By Ruby Newell-Legner, CSP

As a professional speaker and trainer, I get invitations to present staff development programs for companies all around the world. Typically they are looking for help with their customer-service training. Some need more help than others

Awhile back, for example, I received a request from a group across the country from where I live in the Midwest. Moments before class started, 40 people sauntered into the room. The supervisor's introduction was less than encouraging. He told the group, "You guy's suck so bad at customer service that we brought this lady all the way from Colorado. So sit down and listen."

Clearly, I had my work cut out for me that day!

Don't get off on the wrong foot
The episode above illustrates what not to do in terms of encouraging your employees to deliver better customer service. Because that supervisor created such a negative atmosphere, no person in that room possessed even an ounce of desire to improve his or her performance. Instead, the attendees saw the training session as a punishment. No one can learn under such circumstances.

One of the most important components to a successful training program, then, is make sure people want to participate. In contrast to the first example, I gave the exact same training program to individuals at another institution a few days later-with completely different results. Everyone arrived excited to attend the training. During the session, the supervisor occasionally interrupted me as I was covering specific areas to point out employees who were particularly skilled in those areas. It made those staffers feel wonderful to be noticed in front of the group.

During breaks, that supervisor asked people if the training was working for them, and he made sure I addressed their concerns in the seminar. Before long, everyone was participating and offering their ideas and suggestions. They all had fun, they learned a ton, and everyone walked away with tools they could use to improve their performance on the job.

Lead with the right attitude
Since that day, I have become a keen observer of how organizations create this learning environment. The success of any training often depends on how management introduces it. Are your employees excited about your training sessions? Or do they consider them simply to be an interruption of their busy schedules? Or must you make it a "requirement" or "mandatory" to get them to attend?

To create a service-oriented culture, you have to start by creating a learning organization. A perfect embodiment of this principle is the staff at Wild Wadi Waterpark.

Located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Wild Wadi is the largest waterpark in the Middle East. Covering more than 12 acres of paradise, it is located just offshore the Burj Al Arab, the only seven-star hotel in the world. Both are owned by the same company: Jumeirah International.

Wild Wadi employs 400-700 staff from 42 nationalities. Every staff member is hired for his or her friendliness and "smile-ability," and it shows. Not only that, but when Wild Wadi hires its staff, each one commits to a plan that includes attending 6 hours of paid training sessions per month. As a reward for this extra training, managers monitor the park's Customer Service Ratings very strategically and base employee bonuses on the score. While most organizations target their Customer Satisfaction Index goal as 75 percent, Wild Wadi sets a goal for 90 percent!

Other steps Wild Wadi follows to create a positive learning environment include:

1. Require attendance at frequent staff training sessions. Some of Wild Wadi's training sessions include language courses in English and Arabic and guest services.

2. Choose a good learning environment. The setting for training must be conducive to training. Wild Wadi schedules sessions that include a large number of attendees in an auditorium with state-of-the-art audio/visual equipment. Participants can easily see the presenter on the stage and enjoy comfortable seating. For smaller sessions, Wild Wadi holds sessions in a special training room at the park.

3. Make learning fun. When I was training staff at Wild Wadi earlier this year, it was just prior to the "hot" season. In that part of the world, daytime temperatures during that time of the year can reach 120 F. Thus, we customized the program to prepare staff to deal with the relentless heat. Our program was called: "Stay COOL: Create Ongoing Opportunities to Love your colleagues, your guests and your job!" We infused penguin pictures and stories throughout the program to give participants a visual of "Staying COOL." I even wore a penguin apron to bring home the theme.

Similarly, we developed a simple but effective way to remind staff about their new, "stay cool" attitude. It consists of two words: "Yeah baby." All that is necessary for the reminder to work is for Lori Caligiuri, Wild Wadi's Director of Human Resources, to take a walk through the park. As she acknowledges staff members, she gives them an enthusiastic, "Yeah Baby!" greeting. The response is a thunderous reply from every staff member within ear shot. They reply, "Yeah Baby!" to remind themselves that they are each responsible for making the park a great place to come get out of the heat.

4. Reward performance. Create customer-service champions who put the guest "center stage." To continue the message beyond the initial training session, Wild Wadi created a "Penguin Award" to be passed on from colleague to colleague every 24 hours. The colleague who receives the penguin is responsible for seeking out a different colleague who has demonstrated exceptional customer service. When that happens, the first employee hands off the penguin to the second to say, "I saw what you did and appreciate your extra effort!"

5. Set, clarify and monitor specific, high guest-relations standards for each position. Wild Wadi measures and tracks everything that affects the guest's experience. This includes: speed of entry, speed of service, ease of locker systems and changing rooms. The park staff also monitors greeting, help and professional appearance for the admissions, food-and-beverage, lifeguard, retail and security staffs.

6. Treat your employees as you want them to treat your customers. Your staff will only treat your customers as well as you treat them. Caligiuri and the other leaders at Wild Wadi have created a positive learning environment. As a result, the staff at Wild Wadi embraces training. All staff members approach each session as a gift. Caligiuri acts as a positive role model by being a great learner herself. She is always hungry for new techniques and ideas she can take back and share with her colleagues.

Although most organizations set their Customer Satisfaction Index goal at 75 percent, Wild Wadi has set its goal at 90 percent. With the learning environment Wild Wadi has created, I am confident the staff there is well on its way to reaching this goal and creating a haven to which guests will flock.

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Ruby Newell-Legner, Certified Speaking Professional, is considered the pre-eminent Customer Satisfaction Expert in the Leisure Industry today. For over two decades Ruby has been helping organizations make exceptional customer service a way of life. To schedule training or to see when Ruby will be presenting in your area, visit www.RubySpeaks.com or call Ruby's office in Littleton, Colorado at 303-933-9291

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