On The Job Training – Like Getting Back To The Gym.

This blog post is about inspiration. It’s about developing a training plan that is equally beneficial to you and your company. Because I believe that if on the job training is good for you – it will be good for your company.

Now is the perfect time for you to plan on the job training that will make the ‘You Brand’ even better. For example:

• Attend a skill building workshop
• Organize a team building event
• Study for a professional certificate
• Get back to the gym

Whatever staff development you choose – as soon as you start planning it you and the people around you will start to benefit from the excitement. Even a few small changes can have a noticeable result on your personal and corporate brand value and competitive advantage. But any on the job training is just like getting back to the gym – the full benefit will take a bit of time to realize. Most great things need practice to experience amazing results.

Example 1

Because I know email writing training and email etiquette really well, let me use that as my first example. In this world of electronic communication as much as 90% of our communication is by email or instant message (IM). Our writing habits often are the first impression we make and reinforce our ongoing relationships. That wasn’t always the case – as little as 10 years ago most of our communication was face-to-face or over the phone.

The numbing reality is that most business people receive and respond to between 100 and 200 email each day; this staggering number has taken its toll on relationship building and customer care. We’ve transitioned away from managing people’s expectations – not because we don’t care… we’re just so busy, and were never taught easy methods to effectively manage this volume while protecting our reputation and our relationships.

But there is still a universal truth that business success depends on being able to:

• Demonstrate your personal uniqueness
• Demonstrate your corporate advantages
• Take care of your customers
• Differentiate you and your company in your market

How does communication training work?

Good communications skills are as much a competitive advantage as a five-star sales representative and a product like the latest iPhone©. Good communication skills turn every employee into a brand advocate and a customer service expert. Even people in departments without direct customer contact (like Accounts Payables and Purchasing), have direct impact. Consider: they do:

• Make an impression on outside influencers
• Have an influence on the moral and productivity of employees from other departments (like Sales and Customer Service)

But as I said earlier, I believe any investment in self-improvement and on the job training benefits the ‘You Brand’ and your company success.

Example 2

I’m currently experiencing my own learning curve – I’m moving from PC to Mac©. Thankfully, I am receiving professional training and support from employees at the Apple© store – but in the end… I have to practice. It takes a bit of time – and sometimes I just want to go back to the old way because I can ‘get it done quickly’. But in the long run I know my time investment and practice will pay off.

I must say I’m amazed at the quality of service I receive. The employees are thoughtful – polite – curious – energetic – present (not looking like they want to be somewhere else). Why is that? Is it because they are paying these kids 6-figure salaries? No.

As a corporate trainer I’m sure these kids (mostly Millenials – who have a reputation for being ‘hard to motivate’), are engaged because Apple invests in staff development – so these happy employees treat their clients with respect. Every employee knows how to represent the corporate values.

The same thing happens at Starbucks™ where it’s easy to see ongoing on the job training. Positive energy and corporate investment helps create proud, talented employees who in turn believe in their employer, product and customer… and it shows.

Evey employee and every company is worth the time and commitment that comes from a solid training plan. And, your clients will reward you with purchases and loyalty.

As soon as you upgrade your skills the people around you will notice something is different. They may not know what it is… but they will ‘feel’ something good has happened – and this will help your reputation… as well as productivity. The same thing happens when my clients start writing better email. Their clients get better customer service as their expectations are consistently met.

Conclusion

Take a class – invest in you – develop a training plan – look for on the job training opportunities. Over time things will start to change. You’ll be managing your expectations, your client expectations and even co-worker expectations better.

But remember it’s important to be patient and to practice. It takes time to manage and experience full benefit… like learning a new routine at the gym makes a great difference in your health and how you feel.

Another opportunity to take full advantage of staff development is to consider is team training. Team training also provides motivation and support from your co-workers. And, giving everyone the same resources and knowledge promotes:

• Peer support (seeing how your co-workers are using new techniques)
• Knowledge sharing and best practices
• Learning by example (seeing how your co-workers are using the new skills)

Happy communicating… Happy training.

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If you enjoyed this post we think you’ll like: Bruce on Canada AM, Unique Value Proposition Definition, Measure Training Effectiveness, Build Client Trust and Effective Business Email Writing Training.

Bruce Mayhew Consulting facilitates business writing, email writing and email etiquette courses.

Give us a call at 416 617 0462. We’ll listen.

Bruce Mayhew Consulting is Strategic Branded Relevant

www.brucemayhewconsulting.com

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Customer Service: What Does It Mean?

I think it’s ironic I’m most satisfied with the customer service at Starbucks™ – a place I spend very little money. It’s not at my telecom where I spend considerably more. Not my gym, my grocery store or a handful of other service providers.

The good news is that the National American Customer Satisfaction Index reports that since 2001 customer satisfaction has been on a slow incline (after many years of decline).

