Summary
Human resource training is an investment in any company’s future that will pay off handsomely if it is tailored to the specific demands of the workforce. Therefore, there is a need to strike a balance between workers’ career aspirations and the demands of the business in order to ensure that their professional aspirations are met while also ensuring that work gets done (Leigh et al. 88). Having personnel who are more knowledgeable and capable of achieving more as a result of these programs benefits not just the company itself, but also their personal career ambitions.
Justification of Need Assessment and How it can Expose Performance Deficiencies
An evaluation of employee requirements may be a valuable tool for a retail business. Employee productivity and effectiveness are of the utmost importance in retail. In order to gauge the severity of current issues, a needs assessment is performed. An evaluation of the service’s needs reveals any areas that are not being met. By concentrating on the requirements of the potential employee, a needs assessment might reveal any current performance inadequacies (Stewart and Brown 67). Needs assessments provide employers with information on the specific requirements of a job candidate. As a result of this, the training may be tailored to the individual needs of each potential employee.
By examining the overall performance of the company, a need assessment might reveal any current performance issues. Here, the potential employee’s abilities and expertise may be assessed. Using this method, the employee will be able to find and hire people who will be valuable to the firm. An occupational gap or discrepancy is discovered by this examination. Additionally, a need assessment takes a look at an employee’s work performance (Watkins et al. 66). The options for determining and implementing new or different tasks for the employee are guided by a need assessment scheme.
By completing a personality test as part of a needs assessment, it is possible to realize performance challenges. Some people have a hard time working in a retail environment. Therefore, there is a greater possibility that they will find it tough to collaborate with others while they are so close. Working in retail may be physically and emotionally taxing to the employees. The high demands, commissions, and attitudes of clients may quickly overwhelm an employee. Having the ability to deal with the hostility and stress of retail work is critical.
Customer Service Training Implementation Plan and Method of Training
In the retail industry, effective training is critical since it will serve as the foundation for every employee’s understanding of their role as a representative of the company. It will provide the new hires an opportunity to learn more about the company’s history and what makes it such a great place to work (Stewart and Brown 76). Case studies, modeling, presentation, modeling role play, and on-the-job training can all be used by the company’s human resources department to teach new workers about retail customer care.
A customer service training strategy must consider the needs of customers as well as the capabilities of the workers. It must also be continually re-evaluated to ensure that it remains efficient. The plan will involve excellent customer service training with staff to identify customers’ demands. First, there is a need to learn what consumers anticipate from employees and what their common needs are. This may be accomplished in a number of ways, including handing out comment cards to each customer, establishing a ratings or feedback area on our company’s website, or just asking consumers about their recent and prior interactions with our firm.
Understanding your customer’s requirements and expectations, as well as the ability to consistently and positively reinforce training, is essential for implementing customer service training with your personnel. Identifying the client’s demands, assessing employees’ skills, designing and implementing a training vehicle, and constantly re-evaluating customer service delivery are all necessary steps in implementing customer service training with workers (Leigh et al., 2020). When it comes to retail customer service, new employees may be taught in a variety of methods. Employees can also learn on-the-job using a variety of methods, such as oral presentation and role-playing (Leigh et al. 90). The amount of training required is directly proportional to the number of participants. For small groups, a straightforward presentation might be adequate. On the other hand, modeling/hands-on is more useful for smaller and bigger training groups.
It is also important to look at how each employee interacts with clients and the degree of service that they provide to determine their level of ability and expertise. Some employees are born salespeople and possess the ability to up-sell clients with minimal effort, whilst others lack these abilities (Watkins et al. 56). As a result, there is a need to examine the team to see who has the finest skillsets for establishing a connection with customers and up-selling. The organization plans to have frequent meetings where each employee may demonstrate and explain their unique set of abilities to the rest of the workforce (Stewart and Brown 88). An effective training approach must also be devised to realize effective outcomes. Allowing new recruits to demonstrate their skillsets and how they do them is a good way to do this. On-the-job training can be provided to new workers by experienced managers, supervisors, or staff.
