Training Update For 2008

Most organizations still do not provide comprehensive, let alone adequate, training in today’s marketplace. A recent report by the Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA) said that only 27% of service and support staff spend more than 5 days on annual ongoing training.

Beyond that, it was found that 82% of new hires feel they do not receive much training in customer service skills, compared to only 18% who feel they do. What an exposure for a company to have—not only to not provide sufficient, robust training, but to have the majority of employees feel they weren’t provided with enough training, so they don’t have the tools necessary to do their jobs!

In another study the good news is that it’s reported that nearly half of US employers plan to spend more time and money on training in 2007 (Novations Group Survey). One of the top categories of training is Customer Service, followed by Technical Training, Interpersonal/ Teamwork, Communications, on down to Basic Skills.

The part of this study that concerns me is that employers ‘plan to spend more time and money.’ Like me, I’m sure you’ve heard this before. Let’s make sure the feet go where the mouth leads. As they say, talk is cheap, let’s get those training initiatives implemented.

After all, in today’s competitive environment, what separates one company from another is not their product or service, but rather, their customer service. And who has that awesome responsibility to deliver this world class customer service? Yes, your front lines who feel they haven’t been trained enough in customer service skills.

In a recent Training Magazine Study (November/December 2007), the training delivery methods reflect the following from year 2006 to 2007:
Training Delivery Methods 2006 2007

Instructor Led 62% 65%
Online Self Study 15% 20%
Virtual 14% 10%
Other 9% 5%

Source: Training Magazine Nov/Dec 2007n
Where do you fit in the above stats? Are you taking great care of your employees so they can take great care of your customers? If not, I suggest you make this a priority. Create a training initiative today!