Reasons to Maintain and Improve Customer Service in Recessionary Times

This article is from key points that emerged at a recent meeting of the Customer Service Training Association chaired by Don Hales:

1. Recession creates opportunities as well as threats – an organisation with poor customer service stands less chance of benefitting from the opportunities

2. During a recession there are likely to be more floating customers around, looking for a better deal and better service for their money

3. Staff motivation will be improved and attrition reduced if they can see that the organisation still cares for customers

4. It is a good opportunity to prove wrong those who doubt the value of customer service. If an organisation can keep their customers during a recession, they will outshine their rivals

5. During recession, your training pounds go further (try it) so you can invest in customer service training. Better service now = more happy and retained customers now and better placed for future

6. This is a good time to improve processes and efficiencies. There may be more time and staff accept the need to change more readily

7. With unemployment likely to rise, it is an opportunity to raise the recruitment bar. Invest in the best!

8. Now is the time to develop your best people. They will appreciate the attention and improved skills and remain loyal. They will be even more energised in difficult times and unstoppable when the recovery comes

9. Invest where it makes a difference – this applies to customers as well as your staff. A concession or a joint investment (training, marketing promotions etc.) will be far more meaningful now that a “jolly” in times of plenty.

10. Staff, at all levels, are less likely to leave in times of recession. This is a good time to train them (not necessarily expensively – teaching each other to widen skill sets costs nothing).

11. Better skilled staff reflect confidence in the organisation and this shines through to customers and potential customers

12. During a recession, sometimes everyone is not so busy with “must do now” jobs. This creates time to spend with staff and customers and to listen to their ideas.

13. Improving service sends a strong message to everyone about the organisations beliefs and prospects.14. The stronger your customer service now, the better you will benefit from the eventual recovery (and it always comes – these things are cyclical, if not predictable as regards timing.

If you want to comment on the above – please contact Don Hales on don.hales@worldofcustomerservice.com

Don is the co-author of Wow thats what I call Service

Five tips for precision thinking

Last night I attended a workshop by speaker and presenter Kate Atkin. It was held in the Borders Bookshop in Cambridge and the only cost was a donation to the local charity, the Papworth Trust.

Kate presented a workshop on Precision Thinking for Confident Outcomes. She got the group to relax very quickly and took us through some very simple and easy to assimilate tips. I won't go into great detail (that's Kate's job), but I can share with you the main outline.

Firstly, and this is not at all unlike the comment I had from a trainer friend who said 'stop playing the failure film', she said we have to control what we think and run 'positive programmes'. Cut out negative messages and thoughts.

Secondly she talked about the language used. We looked at language and split an example into three categories, negative, neutral and positive. Instead of cutting out the negatives, she said cut out the neutrals. Be honest, if you are in a negative, don't mask it with neutrality, but do aspire to convert it to the positive. Using positive language as well as positive programmes will help boost your inner confidence.

Strangely enough I called a friend in the US immediately after the seminar. How are you? I asked. 'OK' she said. Netural answer! The truth was she wasn't feeling well.

Thirdly and very importantly, Kate said we must stay focused. It's too easy to revert to negative thinking and messages so keep that focus.

The next exercise/tip was about posture. She got us all to stand up and think of something good, then something bad (and the posture change was evident). She then asked us to maintain a positive posture and smile broadly whilst thinking of the bad thing. It made it a lot harder to think negatively, so posture (and a smile) do help affect not just how you appear to others, but your own mental processing.

Lastly we discussed breathing, and this I am very familiar with. In fact, I believe it's something we all do! Seriously, breathing deeply and regularly can help calm and relax you - important elements in feeling confident - and provide oxygen to the brain. It's hard to think without enough oxygen.

One very simple tool that Kate gave us was the Confidence Wall. I'll ask her if I can share it with you.

It was a very positive session, and Kate only briefly mentioned her book The Confident Manager and the evening ended with the group chatting and swapping business cards and engaging Kate in further discussion until the shop closed.

