+ Delivering Unexpected Service: A workshop for all employees
+ Creating True Service Differentiation: A workshop for managers
+ Developing Service Preeminence: A workshop for senior managers
+ Empowerment: Facilitating Service Excellence
+ Team Skills: Profiting from Diversity
+ Building Executive Team Effectiveness
+ Effective Listening: A key to better communication
+ Empowering Your Speaking: Getting the Most From What You Say
+ Building Productivity in the Workplace: Getting the BEST From Your People
+ Employee Orientation Programs
This interactive workshop is intended to help employees at all levels, and in all functional areas (whether or not they have contact with external customers) understand what it takes to be successful in an organization committed to service differentiation. Once they understand the basic concepts, they will be challenged to identify specific actions they can take individually and in association with others to improve the customer's experience.
By the end of the workshop, participants will:
- Understand what service really means, from the customer's and the organization's perspective.
- Understand the important elements of the customers' service experience.
- Understand what it takes to create memorable service experiences for customers.
- Understand the roles of managers, employees, and customers in building and maintaining a reputation for exceptional service quality.
- Identify the obstacles to overcome and techniques to do so.
Primarily interactive, the methodology includes lecture, as well as individual and group exercises.
All employees.
- Why Service Quality is more and more important.
- The characteristics of extraordinary service.
- What is your organization's service strategy?
- The key concept of Unexpected Service.
- What gets in the way of delivering it?
- Understanding "Moments of Truth" as they apply to each employee's job.
- Understanding each employee's service role: Internal vs. External Service.
- Identifying opportunities for improvement.
- What can you do to improve the customers' perception of your organization's service quality?
1 to 1 1/2 days
© 2002
Elliott Brown & Associates
The performance of the middle and first-line manager is critical to the success of any organization's service strategy. This interactive workshop is intended to help management-level employees in all functional areas (whether or not their departments have contact with external customers) understand what it takes to lead and support an organization committed to service differentiation. Once they understand the basic concepts, they will be challenged to identify specific actions they can take individually and in association with others to improve their own and their employees' service performance, and thereby enhance the customers' experience.
By the end of the workshop, participants will:
- Understand what Total Service really means.
- Understand the organizational imperatives of an effective service culture.
- Understand the roles of managers, employees, and customers in building and maintaining the service culture.
- Identify the obstacles to overcome and techniques to do so.
- Understand how to measure progress.
- Understand how to reinforce the service culture in their organizations.
- Understand how to help their subordinates be successful.
Primarily interactive, the methodology includes lecture, individual and group exercises
All employees with supervisory responsibilities
- A holistic definition of service.
- Why Service Quality is more and more important.
- Defining the organization's service vision and strategy
- The importance of commitment: The Service "Facts of Life"
- The concept of Unexpected Service.
- Understanding each employee's service role: Internal vs. External Service.
- The organizational imperatives of a successful service strategy, and the managers' responsibilities regarding each one.
- Service Leadership & Service Fanaticism
- Articulating the organization's service vision
- Hiring the right people
- Creating a supportive environment
- Facilitating service excellence-providing necessary tools
- Service empowerment
- Removing obstacles
- Measuring service performance
- Reinforcing service behaviors
- Rewarding performance
- The organization's strengths and shortcomings with respect to these imperatives.
- The leadership role of managers-demonstrating ownership.
- Fostering success in your subordinates.
Two days . A one-day program can be done on a subset of these topics
© 2002 Elliott Brown & Associates
Unless the senior management team is fully aligned around the service vision, and fully understands what it takes to get there, service differentiation efforts are likely to fail. This interactive workshop is intended to help Senior Management in all functional areas (whether or not their departments have contact with external customers) understand what it takes to develop and lead an organization committed to service differentiation. Once they understand the basic concepts, they will be challenged to identify specific actions they can take individually, collectively and in association with others to improve their own and their employees' service performance, and thereby enhance their customers' experience.
By the end of the workshop, participants will:
- Understand what Total Service really means.
- Clarify the service strategy they have undertaken.
- Understand the organizational imperatives of an effective service culture and how to identify their organization's strengths and shortcomings.
- Understand the roles of senior and middle managers, employees, and customers in building and maintaining the service culture.
- Identify key obstacles to overcome and techniques to do so.
- Understand how to measure progress.
