THE NEED: One of the greatest challenges of any business or organization is to be able to effectively manage and respond to client concerns and customer complaints. The inability of employees or staff to deal skillfully with these challenges can lead to frustrations over mis-communication, increased conflict and general customer dissatisfaction. In turn, this can adversely affect a company's bottom-line or the fulfillment of an organization’s mission and goals.

THE OBJECTIVE: This workshop aims to foster an organizational culture of responsiveness to client concerns and customer complaints. This will be accomplished by teaching a set of practical interpersonal skills that are designed to improve communication, promote an atmosphere of responsiveness and cooperation, and engender higher levels of job satisfaction and productivity.

THE BENEFITS: Past experience has demonstrated that organizational trainings using this model have resulted in numerous tangible benefits, including: faster handling of customer complaints, reduced levels of mis-communication and conflict, increased customer satisfaction, reduced employee stress, improved employee morale, better team-work and increased company profits.

WORKSHOP FORMAT: The format of this intensive skills-training workshop is uniquely powerful at eliciting concrete and long-lasting changes in attitudes and behavior. The workshop provides demonstrations and frequent coached practice exercises and group processes so that participants can internalize new patterns of interaction with customers and clients - and, by extension, with co-workers and other professional colleagues within one's own organization.

WORKSHOP OUTLINE: The workshop is structured in a two-day format, each day comprising two modules.

Module 1 introduces participants to the fundamentals of the Interpersonal Dynamics^sm Skills Training Program* and explains its utility in dealing effectively with client concerns and customer complaints. The two core skills of effective communication - expressive speaking and empathic responding - are explained and demonstrated. Coached practice exercises facilitate the mastering and internalizing of the empathic responding skill.

Module 2 continues with additional coached practice exercises on the use of the expressive speaking skill. Participants then will be given the opportunity to rehearse using both skills by role-playing realistic scenarios encountered in dealing with client concerns and customer complaints.

Module 3 provides participants a custom-tailored opportunity to apply the core communication skills in a group setting to specific issues, problems or conflict situations arising in their own day-to-day work setting. This facilitated exercise allows participants to deepen and refine their ability to use these skills to enhance their team’s ability to work cooperatively in a group setting.

Module 4 provides additional practice opportunities focused on responding effectively to client concerns and customer complaints. The goal is to learn how to generate good will and build a cooperative atmosphere, thereby diffusing potential conflict and improving the odds for meeting client goals and creating overall customer satisfaction.

FOLLOW-UP TRAINING AND CONSULTATION SERVICES are available on a custom-tailored basis to meet your work group or organization’s special needs for additional skills training or for consultation and facilitation in resolving particularly difficult problems.

     Team-Building Workshop

     Management Leadership Training Workshop

For further information, or to schedule a workshop for your work group, team, department or organization, please contact Rob Scuka, Ph.D., M.S.W., L.C.S.W.-C., at 301-986-1479, or by email at niremd@nire.org.