The Problem With Affirmations (And What To Do About It)

By Mike Brooks, Mr. Inside Sales

To start with, let me ask you the most important question of your sales

career: Do you have an affirmation card, a few sentences or a paragraph, that describes in detail the feelings and emotions that you will have once you have accomplished your current financial goal?

And if you do, do you have it on you right now?

Most sales reps, managers and business owners will answer no to that, and that’s too bad. Without a doubt, the most important determinant to your success is what your belief and expectation of your success is. Every sales rep already has an image of what their results are going to be, a number, if you will, of how much they are worth and how much they are going to earn, and it is that image that will always determine your results.

Not the economy, not your leads, not your territory or the price of your product. Rather, your belief and expectation of your performance is the BIGGEST predictor of your results. What you believe will happen, happens.

What you think about all day long becomes your reality. If you don’t believe me, ask yourself this:

Isn’t it true that what you are currently thinking about all day long, in every area of your life, is exactly how your life currently is? Think about your weight, your income, your success, your relationships – aren’t they the mirror image of what you think about all day long?

Of course they are. That’s why the only way to really change anything in your life is to first change how you think about it. There are hundreds of great books about The Law of Attraction, and I recommend you buy some of them and read and apply the truth immediately, but the bottom line is that until you change your currently dominate self-image or picture, your results won’t change.

And that’s where affirmations come in. The proper use of carefully crafted affirmations can and will change your image, your actions and your results faster and more effectively than any other tool you have access to. The problem is that most people give up on affirmations because of one big mistake they make at the beginning:

They set their goals too high and because of that, their affirmations are unbelievable. The fact is, most people who write affirmations make them so unrealistic that their subconscious minds reject them and so they feel they are just lying to themselves, and, in a sense, they are. That’s why they stop using them after just a few days.

For example, if you make £1,500 a month in commissions, and you read a book on sales or goal setting and affirmations and get fired up and think you can make £3,000 or £5,500 the next month or two, chances are you will have some self talk that says, “Who are you kidding?” And it is that voice that will win out and in short order you will go back to earning your old self-image of £1,500 a month.

The solution is to make incremental increases that you can truly believe in. For example, can you actually see yourself making £2,000 a month, or £2,500 a month? Which amount truly feels like a realistic (and yet still stretches you a little) goal that you can really believe in? Once you determine what truly feels achievable, set a goal around it and begin affirming how it feels now that you’re earning that amount.

This is the proper use of affirmations and you will go much further by setting realistic goals and then achieving them. In three or four months, you can revise that goal higher because the more you achieve the more you will believe you can achieve.

If you have given up on affirmations because they never worked for you, then revisit them TODAY and develop ones that you CAN believe in. Then begin using them immediately. Remember, the fastest way to change your results is to change your image of what is possible for yourself, and using affirmations, properly, is the most effective way to do that.

If you want to Double Your Income Selling Over the Phone, then check out Mike's Award Winning 5-CD Series and learn the techniques and strategies of Top 20% producers

Mike Brooks, Mr. Inside Sales, works with business owners and inside sales reps throughout the US teaching them the skills, strategies and techniques of top 20% performance.

Giving away products

If you visit our site you will find not only our usual free resources, ice breakers etc, but some of our full products absolutely free!

We are offering a range of our standard training programmes free for the next few months for a very simple reason - we know that our programmes are great and our products are great, so we want as many people to visit the site and recommend us as possible.

Our best-sellers at the moment are things like the Customer Services books, Self Development and coaching materials.

Don't just read this blog, go to the site and start downloading! This is what one of our customers has said:


"Wow – thanks for this very generous offer. You have just saved me massive amounts of research/design time for a project management course!

I will let you know how it goes. Rest assured I will pass your details on to anyone who will listen!

Thanks again

Carol
www.cooperparry.com"

One question that was thrown at me was 'will this devalue your products?'. I don't think so. The quality will show that they are very worthwhile - I've already seen people who downloaded a free pack come back for more, and also buy from the site too. That's what this is about - encouraging people to visit the site and to understand what we have to offer and how we can help them. It should be more than an interesting exercise, it should be a good business move.

