9:00 a.m.

(15 min)

Slide 1

Welcome/Learning Activity 10: Initial Reactions

Plan an opener that sets the tone for the learning event. Start strong, grab your learners’ interest, and let them see the value of this learning event to their workplace performance. Use this learning activity to establish the learners’ expectations, not as housekeeping, introductions, or generalized “welcoming” comments (you will do that later in the workshop).

Or, if you choose, the learning activity gives an alternate activity involving customer service statistics to substitute for the initial reactions exercise. Use the opener that will be most engaging for your particular group.

9:15 a.m.

(20 min)

Slide 2

Icebreaker/Learning Activity 11: Service Heroes

• Handout 12: Service Heroes

This large group activity will help participants meet other participants and highlight their strengths in and strategies for effectively delivering customer service. Use the instructions in the learning activity to guide the exercise. To help participants get started, share an example of your own to demonstrate how they might complete Part 1 of the handout.

Following the debrief, integrate a complete self-introduction, focusing on your experience and expertise with customer service. See the learning activity notes for ideas on what to include to establish your credibility.

9:35 a.m.

(5 min)

Slide 3

Program Objectives and Social Agreements/Learning Activity 12: Prioritize Learning

• Handout 13: Learning Objectives

• Handout 14: Participant Journal

This individual activity introduces the workshop’s learning objectives and provides participants with a personal journaling tool. Use this slide to introduce the objectives you will explore during the morning session.

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Slide 4

Use this slide to present the objectives you will explore during the afternoon session of the workshop.

You are encouraged to share a prepared chart of social agreements (ground rules) appropriate to your group after the activity.

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9:40 a.m.

(15 min)

Slide 5

Learning Objective 1/Learning Activity 13: Interconnected Service Facets

• Handout 15: Interconnected Service Facets

This facilitated discussion supports the first learning objective—distinguish service behaviors from service approaches and service systems.

Lead a discussion of the three elements that contribute to the customer’s overall experience, referring to the content in the learning activity. Be sure to use questioning to draw information, ideas, and examples from the participants. Plan to supplement the comments shared by the participants with the content provided for you to avoid turning this into lecture.

9:55 a.m.

(25 min)

Slide 6

Learning Objective 1/Learning Activity 14: Do They Agree?

• Handout 16: Do They Agree?

Learning Activity 14 also supports the first learning objective.

During this team challenge, participants create a card sorting activity (and answer key) to be completed by participants at the next table.

Use this slide and the learning activity instructions to start the activity.

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Slide 7

Continue to guide participants through the activity with this slide and the learning activity instructions.

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Slide 8

Use this slide and the learning activity instructions to provide direction on what to do with the activity materials created by other table groups.

During the debrief, guide table groups to rotate from one table to the next, where they review each other’s work and ideas.

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10:20 a.m.

(15 min)

Slide 9

BREAK

10:35 a.m.

(20 min)

Slide 10

Learning Objective 2/Learning Activity 15: Performance Improvement Service Levels

• Handout 17: Performance Improvement

This partner talk activity supports the second learning objective—assess your service environment to target improvement opportunities.

Ask participants to team up and discuss their interpretations of As Is, Should Be, and Could Be based on the slide image. Then lead a large group discussion to clarify and expand on the partner talk content.

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Slide 11

Use this slide and the learning activity instructions to provide additional context for As Is, Should Be, and Could Be, and as a transition into a large group discussion.

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Slide 12

Begin a large group discussion on As Is, referring to the slide and learning activity for content.

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Slide 13

Continue the large group discussion on Should Be, referring to the slide and learning activity for content.

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Slide 14

Wrap up the large group discussion with the Could Be level, referring to the slide and learning activity for content.

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10:55 a.m.

(15 min)

Slide 15

Learning Objective 2/Learning Activity 16: Where Are We Now?

• Assessment 1: Where Are We Now?

This assessment activity also supports the second learning objective.

There are three sections to the assessment aligned with the three service facets. In each section there is space or a question allowing participants to personalize the assessment.

NOTE: Be sure to integrate the instrument for this activity (in Chapter 11) with the other handouts (in Chapter 13).

Slide 16

Transition to Service Behaviors

Use this slide to transition to the content on service behaviors.

11:10 a.m.

(10 min)

Slide 17

Learning Objective 3/Learning Activity 17: The HELP Process for Customer Interactions

• Handout 18: The HELP Process for Customer Interactions

This facilitated discussion supports the third learning objective—follow the four-step HELP process for customer interactions.

HELP is an acronym built on the first letter of four key actions. Refer to the content in the learning activity and these slides to lead a discussion that relies heavily on questioning techniques and intersperses a minimal amount of “lecturette” to explain the HELP process. Plan to supplement the comments shared by the participants with the content provided for you.

