NEW customer service training courses now available

One thing all business development specialists agree upon during this current economy: this is not the time to scrimp on customer service. While businesses need to focus carefully on cutting expenses where they can, for a company to survive, customer service needs to be bolstered, not cut.

With this in mind, aQuire Training Solutions’ course development team has been busy creating a series of new courses on basic – and advanced – customer service skills. These courses are designed for caregivers and other staff working in the senior care environment: home care agencies, assisted living communities, nursing facilities and more. These courses, written by the newest member of the aQuire course development team, Melissa Dylan, take a light-hearted approach to a very serious subject: making the client the absolute focus of our work, every single day. Topics covered in the series include:

Courtesy. More than just being polite or nice to people, courtesy involves a set of unwritten rules or interacting with clients and guests on the job. It is the basis for good customer service.

Being there. Being available for clients is the first step in good customer service. This means promptly answering the phone, greeting guests the moment they walk in the door and setting aside less important tasks to help people. It means remembering – always – “people come first.”

Listening. Listening sounds easy enough, but it takes special skills to learn to be an active listener: to focus on the client, avoid distractions, use appropriate body language and provide feedback so the client knows you been listening.

Being reliable. Being courteous, polite and responsive isn’t the whole task. A key to great customer service is being reliable – to do what you say you’re going to do. To give customers what they ask for the first time, without needing reminders.

Being positive. Being positive means finding reasons why things will work, instead of reasons why it won’t. It means consistently positive behavior, positive responses to client requests (even when you can’t fulfill a request personally) and going the extra step for customers.

Melissa’s approach to training includes a humorous approach, lots of stories, and frequent opportunities for individuals to test their knowledge. The online delivery used by all aQuire courses means that caregivers can learn at their own pace, and at a time and place convenient for them.

If you’d like a free sneak preview of one of these courses, click here.

Then imagine your team, fired up and energized to provide the best customer service possible. And imagine your company – enjoying top-of-the-market success!

National Healthcare lesson: keep it simple

Full disclosure right up front: I’m in favor of a national healthcare solution. I don’t know exactly what that should look like, but I do believe that our current approach to healthcare is something less than a cohesive system, or a long-term sustainable approach. I think it’s appalling that, while we spend a higher percentage of our gross domestic product on healthcare than any other country, we still lag behind 36 other countries in the world, according to the World Health Organization. While many of us know first hand the cost of providing health care benefits to employees, those of us working in senior care also know how challenging and frequently dysfunctional our “system” for long term care is.

But here’s my frustration: despite knowing that our current healthcare system needs a major change, I have no idea if the President’s plan will be the fix we need. The pundits are firmly divided along ideological lines; the press worries about costs involved, and paints a less-than-rosy picture of the current proposed plan.

Howard Gleckman, past senior correspondent at Business Week and currently a senior researcher at the Urban Institute recently authored a book titled “Caring for our Parents”. In his book, Gleckman shares stories of everyday Americans, struggling with caregiving issues. He points that, in the current demographics, if you are not today a caregiver, you or someone close to you will be very soon. According to Gleckman’s estimates, over 70 percent of our parents will need some kind of long term care assistance during their lifetimes.

The stress of caregiving and the fractured, unsupported nature of long term care in this country, make the experience much more challenging that it needs to be. As many of us are very aware, governmental programs often pay for the most expensive alternative for care, rather than the least expensive, most preferred options.

Gleckman’s book is an excellent look at topics related to long-term care needs and public policy, as well as personal experience.

Here’s my own business take-home lesson from the current debate about healthcare problems and plans: Solutions to problems, globally or personally, need to be simple and clear. We need to help families understand our small piece of the big health or long-term care picture with clear, simple language. We need to advocate for a simple system that meets the needs of the people we serve, in our own small segment of the big picture.

Perhaps as we continue to work toward change, a small, simple step at a time, we’ll achieve something great on a larger scale, too.

Training iPhone style

So how’s your training going?

That’s a question that Bersin and Associates, a company with over 25 years experience in corporate solutions, training and e-learning asked of the largest companies in America.

The answer was just a little surprising. Bersin found that organizations in the U.S. will spend around $817 million on their learning management systems (LMS) in 2009, a growth of about 115% in just the past 5 years. Especially in a challenging economy, this continuing growth is significant. According to 1,300 surveyed HR professionals, the “LMS is one of the most important software systems in a company’s HR infrastructure, ranking behind only their payroll and HRMS system.” (Report)

While these major companies have found that they depend on their learning management systems to help them deliver quality, consistent training throughout their entire workforce, one area most are looking for is increased collaboration and information sharing.

