Recently my supervisor
asked me to attend something with the innocuous name of SPi CLASS few years
ago I would have been filled with apprehension: This has to be some kind of
remedial class. Are they dissatisfied with my work?
But today I know that
isn’t the case. My boss had put me in charge of the team for when he isn’t
around, so it wasn’t a question of my abilities. The class, he assured, was preparation for
when I and my teammates would be leading our own teams. To be honest, I would
have been delighted to attend whether the class was remedial or not.
The reason for this is
because our account was formed only two years ago. Thus, operations within the
team tended to be a bit informal, to say the least. In the first few months we pretty much made stuff up as we went along. But
as long as we fulfilled the client’s requests, then we were all right.
But even with our
client expressing satisfaction with our work, something was definitely missing.
It’s not enough to be doing the right thing when you don’t even know what it is
you’re doing right. The reason was obvious: After all this time of flying by
the seat of my pants, albeit successfully, I needed structure. To have a firm and definite direction would do wonders not only for my performance but for my self-confidence Therefore a formal
class in developing one’s work performance looked attractive.
I did some digging
around for information about this SPi CLASS. Scout out the terrain and all
that. The idea of SPi CLASS began when the Training Solutions Group of
SPi Global (Solutions, People, Innovation) was approached by PLDT’s
Business Offices customer service in October of 2011. The aim was for the group
(the name ‘SPi CLASS’ had not yet been born) to train the customer service
department of PLDT to the point where its subscribers and clients would notice
the improvement upon first contact with customer service representatives.
Recall how one business
tattoos itself in customers’ consciousness the way they clap and cry out: Ready
to serve! (See? You knew right away who it was.) Well, the signature gesture
introduced to PLDT customer service was . . . the handshake! CS reps are
trained to welcome people with a hearty handshake.
This made me pause.
Really now? A handshake? Cynic that I
am, I wondered if this was one of those voodoo rituals that seminars like to
spout, like mindlessly repeating some mantra before a mirror. But the trainers
go on to explain that physical touch syncs the customer service rep’s mood with
that of the customer’s and builds empathy, declaring: I’m ready for you!
Reinforcing this
empathy is another innovation: The mirroring technique, where the rep subtly
follows the customer’s actions. Sits when she sits, smile when she smiles, and
so on. I must admit out of all the seminars I’ve attended, these were
unheard-of techniques for me. Usually, a competency like ‘empathy’ was
inculcated into trainees merely on the strength of the trainers’ persuasive
powers in showing the importance of the concept, leaving the trainees to develop their own approach. But SPi CLASS’ practical techniques actually led the trainees
to discover the importance of empathy on their own, that ‘Well, whaddaya you
know’ moment, as it were (More impressive than an ‘aha’ moment.)
Long story short, PLDT
was delighted. From an initial contract with the Training Solutions Group
sessions for 200 Metro Manila employees, the arrangement grew to include
several regional PLDT business offices.
As for SPi CLASS itself, it has its origin in the Leadership Seminar in 2011 led by SPi Global’s President and CEO Maulik
Parekh. Mindful of SPi’s vision to InSPire Success in the field of customer
service, SPi’s Training and Development Team broke from its traditional role of
keeping its expertise as an inhouse asset, instead sharing their success
formula with other industries.
After the success of
the PLDT project the program now called itself SPi CLASS and was formally
launched in June of 2012. The commitment and dedication of the people behind
SPi CLASS was proven by the manner in which they addressed the teething pains
inevitable in any new project. The AVP of Training and Development had to fork
over his own money to make an advance payment for venue rental.
SPi CLASS next conquest
was a group of 22 customer service reps from NTT DOCOMO, Japan’s biggest mobile
service provider.
Wait: 22 trainees?
But the more I thought
of it, the more impressed I was. That SPi CLASS would endeavour to train such a
small number speaks well both of the trainers’ dedication and the elite status
of the chosen few trainees. I once trained small classes myself and learned
that such groups cry out for individualized instruction. This was only apropos
because the main thrust of this four-day SPi CLASS was establishing personal rapport
with customers.
For sure, rapport is
taught in just about every call center. Despite this, I am witness to many
gaffes that make my ears curl. An agent may be facile in the language but unaware of nuances like cultural sensitivity.
For instance, once I encountered an agent preceding her repeated instructions
to the customer with ‘I told you…’ which may come across as snippy to
customers.
This is not unexpected
when one considers that a regular call center training class covers a broad
scope like technical, billing and so on, glossing over some other topics like
rapport. But a specialized class would make trainees aware of competencies
they had heretofore taken for granted.
After the NTT program,
SPi CLASS took on a different direction. Rather than serving one company, they
held an open workshop for 16 participants from eight different and diverse companies
at a Makati hotel. Moreover, in addition to customer service the scope now
included leadership and training.
This workshop must have
been daunting, to say the least: eight different major business establishments
with diverse needs. Instruction had to be all-encompassing, yet remain individualized,
the strength of SPi CLASS.
The trainers thus had
to think on their feet, tailoring the modules they used to the needs of not
just each company but each individual.
Was it successful?
Well, some of their clients, a major insurance company and one of the country’s largest telcos, want
SPi CLASS to conduct sessions with their own employees.
After having done my
research for this article, I wonder if I now possess the foreknowledge that the
other participants do not, and how it would affect my attendance. Would that make me more demanding of SPi CLASS,
testing the limits of their abilities? Regardless, I knew that I could only
benefit from this.
My next section will
deal with my personal experience in SPi CLASS.
