The biggest obstacles affecting BINZ, Inc., according to Fred Knott, training consultant, are personnel skills, communication, and enterprise expansion. As part of the recommended solution, the organization should provide training to its customer service representatives in order to improve their communication skills as well as their effectiveness in carrying out their jobs. This article aims to establish a training strategy for BINZ, Inc., with a particular emphasis on the training design and preliminary lesson plan.
The first phase entails identifying training goals by undertaking assessment needs. In BINZ, Inc., the major focus is on improving the communication skills and provision of high-quality services to the customers. It is at the goal identification stage that customer service team will learn how to undertake specific tasks such as handling customer complaints and making follow-ups to provide feedback that is essential for business growth. Therefore, the training activities such as demonstration or hands-on-experience will be employed in consideration to the workers' characteristics. For instance, cultural aspects of the employees under training, their age, and capability to grasp issues based on training approaches will guide productive learning.
On the other hand, training design will incorporate the learning objectives that is upon completion of the exercise; the customer service teams must be able to perform certain tasks efficiently. The learning objectives are important in creating the relevant content and testing the understanding of the customer service groups. For instance, the client service personnel should be able to provide a summary of the matters raised when communicating with a customer over the phone to demonstrate his or her understanding of the complaints. The objectives are based on the desired knowledge, skills, and attitudes of the workers when executing their duties. Notably, the learning objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant to the needs, and time-bound in nature.
The target audience and the number of participants is a key consideration in the design plan. Apparently, the number of participants will be relatively high because the issues affecting BINZ, Inc., such as the radical growth of the business require additional workers, especially in the customer service department. Additionally, the lack of communication skills among the existing customer service teams implies that both the newly recruited employees and the old will be trained. Meanwhile, the audience will display varied characteristics since it will be a combination of both young and old. Emphasis should be put on the adult learning principles such as concerns for respect, self-direction, task-oriented approaches, and relevance of the exercise. Moreover, the length of training should be appropriate to avoid unnecessary boredom. The exercise should also incorporate the perquisites such as training materials. In this case, handouts, role-playing elements as well as e-learning materials that are relevant to the target audience and the objectives will be employed. Finally, the location and facility arrangement can be efficiently accomplished using the learning and management system software (LMS). However, other duties like room reservation, meal arrangements, and traveling logistics will require personal involvement.
Sample Preliminary Lesson Plan
Title: Building Communication Skills among Customer Service Teams in BINZ, Inc.
Main goal: Promote efficient delivery of customer service through effective communication
Leaning Objectives
The learners should:
Gain relevant listening skills when communicating with the customers
Make follow-ups on clients to generate feedback for improvement decisions and,
Demonstrate key communication skills in their service delivery
Target Audience: Customer service personnel both serving and newly recruited employees
Number of Participants: 15 per session
Length of Training: One day
Prerequisites: Handouts, work plan tables, and writing tools that is note books and pens
Location: Various
Facility Arrangement: Fan-type rooms with adequate lighting systems