I’d like to think businesses are once again realizing long-term profitability (and Return On Investment / ROI), is driven from investing wisely in customer relationships – and that investment means a renewed focus on their customers, their employees and the company.

The pay-off for those companies is that customers are noticing. And no wonder. Customers love to know someone is looking out for their best interests.

How Does A Company Improve Customer Satisfaction?

I believe customer satisfaction is a combination of Managing Customer Expectations and Exceptional Customer Service. What do these trendy catch phrases mean?

The definition I work with and follow in my communication training is that they have to meet the following:

First – Managing Expectations and Exceptional Customer Service have to be outwardly focused. It’s about exceeding Your Audiences expectations – not yours – and your audience can be your clients, your co-workers or your boss.

Second – Managing Expectations and Exceptional Customer Service have to be recognized, appreciated and valued by your audience every time you communicate.

Third – Managing Expectations and Exceptional Customer Service have to be flexible and meaningful. The right solution for ‘client A’ may not be the right solution for ‘client B’. As Starbucks says on their website ”It happens millions of times each week – a customer receives a drink from a Starbucks barista – but each interaction is unique.”

Fourth – Managing Expectations and Exceptional Customer Service have to be real. You can’t fake it… they have to represent the personal values of your employees and the values of the company… and support your customers values.

Fifth – Employees need to know what Managing Expectations and Exceptional Customer Service mean and that they are empowered to make a difference. Employees are motivated when they are encouraged and their successes celebrated.

Sixth – Managing Expectations and Exceptional Customer Service have to be cost-effective and sustainable – they can’t bankrupt the company. We all have to find place where ’demonstrating our best’ and ‘making it right’ also supports ROI, productivity and brand reputation.

We Have To Communicate Clearly And With Respect

It doesn’t matter if you are a lawyer, an account manager or a sales executive; your customers need to make decisions and they look to you for your professional advice. So, be clear when you communicate with them.

Help them understand what’s possible and what’s impossible.

One of the most common communication challenges I help clients overcome when I deliver Effective Email Writing training is Managing Expectations and Exceptional Customer Service. The following is an example of an email I received while writing this blog post – and where this is NOT happening.

Example 1: Manage Expectations

It’s clear the writer is not managing my expectations – or even their own. A simple solution would be to offer two or three alternate meeting times.

There is a very real cost / loss when employees write bad email like this. As I mention in my blog post called Increase Productivity By 15% Or More! you’re wasting 12 days of your time each year if you have to write one additional email to 15% of the people who write to you (because your co-worker didn’t write a clear message for example).

Example 2: Manage Expectations

Consider the differences in people’s expectations around hotels. Customers may want one or more of the following:

• A place to be transported into luxury
• Peace and quiet
• A kids water park
• Adult only

If you represent a hotel known for its kids water park you shouldn’t fake it and book someone calling and requesting a quiet, luxury weekend option. A good move here would be to recommend them to another hotel (preferably a sister hotel).

That’s the difference between completing a transaction vs. building a relationship. Customers will remember if you manage their expectations and provide exceptional customer service. Even if you send business away today, they’ll likely recommend you to others.

Involve Employees

I believe we are all good at Managing Expectations and Exceptional Customer Service – but we don’t all do it the same way.

Some people are great in front of customers so may be good in sales or customer service. Other people like being behind the scene and may prefer a product development position. The key is to know where your strengths are… or what the strengths of the members of your team are.

There are simple evaluations you can employ to help you determine the strengths of your employees. The results will help your employees choose better career choices – and help the company effectively reward, place and train employees.

Example 3: Know Your Strengths

A few weeks ago I was walking into a building. The large doors were closed. A man who I happen to know is a lawyer was entering about 5 paces ahead of me. He pulled a heavy door open, stepped in and without looking to see if there was someone behind him, he “leffer go” as my dad would say. The door slammed shut.

I opened it again under my own power (and was kind to the people behind me). Ironically we were entering a church… which proves you’ll find all types of people in similar places (or companies).

The man is successful in a profession that’s very fact based. Empathy is not likely one of this persons strengths… and I bet he knows it… and for him that’s OK. Not all lawyers need to be empathic – and for some that works in their favour.

Involve The Organization

Managing Expectations and Exceptional Customer Service for a company begin with defining company objectives (what do we want the companies reputation to be)? The next step is to define how to demonstrate those objectives.

Industry best practices have proven the best results happen when employees help define your objectives and the associated behaviour. Why? Happy employees create happy customers. Also, you’ll likely not to miss anything and you’ll have their buy-in when it comes to implementation.

Here are a few suggested objectives to consider and to get your teams creative juices flowing.

When defining objectives, keep them in-line with mission, vision, values and core competencies. The easiest way to exceed expectations is to use the strengths that come natural (individual strengths and company strengths).

