Running head: STAFFING, TRAINING, AND DEVELOPMENT  1

STAFFING, TRAINING, AND DEVELOPMENT

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Case Study: Answering the phone

Introduction

The mode of interaction with the customers is key in the determination of the

organization success. This is because the customers value much how they are treated by the

organization during communication, how their issues are handled, and the extent of the attention

given to them. The way the organizations’ representatives communicate with the customers

determines the customer satisfaction with the services they receive. Therefore, it is important to

consider etiquette while communicating with the customers since first-hand interaction portrays

the image of the organization (Spinellis, 2009). The objective of this assignment is to create a

training plan that would improve the phone etiquette of the reps in the organization.

Job Analysis

The job captured in this case study is the provision of customer service. This job involves

the receiving of phone calls from the customers, addressing their concerns and building a good

relationship with the customers. The customers’ calls need to be received on time and their calls

should be kept on hold for long. This is because the way the reps responds to the customers

creates an impression of the organization. In addition, addressing the concerns of the customers

is important since it creates customer satisfaction. This enables the retention of customers.

Finally, the biggest concern of this job is using a phone etiquette to create a good customer

relation through. This is very critical since it builds the reputation of the organization thereby

attracting even some new potential customers (Clardy, 2007).

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Job description

Job summary

The job in this organization involves the handling of the customer issues, particularly via

a phone. The customers normally place orders and raise their concerns via the phone. Their

requests are normally handled by the reps.

Job responsibilities

The reps in this organization have an obligation of satisfying the customers’ demand and

this can be achieved by taking the following responsibilities.

 Communicating with the customers in a professional manner

 Giving explanations to the customers in case of any inquiry

 Maintaining a good relationship with the customers

 Improving the reputation of the organization.

Skills and qualification

The skills required in this job are good communication skills, and academic qualification.

Training needs analysis

The training needs analysis are the requirements which the training program would

address based on the skills that the workforce lack. Based on the provided scenario, the

following are the training needs of this program.

 The reps should be trained on how to keep the customers on hold when they are

searching for the information

 The reps need to be trained on how to explain the reason for the inquiry when

asking the customers questions.

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 There is also a need to train the reps on how to verify information that they have

collected from the customers

 In addition, there is a necessity to train the customers to be honest while dealing

while customers i.e. they should give further direction on areas that they are not sure.

 Finally, there is need to provide a training on good communication skills

Objectives of a training program

The following are the objectives of the training program.

 To improve phone etiquette within the organization.

 To build a good relationship with the customers

 To increase and maintain the reputation of the organization

 To improve service delivery by providing the best solution to the issues or

concerns raised by the customers

 To attract more customers by attractive welcoming and good treatment

Design of a training program

The training program would be conducted for one week but only during the weekdays.

This would be an adequate time for the reps to comprehend all the components of the training.

However, one training need would be handled each day (Moore, 2003).

Date Time Activity Remarks

June 4, 2018 9.00 am – 9.30 am Introduction

10.00 am – 4.00 Training on keeping customers on

pm hold while searching for
information
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June 5, 2018 9.00 am – 4.00 pm Training on how to inform the

customers about the objective of
the inquiry
June 6, 2018 9.00 am – 4.00 pm Training on information
verification
June 7, 2018 9.00 am – 4.00 pm Training on honesty,
professionalism, trainees are then
informed and trustworthiness
June 8, 2018 9.00 am – 4.00 pm Training on communication skills
including phone etiquette.

The above training program illustrates that the training would be conducted from seven

day. This would be an adequate time to cover the all the required areas that need an

improvement. The trainees would be advised to observe time such that the wastage of time is

minimized.

Conduction of the training

The training is conducted based on the designed training program.

June 4, 2018

All the reps would assemble at the training hall from 8.30 am to 9.00 am. The training

session begins with an introduction. Each person introduces himself or herself. The trainees are

then briefed on the areas to covered by the program and the importance of this training program.

Also, they would be required to keep time such that the program is conducted as planned. From

10.00 am to 4.00 pm, the trainees (reps) would be trained about how to keep the customers on

hold during a phone while handling their issues. The breaks of one hour will be provided in

between for refreshment.

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June 5, 2018

The training program continues the second day as usual. The reps would be training on

the importance of informing the customers the importance of the inquiry to remove any suspicion

that the customers might be having and to enable the customers to give adequate information on

various issues. Two breaks of 30 minutes for refreshment would be provided plus a lunch break

of one hour.

