July 29th, 2010
Being a fairly ambitious individual I know that at some point in my career, hopefully sooner rather than later, I will be in a position where I have to lead a team, which will inevitably mean I will need leadership training to be truly effective!
In my experience as being a member of ‘staff’ for a range of teams, both small and large, the more productive and happier I have been has been fairly dependant on the capability of my leader / manager; which is obvious really! In some instances it has been glaringly apparent that they have focused on anything but their own leadership skills, which in my opinion has been to their detriment; no matter how much we want to think we know it all, even if it comes naturally to us, the chances are we do not.
I am very pro any type of development, to simply put it, I just love learning new skills and the feeling of moving forward so I always find it strange when I come across individuals who are adverse to bettering their skills. I suppose it depends on past learning experiences, but with the modern approaches to learning I can’t see why if done correctly it could be anything but enjoyable.
So I say if you are ever given the opportunity to improve and build on your skills take it, after all what really have you got to lose?
By Gemma Middleton | Righttrack’s Marketing Manager
Tags: business learning, continual education, CPD, leadership, learning opportunities, out-door learning, training leaders
Posted in Leadership Training | No Comments »
July 27th, 2010
This is the Blog opportunity I always wanted. To write about those customer service training courses that teach telephone techniques that irritate me every time I am on the receiving end of them. I want to berate those companies that insist that great customer service training includes teaching a lengthy telephone answering script. The script is usually delivered to a sing-song tune and sounds as though it is said, in exactly the same way and to exactly the same tune 10,000 or more times a year:
’Thank you for calling Go Faster Motors, Mandy speaking, how can I help you?’
I would like the customer service trainers, their customers and the course delegates to think about this:
If I call a company do I want to be confronted with a sing-song answer that makes me feel as though I am just another boring caller? No.
Do I really want to know the name of the receptionist when I want to speak to someone else? No.
Do I really want to wait while someone says 14 words? No.
Is a ‘Good Morning’ followed by the company name, said in a welcoming and positive way, all I need at that point? Yes!
While I have the bit between my teeth can I ask why does the customer service training teach the receptionist to ask for my name? The reason I ask is that when I am transferred to the service department they have no clue of who I am and ask me again, five seconds after I have repeated it twice and spelt it out to the receptionist? Pointless.
I would like the training to extend from the receptionist to the service desk so that they work together to pass on my name and reason for calling. Then the service desk could answer with my name ‘Good Morning Mr Windham, how can I help you?’ Wow! That is the sort of stuff that a good telephone techniques and customer service programme should deliver.
By Mike Cooney | Righttrack’s Commercial and Financial Director
Tags: business learning, CPD, customer experience, customer service, telephone techniques, treating customers like individuals
Posted in Customer Service Training | No Comments »
July 22nd, 2010
Children + Leadership Development = …
Having a family with two children aged 12 and 2 years can be challenging at times and being in the leadership role can be quite difficult – if only we could have some leadership development. As they say, children don’t come with a manual and parents are not given any training in the role that they are to fulfil either.
We do the best we can, relying on what we have learnt from our parents, our own personalities and our general judgement. I am sure that as I have grown up there have been many times that I disagreed with my parents. But now I am the parent, I can understand why those decisions were made.
I am sure that we are all born with natural leadership qualities. I can see that from watching my 2yr old constantly trying to get her brother to do things in a particular way and telling him off if he doesn’t do it right!! But even though he is the eldest at 12 years old he doesn’t beckon to her requirements as she is the youngest, he stands his ground. It is very rare that either of them give in to the other – they both want to be in charge! Does this make them natural leaders?
I believe that as they grow there will be many leaders for them to aspire to as well as many that will not inspire them at all. They will develop their own leadership skills and personalities. As parents it is our responsibility to ensure that our children have the right support and information from a young age to equip them for their path ahead. And as a parent, to an extent, you will inflict your own leadership qualities, which may or may not be the best, but will give the children a grounding to build upon.
Once they head into the ‘real world’ then they can be influenced by many other leaders with different traits and qualities. They will also learn that being a leader can be extremely challenging – at the moment good examples of these are David Cameron with his new budget; some people approve and others believe he has made a real mess of it!! Then there is Fabio Capello, one minute everyone hates him because England are not playing well and then when we win, all is forgiven.
Leadership development is definitely something that I would want my children to take advantage of if / when they enter the business world; fine tuning their natural skills will really help them reach their full potential in so many areas of life, whether they be personal or professional!
By Vicci Whelan | Righttrack’s Sales Office Manager
Tags: leadership development, Leadership Training
Posted in leadership development | No Comments »