- Understand how to reinforce the service culture in their organizations.
Primarily interactive, the methodology includes individual and group exercises as well as lecture.
The organization's senior management team.
- A holistic definition of service
- Why Service Quality is more and more important
- Defining the organization's service strategy
- The importance of commitment: The Service "Facts of Life"
- Identifying customer expectations and performance gaps
- The concept of Unexpected Service and what gets in the way of delivering it
- The Service Culture Self-Assessment
- The organizational imperatives of a successful service strategy
- Service Statesmanship & Service Fanaticism
- Articulating the organization's service vision
- Hiring the right people
- Creating a supportive environment
- Facilitating service excellence--providing necessary tools
- Service empowerment
- Removing obstacles
- Measuring service performance
- Reinforcing service behaviors
- Rewarding performance
1 day
© 2002 Elliott Brown & Associates
One of the most upsetting experiences for a customer is dealing with people who seem to lack the authority to provide satisfying service. Similarly, for the most motivated and service-oriented employees, a feeling of powerlessness can be very frustrating. This workshop is intended to help managers understand the many issues surrounding the concept of empowerment and to identify the appropriate ways to address them in their own organization.
By the end of the workshop, participants will:
- Understand what empowerment means, for managers and their subordinates.
- Understand the characteristics of an empowered person.
- Understand the prerequisites to empowerment.
- Understand the issues empowerment creates, both for managers and their subordinates.
- Identify techniques to overcome the obstacles.
- Understand how to recognize and reinforce empowered behavior.
Primarily interactive, the methodology includes lecture, individual and group exercises
All employees with supervisory responsibilities
- What is empowerment and why is it important?
- Who empowers whom?
- What does it mean for managers?
- What does it mean for subordinates?
- What are the characteristics of an empowered person?
- What are the prerequisites to empowerment-for the person and for the organization?
- What are the environmental and leadership requirements?
- What behavioral and attitudinal changes are necessary?
- Where has the organization been and where is it now?
- What gets in the way of demonstrating empowered behavior?
- The relationship between powerful behavior and self-esteem.
- The role of the manager in building self-esteem.
- How to maintain and reinforce an empowering work environment.
1-2 days.
© 2002 Elliott Brown & Associates
This interactive workshop is intended to help improve the quality of performance of people who work in teams, whether formally or loosely defined. Most people can describe the characteristics of effectively operating teams, but they don't know how to "make it happen." This workshop teaches the key elements needed to get the most value from each team member so that the underlying reason-for-being of the team-that its value is greater than the sum of its parts-is fully realized. Participants will leave the workshop better understanding one another and ready to more effectively interact as a team.
"Teams" at all levels of the organization. Especially valuable for management teams, it can also be of great value to work units, task forces, and any group which needs to work together effectively.
By the end of the workshop, participants will:
- Recognize the value of teamwork vs. individual effort.
- Understand the key behaviors which produce outstanding team results.
- Be more aware of their own behaviors which contribute to and inhibit team effectiveness.
- Understand and value the diversity of thinking styles, and understand their own preferred style of thinking.
- Know how to better access one another in order to improve the quality of their interactions.
Primarily interactive, the methodology includes lecture, as well as individual and group exercises.
- A "Before" Team Skills experience-Survival or Task-Oriented Simulation
- The characteristics of outstanding teams
- How do they get that way--Three key behaviors
- Thinking Styles instrument-understanding and valuing diverse thinking styles; how they can be used to benefit the team.
- An "After" Team Skills experience--applying what you've learned.
- Understanding how to better interact with one another
1 to 1 1/2 days
© 2002 Elliott Brown & Associates
This interactive workshop is intended to help improve the quality of Executive Team interaction. It helps team members understand, and get the most value from, their different thinking styles and communication approaches. It teaches communication techniques aimed at removing obstacles to clear understanding and effective collaboration. Participants will leave the workshop better understanding one another and ready to more effectively interact as a team.
The executive team of the organization. Also of great value to any senior team which needs to work together efficiently and effectively.
By the end of the workshop, participants will:
- Understand the key behaviors which produce outstanding executive team results.
- Be more aware of their own behaviors which contribute to and inhibit team effectiveness.
- Understand and value the diversity of thinking styles, and understand their own preferred style of thinking.
- Be able to use communication techniques which reduce misunderstanding, misdirection and conflict.