How To Re-Energise Your Training Business

By Sharon Gaskin:

The Trainers Training Company http://www.thetrainerstrainingcompany.co.uk/

Over the last few weeks I've been talking to my network of trainers trying to get a feel for how people are faring in the current economic climate. Most people are holding up pretty well but are definitely finding it a lot tougher than in previous years with corporates scaling down their training activity and training companies trimming down their associate contracts. I've been talking to a mixture of people from freelancers who are just starting out having been made redundant and also trainers who have had successful businesses for years and are now finding the work harder to come by.

When you are faced with this situation, and let's face it, I'm no different to anyone else, it's easy to to get sucked into all the gloom and doom out there and let negative feelings overwhelm you. Sometimes you can feel so paralysed by the feeling that you must do something that you end up doing nothing at all!

So, to help you, here are some tips, simple steps that you can take to get you and our business back on track. If you want to read the full series: 20 Ways To Re-Energise Your Training Business go to www.thetrainerstrainingcompany.co.uk/blog.

1. Get motivated to change your situation

Resolve to take action. Be positive. OK, so you know things are going to be tough for a while but you also know that this situation won't last for ever. The people who take action now will be the ones who will have the most solid business when we eventually come out out of recession.

2. Do an audit of your business
List on a piece of paper or on a spreadsheet every single piece of work that you have done since you set up your business. List client name, nature of the work, the number of days and the value. Once you have done this go back through all the items in turn and ask yourself this simple question:

Where did this work come from? This exercise is very useful for 3 reasons:

1. It gives you an accurate and realistic picture of what marketing methods have really worked for you

2. It identifies what you are good at - we trainers have a tendency to think we aren't very good at marketing.You've now got proof that you are!3. It identifies the things you must carry on working at to continue to be successful.
3. Try something new

There is also an old saying that if you do as you've always done you'll get what you’ve always got. If you're not happy with what you're getting at the moment, maybe now's the time to try out 1 new approach as well as your tried and tested ones.

Think about all the possible marketing methods you could use, for example public speaking, starting your own networking group or building your online presence.

Write them all down. Give each one a rating on a scale of 1-10 in terms of how happy and confident you feel about using them. It's important to choose something you feel confortable with, otherwise you'll just feel demotivated before you even start. You also need to feel positive to give yourself the best chance of success.

4. Stay Close to Your Clients
Beware of focusing too much on getting new clients. What about the clients you already have? You already have a relationship with them. They already like you, know and trust you. You are already half way there to your next piece of work. Spend some time thinking about your clients. Who are they? When did you last speak to them? What strategies do you use for continually building and maintaining a relationship with them? Do you stay in regular contact or only make an effort in your quiet times when you are not delivering training?
What 1 thing can you do today to re-ignite your client relationships?

5. Get Yourself Certified!
Todays Tip: Get Yourself Certified!
As competition for training contracts get tougher it makes sense to consider doing things that are going to differentiate you from the crowd. This is a perfect time for you to get yourself certified or accredited. There are 3 good reasons to do this:

1. Assurance to any potential client that you are knowledgeable, skilled, competent, professional and credible.
2. Increased opportunities - many of the bodies that provide accreditation actively recommend their accredited trainers to organisations looking to purchase training services.
3. Improved self confidence that comes from demonstrating and proving your worth.

One of the best accreditation schemes for freelance trainers is Certified Learning Practitioner from TrainerBase http://www.trainerbase.co.uk/

The Training Foundation also provides professional development, assessment and certification via the Tap Learning System www,tap-training.com/

If you train in the Financial Services sector you may want to check out the Financial Services Skills Council Recognised Trainer Scheme www.fssc.org.uk/

Or there are a wide range of qualifications available from CIPD http://www.cipd.co.uk/ from the Certificate in Training Practice to more advanced qualifications in learning and development.

I hope I have given you some ideas to try out and that you are already starting to feel re-energised and inspired! If you want to read more hints and tips that will help you move your business forward go to www.thetrainerstrainingcompany.co.uk/blog

The Trainers Training Company helps freelance trainers to create successful businesses. Sign up for our newsletter and get FREE report 20 Things You Ought To Know Before Going Freelance at http://www.thetrainerstrainingcompany.co.uk/

New book, new times?

