EFFECTIVE CUSTOMER CARE AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS FOR OFFICE ADMINISTRATORS AND EXECUTIVE SECRETARIES
COURSE OVERVIEW:
Individual and team success depends upon the ability of individuals to communicate with others, face to face, as well as virtually. Every interaction with another person determines how you are perceived and every interaction is an opportunity to develop trust and exert positive influence. Whether presenting one to one or to an audience of one thousand, conveying information to a project team or delivering a difficult message, communicating effectively is one of the most powerful skills for achieving your objectives. This course develops your ability to focus on your outcome, tune in to your audience and develop your message for clarity and impact. Your ability to create an environment for open discussion and ongoing dialogue is crucial for communication success. The communications skills covered in this course will increase your ability to exercise choice and control for every type of conversation, influence without authority and improve quality of relationships and productivity
Target audience
Customer Service Professionals.
Individual contributors.
- Managers.
- Front desk officers.
- Administrators.
- Human resource managers.
- Sales and marketing personnel.
- Team leaders, whose success depends on their ability to communicate clearly, to be understood and to influence how another person performs, and create positive working relationships,
Learning Level: Basic/Intermediate
Advanced Preparation: None
Training Type: Group Live
Duration: 2 weeks
OBJECTIVES
On completion of this course, the knowledge and information you will gather will help and enable you to:
- Positively and professionally represent their organization.
- Improve negotiation skills to handle difficult or awkward customer interactions and produce positive results.
- Use a combination of communication and problem solving skills to drive issues forward and accomplish business-focused results.
- Demonstrate how to deal with difficult customers in a professional manner
- Develop an understanding of internal and external customer expectations
- Recognize different styles of communication and how to improve understanding and build rapport with others.
- Reflected on different methods of communication and decided when each is most suitable.
- Appreciated the role of body language and voice tone in effective communication.
- Communicated their message in an effective and engaging way for the recipient
- Identified ways they can add value to customer relationships and exceed expectations
- Develop skills in engaging with customers and handling their enquiries effectively
COURSE OUTLINE/CONTENTS
Module 1: An overview of customer care, customer service and customer experience
Good customer service is not about satisfying the customer, it is about “wowing” the customer! It’s about making the customer walk in, do business, and walk out again absolutely stunned that their transaction was so enjoyable. In this module, we focus on what customer service is and isn’t and identify how you can understand and provide good customer service. This module further helps us to understand what customer experience is and put in place or create measurable standards of customer service.
Module 2: Telephone Skills and customer care services
Today’s consumers have a variety of options for shopping, obtaining services and getting the help they need. They can use catalogs, the mail, the Internet and face-to-face contact, yet telephone customer service is still the first choice for most customers when they have questions or a problem that needs to be resolved. This module focuses on honing outstanding telephone customer service skills in order to meet customer needs and presenting a professional, knowledgeable image that reflects well on your company
Module 3: Effective communication
Communication influences all factors of your life. From daily interactions with strangers on the street to the way you present yourself in the board room, the way you communicate is a reflection of who you are and the way you establish relationships with those around you. This module gives you a better understanding of the many sides to communication (including verbal interactions, nonverbal cues, and even using technology to maximize impact), and the way you communicate. This module is aimed strengthening your personal relationships, or simply seeking to increase your comfort in reaching out to others as a whole, effective communication is your bridge from potentially hazardous misunderstandings to personal–and professional—success.
Module 4: Team management
A team is not just a collection of individuals. It is so much more. The total “team” being far greater than the sum of its parts. A properly developed and managed team synergistically harnesses its individual members’ talents, experience and energies. This module is aimed at helping us to understand and accommodate each one’s different working styles and personalities.
Module 5: Conflict Resolution: In the Workplace and Beyond
Did you know that a little conflict in your office today can shut down your entire operation tomorrow? That is no exaggeration! Workplace conflict costs. It starts by reducing productivity and employee health. It will finish your business by reducing customer loyalty and profitability. In this module you will learn how you can avoid conflict from developing, and methods you can use to resolve conflicts that are occurring and affecting your workplace.
Module 6: Negotiation skills
In order to be effective at any business endeavour learning how to negotiate properly is not simply a “nice skill to have,” it has become an essential requirement in career advancement. This module will teach you what you need to know in order to become accomplished at finding that perfect “middle-ground” in any deal. For those who relish the idea of engaging in what some call the “dance” of compromise, you will also profit from the beneficial information contained within this course. Lastly, those who tend to overshoot their mark will learn how to be more restrained in their negotiations.
Module 7: Dealing with difficult people
Dealing with a difficult or toxic personality can be damaging both emotionally and physically, particularly if the person is your boss or sitting in the cubicle right next to you. Confronting those who compromise your comfort and job security can be very difficult for many people, but standing up for yourself is essential in the workplace. This module will help you to explore what feeds these kinds of behaviours, ways to address these situations, and when to call for outside assistance.
Other topics include:
- The business communication
- Complaint handling
- Forms and methods of communication
- One-way versus two-way communication
- Process of communication
- Breakdown of communication
- Different communication methods and their effectiveness
- Presentation, exercise in trios, facilitated whole group discussion
Communication styles
- Perceptions and filters
- Appreciating different communication styles
- Identifying our own communication style and preference
- Adjusting to other styles
- Individual exercise, facilitator presentation, small group exercises, facilitated group review
Non-verbal communication
- Voice tone and projection
- First impressions and building rapport
- Body language
- Active listening
Service recovery
- Turning disappointment into delight
- Identifying the nature of customer complaints
- Responding to customer complaints
- Introducing colleagues to resolve customer service issue
Building customer relationships
- Relationship triangle – trust and loyalty
- What differentiates us from our competitors?
- Identifying ways to add value and exceed customer expectations
METHODOLOGY AND EVALUATION
Approach
This Course is conceived for face-to-face training, hence allowing a constructive interaction and exchange of experiences between Facilitators and Participants. The course will combine individual presentations by Administrators, and Management Experts and Participants, Panel Discussions, and Group Work on selected topics. Prescribed material is made available during the course, and includes notes, articles, statutes and excerpts from textbooks.
The programme uses training methods chosen to ensure effective learning, to reinforce understanding, to develop practical skills to promote critical evaluation of information. Interest is maintained throughout each session by use of a variety of formats, including:
- Lively and informative presentations
- Quizzes
- Case studies based on real life scenarios
Throughout the course, you will learn from others in your group as they share practical experiences in their work environment. You will learn by doing and by applying what you learn to your own work environment. Thus, the training methodology is based on interactive learning. Furthermore, learners will use examples from their own organisations, thus ensuring that the learning is anchored at their workplace. This course will strive to effect actual change back at the workplace through effective and practical outcomes based training.
Language
The lectures are presented in English (should numbers justify it separate classes will be presented in either Swahili or French) and study guides and class notes are made available in English. Prescribed material is made available in the original language. Participants may participate in Swahili, French or English, and complete assignments in either of these languages.
Assessment
The course involves preparing some sort of in-class and out of class assignments which include drafting ―from scratch‖, drafting using forms, and redrafting. Some short assignments contribute to the work on longer, full documents. Assignments receive written evaluation and serve as the basis for class discussion as well. You are to type and double-space all written drafting assignments unless otherwise instructed. Bring two copies of each assignment to class on the date due, one to turn in and the other to keep and have available during class discussion.
Evaluation
In conformity with KIBYA’s procedures, an evaluation of the course will be carried out at the end of the Programme to determine the perceived relevance of course contents to Participants’ needs and the effectiveness of the methodology and materials employed in achieving the course’s training objectives.