One solution aligns perfectly with a new program we’ve been developing right here at aQuire: a system that allows all training professionals to “upload and share any form of information or training with colleagues.” The telecommunications company currently implementing this found exactly what we’re creating: a way to have new content developed “rapidly and continuously,” while the community of users monitors the quality and provides feedback to “self-police.”

It seems to be the best of both worlds. You can gain the content our team of experts has developed to train your team, but you can also share some of the extensive in-house training programs you’ve developed with our community of learners.

This sharing of ideas, knowledge, skills and information isn’t new in our shop; lots of computer programs are now being developed as “shareware” open to the public. The iPhone app store is probably the most popular current example of this: many hundreds of free applications allow iPhone users to find their car, map their routes, check the dictionary, follow weather globally, locate a great restaurant, view movie trailers, and even check to see if a picture is level.

It’s time to start open collaboration and sharing with learning, too, especially within client groups or related organizations.

So when someone asks you, “How’s your training going?” you can answer honestly, “There’s always something new and interesting happening with our training program.”

Want to get in on the fun? Contact an aQuire Account Representative today for details.

Tips to increase creativity and insight

I’ve long believed that creativity is one of the most important strengths of successful team members. From caregivers who creatively problem-solve challenging client situations to managers whose creativity builds loyalty and leadership, it’s a strength I value.

So it was with great interest that I read the article written by Robert Lee Hotz and published in the Wall Street Journal on June 19, 2009, titled “A wandering mind heads straight toward insight” (reprinted in the Dana Foundation’s Brain in the News, July 2009).

It’s really nothing new after all; rather a scientific basis for those moments many of us have experienced when an idea hits us when we’re least expecting it. The great idea that strikes us in the shower is a perfect example of this phenomenon when we suddenly get the answer to a question, the solution to a problem, or simply a new, interesting idea.

It seems that while we think our brain is wandering aimless from thought to thought, subject to subject, it’s actually a time of intense brain activity – more activity than when we’re focusing on solving a problem methodically, in fact. The result is what seems to us to be flashes of insight that feel absolutely correct.

Among ways to nurture these moments of insight and creativity – vital, I believe, for successful business growth – are these:

Be positive. Apparently, individuals who are in a positive mood experience more flashes of insight than those who are negative. This can be challenging during tough times when it’s particularly easy to focus on the negatives and let our concerns gnaw at the fringes of our thoughts almost continually. Try consciously listing things you are grateful for – a proven technique to lift spirits and create a more positive mood.

Turn off the noise. I don’t know about you, but one of my first moves in the car is to turn on the radio. Yet when I walk somewhere, I find that the meandering of my own thoughts a creative, rewarding activity. Often, I arrive at my destination with ideas for the entire day and solutions to some of my most vexing problems. For so many people, iPods and cell phones mean that noise is always on. Turning off the background noise is one great way to let our brains come up with these creative bursts of insight and ideas.

Dream a little. According to the article, one researcher in the field suggests that “the flypaper of an unfocused mind may trap new ideas and unexpected association more effectively than methodical reasoning.” If you’re one those people who is highly focused during the work day, take time around the fringes of the day – on your way to work or on your way home, perhaps – to allow your mind some unfocused wandering.

Talk a hike. Physical activity also seems to create or focus brain activity. Feeling stale? Talk a brisk walk. I remember reading about tech companies during the dot-com frenzy providing ping-pong tables for programmers; the focused physical activity seemed to allow the brain to recharge and become increasingly more creative. One of my best managers and I used to walk while we talked about problems with staff or residents. We’d end our walk-and-talk sessions feeling righteously fit and, almost every time, arrive at creative solutions to difficult problems. Frequently we’d come up with new ideas to implement company-wide that helped build our brand and achieve our goals.

In an article titled “Happy Days: the pursuit of what matters in troubled times,” Daniel Goleman of the New York Times tells of a Tibetan lama called “the happiest man in the world.” Goleman asks, “So how did he get that way? Apparently, the same way you get to Carnegie Hall. Practice.” This meditative practice apparently leads to the stimulation of part of the brain that leads to positive moods, as well as creative thought. Concludes Goleman, “So while the Calvinist strain in American culture may look askance at someone sitting quietly in meditation, this kind of ‘doing nothing’ seems to do something remarkable after all.”

