Mary's Customer Service Training Plan

This assignment outlines a comprehensive training plan for Mary, who needs to improve her customer service skills. The plan suggests a combination of part-time/evening courses, intensive seminars, e-learning, and job shadowing to enhance her knowledge of products, policies, complaint resolution, and order management processes. It emphasizes practical experience and continuous learning for effective customer service development.

BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Name
Date

Part A: Legislation Report
2 a) The Commonwealth Body Responsible for anti discrimination is the Australian Human Rights
Commission that is responsible for discrimination cases relating to age, sex, religion, disability,
among other forms f discrimination factors
b) The titles of the anti discrimination laws include;
The Australian Human Rights Commission Act of 1986 that covers most of the forms of
discrimination and which the Australian Human Rights Commission Operates under
The Age Discrimination Act of 2004 which deals with issues to do with discrimination on the basis
of age (both under and over) and age specific characteristics
The Disability Discrimination Act of 1992
The Racial Discrimination Act of 1975
The Sex Discrimination Act of 1984
The Fair Work Act of 2009 (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2017)
These are the ant discriminatory acts at the national level in Australia for the Commonwealth
Federal Government
c) Fair Work Act 2009
The Fair Work Act is managed and administered by the Fair Work Ombudsman and the Fair Work
Commission; while employers are required to adhere to the provisions of the Fair Work Act the two
mentioned bodies are responsible for its enforcement. The Fair Work Ombudsman is an agency of
the Australian Government responsible for ensuring that business owners, businesses, and
employers fully comply with their with related regulations on employment as stipulated in the Fair
Work Act of 2009, including on minimum wages and modern awards. The Fair Work Commission
is the national workplace and labor relations tribunal of Australia and is an independent body
responsible for providing minimum safety net conditions, minimum wage awards, making
enterprise agreements, and facilitation good faith bargains (Australian Human Rights Commission,
2017).
d) The Anti-Discrimination Board of NSW (New South Wales) is the body responsible for
promoting anti discrimination in the Sate of New South Wales; it also promotes equal opportunity
and administers the anti discrimination laws while also handling any work related complaints, under
the NSW Anti-Discriminatory Act of 177; which is the State legislation that defines and spells out
anti discriminatory law (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2017).
e) Unlawful discrimination at the workplace in the context of training can occur when the
qualification to receive training, or favoritism (less favor) is the basis for deciding can receive
training on the basis of factors that include gender, color, nationality, ethnicity, race, marital status,

pregnancy, religion, disability, age, sexual preference, or trade union activity, as well as any other
factor as specified/ spelled in the applicable local (State) and/ or national anti discrimination laws
and regulations. An example is when a male HR staff responsible for recruitment prefers to give
training at the workplace to younger women for reasons other than professionalism and overlooks
older women, males, or people of a different race/ nationality and religion.
f) (i) The actions of Helen’s employer has acted unethically because they have assumed, wrongly of
course, that because she is older, she is not IT and information system savvy and therefore would
not add any value to the organization as it implements the new information system or that she will
not be able to learn, given the younger generation are more associated with being tech savvy having
grown up mostly with technology like computers and smart phones at their disposal.
(ii) Helen would be advised to start be resolving the issue internally, starting by having a discussion
with the employer and making a formal complaint. If this does not resolve the issue satisfactorily
Helen can seek the help of her union if she belongs to one or the local industry associations to
resolve the mater. If this fails, then she can escalate the issue to the local administering body within
the state, such as the NSW Anti Discrimination Board as well as contact the office of the Fair Work
Ombudsman and/ or the Fair Work Commission by lodging an appeal/ complaint using the online
forms

