I am the training manager at one site of a large food manufacturing oorganisation, together with L&D responsibility for their Distribution Service Centre, which includes a Customer Service team. I have limited experience of this type of working environment. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to ensure that new employees to the Customer Service Team gain an understanding of the business and knowledge/skill requirements of the role so that we can quickly identify & plan learning solutions, whilst also ensuring effective team integration? What type of support systems e.g. buddy, mentor, etc, have you used. Looking for Day 1, Week 1, Month 1, etc, type of schedule.
Pamela Sneddon
2 Responses
Some thoughts
Hi Pamela
My suggestions would be a Day 1 introduction to the company – what it does, its markets, history and future plans/vision etc. Also the basics such as all the necessary paperwork, issuing of log-ins etc.
To learn more about the business, you could produce a DVD – a sort of guided tour, with key people explaining their bit of the business, or you could arrange for that physically to happen if geography allows.
Does your telephone system allow for people to listen in to live calls? If so they could shadow a current employee. If not, can you arrange to record some calls so that they can listen and gain an understanding of the role?
From there they could start to take calls themselves, while a trainer/more experienced colleague listens in and then debriefs each call.
Hope this helps
Sue
Got a top line programme
Pamela,
I designed a 4 week induction programme for a customer service team a few years ago, and it resulted in very good results (can’t take all the credit though…the managers have to have most of that!).
Usually, I would not give away programme outlines as it potentially does me (and others like me) out of work. However, I am such a passionate believer in getting induction right, I am happy to send you an overview of what we did, and hope that it will be of use.
Please drop me a line.
[email protected]