A customer-focused organisation is grounded in the belief that long-term success depends on a commitment to customer satisfaction throughout the entire organisation. This programme focuses on what it takes to build the culture, the processes and the relationships that will lead to long-term growth and financial sustainability.

Leaders are role models in planning, communication, coaching and employee recognition. Their efforts result in increased employee loyalty, greater innovation and improved customer satisfaction. The course covers customer service management responsibilities, from the most fundamental tasks of hiring, training, coaching and teambuilding to quality assurance and leadership skills. This challenging and highly participative programme will focus on creating and managing effective teams, dealing with difficult customers, understanding behavioural styles and proven leadership strategies.

• Analyze and implement the best practices of top performing customer service providers
• Utilize best practices for measuring and monitoring customer satisfaction
• Streamline call centre operations for optimal service levels
• Successfully utilize interpersonal skills to supervise and motivate employees
• Empower, motivate and retain frontline personnel

• Describe the importance of the leader as a role model for customer service excellence
• Establish the importance of setting and reviewing customer service standards
• Describe techniques to motivate teams and individuals for peak performance
• Develop effective communication strategies to promote teambuilding
• Evaluate surveys to accurately monitor customer satisfaction
• Design a realistic and challenging customer service employee training programme

This dynamic, 5-day seminar is highly interactive and encourages delegate participation through a combination of group discussion, role-play exercises, videos, case studies and breakout sessions. This seminar will include benchmarking best practices to model world-class customer service excellence. The comprehensive course manual has been designed to be practical, easy to use and facilitate learning. Delegates will walk away from this seminar with the skills, confidence and motivation they need to develop a world-class, customer-centric organisation.

• A more productive and streamlined customer service operation
• Focused and motivated customer service leadership
• Increased customer retention and revenue growth
• Reduced personnel turnover and increased teamwork
• Improved intra/inter departmental communication
• Increased communication abilities and interpersonal skills

• Improved management performance by learning techniques to empower, motivate and retain customer service personnel
• Enhanced leadership and communication skills required for career advancement
• Increased confidence in their abilities to work professionally with difficult or upset customers
• The insight to adjust their own temperament style to become more versatile, adaptable and highly successful
• Up to date techniques and methods to help them provide world-class service
• Improved time management skills and increased productivity

• Department managers
• Team supervisors
• Frontline customer service representatives (CSR)
• Account managers
• Field service representatives

DAY 1

Creating a Customer-Focused Organisation

• Vision and mission of a customer focused organisation
• Case study: Benchmarking world-class customer service companies
• The roles and responsibilities of a customer-focused manager
• Breakout session: Are you a leader or manager?
• The importance of presenting a professional business image
• Breakout session: Customer service from the heart
• Case study: Best practices - Xerox’ Five Pillars of Customer-focused Strategy
• Mastering nonverbal communication

DAY 2

Enhancing Leadership and Interpersonal Communication Skills

• Supervising the four personality styles
• Practical exercise: Determining your management style
• Overcoming communication barriers in the workplace
• Practical exercise: Listening Awareness Inventory
• Practical exercise: The most admired character traits of leaders
• The supervisor’s role in conflict resolution and service recovery
• Facilitation Skills: Managing group dynamics
• How to Give and receive constructive feedback

DAY 3

Setting Customer Service Policies and Performance Standards

• Dr. Deming’s Fourteen Points of Total Quality Management
• Traditional manager versus TQM manager
• Setting SMART objectives to improve customer satisfaction
• Breakout session: Developing a call centre checklist
• Best practices: Methods of measuring and monitoring customer satisfaction
• Empowering frontline employees to better serve their customers
• Breakout session: Developing a customer service complaint checklist
• Role-play exercise: Working with difficult or demanding customers

DAY 4

Building High-Performance Teams and Motivating Individuals

• The building blocks of a high-performance team
• Your customer service is only as good as your worst employee
• Team building exercise: The paper tower
• The power of mutual support and cooperation
• Building teamwork with support and recognition
• Coaching and mentoring techniques
• The impact of stress on individual and team performance
• The benefits of teamwork and mutual cooperation

DAY 5

Leading the Way to Superior Customer Service

• Recruiting, interviewing and hiring quality personnel
• Developing and implementing effective training
• The importance of attitude and teamwork
• Professional development and continuous improvement
• Setting performance goals and expectations
• Employee recognition and performance review
• Empowering, motivating and retaining frontline personnel
• End of course review and delegate feedback