I have tried a variety of training for the client service team, but nothing that really showed me good consistent results. The training was always subject to the trainer and the chaos of the day. The results often left the new hire frustrated and learning multiple ways to do one thing depending on the person that was training them.
Here are the items that I have stressed in the new training that I have put together. The results have been great!
- Before you can put training together you have to have solid policies and protocols. These protocols should outline what the hospital standards are for each situation. This sounds like a lot of work but once it is complete you will be so happy that you did this.
- Remember that new hires are not the only ones that should revisit training. Team members that have been with your practice for some time may have picked up their own habits that are not consistent with your policies and protocols today. Continually revisit your training at short weekly or biweekly meetings.
- Consistency is key; not only should your client service team be privy to the client service training but all team members should go through the training. You want a consistent message throughout your hospital. If you have veterinary assistants and technicians speaking to your clients, they should be saying the same things as the client service team.
- Your doctors should read through the training information to see how the client service team is working for them. It is easy for anyone to forget how much pressure this part of the team is facing every day. It will also help the doctors understand why the team is scheduling appointments in a certain fashion and why they are handling situations in a certain way.
- Test your new hires and existing team members. Just because they have read or listened to the information does not necessarily mean that they retained it. The only true way for the team to prove that they know and understand how the information is for them to be tested. The tests should be a combination of oral and written.
- Create a system that allows the team to learn in a variety of ways. Everyone retains information differently, so make sure that you have several tools available to your team. A few different tools that I have used have been videos (home-made and from YouTube), written documents (from professional resources and from our doctors/team) and oral presentations.
- Use your vendors! If you offer CareCredit call them and schedule a training session via the web with your new hire or your team. The same goes for Pet Insurance, outside lab companies and your pharmaceutical reps to speak about parasite preventative control.
There is a lot that goes into a great training program for your hospital, but the more effort that you put into your program the better the results will be.