Customer Service Training
Righttrack Consultancy delivers bespoke customer service training solutions to help your team achieve:
Increased customer satisfaction
Improved customer relationships and loyalty
Reduction in complaints
Customer Service Training - Case Studies
View recent case studies:
Customer Service Telephone skills - BP Pensions
Creating a Customer Service Culture - IKEA
Creating a Customer Service Culture - The NEC Group
Creating a Customer Service Culture - English National Ballet
Management in Customer Service - Allport
Train the Trainer Training & Writing Manuals - NELC
Train the Trainer Training & Writing Manuals - Lafarge Plasterboard
Processes & Procedures for Customer Service - SKE
Processes & Procedures for Customer Service - Keyring
Pension division of major oil company
Client requirement
The client required a bespoke development programme to enhance confidence and customer service focus of the Pensions and Benefits Administration teams.
The 40+ strong team looked after the needs of circa 80,000 pension members, generally handling queries and dealing with people who are experiencing stressful situations. Circumstances can be severe and staff deal with many customers facing redundancy, divorce or bereavement. The team need to be confident and skilled to handle difficult situations in a tactful yet assertive manner. Some members are simply seeking information, while others can be tearful, angry, unsure or bewildered.
Solution
The programme was designed to include many different aspects of customer service including communication, influencing and handling difficult behaviours. Specifically prepared role-plays, which reflected a number of different client member situations, were played by highly skilled, trained actors to ensure each scenario was as realistic as possible. Throughout, there was particular emphasis on what was practically implementable into individual’s job roles rather than theoretical models.
A follow-up session was designed and delivered three months following the initial programme to ensure the learning was kept alive.
Result
The learning intervention supported the development objectives required by the client. It was clear from the follow-up sessions that delegates had utilised the learning from the initial programme and the involvement of actors had clearly brought additional benefits to the outcomes of the programme. The client was extremely positive about the outcomes of the project and has purchased subsequent projects.
Client requirement
IKEA, Kuwait, looked to develop customer service and soft sales skills amongst the co-workers who had customer facing roles. Many co-workers were nervous of dealing directly with customers and occasionally this manifested itself as not being interested in the customer situation. The aim was to feedback statistics from customer service satisfaction surveys.
Solution
A bespoke two module programme was designed with careful consideration of the distinctive IKEA values, culture and customer service style. In addition to communication, customer service and soft sales skills, the programme featured a psychometric questionnaire which, based on individual personality types, assessed delegates’ varying approaches to providing service. Links were also made to the 14 different cultures and nationalities found amongst the IKEA co-worker population; delegates were encouraged to not only understand their own individual style, but that of their colleagues as well. This in turn led them to better appreciate different customer behaviours and expectations.
Result
Within three months of programme completion, IKEA Kuwait won the Service Hero Award for the best Customer Service provided by the Furniture Retail section IKEA. Service Hero is the first online survey which measures customer service quality standards in Kuwait; the many positive shopping experiences of IKEA customers clearly shone through!
Client requirement
With 4.5 million visitors annually, the NEC wanted an inspiring event that captured the imagination of their customer facing employees resulting in a charismatic but real approach to visitor experience. Customer satisfaction research had highlighted that although customers were content, they rarely gave top mark scores. As an organisation striving for world-class performance, the NEC Group sought to give customers a truly exceptional experience that would keep them coming back time and time again.
Solution
The solution was Service Unmasked, a unique and unparalleled experiential development event designed to mirror specific real-life client concerns. Based in a mock up of St Mark’s Square, Venice and complete with music, café, street performers and even a gondola, this incredible and imaginative event swallowed delegates into the lives of ‘tourists’ who had travelled to Venice for a holiday. As the plot thickened around them, delegates ‘lived’ within the scenario and felt the visitor experience for themselves.
After thorough review and formal learning input from the training team, the project moved on to begin the development of 70 internal Champions who would be at the forefront of this new initiative. These 70 individuals were trained to subsequently roll-out the programme to the 2000+ people throughout the organisation.
Result
The project objectives were achieved and all expectations were exceeded, creating a culture of self-belief and enthusiasm. Naturally this led to much improved customer satisfaction results. Many still say that this was the most memorable training experience they have ever been a part of!
Client requirement
The commitment and value of what English National Ballet believes in and produces is always strong. However as with many organisations, communication across departments required some attention.
The client felt there was a lack of understanding about what each area of the business did on a day to day basis, which resulted in people not always fully appreciating the impact of their own decisions and demands. The client required an appropriately creative learning event, suitable for all, to enable a more people focused approach that would in turn create a more productive environment.
Solution
For this particular client and requirement, a class room based training programme was not going to fit the bill. A bespoke, experiential learning event was designed based on our travel scenario Salt Cay. The core event was customised to mirror situations which happened within the client company.