Conclusion

Customers have more choices and a greater voice in what they want than ever. And, every interaction is a customer experience.

Exceptional customer satisfaction isn’t about being out there on your own. It’s about aligning what’s best about you with what’s best about your company, your co-workers and your customers.

As Aristotle said, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” It’s about aligning your organization’s mission, vision, values and purpose and for a company objective to align and take advantage of these important assets.

So, what can you do that is different from your competitors and great for your customers?

Happy communicating.

Other Interesting BMC Locations: Measure Training Effectiveness, Email Writing Training, Increase Productivity By 15% Or More! and Good Email Bad Email.

Give us a call at 416.617.0462. We’ll listen.

Bruce Mayhew Consulting is based in Toronto and facilitates business writing, email writing and email etiquette courses.

We are… Strategic   Branded   Relevant

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Words Matter: Two Easy Writing Tips For 2012

Do words matter?

Even though most of us are not great authors we’ll still spend most of our day writing. Why? On average 90% of business communication is done using email or instant message (IM). Not to mention the time we spend writing proposals and reports.

So, do words matter? Sure they do. Two of the most common areas we can improve are:

1. The number of words we use (we use too few or too many)
2. The actual words we use (we often don’t fully describe what we are trying to say)

Let’s discuss these opportunities!

I believe all we need to do to start writing better is to learn to control the ‘Busy Beast.’

What is the ‘Busy Beast‘? It’s what I call the feeling of being so ‘busy’ that our email writing stops informing. We stop managing people’s expectations. We write so briefly our writing loses focus, and when this happens we actually:

• Get less accomplished
• Create more work for ourselves and the people around us
• Become less efficient; costing us time, money and potentially opportunity
• Sound pushy, rude and / or bossy
• Lower our customer service ratings

I believe another reason for our brevity is that we’re becoming so used to 140 characters (Twitters limit), that our meaning – our intent is so “high level” so “50,000 feet”, that the words we do write are virtually meaningless.

Email Example 1: Being Too Brief

If your boss sends the following email to you, what’s your next step?

Are you going to ask your boss:

• What are the priority areas is she most concerned with?
• What behaviour she wants to see from your team?

If you do ask your boss might question your competency even though the real meaning of her request is lost. If you’re like most people you’ll ‘interpret‘ what you think your boss is asking for and what your team needs. You’ll use your experience but be cautious.

Unfortunately, if you don’t ask you risk wasting your time, effort and budget.

This is why words matter. The problem isn’t your competency, it’s the email message. Too few words were used resulting in too little information being shared.

People at all levels of the company write email like this. Not because we hope our readers will fail. In most cases it’s because we’re all so ’busy’ we don’t take 20 extra seconds to ask ourselves “Have I given my readers enough information for them to understand what I am saying or asking for?“

What if we did take an extra 20 seconds to include the information our audience needs to understand our request. In this example, what if the email the boss wrote was this:

We see that words matter because they can help our audience understand what we are thinking, feeling, wanting.

As I mention in my blog post called Increase Productivity By 15% Or More!, if you have to write one more email to 15% of the requests that come to you (because your co-worker didn’t write a clear message for example), you’re wasting 12 days of your valuable time each year (and they’re also wasting their time). There is a very real cost / loss when employees write bad email.

Email Example 2: Being Too Vague

Here’s another of my favourite examples. “I will contact you later.“ What does that mean?

Here are some of the possibilities for:  “I will contact you later.“

What is contact?	What is later?
Phone your office Phone your mobile phone Email Instant Message BlackBerry PIN MAC FaceTime or Skype Come by your office Facebook message	Within the hour When I’m out of my meeting This afternoon On my drive home Today Within the week When I have an answer When ‘X’ gets back to me

We need to give the people we communicate with some help. They don’t live inside our head.

Much of this seems to be commonsense; natural even because it’s what many of us learned when we were young. However, in the hustle and bustle of our daily lives many of these truths have been set aside and we’ve become unaware of our abrupt, abbreviated 140 characters or less impact as we move through our day.

It’s time to slow down – to control the ‘Busy Beast‘. It’s time to become more efficient by no longer wasting our efforts and time and the efforts and time of the people around us.

Most of the time an extra 20 seconds will may go a long way to communicating effectively (the first time), and to building meaningful relationships.

Kind thoughtful words do matter.

Imagine work being easier. Imagine work being more productive.

Happy communicating.

Click here to join our priority list of people who receive our latest Business Communication blog posts.

If you enjoyed this post we think you’ll like: Email Writing Training, Core Values, Measure Training Effectiveness and Good Email Bad Email.

Bruce Mayhew Consulting facilitates business writing, email writing and email etiquette courses.

Give us a call at 416 617 0462. We’ll listen.

www.brucemayhewconsulting.com