I've just got hold of the pre-published version of the 'Best Practice Guide for Customer Service Managers', written by a highly regarded expert in customer services in the UK. What is interesting is how much more advanced customer services is now than, even say, two years ago.

Customer services is going to be a crucial differentiator in these challenging economic times, so for businesses to survive they really can't ignore the need not only to train their people, but to understand the theory and real application of customer services today. The times are a-changing, and we must, in all aspects, change with them.

Although many people assume that good customer service is a 'no brainer', it still astonishes me how many people just have no sense of customer service at all. The checkout lad who is soooo bored you can just see his disinterest oozing from every pore, the telesales person who sounds cross when you say you don't actually want to take their call right now thank you and perhaps even the traffic warden who swaggers up to you just as you reach your car and the ticket is about to expire...

Are people so secure in their jobs that they think they do not need to treat their customers with respect, and with at least a little dignity? No, of course not, but in these three examples (all real), there is a motivator behind them.

The checkout boy is doing this job just to earn money before he goes to Uni, he has no vested interest in the company's success or desire for a career in this organisation. The telesales girl is on a target! My 'no thank you' is a dent in her performance record, and targets are getting tighter and harder and... The traffic warden sees himself as an enforcer. I am a wrong-doer, not a customer!

Now the book I am reading (I've only just started so no in depth review here) focuses far more on the higher principles of customer service, but you have to take it back to grass roots.
Perhaps, even, it goes deeper than that. Is there a dysfunction in how we interact as people throughout society, not just in the customer/provider situation? There are many who would scream 'yes!' and cite examples of rude behaviour, lack of manners, simple disregard. Oh, and I'm not guiltless, I let a customer wait for a product without contacting them and didn't check that it had (in fact had not) been dispatched. Result: one unhappy customer, one cancelled order. Yes, I have learned from this experience! Personal circumstances are irrelevant, whatever my excuses, I should have got on the phone or emailed and let the client know what was happening, even if it was 'nothing'. People are usually fine if they are kept in the know.

'Fixing' society is a massive challenge and one which will need addressing before we all disappear into our own virtual 'hubs' of existence, and only connect through electronic means. But we can certainly address behaviour issues at work and give that lad who is studying to be an architect a sense of worth, in the value of a job well done whatever he is doing, even if it is just checkout! Who knows, that guy he helped with the cracked eggs may be someone important in his intended industry...

All speculation, true, but by taking control of customer service in our organisations, by applying the premise of respect and understanding (and, of course, training and following the right Best Practice guidelines), it will have a knock-on effect in our whole society. Yes, customer service takes effort, but the rewards are very possibly survival against closure in this harsh economic climate.

Customer Services & Training Standards

I was asked a very simple question by a contact (Susan Robinson of http://www.fundraisingcpd.com/):

"Just wondered if you know what the 'best practice' guidelines are on training? For example, is there anything published on how many learners to each tutor? maximum numbers of days that one tutor should work with a group?

I have been involved in developing a NVQ Level 4/HND Level Management Course, which is currently run in a five-day block with a maximum of 14 learners. Up until now, we have used two trainers throughout but it is being suggested that the course run with one tutor. I'm not sure that this is in the best interests of the learners or the tutor. Any advice would be gratefully received."

Thank you The training company I used to work for were very strict on delegate number, maximum 14 at a push, preferably 12 maximum. But I asked the question of a Customer Services expert (Trevor Arden of http://www.pdmtc.co.uk/) who said:

"As far as I know there is no published guidance on the maximum number of students per tutor on any particular type or level of programme.
However, there should be a small enough ratio to enable:

a) the learning content to be effectively delivered and understood
b) individual students' needs, questions and requirements to be efficiently dealt with quickly
c) any whole-group or small-group activities and tasks to be achieved
d) assessment of individuals (where it is required in a classroom situation) to be achieved effectively (could be both formal and informal assessment)

Conversely, the ratio should not be too small, especially on a management type of programme, as this could detract from some of the types of discussions and group activities that would be expected.