Justification of the Selected Training Method for Customer Service Training
Employees who receive on-the-job training will learn how clients engage with them and what they anticipate from them in real-time. Training methods such as role modeling and case studies allow us to teach by example. To be an effective role model, there is a need to show team members how to handle various situations. When staff study service problems, they will be able to evaluate many options and choose the best one to execute. In addition, case studies allow the organization to examine solutions to service issues and evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of various approaches.
Through the use of modeling and hands-on training, employees are able to test their skills on actual clients and situations. There should still be a visual representation of the material while doing modeling/hands-on. Some people may benefit from a visual presentation, which allows them to see and hear the material as well as follow along with it visually (Leigh et al. 91). New personnel benefit from exposure to a variety of situations and client personalities through case studies. Any of the aforementioned approaches can help an employee become more prepared for whatever may come their way. Using role-playing to improve case studies is a good idea. Real-life experiences may be gained through role-playing games.
The role-playing helps the new employee completely understand the retail business. Employees can implement what they have learned into practice through role-playing. All new retail employees will benefit from this since they will be able to observe what could or might not happen on the job. New employees in the retail business benefit from being able to observe how a scenario should be handled if handled correctly through the use of modeling (Stewart and Brown 96). To guarantee that new hires are trained in the correct manner, a business might demonstrate the necessary behavior and actions in front of them. Any new employee, but especially those working in retail, might benefit from on-the-the-job training. The greatest method to learn is through following in the footsteps of more experienced workers and absorbing their wisdom.
Motivating Employees to New Classes
The majority of people in the workplace have an unfavorable view of training and at times see it as punishment. Consequently, if given the opportunity and the option, people may choose to reject it. This process should begin with senior management before it can be extended to our staff. As a result, both the trainer and the employees who are being trained gain confidence by participating in the training process (Stewart and Brown, 2019). To boost morale and staff retention, the organization should provide high-quality training that is relevant and worthwhile for the attendees (Leigh et al. 92). Look for trainers that have a sense of humor, strong energy, and a wealth of knowledge. The department of human resources should spend some time looking for teachers who are capable of taking on the challenge.
Promotions are available to employees who have acquired a particular number of credits and credit hours. Employees are more likely to sign up for training if their employer shows that they value their employees as a whole and care about their professional growth when they are treated with this level of respect (Leigh et al. 92). Another technique to get an employee to go to a training session is to pay for it and put the money back into the employee’s first paycheck. In order to demonstrate to the employee that their time is valuable, it is important to compensate them for their time before they start working for the firm. Employees would also be aware that completing an orientation program is a requirement of their job. Employees must be able to do their duties accurately and effectively in order to be successful.
Survey to Collect Specific, Targeted Feedback from Training Participants
The survey to be used in collecting feedback from the trained participants will involve both closed and open-ended questions. For the first section, respondents will have to respond with either YES or NO.
Section A: Closed-ended Survey
- Overall I am satisfied with the customer service representatives who conducted my training.
- The meeting room and facilities were comfortable and adequate
- Customer service representatives are well supervised
- Customer service representatives act in my best interest
- Professional standards of behavior are upheld by customer service agents.
- There are well-trained customer service representatives
- A significant amount of training time was provided
- The trainer was well prepared
- The training objectives were met
- The instructor was well-versed in the subject matter
Section B: Open-ended Survey
- What was the most enjoyable part of this training for you?
- What might be done better in terms of the training?
- In what ways do you envision this training influencing your practice?
- What additional customer service training would you like to have in the future?
- Please add more comments or elaborate on prior contributions in this section?
Works Cited
Leigh, Doug, et al. “Alternate Models of Needs Assessment: Selecting the Right One for Your Organization.” Time, 2020.
Stewart, Greg L., and Kenneth G. Brown. Human Resource Management. John Wiley & Sons, 2019.
Watkins, Ryan, et al. A Guide to Assessing Needs: Essential Tools for Collecting Information, Making Decisions, and Achieving Development Results. World Bank Publications, 2018.