I have
discussed being "present" in earlier posts and thought I would give
you an example of a time when I had to deal with a team member who was not being
what I considered "present" when working with a client.
I work as a fitness coordinator for
an employee wellness company. Part of the services we offer includes
personal training which is highly used and regarded as an excellent benefit to
the employees because of the quality of service they get. We have been
able to accomplish such great service because we continuously attempt to make
every appointment an extraordinary experience for our members.
When my
team is on the floor working with clients I should hear them giving feedback
both corrective and positive. This feedback should be specific to the client’s
technique and also provide encouragement and motivation allowing them to push
beyond their normal limits. We build
great relationships between the members and training staff because of our
attentiveness and high level of engagement with each individual.
However, I had one co-op student
who had yet to adapt our culture of customer service excellence. The student
seemed disengaged at times when working with the members. At one point
the employee was on their phone while conducting a training session.
I needed
to step in and correct this individual’s behaviour as it clearly did not meet
our expectations in regards to customer service and member experience. Instead of directly correcting this
individual I decided I would first tell a story because everyone is able to
connect with stories. This is the email
I sent to all my staff in regards to being “present”
Happy Friday Everyone,
I wanted to share something with everyone as it will help us when
communicating with each other as well as when working with
clients/members. I recently finished a great book called Fish, written by
Stephen Lundin, Harry Paul and John Christensen. I highly recommend it as
it is a quick read and can help anyone with personal and workplace relationships.
In the book it talks about being present which is essentially
being fully engaged in your work or conversation with someone. After
reading about this I questioned myself “am I fully present at work or when
talking to my wife” and the answer was “no” not all the time. I know
there have been times when I was talking to a co-worker or member over the
phone and I was reading my emails, so was I fully engaged in the current moment
and giving it the respect it truly deserved? Answer is “no”
This is a minor example but something I personally want to
change. This leads me into something more important which is being fully
present with clients when we are teaching a class or on the floor conducting a
personal training session. I have seen personal trainers at large
commercial facilities training clients and these trainers are looking at their
phone or talking to coworkers and are totally ignoring the customer. This
client was a paying customer and this was the service she was getting? I
thought “You have to be kidding me” This person was not present and
focused on the customer they were internally focused. Being a great
trainer does not necessarily mean having extraordinary technical skills, but
rather devoting full attention to your client and giving the respect and
attention they deserve. This will help build a relationship that will
foster confidence and trust.
Below are examples of what I would consider being “present” with a
client.
Giving corrective feedback
Giving reinforcing/positive feedback
Asking questions in regards to intensity
Providing Motivation
Making sure the client can transition into the next exercise
without delay
Below are examples of what I would consider not being “present”
with a client.
On the cell phone
Talking to other staff members
Not knowing which exercise is next in the program
Not knowing where the client is in regards to reps
So going forward I would like to do the following items as a team
to be more “present” with each other as well as members/clients
Leave cell phones in the office/never have them on the floor with
you
Avoid reading emails when talking to co-workers or members
Provide corrective & positive feedback when teaching and
training
When conducting meetings close the door
So please ask yourself this question are you being present with
clients, classes, co-workers and family? I did this and it has changed
the way I work, talk to my wife and family. It’s not a ground breaking
idea just something everyone tends to take for granted which is being “present”
If you have made it down to this point in the email without
talking to someone over the phone thank you for being present!
If you have any ideas on how to be more present please don’t hesitate
to share!
What approach would have you taken to
correct this individuals behaviour?
