The Intervention First Begins With The Singtel Sales Representatives

Managers need to determine the best method of communicating the changes to the employees that are directly affected. This material presented in last weeks class and in the course material helped us understand how important communication is when implementing changes in a work environment. The course book identified four main approaches to managing change in an organization. Lewins’ Three-Step Model argued that successful change in an organization follows three steps: Unfreezing the status quo, movement to a desired end state, and refreezing the new change to make it permanent. (Robbins & Judge, 2011). This approach requires manages to evaluate the need for change and implement a plan of action to help the organization manage changes effectively.

Leaders cannot wince when soliciting feedback and employees should not dread management’s response. In fact, the only way change will succeed is if the employee engages in the change process by communicating input. Promoting two-way communications moves employees in a structured way to accept and participate in the modification as a team (Malek & Yazdanifard, 2012). A spirit of openness and constructive criticism enables the process rather than dictating the terms. After all, these traits will boost efficiency, inspire dialog and achieve team concurrence. Without credible two-way communication, it becomes problematic to capture the hearts and minds of the

External forces, such as competition, and internal forces, such as profit and loss statements, are often a source of motivation for organizational change (Kelman, 2006). Change leaders must present the issues that pronounce the need to make organizational changes to employees and stakeholders in a manner that signifies the good that could possibly result. The concern must be for the organization but not without considering its members. The members must feel obligated or committed to the organization in order to promote a successful change initiative (Weiner, 2009). When organizational members are connected to the proposed changes the better the likelihood of member commitment to the change initiative.

Resistance can take various forms such as grievances, restricted output, high turnover and aggressive behaviour towards management (Bernerth, 2004). Diefenbach (2007) maintains that employees commonly react to change with resistance because the preference for stability and continuity is an important facet of human nature. Hence, employees are reluctant to change their daily routines at work for new change initiatives (Turner-Parish, Cadwallader & Busch, 2008; Lawler & Worley, 2006; Bernerth, 2004). Research conducted by Peus, Frey, Gerkhardt, Fisher and Traut-Mattausch (2009) supports this in finding a correlation between employees’ change commitments and their perception on how it impacts their work routines. The more disruptive the change is to their routines, the more likely employees will react with resistance. Connell and Waring (2002) further maintain that, because radical changes are implemented with little or no consultation or communication, radical changes are less likely to be understood by employees, and as a result, employees become confused and resistant to change (Kitchen & Daly, 2002).

The advanced Customer service training course utilizes a variety of teaching methods like short lectures and informal exercises/activities to develop excellent customer service skills. Trainees will receive a workbook as a summary of the training course which they can use for future reference. Below is an outline of the course content: Identifying customers and their expectations Positive steps to excellent customer service Making a difference The importance of communication in the service delivery process Barriers to communication Projecting a professional first impression Making the most of your voice Building rapport Telephone etiquettes

For most employees, the horror of change is that they don’t know what is going to happen next.(George & Jones, 2008 ). Managers could communicate with employees, to insight their fright about change and then check out what is the best solution for both.(Litch, Bonnie, 2005) . Or ,they can have a good group communication in a weekly meeting (George & Jones, 2008 ).

Ruminate the task oriented method for delineating crucial areas of job accountabilities and purposes to consummate day-to-day responsibility objectives (Mendoza, n.d., pp. 1-2). The job examination is imperious to guaranteeing high-ranking level supervision in accepting essential procedures for implementing job responsibilities necessary to attaining business ingenuities. Try and ponder the multiplicity of customer service agent position obligations in conforming with business 's metrics: overseeing of calls, call time, and devotion in maintaining an assured level of consumer service telephone effort. In search to efficacious customer service agents, the pros can point to the ensuing characteristics:

Moreover, job analysis characterizes the configuration of jobs within a job classification; it permits the departments to classify directions of position advancement for a member of staff who are interested in expanding their opportunities for career progression and enlarging compensation. (University of Nebraska–Lincoln, 2016)

Training has become an important technique to improve an employees performance. The improvement in the performance of the employees or workers depends on the leader with whom they are working with. The trainers communication and interaction with the employees as well as the freshers improves their performance. The duration of the training also determines the persons behaviour towards the organisation and the performance and satisfaction level of the employees. Hence if the person is trained in an effective way he will have a satisfaction towards his job

Job analysis gives an answer to a very complex question, which many organizations find hard to deal with like the precise behavioral requirements for the job to bring out the desired outcome.