- Know how to better access one another in order to improve the quality of their interactions.
Primarily interactive, the methodology includes lecture, as well as individual and group exercises.
- A Team Skills experience--Survival or Task-Oriented Simulation
- The characteristics of outstanding teams
- How they get that way--Three key behaviors
- Thinking Styles instrument-understanding and valuing diverse thinking styles; how they can be used to benefit the team.
- Guidelines to effective listening and empowered speaking
- A model of active, conscious listening
- A model of responsible verbal communication
- Understanding individual communication preferences
2 days
© 2002 Elliott Brown & Associates
Few, if any, of us have ever been taught how to listen. We believe it comes naturally, but we confuse hearing and listening. While communicators may have heard one another, they often walk away from their conversation with different understandings of what has been said because their listening has been poor. This interactive workshop is intended to help participants improve their listening skills, and thereby avoid the problems which come from misunderstandings.
All employees at all levels of the organization, particularly those in management or customer-contact positions.
By the end of the workshop, participants will:
- Recognize what ineffective listening looks like and its implications.
- Understand what gets in the way of effective listening.
- Understand the basic foundations and principles of effective listening.
- Have experience applying a model of active, conscious listening as well as a model of responsible communication.
Primarily interactive, the methodology includes lecture, as well as individual and group exercises.
- What ineffective listening looks like and how it affects us.
- The importance of effective listening.
- Blocks to effective listening: What are they? Which are yours?
- The basic foundations of effective listening: hearing vs. listening, feeling vs. thinking, content vs. context.
- Practice in identifying feelings.
- Guidelines to effective listening.
- A model of active, conscious listening.
- A model of responsible communication.
- Practice, practice, practice.
One day.
© 2002 Elliott Brown & Associates
Many people weaken their effectiveness because of the their speaking habits and patterns. We often undermine the importance of what we have to say, or intensify conflict situations, through our choice of words, our use of disempowering speaking patterns, as well as through our body language and other unconscious signals we project. This interactive workshop is intended to help participants improve the quality of their spoken communication so that they feel more powerful, credible, confident and in control, and are viewed as such by the people they speak with, both on and off the job.
All employees. Especially important for managers, team leaders, salespeople, other customer-contact people.
By the end of the workshop, participants will:
- Understand the basic foundations of effective speaking.
- Know how to use whole messages to defuse potentially emotional situations.
- Understand the kinds of unconscious signals they may be projecting as they speak.
- Identify disempowering and counterproductive speaking patterns and know how to use effective alternatives.
Primarily interactive, the methodology includes lecture, as well as individual and group exercises.
- Talking vs. Speaking
- Four kinds of expression: Facts, thoughts, feelings, needs
- The Whole Message Model
- Understanding communication content and context
- Beyond the words: Pacing, volume, pitch and intonation, body language
- The power of words
- Ineffective speaking patterns
- Assessing your own speaking patterns
1 day.
© 2002 Elliott Brown & Associates
Building Productivity in the Workplace: Getting the BEST From Your People
Your people are your most important resource. How they feel about themselves--their competence, their value, how they fit in--has a profound impact upon their productivity. This workshop helps people at all levels of the organization better understand how to get the best performance from themselves, from their subordinates, from their peers, and even from their boss!
All employees. Especially important for managers and team leaders.
By the end of the workshop, participants will:
- Be more aware of obstacles to their productivity
- Experience the effect of thoughts on their ability to perform
- Recognize the impact of positive and negative feedback
- Understand how to improve their own performance and that of their co-workers
Primarily interactive, the methodology includes lecture, as well as individual and group exercises.
- What gets in the way of our success. What holds us back.
- What are we afraid of--and what effect does this have on performance?
- Understanding our comfort zone.
- The power of our unconscious mind.
- What effect does the language we use have on our performance?
- Turning victim language into accountable language.
- What effect do the thoughts we hold have on our performance?
- The impact of acknowledgement
- How can we overcome the obstacles we've identified?
1-2 days.
© 2002 Elliott Brown & Associates
We can help you design an orientation program for your organization which will quickly make new staff feel welcome, valued, and motivated to contribute to the success of the organization. well-designed orientation program helps the employees know where they fit in, what the values of the organization are, what's expected of them, what they can expect in return, and other elements which will enable them to integrate and become productive much more quickly.