Part B: Evaluating Performance and Learning Needs
Script on Evaluating Mary’s training needs;
The assumptions made in developing this script is that Mary has been informed that she needs to
undertake additional roles and duties to extend to customer service, and being an administrator,
understands that she needs additional skills and to attend a training to improve her skills, in line
with the new job requirement and to meet organizational objectives
Evaluator (Author): Hello Mary, hope you are doing well; as you were informed earlier by official
communication, the organization sees you as a critical person as an administrator; however, we feel
you can drive growth in the company further by offering customer services and handling their
needs, given your knowledge and experience with the business accumulated over the years and
being a first contact with customers on many occasions
Mary: (Responds in the affirmative)
Evaluator: We need to develop a tailor made training program for you and to do that effectively, we
need to understand your present skills and develop the training program, so I will ask a few
questions
Mary: Okay, go ahead
Evaluator: Are you competent in the use of computers for communication?
Mary : Yes, I can use a computer effectively for communication through e-mail
Evaluator: Which do you think is the most important in ensuring the business revenues and profits
continue to grow, acquiring new customers or maintaining the existing ones and keep them happy to
ensure repeat purchases?
Mary: Both are important
Evaluator: Do you understand the use of social media platforms and do you think they can be used
effectively to offer customer service?
Mary: I don't use social media very much and am not sure it can be effectively used for customer
service, in my experience, the personal touch through face to face communication or telephone
conversation is the best way to offer the best quality customer service
Evaluator: How would you handle an impolite and rude customer who does not understand the use
of a product or its care and believes the company is the one on the wrong?
Mary: First I would ask them to calm down and ask them to explain their problem, then kindly
inform them that the company is not responsible for poor use or care for the leather product and
offer useful suggestions
Evaluator: In the event of several customers calling and appearing at the premise with their
complaints, how would you handle the situation?

Mary: I would give each a ‘ticket’ based on their time of complaint and list down all complaints and
determine what I can handle and escalate what I cannot handle to the relevant persons and
departments; then do a follow up with the client and see if the issue has been resolved
Evaluator: Are you conversant with computer software for managing customer issues and
complaints
Mary: Not really

Self Evaluation Form
Self Evaluation Form
Purpose
Name Occupation
Current Position Intended New
Responsibilities/ Duties
Kindly respond to the questions written below as best as you can
Question Response
When a customer makes a complaint, do you
fight for the interest of the customer or for the
interest of the company?
Do you think you should be fully responsible for
any customer service decisions you make or you
are just working on behalf of the company?
If a customer made a complaint and you feel the
company is responsible but they did not this;
would you disclose this information or just keep
mum so the company benefits?
In a customer complaint situation, do you think
you need direction on what to do or you can
come up with a solution yourself?
Rate yourself on the following on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being very poor or no skills and 5 being
having excellent skills
Time management skills
Multitasking
Knowledge of products, company policies, and
regulations
Interpersonal and communication skills
Typing skills
Computer skills including using computer

software in customer service, social media use,
and using chat systems on the website
Use of Microsoft Office Suite
Microsoft Word
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft
Microsoft Access
Microsoft Publisher
Microsoft One Note
Teamwork skills
Personal drive and self motivation
Right voice in communicating with customers
Personal resourcefulness
Creativity
Personal Organization
Document Management
Anticipation
Problem solving skills
Imagination
Date taken Signature
Evaluator Comments
Training program contents (areas where training is needed)

Feedback from Clients
Feedback
Purpose
Name Occupation
Current Position Intended New
Responsibilities/ Duties
Kindly respond to the questions written below as best as you can; we are undertaking a customer
survey in order to offer you better services?
Question Response
Have you ever been into contact with Mary, our
front desk staff in the past? (select one)
Rate, on the following on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being extremely dissatisfied and 5 being very
satisfied with regard to your encounter(s) with Mary
When contacting Mary was she courteous?
Did Mary seem to have full knowledge of the
products offered by the company?
Did she creatively solve your issue?
Comment on the time taken to have your issue
resolved?
Did she go out of her way to help you?
Did she follow up to see if your issue had been
resolved?
Comment on Mary's level of enthusiasm and
willingness to serve you?
Which of the following areas do you think Mary
should improve on?
Knowledge of products, company policies, and
regulations
Yes No
Yes No
Yes No

Interpersonal and communication skills
Personal drive and self motivation
Right voice in communicating with customers
Personal resourcefulness
Creativity
Anticipation
Problem solving skills
Imagination
Thank you so much for your feedback