In many cases, resistance to change is viewed and analyzed from the managerial perspective (Schultz & Schultz, 2004). From the managerial point of view, resistance to change is considered as a cause to the delay in the achievement of the organization’s strategic goals. Hence managers are aware of the effects of the resistance to change, such as wastage of time. As a result, change projects are introduced earlier than the actual time, so that by the time the management can mobilize consensus on the proposed change, the ideal time for the commencement of the project is fulfilled. Hayes (2002) outlines other ways of managing change, such as coercion, manipulation and dialogue with the employees. At this point, it is also necessary to realize that change is not only a property of the employees but also an aspect common with the middle level managers. According to Folger and Skarlicki (1999), such managers are reprimanded, transferred to given higher positions in order to allow the change process to take its course. In some cases, employees who resist change were sacked such as shown below.

After thoroughly researching and understanding the cause of a problem, organizations can subsequently decide on a plan to resolve the issue. To effectively implement the plan and new change, it is important for organizations to take the necessary steps to combat resistance to change. This can be accomplished through accurately timing the change and communicating throughout the process. Merrell (2012) stated that “setting clear measurable goals up front will help an organization head in the right direction, use resources efficiently, make corrections along the way and assess whether the change program achieved what is set out to do” (p. 21). Moreover, by providing employees with training and incentives, the entire problem solving process will encourage a smooth transition. Through training individuals on the new policies and procedures of the change, employee can become directly involved with the change, thereby giving them the knowledge and skills they need to adapt. In addition, providing both monetary and nonmonetary incentives, organizations can reduce resistance and motivate individuals to help in the organization success throughout the change process. Thus, by properly analyzing problems and correctly implementing solutions, organizations can effectively change to address the needs of the company.

Communication and its effects on employee’s perceptions towards organizational changes have been extensively studied. Communication, if poorly managed, can lead to negative consequences including employee’s frustration, uncertainty, change contempt (Frahm & Brown (2007), Bordia, Hunt, & Paulsen (2004)), psychological strain, low job satisfaction, and increase in turnover intention (Bordia, Hunt, & Paulsen (2004)). If effectively managed, communication can result in multiple positive effects such as employee’s positive perception towards change process, change acceptance (Frahm & Brown (2007)), perception of justice within the organization (Nese (2014)), and change-based momentum (Jansen (2004)). In this paper, I would like to explore how two communication approaches – programmatic and participatory - can be used to improve employee’s positive perceptions towards organizational changes. The paper is divided into three sections. It starts with a summary of employee’s perceptions towards organizational changes. The effects of communication on employee’s perceptions towards organizational changes will follow. The last section is a comparison of the strengths and weaknesses of programmatic and participatory approaches through the analysis of empirical studies.

Essential Trainings – These are important trainings which are considered essential from the perspective of either the top management or the employee. These are useful in improving the employees’ interactions with the customer and they add value to the employee in enhancing his interpersonal skills, both with internal employees and with external customers. These include Itinerary Planning, Computers, Telephone Etiquettes, Train the Trainer, Consultative Selling, Negotiation Skills, Key Account Management, Customer Service, Time Management, Customer Relationship Management, Presentation Skills, Leadership Skills, Decision Making and Problem Solving, Business Communication, and Team Building. This list is dominated by Soft skills trainings and it is the top management which has responded to them in a positive

In the past, the salesperson was a persuader, an expert in a market where customer had little facts, were enthusiastic to buy and had narrow foundations of supply. The salesperson’s role has changed from being a performer in a relationship game to being a business consultant, providing value to customers. He is the person, who introduces new products ideas and influences the life-styles and consumption patterns by making new products and services available and influencing opinion leaders to accept them. The role of a salesperson today is more than the conventional role of order taking, he has to research to see what is needed, wanted and what type of customers to target. He also has to change with modern technology. In this paper, you will read some of the ways a salesperson’s training and role has changed during time.