Front Desk Reception
I received a request to train the entire front desk reception staff of an organization in Toronto in 2007. That turned out to be one of the most gratifying experiences for me.
Front desk staff is the first point of face-to-face contact an organization has with the world, and its clientele. It is arguably one of the most important components of an organization's public image and usually the first step that helps to set the tone of subsequent interaction with clients, business associates, and/or the public. Unfortunately, most organization spends a disproportionately small amount of resources to this important component of corporate interface with the world.
I have not really done front desk work myself, but have been on the other side of the desk countless times in my life. Some of my experiences have been pleasant, but I have also come across really frustrating and even absurd situations. I have always wanted to do work in this area, for I believe having a competent team of front desk colleagues who enjoy their work and feel good about themselves is a valuable asset to corporate or organizational life.
Following SSLD principles, I engage the group of participants and help them assess their work situation, identifying key issues and challenges. We then moved through 6 fun-filled training sessions in which participants played out their actual work procedure, recorded on video, and received feedback from their colleagues.
We went through details including appearance, facial expression, tone of voice, demeanor, presentation of information, gauging and moderating client expectations, assessment and responding to client needs, engagement skills, and how to handle specific challenging situations. SSLD procedures emphasizes hands-on experiential learning, true to real-life simulations, take-home exercises and real-life practice, self-monitoring of actual performance, and the use of group process for collaborative generation of strategies and skills to deal with unfamiliar challenges.
The evaluation and feedback were overwhelmingly positive. The participants found the program interesting, instructive, and invigorating. They experienced smooth transfer of learning from the program to their work situation. I am optimistic that this program will be extremely helpful for organizations that are serious about its interface with customers and business associates.
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