Client Ask:
a) to have the teams be more assertive in their interactions with customers
b) work on urgency creation and rebuttals
c) handling irate customers, negotiating with them without being aggressive
d) empathising, yet remaining respectful and result oriented in one’s approach
Since the participants (50+) were from the PAN India Credit Monitoring and Debt Recovery teams of India’s largest Insurance Conglomerate; there wasn’t a chance to do a discovery with them prior to the session (which I ideally prefer doing).
So I began the session with participant expectations from the program, and common challenges they face in their daily job roles while doing recovery. Participants enthusiastically filled the board, and then we parked it for later.
Next, I transitioned into the “Deserted Islands” process, which brought out quite the rainbow of emotions in the participants- they went from hysterical laughter to healthy arguments and frustration during the negotiations (by design).
The emotions were probed into, and parallels were drawn to daily work life scenarios with a crisp de-brief.
By this time, the “Whats” were starkly out there. Now it was time to focus on the “Hows“.
With a quick bit of knowledge sharing, knick-knacks, and industry-specific examples; the teams were equipped with some tools to overcome their shortcomings. This brought out some deep reflections and insights from the group.
And then, it was time to apply those learnings.
5 burning areas with respect to client interactions were picked and presented as case studies for corrective role-plays with constructive feedback.
My Highs:
1) At the end of the session, I brought out the White Board from earlier on, (which had the expectations and challenges mentioned) and asked the participants to strike out all the expectations that were met and challenges that were backed by tools to cope with.
Lo and behold! The participants struck out each and every single thing mentioned on the board. (Last slide)
2) The Heads of the teams were glued to their seats through the show, and particularly complimented the nuanced details, and relevant inputs shared by me throughout the session; especially during the corrective role plays and constructive feedback.
3) It feels unreal (and insanely gratifying) to have pulled this off single-handedly, given the time and space constraints and the serious learning outcomes expected from the session. Managing 50+ pax in a small setting and keeping the balance between kinaesthetic and cognitive is no joke, honestly.
