Training + technology = Satisfied customers

Throughout the recession, companies across all industries have been working harder to improve customer loyalty and satisfaction. For many, that hard work has been paying off.

The American Customer Satisfaction Index and other major surveys are hitting record high numbers. Experts say employee training and improved technology are two major factors contributing to those impressive levels, according to a Wall Street Journal article published online today.

Such high customer satisfaction numbers are abnormal during an economic downturn, when business’ cost-cutting strategies tend to cause them to plummet. But today, many businesses are using improved service to find cost-savings.

Executives at Sprint began a service improvement plan at the end of 2007 to turn around the company’s repeated poor customer satisfaction marks. Along with other improvements, call-center operators are rewarded for solving a customers’ problem during the first call. Before the new plan, operators were once commended for keeping calls short.

Other companies, like the Cheesecake Factory, are using customer satisfaction surveys to improve service. Customers’ online survey results have been used to better estimate waiting times for tables, improve food quality and are now used as a factor in determining employee rewards.

"If they don't like you, it's that much easier" for customers to switch to a rival, says Rick Germano, Comcast's senior vice president of customer care. (WSJ.com)

Last year, Comcast installed software that helped identify network problems before they affect service and alert call-center operators of customer problems before the calls come in. They’ve cut repeat service calls by 30%.


Has the recession impacted your company’s customer satisfaction ratings? How big of a role does employee training play in improving customer satisfaction?

Employee engagement starts with a smile

Whether you’re kicking butt or dragging your feet at work today after the long holiday weekend, this short video (via Employee Engagement Zingers) may help you smile just a little brighter.

Since “the small things can have the biggest impact,” this “small” three minute video briefly explains how smiling and movement can have a big impact on service. Set three minutes aside today and watch:



Or, watch the video here if you're having trouble above.

Could Second Life enhance your training program?

On the front page of CNN’s Tech section today is an intriguing new story on how medical students at Imperial College in London are effectively using Second Life for learning.

Using a virtual hospital in Second Life, third-year medical students are receiving “hands-on” experience in what they’ll later be doing in their medical careers including visiting patients, ordering X-rays, consulting with colleagues and making diagnoses.

From the CNN article:

It's an interactive, hands-on learning experience -- and none of it is real.

These prospective doctors are treating virtual patients in Second Life, the Internet world where users interact through online alter egos called avatars. The third-year med students are taking part in a pilot program for game-based learning, which educators believe can be a stimulating change from lectures and textbooks.

"The aim is to develop a more engaging learning environment, rather than just replicate what you have in real life," said Maria Toro-Troconis, a senior learning technologist at Imperial College London. "Game-based learning plays a very important role."

The students’ classroom training is reinforced in Second Life down to the simplest lessons like washing your hands. If students forget to wash their hands before visiting with a patient, the program limits the student from going any farther.



Back in the U.S., companies including Sun Microsystems and IBM have established their own real estate in Second Life to give employees the opportunity to connect on a different level.

Sun Microsystems, a company that has been on Second Life since 2006, owns a variety of property that the company uses for different reasons. Some of their Second Life property is open to the general public and other areas are used specifically for employee training and corporate meetings.

IBM has also been using Second Life and other virtual communities to hold company meetings, conduct online employee training and carry out orientation sessions.

The opportunities for employee training in Second Life and in similar online venues seem endless. Especially with many organizations looking to cut training costs, we may start seeing more companies adopt online training as a cheaper option to traditional methods.

If Second Life can help doctors learn how to treat patients, certainly it can help other organizations train employees in areas like customer service and safety. Whatever your situation, online training has the potential to take your program to the next level.

Have you ever been a part of training or another corporate activity that was held using a virtual platform like Second Life? Do you think there are any added benefits to virtual employee training as opposed to traditional methods?

Hilton customer service training: All fun and games

Studies have shown that playing video games at work benefits the workplace by decreasing employee stress and increasing productivity. While companies that embrace gaming for fun have seen positive results, what happens when video games are designed specifically to deliver employee training?

Last month, Hilton Garden Inn announced that it would be the first hotel chain to offer employee customer service training designed and created for use on Sony's PlayStation Portable (PSP).

"Now when the Hilton Garden Inn team members are caught playing with a PSP system on the job, they are met with smiles and words of encouragement," according to a company press release.

With the use of this interactive, game-based employee training software Hilton Garden Inn is hoping to establish itself as the "hospitality leader in employee training." The software, called Ultimate Team Play trains employees to understand the special needs of hotel guests in a game setting.

“We’re thrilled to take our game-based employee training program to a whole new level, or, in this case, a whole new gaming platform that is also portable, to create some of the most advanced, realistic and interactive training anywhere,” said Adrian Kurre, senior vice president – brand management for Hilton Garden Inn.

“Ultimate Team Play is part of our ongoing commitment to making employee training compelling and relevant, which are our two most important criteria for ensuring long-term customer service success.”

The goal of Hilton's new employee training program is to show hotel employees how their actions have a direct impact on the hotel and on each guest's mood. The training game puts employees in a 3-D, virtual hotel where they must respond to a number of guest-related requests by a specific deadline. As employees respond to guests correctly, the simulated guest's satisfaction increases.

The power tool giant Black & Decker has been using technology in a similar way to deliver employee training materials to workers on the go. Through mobile learning (or m-learning) the company delivers training content to PDAs and cell phones, providing flexibility for workers who may not sit behind a computer everyday.

Companies like Black & Decker and Hilton are breaking new ground by using video games and cell phones to deliver employee training. As technology improves and opens up to a more mainstream market, we may one day see it become the standard in employee training across the country.

Does your company currently use mobile learning or online resources to deliver employee training? Have you seen any clear benefits from using technology over traditional methods?