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11:20 a.m.

(40 min)

Slide 25

Learning Objective 3/Learning Activity 18: HELP the Customer: Interviews and Role Plays

• Handout 19: HELP the Customer—Interview Tool

• Handout 20: HELP the Customer—Planning Worksheet

• Handout 21: HELP the Customer—Observer Worksheet

This two-part activity also supports the third learning objective. Part one involves partner interviews to elicit real world challenges. Part two provides an opportunity to role play the challenges surfaced during the interviews.

Use the instructions in the learning activity and this slide to pair up participants for interviews.

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Slide 26

Use the instructions in the learning activity and this slide to lead participants to prepare for quad role plays.

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Slide 27

Display this slide during the quad role plays as a support tool participants may want to reference.

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12:00 p.m.

(60 min)

Slide 28

LUNCH

1:00 p.m.

(10 min)

Slide 29

Morning Review and Transition to Afternoon/Learning Activity 19: Quick Start

Use this post-lunch review activity as a soft-start to open the afternoon. Display this slide and follow the learning activity instructions to invite table groups to complete a card sort review of service behaviors, service strategies, and service systems.

After the activity, provide an overview of the remaining learning objectives for the afternoon.

Slide 30

Transition to Service Strategies

Use this slide to signal a transition from service behaviors to service strategies.

1:10 p.m.

(20 min)

Slide 31

Learning Objective 4/Learning Activity 20: Mistake Proofing

• Handout 22: Mistake Proofing to Improve Customer Service

Learning Activity 20 supports the fourth learning objective—improve existing service strategies from the customer’s perspective.

Lead the group through a facilitated discussion of what mistake proofing is and how it supports customer service. Provide samples of how mistake-proof techniques can be used by a trainer to support servicing the participant “customer.” Direct participants to document how they are already using mistake proofing and partner to share their examples.

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1:30 p.m.

(40 min)

Slide 36

Learning Objective 4/Learning Activity 21: Creating Mistake-Proof Techniques

• Handout 23: Creating Mistake-Proof Techniques Worksheet

This partner activity (which is performed twice) continues to support the fourth learning objective.

Participants partner and use the worksheet to evaluate a customer experience, identify opportunities to mistake proof the process, and design a technique to improve the service outcome.

2:10 p.m.

(15 min)

Slide 37

BREAK

2:25 p.m.

(30 min)

Slide 38

Learning Objective 4/REPEAT of Learning Activity 21: Creating Mistake-Proof Techniques

• Handout 23: Creating Mistake-Proof Techniques Worksheet

Partners collaborate again and evaluate another customer experience, identify opportunities to mistake proof it, and design another technique to improve the service outcome.

2:55 p.m.

(20 min)

Slide 39

Learning Objective 4/Learning Activity 22: Critiquing Mistake-Proof Techniques

This partner activity also continues to support the fourth learning objective.

Working with a new partner, participants explain and receive feedback on their mistake-proof techniques. Once they have received feedback, have them return to their original partner and share what they learned and how they enhanced or revised the technique.

Slide 40

Transition to Service Systems

Use this slide as a signal to transition from service strategies to service systems.

3:15 p.m.

(30 min)

Slide 41

Learning Objective 5/Learning Activity 23: Our Service Systems

This large group activity supports the fifth learning objective—examine the organization’s service systems for breakdowns from the customer’s perspective.

Everyone will contribute input to a facilitator-led creation of a cross-functional process map of an organization-specific service system. Choosing a process that is not complex (or a subsection of a process) will make this exercise easier. (TIP: I strongly encourage you to work with subject matter experts, or SMEs, to map the service system ahead of time to reference during the activity and to guide the group.)

3:45 p.m.

(20 min)

Slide 42

Learning Objective 5/Learning Activity 24: Where and How Can I Help?

• Handout 24: Where and How Can I Help?

This individual activity also supports the fifth learning objective.

Considering the cross-functional process map just created, individuals determine where they have Control–No Control–Influence (C–NC–I) in the service system.

4:05 p.m.

(20 min)

Slide 43

Learning Objective 6/Learning Activity 25: Where We Go From Here

• Handout 25: Where We Go From Here

This action planning activity supports the sixth learning objective—create implementation plans with a peer support component.

To help participants take the learning back to the workplace, encourage them to independently create an action plan. Once drafted, have them pair up, and ask them to share their plans, take notes on their partner’s plan, and commit to following up with each other at designated times to receive progress updates.

4:25 p.m.

(5 min)

End at 4:30 p.m.

Slide 44

Course Closure

• Handout 26: Course Evaluation—From the Customer’s Perspective

Share next steps (if program is part of a larger organizational initiative). Collect completed course evaluations. Distribute certificates (if provided).