Selecting For
Peak PerformanceCustomer Care:
The Customer Service Enhancement SystemGuided Self
DevelopmentThe Manager
Development ManualCustomer
Satisfaction Program
Organizations are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of the process of hiring new people. Developing a personnel selection process to ensure the selection of individuals capable of competently and consistently fulfilling the mission of the job is a critical first step. This importance is reflected not only in the need to obtain qualified individuals, but also in the significant costs associated with advertising for a position, assessing resumes, interviewing applicants and training the new performer. Additionally, time is required for the new person to become productive. These costs are compounded when selection results cause an increase in turnover rates.
Research has shown the traditional or "unstructured" employment interview has little validity in promoting the quality of selection decisions. Reasons for this include: 1) different interviewers tend to ask different questions, 2) many questions are not job-related, 3) interviewers tend to evaluate information uniquely, and 4) many potential sources of error and bias are inherent in this subjective and non-systematic process. In contrast, research has demonstrated "structured" interviews can promote the validity of selection decisions.
Structured interviews possess eight characteristics:
The proposed structured interview to select employees consists of three components.
Participants learn how to develop and apply job-specific characteristics for recruiting highly qualified candidates and then selecting the best candidate using patterned interview questions, situational interview questions and a role play demonstration.
The customized selection system is developed using Subject Matter Experts (SME). The SME must be familiar with the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for the job. Qualified individuals include managers and experienced performers who currently hold the position for which SELECTING FOR PEAK PERFORMANCE is being developed.
Success, and even survival, for companies today depends on more than just innovative products or favorable pricing. Many studies have revealed that, in today's competitive marketplace, customer service can have a dramatic impact on customer loyalty and business growth. Other studies also show customer satisfaction is very much affected by a variety of service-related factors. Thus, it is no surprise to find companies discovering how achieving their business objectives requires improving their customer service.
Many companies also now realize it takes more than a quick course on "Customer Relations", periodic pep-talks, inspirational tapes, or employee-of-the month programs to produce long-term, meaningful, improvements in service. Customer service is not just an attitude. It is a way of interacting with customers. To improve the quality of customer service interactions requires changing what employees do and say to customers — not just for a day or a week, but forever.
A 20-year program of university-based research, including observations of thousands of actual employee-customer interactions, identified the factors necessary to produce long-term improvements in customer service. This research revealed that long-term improvements in customer service can be produced by companies using a system consisting of:
A public commitment from the highest levels of the organization to improve customer service
A person assigned the task of organizing, coordinating, facilitating, and following up on the improvement efforts
A definition of "good service" based on 10 key behaviors of what performers should say and do with customers
A training program ensuring performers understand and can perform the key customer-service behaviors
An ongoing method for tracking the occurrence of key service behaviors during interactions between performers and customers
A training program for first-line managers designed to develop the skills needed to implement the tracking system, use the tracking results to provide objective feedback to performers about their service, then coaching and reinforcing them individually as needed to achieve and maintain desired levels of service
Support systems for the first-line managers
Methods to make the company's commitment to customer service a focal point of its organizational culture.
ll of the elements necessary to produce measurable and long-lasting improvements in service have been incorporated into a single system called THE CUSTOMER SERVICE ENHANCEMENT SYSTEM. This system incorporates the most effective instructional approaches combined with proven management procedures to ensure service skills are learned, used on the job, and maintained.
Participants learn to use the 10 key behaviors of THE CUSTOMER SERVICE ENHANCEMENT SYSTEM in all of their customer interactions.
All individuals within the organization who have direct or indirect customer contact will benefit from participation in THE CUSTOMER SERVICE ENHANCEMENT SYSTEM.
All training components of THE CUSTOMER SERVICE ENHANCEMENT SYSTEM includes behaviorally stated learning objectives specific and relevant to their job. Completion of training requires demonstrating competence with each key skill. Each module has a "performance check" which requires learners to demonstrate achieving success criteria before proceeding to subsequent modules. To facilitate instruction and scheduling, courses are broken up into easily mastered modules. All training can be conducted in groups or individually.
The course is divided into five modules. The three hour training regimen concludes when participants demonstrate the use of each behavior presented in THE CUSTOMER SERVICE ENHANCEMENT SYSTEM. This training can be conducted by first-line managers, a system administrator or a PPI professional. An additional half-day course is available for first-line managers on how to keep THE CUSTOMER SERVICE ENHANCEMENT SYSTEM running smoothly day after day.
Guided Self Development™
In today's multifaceted workplaces, leadership is more important than ever. Guided Self Development™ (GSD) presents a processes whereby managers can become Leaders by elevating the priority for self development among those for whom they are responsible (their Performers). Using the methods of GSD, managers acting as Leaders can empower and enable their Performers to recognize and evaluate their own performance and take the necessary actions to reach desired goals.
