By Mark Mayberry

It’s Mary’s first day on the job at A-Health Hospital. Mary is excited about her new challenge in admin, and comes to work filled with enthusiasm. Unfortunately, the A-Health “training program” steals her energy, and steers her on a course towards mediocrity.

A-Health is a fairly successful hospital, but would do so much better if they just implemented a productive training program for their Team Members. At A-Health, when you are a new hire, your first week is spent with “On The Job Training.” In other words, you follow some of the “veterans” around, and they teach you what they do. Then, you just follow their example. A-Health Hospital has been training new Team Members this way for years.

Sally, the receptionist, teaches Mary how to get around the procedures to document the hours she works. After all, “Everybody does it this way.” Tom, another admin co-worker, tells Mary “Don’t work after hours or you’ll make the rest of us look bad.” Mike, the veteran sales co-ordinator, uses sales techniques that are outdated. “Keep talking until they say ‘Yes’” is Mike’s philosophy. By Friday, Mary is one of the gang. Her potential to excel has been reduced many times over.

And that’s the last bit of training that Mary receives. The A-Health Hospital culture takes care of the rest. Of course, A-Health is a fictional hospital, but this scenario is an example of too many organizations.

I hear two common excuses when I ask leaders why they don’t take the time – and spend the money – to properly train their Team. Many say “If we spend the time and money it takes to train someone, they’ll just leave us and go someplace else.” My response is “Great, let’s leave them stupid and keep them here!”

The second excuse is “We just don’t have the time, and don’t have the dollars it takes to train our Team.” My answer – “You can’t afford NOT to spend the dollars and time.”

The only asset that you have that should increase in value every day is the ability of your Team Members. Here are a few things that you can use to make sure your Team is properly trained.

In-House Training – I work with several organizations, customizing my Customer Service program to the organization’s needs.

Outside seminars – There are many educational programs available across the country. Check your mailbox, look in the newspaper, or call other leading organizations in your industry to find what seminars have worked for them.

CDs – More and more training programs are available on CDs.  The best part of CD training is that your Team Members can learn at their own pace. Another huge advantage of CD training is that they can adjust their schedule to find the time to train.

The Internet – There are tons of websites that can help your Team Members grow. Most Internet training sites also have a way to test the students, so that you’re certain that your Team Members have developed new skills.

DVDs – An easy way for your Team to take the training home, and learn a lot more than they would if they stop at Blockbuster instead. There are some terrific training videos available.

Y0u don’t have the time? You can’t afford the training? Maybe it’s time to “think again,” and move your organization forward.

Are you really satisfied with the level of service that your Team delivers to your most important asset – your Customers? Call Mark today to bring “Shazzam” to your organization’s culture! (815) 209-1381

Mark Mayberry is a Customer Service expert. He works with a wide variety of organizations around the world, helping organizations like yours deliver “Service With Shazzam” to your Customers. Call Mark today at (815) 209-1381!

A Great Customer Service Question!

By Mark Mayberry

Lynn’s Dad, “Pop,” fell and broke his leg on the Fourth of July. He had a pin put in his leg, and has done quite well since, with the use of a walker. When Pop got out of rehab, I took him to see his primary doctor – Dr. Ken Gold.

When we arrived at Dr. Gold’s office, instead of waiting in line to check in, there were several “receptionists,” and we received immediate attention. In a very short time, we were headed for Dr. Gold’s waiting room. During my Mom’s challenges with breast cancer and open-heart surgery, I took her to many visits with a variety of doctors. There was one constant – the waiting rooms were packed. Imagine my amazement when we walked down the hallway and found that we were the only ones in the waiting room! I figured this must be some kind of trick…

In a very short time, and much to my surprise, a nurse came to show us back to the exam room. “OK,” I thought, “They’ll make us wait in the exam room instead.” Again, our experience was extremely positive when Dr. Gold entered the exam room just a couple of minutes later.

Pop had been raving about Dr. Gold, and it didn’t take long to figure out why. He asked Pop several questions about his leg – and about other aspects of his health. One of Dr. Gold’s concerns was Pop’s weight – he was down to 121 pounds. I’m not sure how much Pop weighed during previous visits, but he certainly needs to put some meat on his bones. Instead of saying, “Paul, you need to gain some weight,” Dr. Gold said, “Paul – food is medicine.” What a positive way to put it!