Students should also have access to some form of support or personal tutoring outside of the classroom situation."

In this world of guidelines, compliance and recommended daily dose, is there a definitive answer? I am sure that the ratio of trainer:delegate will vary according to what you are training in (for example some technical or equipment based training may only be possible on a one-to-one basis), but this is a great subject for a great subject for debate, and one that Susan and I will pursue.

I'd love to have your comments on this. Please contact us, or comment below if you are a blogspot member.

Kairology

Got a superb little self-development book on the site. Kairology. Very simple, easy to read, easy to assimilate too.

It's written by an Englishman who now lives in New Zealand, and he's arranged the book into four clear sections (suits) and each page has helpful comments, useful questions and an opposing page with an inspirational quote.

Great to read on the train, in the bath, whenever! I recommend it personally, I'm reading it now.

There's an ebook version too. Take a look:

http://www.completetrainer.co.uk/Self_Development/Kairology_ebook

New Discipline & Grievance Procedures

I received this newsletter from Sandra and she kindly said I could mention it here. It's always difficult to keep abreast of legislation changes; there's some really useful information in here:

2009 Key Changes and Actions to Take

Key Changes

On 6 April 2009 the Employment Bill 2008 repeals the Statutory Dispute Resolution Regulations 2004, abolishing the three step statutory grievance and discipline procedures. However, some form of procedure will have to be followed otherwise the tribunal can award compensation increased or decreased by 25%.

Failure to follow the statutory procedures will no longer result in automatic unfair dismissal. An employee may lodge an ET1 without submitting a grievance to the employer first, but compensation may be affected if their case is successful at tribunal. Mediation will be the key to resolving disputes early. Emphasis will need to be on resolving issues informallay as much as possible.

The new rules are designed to be less prescriptive, simpler and more flexible. Timescales will be less rigid and the statutory modified procedures are abolished. The rules will not apply to redundancies or the ending of fixed term contracts, however.

Collective grievances will not be covered by the code and companies should follow their collective grievance procedure. To support the legislation a new ACAS Code of Practice will be implemented and companies need to review their procedures in line with this at it will be closely consulted by tribunal panels when assessing cases and the actions taken.

ACAS to be much more involved, particularly early on in any disputes and there will be a statutory duty for conciliation. ACAS will offer more help especially in offering pre-claim conciliation whereby having been notified by either employer or employee of potential cases heading for the tribunal courts (but no ET1 having been submitted) will attempt to work with both parties to come to an amicable resolution.

This process has been in existence for some time although perhaps, to date, not particularly well publicised. However, current statistics show that 2/3 of cases reach settlement through pre-claim conciliation with 60% being settled within 14 days. The benefits of pre-claim conciliation are saving time and money, minimising stress, offering a quick solution and providing a win-win outcome without total breakdown of the relationship. The opening hours of ACAS will be extended (8am to 8pm Mon-Fri and 9am to 1pm Saturday).

There are transitional arrangements for the introduction of the new procedures, however, which need to be considered. In a disciplinary or dismissal case, if an employer commences disciplinary proceedings against an employee before 6 April 2009, the statutory dispute resolution regulations 2004 apply; this means having sent a disciplinary hearing invite letter or held a disciplinary hearing. However, if proceedings are held off until after 6 April, the new legislation applies.

In a grievance case, if an employee has sent a grievance letter waited 28 days and submitted an ET1 before 6 April 2009 the statutory grievance procedure will continue to apply. However, for acts which began before 6th April 2009 but continue after that date the following applies:


- for almost all types of claim, the old statutory grievance procedure applies if the employee sends a grievance letter, or presents an ET1, by 4th July 2009. If that date passes without a letter or ET1 being sent, then the new regime applies and the statutory grievance procedure will not engage.
- for equal pay, redundancy payments and some industrial action claims, the same applies except the changeover date is 4th October rather than 4th July.