I think perhaps whether your goal is to be happy, or creatively intuitive in your business development the answer is the same. Find the techniques that nurture this outcome, and then practice until you’ve got it.

Three ideas to strengthen your community relationships

My mother in law had emergency surgery two weeks ago; now she’s in a local nursing home under hospice care. Meanwhile, my father-in-law, who no longer drives, needs to be picked up from the other end of town daily, brought to visit his wife, and returned home.

Fortunately for my husband and I, his two sisters also live in the area. The three of them are alternating days – for now. Both sisters have summer vacation plans, and we’ve got work-related travel that we can’t reschedule.

Like millions of Americans, we’re living the classic “sandwich generation” life. We’re squeezed between the needs of our elderly parents, our own children and our work demands. Add to this the anxiety many are experiencing related to job layoff or uncertainty, and its no wonder families are feeling the stress.

It seems like the perfect opportunity for senior care companies to step in and provide some relief.

“Hey,” you say, “We’ve got the vacancies. We can help by moving their parent in tomorrow!”

For many families, however, an immediate move isn’t the solution. Worries about finances make this a bigger challenge – and potentially longer closing time – than anytime in the past several years.

So what can you do to support those families in your communities that are feeling the squeeze?

Offer respite care – and let the community know about it. Now is a great time to really promote your respite care options. For families that are on the verge of burnout, just a weekend or a few days mid-week can make all the difference. Can you offer it at a reduced rate for first time users? For repeat clients? Be creative and think of ways to nudge the family into giving respite care a try. They may well become long term clients with this small first step.

Beef up your family support services. You probably tried family support groups with little success in the past. This might be the perfect time to try it again, however. Call them “Family Education Seminars” rather than support group. Schedule area professionals to be your guest speakers, including physicians, pharmacists, occupational and physical therapists, hospice nurses and more. Tap into public service announcements on radio, TV and in newspapers to promote these seminars. This is a perfect opportunity to position yourself as the expert in senior care, and as the trusted advisor to families living in the community.

Offer caregiver training for family caregivers. You probably train caregivers all year long in your community. What about extending an offer of training to family caregivers? You can set up a short series of training sessions, charge a nominal fee and offer it to families in the community who are choosing to care for a parent instead of seek placement in a care setting. Contact us to set up a blended training program offering families some training through our online courses, followed up by hands’ on training you provide in specific caregiving skills. We’ll help you design a ready-to-launch family training program that can be a genuine benefit to caregiving families in your community and a great PR tool for your company.

These are just a few of the ideas you might want to explore to help ease the pain of families in your community who are feeling the pressure of being, as one person puts, it, “the baloney in the middle of a smushed-bread sandwich.”

Training and retention go hand in hand for building a successful team

Here’s an interesting concept: hiring someone else’s star employee won’t necessarily ensure that he’ll become your star employee. In fact, a professor at Harvard Business School recently found that it can take up to 5 years for a person to work at his highest level within a company. Until then, he’ll be underperforming.

This professor found that it’s far more efficient and effective for a company to take individuals with raw ability and talent and train those persons in the specific tasks needed to do the job.

This professor found that several factors go into getting the best out of your team members, including these:

• Colleagues (we know from the Gallup organization that employees are more engaged when they have close friends at work) ;
• Supporting functions (employees function best when they don’t have to worry about routine aspects of their job like pay and benefits, having adequate supplies, etc.);
• IT systems (there’s a learning curve to any IT system you use, whether its for the purpose of online training, charting or managing work);
• Corporate culture (organizations have their own culture; it takes time to learn the culture and feel comfortable and a part of that culture);
• Trust with supervisors (you’ve probably heard the phrase: “Employees don’t leave jobs; they leave managers”).

Interestingly, the best and brightest employees tend to stay longer with a company, too, according to the same research. They may be sought out by other companies, and they may threaten to leave for more money, but, by and large, investing in building stars in-house is a big step to improving retention.

Surround your stars with other high-performing employees, and watch your retention increase even more. That’s easy for me to understand: there’s nothing more frustrating for a person who is working really, really hard to achieve a goal than to be surrounded by other people who are not nearly as invested.

