5 good habits for your customer or client?
Designing and delivering training courses in line with the customer’s instructions will be more easily undertaken when they have set aside enough time at the start of the project for your questions. After that it’s down to you to put forward your proposals within agreed timelines explaining how objectives will be met and subsequently evaluated.
But what about the client’s own subsequent care of you? If I were to draw up a charter of good helpful habits for the client these would include their appointed contact: -
1. Being available a week before the training to talk to you about the final arrangements for the venue/equipment, list of participants and a reinforcement of what you have mutually agreed they will provide
2. Undertaking an eve of course “dress rehearsal”. Simply put, it means the client should set up the room the day before, check the equipment and make any final adjustments to logistics
3. Arriving at the venue 45 minutes before the start to meet you and do a final briefing on any issues arising from 2 above
4. Explaining clearly how they can be contacted if necessary during the day should any unexpected matters arise
5. Meeting you at the end of the course to engage in a debriefing session to review the evaluation sheets, receive organisational questions raised by participants and agree any after care that may be needed
Easy to say -harder to do?
Most of my own clients observe these protocols but some don’t with the result that you: -
· End up waiting around in reception for the contact to turn up whilst the minutes tick by and the arrival of the participants is imminent
· Find yourself shifting furniture from a store down a corridor and into the training room for assembly
· Are test driving their equipment in the sure and certain knowledge that your Plan B or C is going to be needed
· Have absolutely no idea who will be coming into the room
· Wither on the vine during the day when the contact has vanished-never to return
What about your experiences and ideas for other good habits you would like your client to observe?