Actions To Take
• Review employment contracts and employee handbooks in line with the ACAS Code of Practice
• Include an explanation of the mediation process in policies
• Provide clear guidance on submitting grievances
• Communicate policy changes to employees
• Provide training in the new procedures
• Consider providing soft skills training for managers
• Consider training internal mediators or identifying an external mediation company

For more information contact Sandra Beale FCIPD on 07762 771290 or email
info@sjbealehrconsult.co.uk

Website: http://www.sjbealehrconsult.co.uk/

Thank you Sandra! If you have an article you think might be of interest, please contact us.

Doing your bit for charity

I am on a list for requests for training for charities. I don't provide training, so I can't often help, but it's always interesting to see who is looking for what, and you never know - there may be an opportunity I can help somehow. I thought that one way I could help was by telling everyone about Charity Days.

Charity Days is an organisation that provides charities with training (on a cost only basis) and other free/ discounted offers from trainers. Jane Tredgett set up Charity Days in 2003 by sending out an appeal to trainers to see who would like to give some time to charities. The volunteers have registered have gone from the initial 22 to 160 - with a variety of specialities and based all over the UK.

The trainers are happy to donate their time free of charge to registered charities & Jane gives her time as the coordinator on a voluntary basis as well. This means Charities can undertake training & really keep the costs down. The trainers can recoup costs such as travel / accommodation & materials. So far the organisation have dealt with over 260 requests from charities and made a significant contribution to many charities by helping them make their training budget go further.

The way it works :

Usually a charity sends details of a training need either by a direct email or using the form on our website (http://www.ukcharitydays.co.uk/). Jane then forwards this to the volunteers & you register your interest in helping if you wish to. the chariy then selects a volunteer and makes arrangements for the training to be delivered.

Sometimes a trainer will make a specific offer which is forwarded on to the charities registered.

If you would like to offer your services to Charity Days please visit the website http://www.ukcharitydays.co.uk/ & fill in the quick form or email Jane Tredgett on jane@ukcharitydays.co.uk

Are there equivalent organisations in the US, Australasia, South Africa? Trainers love to help others grow, so it's no surprise that this cadre of individuals are such a charitable and giving bunch of people.

Coaching skills - using simulations

One of the products I feature on my site is a 'sales skills simulation' - and I have to say that looking at the product description I wasn't that sure what it meant. But I received the pack to evaluate and I spent some time on line with the producers and was taken through a step by step demonstration.

No, that's not necessary to understand the product, but it was necessary for me as a non-trainer!

I have to say I found it easy to use, simple to understand and the scenarios used very easy to associate with even though they were different sectors to my own experience.

The simulation is very easy to understand - it takes you through a scenario (for example a sales meeting), gives you profiles on the people you are going to 'meet', and various things happen that you have to respond to. Each option you choose not only has an explanation, but also a weighted value, so at the end of your virtual meeting, you can see how well you did.

Not only can you review your success factors, but you are also given information on techniques and options, and receive detailed feedback for each decision you make.

It's not just a 'walk through' though. The simulation is accompanied by subject specific training material and the simulation part of the package is used to test the learning from the session. For sales trainers and facilitators it provides a bite size coaching session that gives feedback through ‘live’ business scenarios, adding interest and a competitive element to training. It's a great way for building confidence, improving skill sets and teaching new skills too.

Yes, I have to say I was impressed with this product (and I didn't score too badly myself either). There are 11 titles covering three subject areas sales skills, sales management and leadership.

I'll collect some more info on this and maybe get an article going which can tell you more.

Do new managers get a raw deal?

By Allan Mackintosh

In 1989 I was appointed into my first management position. I was 29 years old, considered relatively young to be a manager in my particular industry and as such was promised a management development programme to build and enhance my skills. It never happened in the three years I was with the company. True, I was sent on a four day management course but, to be honest, although I did take some ‘nuggets’ from the course, l I found it trying and confusing due to an over-reliance on academic theory. Nice glossy folder though!

In the next two companies I worked for as a manager the amount of development that I received as a ‘new’ manager was negligible and it was only when at my last company before I became self-employed that I really experienced any emphasis behind developing management to their full potential.

