Posts tagged “accounting department”

Moving Through Challenges and Up the Corporate Ladder

I love that I have such a rich diverse group of facilitators, trainers, coaches and consultants in my alliance.  I have the good fortune to work with some of the top talent in the industry.  Our customers have come to rely on me to be able to provide them with the right solutions to their challenges.  One of my long standing customers connected with me regarding a situation that she was not sure how to handle.  She and her management team had been working diligently on their company’s succession plan.  Their controller was retiring in eighteen months and she wanted to get started looking for a replacement so the current controller would have ample time to transition the new person into the role.  They typically promoted from within as part of their long term strategy and she was faced with a bit of a dilemma.  They had one individual who was currently working in their accounting department who, on paper, was the perfect candidate.  She had the academic background, had proven herself to be an excellent employee and had expressed an interest in moving up in the company.  The challenge was that English was her second language and she had quite a thick accent.  When the VP of Human Reosurces put this person’s name forward at one of the managers meetings, she was immediately dismissed due to her accent.

My client felt this was unfair and also understood why they couldn’t promote her with the communication skills she currently had.  She asked me if I had any suggestions.  I was delighted to tell her that I had an amazing partner Heather who worked with individuals to help them develop stronger English speaking skills and significantly reduce their accent.  I connected Heather with the client and Heather has been working with this employee for the past several months.  When I last spoke with my client she was thrilled at the progress this employee was making and was confident that by the time the position needed to be filled, this employee would step into the position beautifully.

As I have said many times in the past and will say in the future…I love what I do!!!

By Cindy Stradling CSP, CPC

The Many Faces of Customer Service

I have had many requests over the years for customer service training.  We pride ourselves in our ability to tailor every training program to meet the specific needs of our clients.  I spend the time needed up front during the assessment stage to ensure I clearly understand the objectives and desired outcomes from the program.

Several years ago we delivered customer service training to a local funeral home.  Initially it was for the people who interacted with the families of the deceased.  The pilot was so successful that they decided to roll it out company wide.  This included delivering to the grave diggers.  I remember calling David (the alliance partner who delivered this program) one day and he said he was on his way to visit the grave diggers to have a better understanding of their jobs and how they interact with the customers.  The program was a huge success years later they have experienced sustained changes in how they interact with their customers.

I was called by an existing client who has results from a customer service survey they wanted to discuss with me.  The survey results revealed that for the most part the customers were happy with the service they received.  There were however, several comments made about the way the truck drivers interacted with their staff.  Comments were made that the language, tone and sometimes tardiness of drivers were frustrating.  I immediately connected them to David and together they designed a program that not only addressed all the concerns of their customers, it also included a number of ways to take all their customer service initiatives to a new level.  When I spoke with the VP of Human Resources recently she was excited by the participation and the feedback she received.  Management is committed that this level of service is maintained and they are very optimistic that the next survey will deliver much more favorable results.

Often when we think of customer service, we just think of our external customers.  I have a client who was concerned about the way the employees interacted with each other, in particular the accounting department.  She shared with me that she constantly got complaints from other departments on the way the accounting staff treated and reacted to the other departments.  She was not sure what to do about it.  I suggested she provide the members of the accounting team with customer service training from the perspective of working with internal customers.  At first she wasn’t sure.  I introduced her to David and he outlined what a program like this would look like and shared the success he had had in the past.  She was then clear this was the way to address the issue.  I spoke with her several months after the program had been delivered and she said she had received positive feedback from, both, the other employees and the members of the accounting department.  Having the tools to handle the sometimes difficult conversations made all the difference.

These experiences confirm for me that everyone is in customer service, no matter what job or role in the organization.

 By Cindy Stradling CPC, CSP