June 6, 2018

The training program continues as usual on the third day. The reps would be trained on

the importance of verifying the customer information. They would be informed about several

ways of verification such that cases of confusion are eliminated.

June 7, 2018

The trainees would convene at the training hall by 9.00 am as usual. The rep would be

trained on how to execute their duties in a professional, honest and trustful manner. They would

be informed about the importance of being sincere to their customers and give them directions in

areas that they are not conversant with.

June 8, 2018

This is the final day of the training where the trainees would be educated on how to adopt

the good communication skills. The importance of observing phone etiquette would be covered

such that they can know the best way of communicating with the customers in a friendly manner.

Problems that Jim might encounter

 Time management

Time management might be an issue that Jim is likely to encounter while conducting the

training program. This is because some of the reps might not abide by the set time thereby end
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up late for the training sessions. This might delay the starting time of the training. In addition,

such reps are likely to miss out some important topics when they continue to be late for the

sessions. This problem can be solved by making an agreement with the reps on the best time of

arrival.

 Lack of corporation from the reps

Some reps might perceive this training as something not important to them. Such reps

might be incorporative during the training since they are likely to lose focus and end up being

non-attentive. This can be solved by getting the attention of each person through asking

questions and seeking clarifications.

 Language barrier

The language barrier might arise if not all the reps speak one language. Some of them

might not be used to the language that would be used during the training thereby making them

unable to learn what is being trained. This problem can be solved by hiring an interpreter such

that those who do not understand the language used can also learn.

 Inadequate duration

The duration designed for the training program might not be adequate for Jim to cover all

the areas that need improvement. Therefore, this can cause Jim to be so brief while conducting

the training. In addition, this can make him exclude some important parts. This issue can be fixed

by ensuring that the time allocated for the program is adequate.

The effectiveness of a training program

The effectiveness of a training program would be evaluated using the following methods

of evaluation.
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 Skill Assessments

This involves testing the skills of the trainees prior to and after the training. This helps in

identifying if the skills of the trainees have improved or not as a result of the training. Therefore,

the assessor can gauge if the training program was really effective or not.

 Social Ownership

This entails giving each trainee an opportunity to teach others what he or she has learned

from the program. This assists in confirming if the trainees mastered what they were being

trained through the way they apply the various concepts they learned.

 Behavioral application

This is another way of confirming if the trainees are applying what they learned in

dealing with issues in the real world. The way the trainees conduct themselves is recorded before

and after the training to determine if there is any change.

 Satisfaction and participation reaction

This is one of the basic ways of determining the effectiveness of a training program. It

entails getting the feedback from the trainees on how the enjoyed the training session.

Employees’ development problems

The following are the employees’ development problems in this organizations.

 Inadequate training

The main challenge affecting the development of the employees in this organization is

lack of adequate training. For instance, the new online customer information system is installed

without proper training of the employees on how to operate the system. This problem can be

fixed by training the by training employees early on how to use the proposed system.
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 Poor planning

There is an issue of lack of proper planning in this organization which is affecting the

development of the employees. This is because the planning of the new system was poorly done

and its installation was done before even the deployment of the individuals who will operate it.

This problem can be solved by conducting early preparation on how to install the new system to

avoid the last-minute rush.

 Poor communication skills

The reps of this organization have a problem of communicating a professional manner

with the customers via a phone. The phone etiquette is not adhered to. This problem can be

solved by providing a training program for good communication skills (Spinellis, 2009).

 Poor socialization

Poor socialization with the customers is another issue that is affecting the development of

employees in this organization. Most of them talk in an unfriendly manner with the customers

and even ignore to keep them on hold while searching for some information. The customers are

not even informed about the purpose of the inquiry. This problem can be solved by providing an

induction on the importance of socializing with the customers in a welcoming and friendly

manner.

Conclusion

In summary, provision of a training program in the areas that need improvements is very

important in any organization. Jim should put more emphasis on training the reps about the

importance of observing phone etiquette while communication with the customers since the

mode of communication with the customers creates the first impression of the organization.
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Reference

Clardy, A. B, (2007). 50 Case Studies in Management Training. Mumbai, Jaico Publishing

House

Moore, R. (2003). Training that works. Kalamazoo, Mich.: W.E. Upjohn for Employment

Research.

Spinellis, D. (2009). Basic Etiquette of Technical Communication. IEEE Software, 26(6), 86-87.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/ms.2009.170