LAUNCH THE PROGRAM

Once you have completed the Stage 1 evaluations and conducted your one-on-one meetings, your intervention has begun. You are now ready to work on launching your new customer service mission and first training program.

Logistics and Preparation

The Logistics

Take an upfront approach to deciding the basics:

• When to launch your program—date and time

• Where to hold the program—onsite or off-site

• How much time to dedicate to the first meeting—a full day, two half-days, or several two-hour sessions

• How to announce the launch—through a memo, meeting, e-mail, and/or voice mail

Prepare Your Materials and Rehearse Them

Here are some helpful guidelines:

• Carefully study all Stage 2 materials. Decide which topics, exercises, and activities to use in your program—not all may be pertinent to your team right now.

• Modify the materials as needed:

— Adapt our “sales message” to make it compelling to your team.

— Add any additional customer complaints and underlying causes that you discovered through the service evaluations.

— Customize each Stage 2 worksheet to fit your situation.

• Create an interactive customer service workbook that you can use for training now and for review and reference later on. Consider putting it in a binder or online so that you can add materials developed after the program. If possible, get away from boring black and white and create colorful, user-friendly handouts filled with eye-catching graphics, cartoons, and photos. Think USA Today, not employee manual.

• Decide how to position each topic and rehearse your presentation. If you’re a seasoned trainer, you already know the importance of practicing what you’re going to say and how you’re going to say it. Use your own style, humor, stories, insights, examples, experience, and pacing. Be as ingenious and flexible as you wish.

Remember: The key to a successful program lies in preparation, practice, and customization.