Part C:
The feedback from the self evaluation and feedback from customers and personal observations
show that Mary needs training on using the social media and web clients such as chat to offer
effective customer service. This is because the use f social media has grown with many people
using it; it is also a very useful tool to gain an inside perception of what the customers think about
the company, while also being a platform for direct, one stop customer service that can enhance (or
otherwise) the reputation of the organization. Further, Mary requires training on the use of
spreadsheets (MS Excel), as well as a database system (MS Access). The evaluation and personal
observation shows that Mary still needs training on organization and document management/ filing
as well as effective office management, given that she will now perform the dual roles of
administration and customer service. She also needs to learn how to use the company accounting
and inventory/ order management system, and especially know have knowledge on the company’s
products and their pricing as she will be required to give quotations and call up the relevant people
to correct any mistakes to do with order mistakes. She needs training on resourcefulness, creativity,
and knowledge of the company’s products, policies, and culture as feedback from the customer
show that they have always had doubts whether Mary can resolve their complaints whenever they
called in with an issue.
Based on this feedback, Mary requires an integrated training delivery method in which she gets the
theoretical concepts on customer service and other aspects that she requires improvements on, as
well as job shadowing in customer service and product knowledge areas. The areas where she needs
training include;
Product knowledge on the company’s products and services, as well as policies
Office management and organization skills/ document management
Computer Skills (Microfot Office Suite Packages and Web based Computer Use)
Attitudes for Service
Effective Complaint Resolution
Creativity and Resourcefulness
Being that Mary is already an employee with administrative duties, the training module must take
this into consideration, along with the need to have a cost effective but high impact training module.
The proposed training and delivery module for knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite and order
management system will be through a lecture method involving theory and practical training. The
lecture method will entail giving her a general understanding of computers and Office packages, as

well as discussions, and practical lessons that will involve creating scenarios and case studies for an
all rounded training. There will be oral presentation as well as practical learning where topics are
discussed and then she undertakes practical training by performing tasks and having material
(course content) to take away for further reading. At the end of every course or section, she will sit a
practical exam and be evaluated to gauge her achievement of the learning outcomes and be given a
certificate (Stolovitch, 2011). Being that such courses can take long, she will be best trained by
attending part time/ evening classes and/ or a hybrid in class and online training, especially for
personal practice.
For training on attitudes for service, creativity and resourcefulness, and effective complaint
resolution as well as personal organization and document management, Mary will need a short
intensive course like a seminar that lasts a week where she will be taken through the theory and
have simulated experiential learning. Such learning can take a week (five days, full time) where she
attends the training exclusively and does a test to prove knowledge. As these areas require
continuous learning, she will then continue with her training through a hybrid module with e-
learning and online classes at her pace to attain certification in Customer Service Management. This
will not only be cost effective in the long run, but will ensure she obtains the important skills in
customer service such as creativity and effective customer complaint resolution in an intensive and
focused training exercise with practical simulations (Heathfield, 2017).
As he feedback has shown that she has challenges in handing customer complaints given that
customers were unsure whether she could resolve their issues, it implies Mary requires to know the
company products and policies. She also needs to fully understand the processes involved in order
management by learning the order management system. The best way to learn these is by being
given a company policy document and products catalog, and more importantly, to undertake job
shadowing whenever her administrative duties allow. Job-shadowing is an on-the-job training where
an employee that desires to be familiar with a different task/duties (such as Mary in customer
service) works with, observes, an follows a person who is trained and specialist in that particular
task (Heathfield, 2017). This will enable her obtain comprehensive knowledge on how customer
service agents handle customer complaints; she will also learn about the order management process
so that she knows what to do in the event that a customer calls in with a complaint on a wrong
order. This will also help her understand the products offered by the company through working with
the sales team as well as the purchases team. Further, she will get a real life experience of customer
service. This training is highly effective training as it does not incur additional costs (meaning its
highly cost effective) and gives Mary hands on experience while learning from specialists as they
undertake their jobs. This form of training will not disrupt her daily work schedule and accord her
highly practical, continuing on the job training (Heathfield, 2017)