10 Green Tips for the Eco-Trainer

Most people accept these days that we have a responsibility towards our environment. Many businesses are also taking their responsibility to the environment very seriously and many more are waking up to the need to do this.

Quite apart from anything else a demonstration of corporate social responsibility is good for public relations. There is also the fact that a ‘greener’ approach can save costs.

As trainers, we have a part to play in minimising our effect on the environment. This is partly through the message we give out during the training we deliver but also through our own behaviour.

Over the last year the training team I work for have been taking a number of steps to reduce our environmental footprint. Perhaps this has only had a minimal effect on the environment but if everyone was to think in the same way then the overall impact could be significant.

However, one effect that has been very clear for us to see is a reduction in our expenses. For example, our stationery bill seems to have halved and we are also sure that we are doing our bit to contain our energy costs. We also feel pretty good about ourselves.

Here are our top ten tips for reducing our environmental impact. They are not in any particular order but all contribute a little to a greener approach. We are sure you have plenty of tips of your own. Why not share them with us?

1. Instead of giving all participants paper copies of course hand outs deliver them by e-mail or publish them on your intranet.
2. Where paper hand outs, workbooks or instructions are absolutely necessary print them on both sides of the paper. Also, consider printing two pages on a single page.
3. Instead of handing out individual paper instructions for syndicate exercises display the instructions on a flip chart or PowerPoint slide. Alternatively, laminate the instructions and use them on future courses.
4. Recycle paper when you have finished with it.
5. Where it is not necessary to keep work for any time why not use a whiteboard instead of using flipchart paper? If you have to use flipchart paper why not use both sides of the paper?
6. Don’t forget turn off the lights and any electrical equipment when you have finished in the training room. Don’t leave electrical equipment on stand-by.
7. Buy green and/or recycled products when obtaining materials for training.
8. Review the paperwork you produce for your courses. Do you need it all or can this be reduced.
9. Deliver course joining instructions by e-mail instead of sending paper copies.
10. Arrange for course participants to complete course happy sheets instead of a paper version.

This article was written by Wolfgang Halliwell who is a learning designer for the Trainer Bubble team. Visit www.trainerbubble.com to purchase his work.

Effective Customer - A Few Simple Facts

Effective customer care is critical to the success of any business. Without positive relationships with our customers no business can survive in today’s competitive marketplace. Just consider the amount of customers you have had up until now, imagine what things would be like if they all disappeared overnight!

Customer care has changed immensely over the years. Our customers have become less tolerant and more demanding. It is a huge challenge for us to meet these demands. However, the answers are within us all.

We all know that customers who are happy with the service we provide are more likely to purchase again and recommend us to others. You may even know that customers that are very impressed with our service rather than just satisfied are willing to pay higher prices for our products. What you may not know is…

• If we can retain 5 percent more of our customers we increase profit by 100%

• It costs 5 times more money to get new customers as it does to keep them

• The average customer that has a bad experience tells 9 other people

• The average customer that has a good experience tells 3 other people

• If a complaint is resolved 70% of customers will do more business. Resolve it quickly and this increases to 90%

This short excerpt is taken from the Trainer Bubble training course material on Effective Customer Care. You can download this training resource at our website - Trainer Bubble

Effective Coaching - A Question of Questioning?

Questioning is the critical component of all coaching, it is the principle that coaching is based upon and all good coaches realise that the key to unlocking an individuals potential is through a good use of questions.

In its simplest form coaching could exist on the following three questions:

What worked well?

What didn’t work so well?

What will you do differently next time?

In any given developmental scenario, these questions can be used as a fail-safe approach to questioning. The output responses are what will drive an individual on to better performance.

This process is extremely simple and will work in most impromptu coaching scenarios. We have a tendency to overcomplicate processes in business and this for me really demonstrates that often the simplest methods are those that work best. Of course there are times when your coaching will need to be more specific and focused on the individuals needs.

When coaching to develop people it is usually best to avoid starting a question with ‘why?’ The reason for this is that by using ‘why’ we are establishing something as fact. For instance; when I ask a question like, ‘Why do you think you are not good at selling?’ we are subconsciously telling that person that the idea of them not being able to sell is already established. This of course, will undermine their confidence in this area and will ensure that our work to help them meet an objective to start selling is going to be made all the harder.

An example of what you could say instead of ‘Why do you think you are not good at selling?’ might be, ‘What is it about selling that you find difficult?’ This could then easily be followed up by a positive question of, ‘When have you been successful at selling?’ This is positive re-enforcement and will help the coachee establish the positive elements of their experience.

You may feel that this approach is not as direct. However, you should consider what it is you are trying to achieve. If you want to let someone know that they are no good at something, sure, go for the direct approach, but if you want to develop them, use effective questions.

By using questions and encouraging the individual to come up with their own answers, we are instilling a strong sense of ownership. If we as coach provide the answers, then the coachee has no reason to take action as they might not see the value. If a coachee does not complete an action they set themselves then the responsibility for failure is theirs.

Of course, the flipside of this is that success for the coachee is so much sweeter when they realise that the positive result is down to them.

This is an excerpt from the 'Coaching at Work' training materials from Trainer Bubble. You can view the complete course materials at our website - Trainer Bubble.

Training Game Idea - Let's play poker!

Here's another training game idea called, 'Let's play Poker!'

Sometimes getting people to answer questions and get involved during training can be difficult. This game is perfect for overcoming this issue.

At the start of the session, advise the participants that you are going to hand out a playing card each time you get a correct answer to one of the questions you pose throughout the session. This card then becomes part of their 'hand' and at the end of the session you will all play a game of poker. The person with the best hand wins a prize.

The participants soon realise that to get the best hand and stand a chance of winning a prize they will have to answer some questions! You'll never have a quiet group again!

Visit Trainer Bubble to download a free instruction sheet for this game.