Justify the use of a needs assessment of your company’s proposed employee customer service training, stressing five (5) ways in which such an assessment would expose any existing performance deficiencies.
A needs assessment is important for the proposed employee customer service training because it will help define what the main problem is and identify what the root causes of the problem. The assessment report will be used by management as a base for designing interventions that address the root causes and consequently solve the problem (Chris 2011).
The managers who request for training will think through the issues in general, and conduct an assessment to reveal existing performance deficiencies. They ensure that the training is relevant to and in line with the company’s goals and objectives. The problem should be thoroughly scrutinized to see whether it is in line with the company’s strategies and whether it warrants the use of the company’s resources to address it. It is the sole responsibility of managers to evaluate the exact nature of the problems and identify whether trainings will solve the problem. This is followed by a step that is concerned with problem identification is important as it will clearly identify any performance deficiencies in customer service.
This is followed by an assessment of what is causing the performance gap in customer service done using a causal analysis. All possible reasons for the existence of the gap are analyzed with the aim of creating an understanding of the role each factor is playing in causing performance deficiencies. The importance of this is that it helps the management decide the necessary action to address the deficiency depending on the underlying cause they identified. For example, if the cause of poor performance is resulting from employee’s low motivation and lack of engagement, training will not solve the problem, however, if it is emanating from a lack of adequate knowledge, then training is most appropriate.
Develop a customer service training, implementation plan and determine the method of training (i.e., presentation, discussion, case study, discovery, role play, simulation, modeling, or on-the-job training).
The implementation plan will be based on the information collected from the assessment. The plan will explain the training that will be offered and whom will be trained. The plan for customer service training will show the priority of the identified deficiencies. The management in charge of customer service will identify training needs in order of priority and urgency. They then rate the needs, based on what is most relevant to the company’s strategic goals and the most important in helping employees perform their work effectively (Chris 2011).
This will be followed by determining the relevant content to be trained in order to effectively address the deficiencies. The logistics of the training are put into consideration, who will offer the training and where. When it will be is dependent on the amount of time specific employees can stay without working. This is then followed by a decision on the most appropriate method of training the employees in order to realize the best outcome. Finally the plan has to have a means of assessing the impact of the training in order to report on its effectiveness and benefits.
The Method of training that can be used for customer service training is discussion. The training method is active and allows both the trainers and the employees to interact freely. The facilitators explain to the employees all the issues the management expects them to know and how they are expected to help customers. The employees are allowed to interact through raising questions and receiving answers from fellow employees and also from the trainers. The trainers have the responsibility of moderating all discussions to ensure all employees participate in the training. They also ensure that discussions do not steer off the laid down agendas and all contributions are relevant.
Justify why you selected the training method that you did.
Discussions are active in nature and not passive thus allow all members to remember more of what they learnt. Discussions on customer service training offer a free environment where employees can raise questions regarding any unclear matters that they might have been encountering in the work place. The relaxed customer service training environment will create room for both the trainers and the other employees to answer such questions. Discussion will give the employees an opportunity to learn from one another, this is important because they can learn of effective work secrets that the others have been using. Discussions will prompt employees to brainstorm and develop new ideas that are more effective in handling deficiencies.Finally, discussions will help create e a common perspective on customer service issues, as all employees will be on the same page.
Propose two (2) ways to motivate an employee who has no interest in attending a training class.
Explaining to the employee the benefits of the training to them personally and also to the company. The employee can be informed how the identified performance deficiencies in customer service are affecting customer satisfaction. At a personal level, the employee can be made to understand that they are inadequate in certain knowledge and skills that are necessary for them to perform optimally in customer service. The facilitator can further highlight the performance expectations that the firm has on this employee and motivate him to seek the skills and knowledge he needs to be able to deliver.
At the corporate level, the employee can be made to understand that the training is tailored to the company’s strategic goals in mind. This information will make the employee comprehend that time and effort spent in training is not wasted, rather it is for the benefit of the firm in the long run. The top management of the firm can increase motivation of the employees by showing them that they are fully committed to the training.
Offering rewards to employees who attend the training will act as a motivation for this employee who does not want to attend the training (Tahseen 2013). The rewards can include certificates or the promise for special consideration for attendance that the employee can use to develop their career in the future. The rewards can also be monetary, in terms of participation allowances or bonuses. In some cases the employees can be promised a change of tasks from what they have been performing, promotions or time off depending on what the firm wants to achieve from the training.
Develop a survey to collect feedback from the employees who attend the training.
The feedback survey will provide data that will be analyzed to assess the effectiveness of the training on improving the skills and knowledge of the employees. It can be divided into sections with open ended or closed questions that evaluate different aspects of the training (Karve 2012).
Using the given scale, rate the following aspects of the training.
1. Not at all 2. Very few times 3. A few times 4. Sometimes, 5. Frequently, 6. Most of the times, 7. All the time.
Training content and materials.
The materials used for the training were relevant
The content addressed in the training was important to me..
In every session I gain new knowledge and skills
Training method and duration.
The training method used was effective..
According to my judgement, the duration of each session was properly timed
Training time and facilities
According to my judgment, the training was held in the most conducive environment
The training was held at the time of day that was the best.
Facilitator.
According to my expectation, the facilitator was knowledgeable and informed.
The facilitator was effective..
Work Cited.
- Karve, S. (2012). Level 1 Evaluation: Deciding on the Survey Format. Retrieved January 19 2014.
- Tahseen, B. (2013) Motivating and Rewarding Generation Y Employees. Retrieved on January 19 2014 from http://www.academia.edu/3736192
- Chris, O. (2011) Employee Training and Development in Nigerian Organizations:
Some Observations and Agenda for Research.Australian Journal of Business and Management Research. 1(9) Retrieved January 19 2013 from Australian journal of Business and Management Data base.
