Newsletter

Online Newsletter for Call Center Personnel
Rosanne D'Ausilio, Ph.D. Editor and Publisher
Volume XX, Issue 8

Date: August 1, 2009 - Conflict Management Training

In a recent survey training participants were asked what types of courses would greatly increase their effectiveness at work, and the answers were:

Leadership skills                      56%
Conflict resolution                53%
Technical knowledge              47%
Management skills                  43%
Communication skills              42%
Project mgmt skills                 41%
Critical thinking skills               40%
Innovative thinking skills         38%
Negotiation skills                     35%
Time management                 35%
Stress management               35%
Effective teamwork                33%
Computer skills                       33%    
Financial skills                         23%
None of the above                  1%

Source:  The Everything Disc Workplace Survey of 5,945 Training Participants
Nationwide by Inscape Publishing (www.trainingmag.com, July/August 2009, p 11)

The source was surprised that dealing with conflict or difficult people was at 53%. 

We’re not, are you?  Today’s customers are more sophisticated and have higher expectations.  Calls coming into companies today are more complex, more complicated, and more accelerated before the phone is even answered.

After all, if we could, as customers, handle most of our questions, problems, concerns, etc. using self service which is available 24/7, we would do so.  But because self service isn’t what it should be, there is another step involved—call the company!  At this point, the customer could be frustrated, angry, upset, wasted time and/or got nowhere, impatient, all the way up to rage, and is ready to vent--and then the phone is answered.  And most people don't know how to responsibly communicate when confronted with this.

My case study in partial fulfillment of my doctorate (1996) was titled The Impact of Conflict Management Training on Customer Service Delivery with significant results.  It took place at a utility company and at their request, was focused on their longest and hardest call—a complaint call—everyone’s longest and hardest call.  (if you want an overview of this study, send me an email--rosanne@human-technologies.com).

Whether it’s 1996 or 2009, training is a necessity, not an option.

© 2009 Human Technologies Global, Inc. All rights reserved. www.human-technologies.com