Your Reps Just Wanna Have Fun

The Dos and Don’ts of Lighthearted Training

“

We only do well the things we like doing.” –

Colette

For More Information Contact:

Impact Learning Systems InternationalP.O. Box 14110San Luis Obispo, CA 93406Toll Free: 800.545.9003Local: 805.781.3283Email: info@impactlearning.com www.impactlearning.com

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Your Reps Just Wanna Have Fun

The Dos and Don’ts of Lighthearted Training

he most important relationship your company has is the one between your customers andthe employees they interact with in person, over the phone, or via e-

mail. Whether you’re

a trainer, manager, or supervisor, anything you can do to strengthen that relationship willultimately benefit your organization in a number of ways. We believe that customer service canbe

—

and ought to be

—an intrinsically rewarding profession. There’s just so

mething about serving

people that’s immensely satisfying to the human psyche, whether that service consists of taking

an order, giving out information, or selling a pair of shoes.

If you’re going to hire and retain service

-oriented employees, one thing you need to do is trainthem. Some companies train their employees only once

—

when they are first hired; othercompanies offer (or require) refresher training periodically throughout the year, or when newproducts or services are introduced. In both cases, the person in charge of training at yourorganization should try to make it fun because it truly is more effective when the participants arehaving a good time. Even though your employees are adults and may be used to working in amore business-like environm

ent, it’s important to remember that they want to enjoy the

experience and will likely be responsive to a training environment that is informal and engaging.

While it does pay to make sure your employees are enjoying themselves during training, it’s

important not to get carried away with the concept of

“

fun

”

. The time your employees spend

away from their jobs is time that is valuable to your company, and you don’t want to plan too

many activities during any particular training session. It is imperative that you balance fun andeducation, and one way you can do this is to carefully plan out each training session to make surethat every topic is covered, while still allotting time each day for activities, open discussions, andbreaks. If you stick to an agend

a that has fun written right in, you won’t have to feel like you’re

wasting time when you give your employees a little break from the learning. And remember, whileactivities can provide a short mental break for participants, they can still be educational

—

your

employees won’t even realize they’re learning!

Regardless of the length or topic of a training session, participants will appreciate a learningenvironment where fun is a key factor. Following are some tips to keep in mind when planning atraining session:

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Start with a short icebreaker activity to loosen up participants.

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Include some physical movement, even if it’s just getting up to walk across the room for

an activity.

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If the training session is longer than two hours, include some fun, simple energizeractivities.