How does it feel?
The workshop begins with a clear understanding of the impact of poor customer experience. How does it feel to be treated as ‘just another client’? We look at how feelings inform judgements.
Modelling
A practical activity which defines the exact nature of current customer service. These techniques are fun, engaging and very challenging in terms of the conclusions that are arrived at.
What delights you?
Experiences recalled that reinforce positive behaviours.
What makes you really angry?
Experiences recalled that damage customer perception and just how great that damage can be.
How should it be?
The group will define clear, plain English standards of behaviour and approach for themselves relating to their interaction with customers. These will be based on how they would want the customer experience to be if it was them on the receiving end. We use several different activities to pull out these standards.
Self and peer assessment
We engage the group in assessing themselves and others that they work closely with against the standards. This provides a precedent for them to continue to provide that feedback in the workplace. We help them define the way the team could work together to really address the problems and resolve them together. We will embed self-monitoring and policing through these exercises.
‘Hot Seat’
The final exercise is a commitment exercise that provides the forum for each individual in turn to sit in the ‘hot seat’ and give feedback on the ways in which they both reinforce and perhaps unknowingly undermine the standards with specific examples. The final part is a commitment made to the whole group regarding certain behaviours or approaches that they are going to change and those they want support for from the rest of the group.
Day Two
Hot-Seat
The first activity of the day is to hear from each of the participants regarding the progress they have made against their commitment from the first module. The individuals will have been briefed to provide examples of where they were able to make changes and also where they failed. MileStone recognise there is as much learning and development to be gained from our failures as our successes.
The participants will use their journals (provided during the first module) that they will have used to reflect on and record their progress against their commitment each night.
The standards re-visited
A reminder session for the groups, reinforcing the standards and prompting individuals to reflect on areas that they might still need to work on or new areas that they need to move onto improving.
The world of the modern customer
Understanding the mind-set of the odern ‘never satisfied’ customer is an important step towards managing customer expectations. We help the group understand how to manage expectations for a positive outcome and how to ensure that we generate a positive reaction as we exceed the expectations that we set. There’s nothing complicated about it, it just requires discipline and repetition to embed it in each individuals approach to their customers.
Business Objectives
Making sure that the group understand how to manage their interactions with the customer in a way that aligns their business objectives with that of their customers, something that is not always easy to achieve. We look at adding value as a way of balancing the focus. What is ‘adding value’? How do we achieve it? Participants will leave the module clearly understanding the ways in which they can ‘give’ to their customers without ‘taking’ from the bottom line.
Vital communication
Customers and clients expect clear plain English communication. Whether they are receiving information, results, data or updates on performance there should be no ambiguity, and certainly no need for the customer to have to try and guess what is being said to them. It is however, all too frequently the case that written and verbal communications leave customers confused, annoyed or at worst misled. Managing the customer experience includes ensuring that every communication is a good experience whatever the information being imparted.
We enable participants to analyse the way they use email, the telephone and face to face communications. We help them write plain, direct English that fulfils the intended purpose. We help the participants use verbal language and styles that are clear and unambiguous, leaving the recipient in possession of the facts and conclusions intended.
By the end of the module participants will understand how poor communication contributes to customer dissatisfaction and how they can avoid common failings.
Surgery time
We offer time for individuals to discuss and reflect on situations that have occurred with their clients that they wish to learn from and provide a forum for developing alternative approaches and behaviours. This forum often becomes a regular customer service support group that continues to meet after the training.