Follow the Leader

One of the most effective training tools is make it easy for people to learn by example through mentoring.

For our business, it is hiring season. This is the time of year when we go from a staff of 12 in one store to 45. To do this, we are very fortunate to have the majority of our team return year after year. However,  we inevitably find ourselves hiring  8-12 new recruits every season.

One trick that we adopted a few years ago is mentoring. Every new recruit, when they join our team,  spend their first two shifts paired with a mentor, a veteran with our company. By mirroring and working closely with a senior person, several things happen. They can learn the technical tasks associated with the position. They actually do gain a mentor, someone they can go to in order to ask questions, like; “Where do I hang my jacket?” But most importantly, they can see a veteran customer service associate in action.

Mentoring leads to superior customer service

If a new recruit joins us and goes to work alongside a senior associate, they observe how their mentor interacts with customers. Once they see first-hand how their mentor will cut off their conversation to serve a customer and how they really put our customers before everything else, it doesn’t take long before the new recruit start emulating the exact same behaviour – the behaviour that we want to see in them.

Remember to hire for attitude and hire people who love people. After that, fill them will lots of great customer service stories as well as lots of opportunities to see great customer service in action. Then you’ll have yourself another great team member you can count on to provide superior customer service.

Remember; make it easy for people to learn by example. It’s the best way to learn!