I have been studying the ‘behaviours’ of companies in relation to ‘new manager’ development since I started my own business in 2001 and I have come to the conclusion that numerous organisations, both large and small, are guilty of not giving new managers the support that they deserve. So, why is this?

Firstly, I should point out that most organisations seem to be actually quite good at training the new manager in the processes and procedures that the company and role requires to undertake. Expenses, disciplinary processes, reporting procedures and other related procedures are all trained well and in terms of these the new manager will get a decent enough grounding in what they have to do. However the development of the crucial people and team leadership skills needed in order to ensure effective implementation of the processes and procedures tends to occur as an after thought, if it happens at all. Too often this people and team leadership training happens too late and new managers can find themselves struggling to effectively manage superiors, peers and their own direct reports. This can lead to high levels of stress in the new manager as styles clash and differing expectations cause disruption and mistakes.

So, why does this lack of training come about? The following are some reasons as to why this people and team leadership training tends not to happen, or at least not happen until later in the new manager’s career.

No training budget

No training department

No realisation on the behalf of the company that people and team leadership training is needed from the start of the new manager’s career

A belief or assumption that the new manager will have picked up management ‘experience’ from their previous line manager. (Dangerous assumption!)

Reliance on putting people through a fixed management development programme which may be scheduled in only once a year and on fixed dates

No coaching and mentoring programme

A belief that a manager experienced in another company prior to joining will have had the necessary development

I have been amazed at the number of new managers I have spoken to who have not received the basic people and team leadership training in their managerial roles and I have also been extremely disappointed in that many managers have not even been made aware of exactly what their specific performance objectives are. Many do not get regular performance reviews and one manager I spoke to recently had not had an appraisal in the three years he has been a manager!

So, we actually may have a situation where new managers are not only not getting the basic management development in skills such as leadership and coaching but may also not be getting their performance objectives specified and not receiving any 1:1 support through a line manager, a coach or mentor. And people wonder why management can be stressful!

I have a belief that certain crucial steps have to be taken early in the career of the new manager and these form the basis of a programme I have entitled ‘The 7 levels of New Manager Excellence’ These sevens steps are:

1. Ensure that the new manager has 100% clarity of their role responsibilities and 100% clarity of their specific performance objectives.

2. Ensure they have a working knowledge of the organisation’s rules and regulations and the processes and procedures relative to their manager role. (Organisations are good at this)

3. They must be able to identify their stakeholders and be able to manage their stakeholders productively.

4. Managers should have the ability to a look after themselves both in terms of mental and physical fitness and well being.

5. Managers should have the skill to influence effectively and have a detailed knowledge of various influencing strategies.

6. New managers should have excellent leadership skills such as performance coaching and be able to produce self motivation in individuals and teams.

7. Managers should be able to network effectively both within their own organisation and with in other networks. They should also be able to create a support network in order to continually develop their skills and attitudes.

A number of senior managers I have spoken to have suggested that to cover all these areas would take a long time given the number of skills and the depth of skill required to be an effective manager. In one respect I agree in terms of the depth but I don’t agree that the basics cannot be covered within weeks of a new manager being promoted into post. Others have suggested that these seven levels do not cover things like Strategy and Business Planning and in this case they are right. These would be covered at some point in the new manager’s career but the 7 levels are centred on the essential skills required to engage and influence superiors, peers, direct reports and customers and without these the new manager will struggle until such time as they have these skills fully on board. That is why they need to be developed early in the manager’s career and not left to become an ‘after-thought’.

Organisations should continue to ensure that new managers have the correct process and procedure training but they must also consider ensuring that they have the basic skills of people and team leadership; that they have clarity of purpose in terms of their role and objectives and that they are able to look after themselves in terms of their physical and mental well being. Without these basics then they will find the early stages of their managerial role potentially stressful and frustrating.

Allan Mackintosh is the founder of The Brand New manager Academy and is an internationally re-known performance coach, author and speaker. E-mail: mailto:allan@teambuildersinternational.com

Allan's books featured on the Complete Trainer site:
7 Levels of New Manager Excellence

The Coaching Manager

Management Models