At the end of our visit, Dr. Gold blew me away. He handed me his business card and said, “My e-mail address is on the card – feel free to e-mail me with any questions. My cell phone number is on the card too – call me at any time.” What? No answering service? In the next couple of weeks, I sent an e-mail to Dr. Gold a couple of times, and always received a prompt response.

A couple of days ago, Pop and I returned to Dr. Gold’s office for a follow-up visit. Once again, we checked in right away and escorted quickly to the exam room. During a short wait, Dr. Gold himself came by to say that he would be with us very soon – and we was.

Dr. Gold listened attentively, answered our questions and adjusted Pop’s medications. At the end of the follow-up appointment, Dr. Gold asked a great question – “Paul, how can I make your life more interesting?” I was speechless. What a wonderful question! Was I really in a doctor’s office? I can’t wait for our next visit – just to experience more of Dr. Gold’s “Shazzam!”

The Shazzam Challenge

Dr. Gold has a genuine interest in his patients, listens to their questions, and responds to them in a positive, motivating way. How do you – and your Team Members – respond to your Customers’ needs?

© Mark Mayberry

Are you really satisfied with the level of service that your Team delivers to your most important asset – your Customers? Call Mark today to bring “Shazzam” to your organization’s culture! (815) 209-1381

Mark Mayberry is a Customer Service expert. He works with a wide variety of organizations around the world, helping organizations like yours deliver “Service With Shazzam” to your Customers. Call Mark today at (815) 209-1381!

My client has several locations, and the evening began with an award for the star Team Member from each location. The first winner set the tone for the evening.

When the winner’s name was announced, tears filled her eyes. Her immediate Team Members (Those that worked at her location) stood up and cheered wildly. The rest of the room followed, and an enthusiastic standing ovation from the entire Team filled the room.

It took a few minutes for this young lady to hug her peers, wipe the tears from her eyes, and proceed to the stage to receive her plaque. She had her picture taken with the owner and president of the company. As she walked back to her seat, everyone stood up and cheered again. Again, she received hugs from several Team Members.

The final award was for the most successful location, and the winners jumped up and down, congratulating each other, as if they had won the World Series. The rest of the Team Members cheered, and started to dream about winning the award next year.

I had a great time, watching as deserving Team Members received their awards. This award ceremony demonstrated the value of recognizing and rewarding outstanding achievement in any organization.

My health care client had an awards dinner as a special part of their annual conference. They hired speakers to train their Team on Customer Service, Teamwork, etc. for 1 ½ days. They spent the dollars and time to bring their Team to Cincinnati for education, fun and networking. The awards banquet took place in the evening of the first day, and the response was overwhelming!

Do you have a regular awards program? Here are a couple of reasons why you should consider one:

1. It gives people a target.

I see opportunities to “catch them doing something right” everyday in the workplace. Some companies do this better than others. Whether you give awards annually, monthly or weekly – it gives your Team Members something to shoot for!

I’m sure that several people watched their peers receive awards, and say to themselves, “Next year, that will be me.” Even better, when the award for the best location was presented, several Teams looked at each other and said, “Next year, that will be US!”

2. It gives your Team a reason to celebrate.

In the health care industry (And your industry), there is a lot of revolutionary change. There are new challenges every day. Like my health care client, you must realize that you need to accentuate the positive whenever possible, and an awards banquet is a great way to do that.

Even those that did not win were cheering for those who did. They all realized that they are part of a winning Team. There was genuine joy and caring in the room. No matter what industry you are in, there is always a need for celebration!

3. You reinforce the behavior you want to see!

As each award was announced, the president of the company told the audience why each person won. Of course, there were wonderful examples of personal and Team achievement that were presented during the entire course of the evening. The Team got a better understanding of what their leaders expected – and rewarded!

At the end of the convention, this Team left with renewed energy, exciting dreams – and a sense of achievement.

Being rewarded in front of peers is a great way to increase productivity. You can do this for your Team in a wide variety of formats. The bottom line is this – everyone wins. Including you!