The ability to handle complaints and drive your organisation to success

According to the International CustomerService Association (ICSA), 68% of customers will stop doing business with a company because of poor service! This is quite an imposing statistic, one that you and your organisation must certainly take heed of if you want to remain successful. However, do not just take my word for it. Companies that also recognise the importance of that number include such big names as Apple,GE and Toyota. All of these have put tremendous amounts of effort and expense into creating high-level customer service cultures that have bolstered their reputations and driven them towards success. Similarly,
Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts used customer centred strategies to increase its reputation and reduce the volume of complaints it received, witnessing a 50% drop between 2005 and 2007. However, despite all this, no company – no matter how great their customer service – can ever avoid complaints completely. It is just not possible.

Aligning your organisation’s training with its talent

Edited by Paul Bacon

I began writing this article at my desk here in Beijing. However, by the time I finally had it finished, I had written parts of it in cities as distant as Shanghai, Tianjin and Shenzen. You see, I travel, a lot. However, as wonderful as it is to see so many different Chinese cities, I do not do it primarily for pleasure. Rather, it is because I deliver so much training in so many different locations. The reason for this is simple – more and more organisations are keen to make significant investments in their employees and, as a consequence, are organizing increasing amounts of training. This is certainly a great way to develop employees and boost retention. There is, though, one thing that my jet-setting lifestyle has taught me – it is vital to get this training right. Therefore, this article will focus on what constitutes a successful training program, and how you and your organisation can make sure your training dollars – or training RMB – are spent on executing programs that actually achieve their goals.

Let the new rules guide you through the world of international business

Dream Teams - Part 2

Last time out, I began my Synchronicity series by discussing the first two key elements of building your dream team - sharing a common goal and establishing defined roles within your team. This time around, I will take in the other two key factors to ensure you have a full understanding of what it takes to forge a fantastic team.