< All Articles

It is a proven fact that companies that provide well-planned employee training programs will outperform their competitors. The best companies in the world spend the most on training, to provide their employees with the skills they need to deliver top-notch service. Their leaders view training as an investment in success, rather than as an expense.

You can talk all you want about great customer service or wish more sales would come in, but until you decide how much you are willing to spend on consistent, quality training, you will never be the best in your industry.

Training does much more than just teach new skills. It sends a message to employees that they are valued by the organization. Training builds positive teamwork and serves as a communication bridge between departments. Training provides a forum for employees to express their views and feel a part of the “big picture.”

The Loyalty Leader^®’s Tips for Training

• Include training in your annual budget. It’s usually determined by a percentage of sales.
• Make an ongoing commitment to provide training to employees at all levels of the organization.
• Bring in the experts. You know your business best and a professional trainer will help you identify core issues and cost-effective training solutions.
• Develop a consistent training curriculum—and stick with it!¨ Require all new employees to participate in an orientation that includes customer service training. Set service standards for all employees. Teach them that everyone has customers. Some employees may only deal with internal customers such as co-workers, but they should be required to deliver the same quality of service as employees who deal with the external customers.
• Mix it up with fresh faces. If the same employee always delivers the training, people stop listening. Involve different employees in the delivery of internal training.
• Periodically it’s beneficial to bring in outside speakers. This can keep training fresh, entertaining, motivational and current. Just like kids, employees tend to get bored when their peers or bosses deliver the training messages. I call this the “Parent Syndrome.” Employees are more enthusiastic and receptive to learning when training is delivered by an individual who is an expert on the topic. The basic messages may be the same, but the trainer is perceived as an expert or authority on the subject.