Think about the marketing person who is a dynamite salesperson. She knows all of your key referral sources by name and can comfortably call any one of them for a chat. When a family calls with an inquiry, she has them laughing and comfortable with her within the first few minutes of a call. You can tell that families coming for a tour form a quick, deep bond with her. And of course, her results are excellent. You rarely have vacancies; often you even have a waiting list.

Now think about your stellar marketing person surrounded by caregivers who don’t have any investment in the success of the operation. They don’t look at visitors with a smile, let alone know regular family members by name. They don’t bother to keep the hallways tidy, and would never think about making a quick pass before a tour to plump up the pillows on the sofa and tidy the activity room.

How long do you think you’ll keep your marketing director?

This example is one that is very visible and obvious; the same is true, however, for each person on your team. Surround your team with teammates who are engaged and motivated, and they’ll all do better work. Surround them with slackers and even your best will either leave or begin underperforming.

Turnover not only sucks away valuable dollars, it consumes a lot of management time and focus. The key seems to be less focus on hiring the best, and more focus on growing, managing and supporting the best – right within your company today.

4 steps to becoming a learning organization

Our culture and society is in fast-change mode. If you don’t believe it, look at the largest growth industries today. One of the largest growth companies is Google, whose very business premise didn’t exist just a few years ago.

Many senior care providers are operating in ways very similar to how they operated 20 years ago. Staffing models are essentially the same; the menu of services and the way it is delivered is unchanged.

We’re on the verge of a dramatic change in our society that will affect the way senior care is delivered as we boomers advance into old age. We will likely insist on change, as we refuse to age the way our parents and grandparents aged.

Learning organizations are those that have the foundational structure in place to keep up with these changes. They’ll be the leaders – or perhaps the survivors.

How can you nurture your own organization (or your own department, for that matter) into become a true learning organization?

1. Get rid of the language that resists change. When you hear someone on your team say, “This is the way we’ve always done it,” ask one question: “Why?” Teach your team to ask why as well. And then open the doors to thinking as a team about how else it could be done. If it’s working really well, leave it alone. If it could be done better, change it.


2. Take action, then analyze. When we started the first online CNA training program in the state of Oregon, we decided that we needed to own the entire training program. That meant getting lab and clinical training sites located throughout the state, managed by a variety of non-profit, for-profit and government owned organizations. Some of our sites were very well run and managed; some were highly dysfunctional. Within 90 days we realized that the program needed to be changed. Fortunately, our co-sponsor, Oregon Health Care Association, was open to a healthy, rousing analysis of what was working and what wasn’t. Together, we arrived at Plan B. We were no more sure that it would work smoother than Plan A, but we knew we needed to at least try it. Now, we’re offering just the online aspect of the course, and requiring our training partners to manage all other aspects of the training program within their program. We gave up all ownership of students and programs, and simply offer the online course. It works well – today. But we’ll be continually reviewing the program to catch it quickly, we hope, if we need to change it again. The point is that if we would have waited to launch the program until we knew exactly how it should work, we may never have launched it, or we may have been so invested in the Plan A approach that we may have been unwilling to quickly change to another approach.


3. Include all levels of your team. Typically the folks in the “C” suite (CEOs, CFO, COOs and their kin) make all the strategic plans for an organization. But in a true learning organization, all levels get involved. Who understands best, for example, what works and doesn’t work in your kitchen beside the cooks? Who understands best scheduling dynamics of shifts better than the caregivers? Learning from experience means getting all levels involved. It means fostering an environment, from the ground up, that allows people to ask questions and give input; that takes action and then analyzes that action, without assigning blame or fault.


4. Make change a part of your culture. Managing change is one of the hardest aspect of running an organization, especially change that affects everyone in the company. Some employees will resist any change; others will actively look for ways to make the change into the problem, rather than truly analyzing the results of the change. Communicate to your team that change is a fact of life – that things WILL change. Invite them to become a part of the change in a positive way. Make change fun, exciting, interesting, and most importantly, productive and worthwhile. Let your team know that if the change doesn’t produce the desired result, you’ll analyze it and take action – you aren’t just changing for the sake of shaking things up. Team members will begin to see the value in this continual iterative process of plan-launch-analyze-tweak until they, too, start participating in the process.

Most of us won’t have the luxury of business as usual, year after year into the future. We’ll need to become true learning organizations to survive and thrive.

Concepts for this article were taken from the Harvard Business School video titled “The Importance of Learning in Organizations.”