During the event delegates played specific parts within the scenario and interacted with each other to solve a fictitious, internal customer related situation. The design was highly interactive and enabled delegates to experience poor communication and understanding. The event was concluded with a thorough review of lessons learned.
Result
This interactive, high impact approach suited the client delegates well. The HR Director said, “The group reacted well to the scenario and the reflective activity was incredibly powerful and well received, which led to many of our employees leaving the event with positive suggestions and ideas to put in place to improve internal communications and cooperation, which is exactly what we wanted the development to do!”
Client requirement
Allport employs specialist teams handling sea freight contracts for national and global clients. The business requires flexibility and excellence in customer service for its clients with an emphasis on professionalism in both spoken and written communications.
Solution
Since 2003 Righttrack has been working with Allport providing bespoke training with strong focus on excellent customer service. To minimise operational disruptions a series of innovative and flexible half-day sessions to develop skills for front line staff in customer service and communications have been rolled out backed by development for team leaders to sustain the impact of the training.
Result
Allport Divisional Director acknowledges the innovation and energy Righttrack puts into its bespoke training programmes. ‘'Righttrack have always provided us with quality training packages, tailored to suit our requirements. Our long association has enabled their trainers to really get to know us and deliver just what we need”.
Client requirement
North East Lincolnshire Council looked to work in partnership with a value for money, external provider to instil a culture that provides excellent customer service to service-users organisation-wide. It was important that the chosen provider was able to equip this council with a training solution that internal resources could sustain in the future.
Solution
Righttrack designed a bespoke programme that captured the way to "Customer Service Excellence" for North East Lincolnshire Council; it was delivered as a complete comprehensive and fully branded training manual.
The manual was taught to internal talent. With full, professional support through this new and daunting challenge, the new training team delivered the programme in pairs to small groups and received individual feedback and coaching in preparation for going 'live' themselves.
Result
The client has gained an eager and competent training team who, armed with comprehensive training manual, are equipped to deliver the "Customer Service Excellence" programme to staff from all departments across the organisation.
Lafarge Plasterboard
World leader in manufacture of building materials
Client requirement
As part of a comprehensive development plan, this high profile client wanted to encourage leaders in the company to promote a learning culture. They were required to be equipped to deliver elements of learning to the workforce themselves. In addition to Customer Service skills, this initial project was to extend to three other key areas: Quality, Products and Communication.
Solution
After extensive research and working in partnership with the client, Righttrack designed innovative workshops which were highly specific to Lafarge. These were to be presented by leaders and attended by staff. Focussing on both internal and external aspects, the Customer Service workshop featured experiential learning techniques making it novel to the learners and impactful in delivery.
As part of the project, Righttrack prepared each of the four workshops as step by step training manuals suitable for use by any one of the leaders who, as part of their development, attended a bespoke Train the Trainer programme before workshop roll-out began.
Result
The overall process for each of the workshops to be trained to the population took two years. The way in which busy leaders took responsibility for delivering the workshops was quite amazing and each demonstrated their own style in presenting and facilitating learning events.
Apart from what the general population learned from attending the four workshops, the experience helped to establish new skills and confidence within each of the leaders. Lafarge became self-sufficient to roll out this learning within the business in future.
Client requirement
South Kensington Estates is a property investment company that manages and develops a unique portfolio of properties for one of London’s oldest family-run estates. The organisation was keen to ensure that its culture was highly professional and that the level of customer service delivered to private and commercial tenants was world class. Existing levels of customer service were high however the bar was to be raised.
Solution
Following research and company familiarisation, a customer service skills workshop was designed and implemented. The content was a combination of skills, behaviour and confidence building techniques with a strong emphasis on delegates contributing to the development of customer service standards. Specific role-plays were prepared for each role. Content was creative, high energy and fast paced.
Result
South Kensington Estates recognised an improvement in people's confidence levels as well as skills when dealing with customer situations following attendance on the programme. The work on the customer service standards enabled the client to publish a comprehensive standards document which is used within the organisation to evaluate service levels and is part of the continuous improvement strategy.
KeyRing
Client requirement
KeyRing is a not-for-profit organisation that supports people in the community so that they are able to live life in their own homes and share their talents within the community.
The client sought an advanced customer service workshop that focused on internal customer service processes and procedures, rather than outside-facing service standards. As a professional and experienced team it was imperative that the training was pitched at an appropriate level.
Solution
An ‘appreciative approach’ was used to drive the workshop. Delegates turned traditional thinking on its head and, without ignoring the things they needed to fix or improve, began to work out ways in which they could reap the full benefits of those things they were good at, and to become even better.
To ensure continuing progress, and by encouraging individuals to take ownership of various elements, commitment was gained as a group.
Result
The team now know one another better, have a clearer picture of who they are and what customer service means to them. They committed to creating a customer service charter for themselves. “The programme helped me to appreciate relationship management”; “I enjoyed the interactive nature of the course”; “Excellent subject matter, challenging and high-level”.