisest training investment I have made as a manager. They worked closely with us to develop a practical, balanced and powerful curriculum. As a result our trainee readiness has improved dramatically, we trimmed induction training by a week, and the revenue performance in transition has doubled. Needless to say, I am very pleased to have partnered with neuroLanguage"

- Reif Manzano, Training & Development Manager, National Pen Philippines


Challenges Faced
Similar to other international sales and call centers serving a predominantly English market, National Pen’s challenge was twofold:

1. A lack of applicants for agent positions who possess the necessary level of English communication skills to listen to, understand and speak with customers
2. A four-week training program where trainees are not generating revenue. The program consists of three weeks of classroom-based, teacher-led instruction and a one week transition period.

National Pen was looking for a technology-based training solution to supplement their existing Language & Accent and Sales & Product training programs. They wanted an intelligent, customizable technology to provide their trainees with systematic computer-based interaction to facilitate fast and measurable language gains and accent improvement.


Strategy Followed
National Pen integrated the neuroLanguage Suite, consisting of neuroLanguage Assessment, neuroLanguage Accelerator and neuroLanguage Practice, into their existing three-week training program.

neuroLanguage Assessment was used pre-training to assess each trainee’s existing English language abilities and to help choose their appropriate training path. It was used post-training to measure trainee language gains. The Assessment took each trainee approximately 30 minutes to complete, and assessed six sub-skills of the English language including high-frequency words, word recognition, phonics, oral vocabulary, spelling and reading comprehension.

neuroLanguage Accelerator is a software program that develops the speed and accuracy of a person’s English language processing skills, and was incorporated into National Pen’s three-week training program. Using neuroLanguage Accelerator, trainees mastered a sequence of skills beginning with the basic sounds and letters of English, and ending with more complex skills such as the sound-letter patterns in syllables and words. Completing the entire sequence of skills significantly improved the trainee’s ability to process the English language.

With the support of the neuroLanguage team, National Pen analyzed their existing Language & Accent and Sales & Product training curriculum to determine which units they wanted to deliver though neuroLanguage Practice, a multi-sensory, interactive software program that brings English curriculum to life. The program allows trainees to listen to a native English narrator read the text while they follow along on screen, record their voice as they read the same text, then play back their recording to listen to how they pronounced the words. The program provides immediate, corrective feedback letting you know which words require additional practice, and provides definitions of words you don’t understand. Using comprehension drills and exercises around actual call recordings, the software also helps improve agents’ comprehension skills required for providing high-level customer satisfaction.

Four units were identified as being appropriate for delivery through neuroLanguage Practice, so the neuroLanguage team developed four custom units that included call scenarios typical of National Pen’s business.

In addition to these four custom units, neuroLanguage analyzed National Pen’s training curriculum to determine where it made sense to integrate additional neuroLanguage Practice units. This analysis determined that the neuroLanguage content library included 10 units that mapped directly to National Pen’s learning objectives. These units included:

• Active Listening – Verbal Skills
• Conversational English – Small Talk
• Conversational English – Expressing Expectations
• Conversational English – Making Suggestions
• Conversational English – Qualifying Statements
• Conversational English – Paraphrasing
• Grammar – Pronouns and Prepositions
• Grammar – Verbs
• Idioms – Business
• US Culture – National Holidays

These 10 neuroLanguage units were also incorporated into National Pen’s Language & Accent and Sales & Product training program.


Benefits Realized
"Incorporating the neuroLanguage technologies into our Language & Accent training allowed us to eliminate the transition week because our trainees were ready to transition to production dramatically sooner. Not to mention that trainee revenue performance in the first week doubled," emphasizes Manzano.

The accelerated trainee-to-production time has been the most important benefit for National Pen. By incorporating the neuroLanguage Suite of technologies into their existing three-week training program, trainees did not need to go through the transition phase and moved right into revenue-generating production seats, five days earlier. The elimination of the transition week provides a projected revenue benefit of $1312.50 USD/agent, calculated by multiplying $35.00 (average revenue potential/hour) times an average work week of 37.5 hours. This amount more than pays for the cost of the software and provides a Return on Investment (ROI) of a minimum 1000%.

Another key benefit was the improved revenue index, achieved as a result of each trainee’s significant language gains and accelerated time to proficiency. By leveraging the neuroLanguage technologies, National Pen achieved their highest total volume of daily sales in company history for agents on their first day in production. This represented a 70% increase in first day sales over previous groups. These agents were able to sustain their performance over their first three weeks in production.

Manzano sums up National Pen’s neuroLanguage experience, "I am very pleased to have partnered with neuroLanguage. It has proven to be the wisest training investment I have made as a manager."