GSD transforms managers into Leaders by moving them away from a directive development mode characterized by telling Performers what to do and how to improve. GSD is based on the fundamental principle that directive, telling-oriented strategies are like the proverbial "giving of the fish." They may allow Performers to "eat" today, but they do little to help them tomorrow or in the future. Performers with "telling" managers quickly become dependent on external input and direction and never learn how to analyze their own performance. The consequence can be a Performer who will learn and develop only when the manager is present—which is rare in many work settings.
GSD was created after engaging in many years of research-oriented observation. Highly effective managers, who used a non-directive approach to development, were compared with managers who used the directive or telling approach. Those who delegated the responsibility for achieving goals and objectives, both personal and business, to their Performers were the most successful. These managers, acting as Leaders, provided their Performers with the ability to analyze themselves and determine:
· when their performance either exceeded or fell below expectations;
· alternative ways to remedy under-achievement;
· how to devise appropriate action plans to increase performance; and
· ways to keep their Leader aware of their progress.
The results achieved by these non-directive Leaders were astounding. They literally created self-developing Performers who examined their own performance, learned from the consequences of their actions, recognized the need to improve, and created their own strategies for change—even when the Leader was not present.
GSD focuses on having the manager become a Leader by:
· maintaining objectivity through evaluation of behavior—actions and words—not feelings, judgement, interpretation or attitudes;
· enabling Performers to link their behavior with the consequences it produces in others;
· reinforcing their Performers abilities to analyze their behavior and consequences;
· guiding their Performers abilities to meet or exceed expected outcomes; and
· recognizing how to empower those who are willing to change and rescue those who are not.
Anyone charged with responsibility for helping others develop and achieve peak levels of performance.
Course facilitators manager the self-learning process through presentations, video demonstrations and group review discussions. In addition, Performance-Based Training is incorporated to ensure measurable results are achieved through individual and group exercises, and role-plays.
An integral part of the total GSD program is the Leader’s Communication Package©. This presentation package is designed to assist the Leader in presenting the principles and processes of GSD to their Performers, so they can take on the responsibility for their own performance.
The Manager Development Manual (MDM) is a resource that can be used to develop or strengthen the skills measured by the MDI. The MDM is based on two decades of research on behavioral approaches to people management and development. This research has revealed a collection of skills, knowledge and insights that enable managers to effectively work with and develop their employees.
The MDM is a modular resource. The various chapters of this manual correspond to the five main skill areas covered by the MDI. The five main MDM modules are:
Foundations of Successful Management
Goal Setting and Action Planning
Performance Feedback
Positive Reinforcement
Performance Coaching
Each module contains content and exercises related to one collection of skills covered by the MDI. Also, the various modules make reference to appropriate sections of the MDI.
The MDM can be used as an adjunct to the MDI in two basic ways.
Self study. This is the primary use for this tool. MDM chapters can be used by managers as resources for their own skill building efforts. MDI feedback can be used to guide managers in establishing priorities for the order in which chapters will be completed.
Training classes. As an alternative to self study, the MDM can be used as a participant manual in a performance-based training class administered in the client organization by you or the company’s training personnel. A Leader’s Guide for this purpose is supplied.
Highly successful salespeople know the key to effective selling is meeting customer needs. Today, their customers are more informed and discriminating than ever. These highly-successful salespeople:
· Engage customers in a productive dialogue about needs and valued benefits
· Communicate product benefits clearly and concisely, with specific ways the customer’s needs will be met
· Recognize that being proactive about product limitations earns them professional credibility and helps ensure customer satisfaction
· View customer questions and concerns as opportunities to clarify the facts, explore customer interests and needs, and reinforce benefits
· Establish call objectives designed to move the sales process forward at a pace appropriate for the customer’s buying style
The Customer Satisfaction Programä enables participants to develop these and other successful selling strategies—to incorporate them as habits guiding their daily performance. The program verifies competence through performance, not just conceptual understanding.
Benefits
· New sales people build effective sales communication habits from the start, quickly becoming self-confident and productive
· Experienced sales people get reinforcement of their existing skills and add new skills, leading to renewed enthusiasm and greater sales results
· First-line managers get practical, effective tools for maximizing their coaching effectiveness to develop the full potential of all sales team members
· Senior management gains confidence the entire sales organization is receiving effective, consistent training based on proven standards for performance excellence, increasing the return of training investment
· The company gains a substantial return on its investment in sales performance improvement and strengthening its competitive edge in the marketplace
Program Design
The Customer Satisfaction Program™ is designed for sales representatives and first-line managers. It uses Performance-Based Training methods to ensure learning effectiveness while minimizing time away from the job. The 15 self-paced learning units, each consisting of clearly stated learning objectives, concisely written study material, and a Performance Check to verify and reinforce knowledge and skill proficiency. Study time for most units ranges from 45 to 60 minutes. The program lends itself to a variety of implementation options that can be tailored to the sales organization’s specific needs.
PANTHEON PARTNERS INTERNATIONAL