Simple Training Solutions for all levels of experience
Metamorphosing Inexperience into Competence and Competence into Excellence
We are business people with vision. We are smart. We think, strategize, and plan for the long-term. We apply revolutionary-cutting-edge theory-technology-thought to help us grow and be vital for decades to come. Vision and strategy and 5 year plans, when utilized and implemented properly, definitely have their place. Long-term thinking will keep us focused and help us to grow, but … long-term strategy does not address the biggest challenge we face today. You know what that is; (if you don’t, go ask your unit Managers) – it’s the ever-present challenge of finding and keeping good front-line people who will consistently deliver Customer Service Excellence.
- Does your front line Team execute consistently? (i.e. Do they Smile and Greet every time?)
- Do your Customers come back frequently because of your People?
- Do your Customer’s see you as the ‘friendliest place in town’?
Let’s face reality – we are fooling ourselves if we think long-term planning will solve our Employee Retention problems. Our sights are set to the wrong place; instead of far into the future, we need to look at now, and I bet every ‘now’ you ever look at (whether ‘right now’, ‘tomorrow at 3:15pm’, or ‘next August 14th’) you will see front line turnover. We are in a business where even under the best of circumstances turnover is going to be somewhere at or above 100% and 200% – 300% is not unusual. Much of your applicant pool for hourly positions is entry level with little or no college education. Some of your applicant pool is young and inexperienced. Perhaps a portion of your applicant pool is applying for their very first job ever. We cannot avoid these facts that too often lead to high turnover, low morale, and inferior Customer retention.
We have a ROI dilemma when we talk about Training combined with high turnover. It is hard to justify expenditures on our human resources when they don’t stick around, but it’s even harder to keep them without consistent, effective Training. Unfortunately the one that suffers in this chicken / egg conundrum is your Customer. The ‘Butterfly Training Effect’ reminds us though that the difference made ‘now’ (while you are experiencing turnover) does not need to be large. A small difference of simple, consistent, hiring procedures followed by self-administered learning can lead to a big difference in Customer Retention, which is really our ultimate goal. A large majority of entry level workers today (our applicant pool) want responsibility so they feel part of something. If you hire consistently and correctly, they will want to contribute and they will not only appreciate the trust you put in them to drive their own training, but they will also appreciate the knowledge they have before they are put on the front line. Trial by fire is not conducive to Front Line Retention or Customer Retention.
So what do we do? Remember ‘Butterfly Training Effect’ – Make a consistent small difference ‘now’ and you will see the results down the road. It goes against convention, but Think Short Term first and then Think Micromanagement (with a twist). Short term is hiring (pre-employment) and orientation training (1st 30 days of employment). Micromanagement is a detailed Hiring Protocol and a detailed Training Program, both with step-by-step, easy-to-follow instructions, guidelines, and built-in accountabilities that will help to ensure consistency. The twist is that the micromanagement is largely self-administered by the Learner / New Team Member. Take control – Don’t let that new Team Member on the front line, affecting your Customer Retention until they are ready to make a positive impact.
Click-on to Methodology for more details.
