It’s common sense: Front-line service personnel who are knowledgeable about your organization and its processes, services, and products are better able to serve your customers. As part of your service training, then, we recommend you build up your employees’ knowledge through the development of just-in-time information tools.
These tools may be high tech (a searchable database) or low tech (a filing cabinet), comprehensive (a book on every issue) or basic (one-page tip sheets). What matters most is that they’re easy to use and readily available
and that front-liners get in the habit of using them.
Before taking action to develop information tools, see if your organization already has similar materials in place.
They may be sufficient for your purposes. Whether such tools are available or you have to build them may determine how comprehensive and technological they will be.
Developing the Tools
If you have to build the information tools yourself, get your team involved in the process. This will not only make it easier on you as the manager, but increase the quality of the tools, provide your team members with a fantastic learning experience, and give team members a feeling of ownership. In Part 2 of this book, we have dedicated an entire stage of the customer service intervention to working with your team to build these information
tools.
Once you’ve completed the development work, the tools will serve as day-to-day job aids for every employee as well as vehicles for ongoing learning. They also will become invaluable for accelerating the initial
training of new employees. Be sure to provide copies to the appropriate leaders in your organization so they can make the tools available to other teams. Keep in
mind that you, as the supervisory manager, have the responsibility to review, finalize, and distribute any and all information tools.
No comments:
Post a Comment