ARTICULATING YOUR COMPANY’S POLICIES

Welcome to Articulating Your Policies! You are now in a lesson that will help you articulate those policies that you often have to explain to your customers in a way that helps them understand how company policies affect them, help the company treat all customers fairly and keep the company in business to serve them for the long term. How you articulate your company’s policies to the customer can create an atmosphere that helps your customers understand how your policies affect them and how to work with the policies to their best benefit. Welcome Benefits:  Better Customer Relationships  Improved customer experience  Less Frustration

Lesson Objectives By the end of the lesson you will be able to: A clear understanding of company policies that relate to the customer experience and how they benefit the company fit within the company’s core values and effect and ultimately benefit the customer. The ability to clearly articulate those policies in a way that strengthens the customer relationship. Communication Target: Articulate at least 3 company policies that directly effect your customers’ experience or that you may have to articulate to your customers. You will also explain why each policy is important to both the company and the customer. Each statement must be delivered in under 60 seconds.

Policy vs. Procedure What’s the difference? For our purposes, we will distinguish the difference between a Policy and a Procedure. You will want to know how both of these tools help you do your job, and help the customer by establishing consistency for everyone. When you understand your company’s policies and procedures, you will be able to articulate them with confidence, clarity and integrity.

Policy A policy is a company guideline, which is established to ensure that all customers and/or employees receive the same service standards and treatment as well as protect the interests of the company and its employees. Policies can be considered best practices guidelines, and is always the first course of action, but there may be extenuating circumstances under which exceptions can be made. *A policy is a standard that should be followed whenever possible. It is the normal course of business, but can be altered on a case by case basis when necessary.

Procedure * Proper procedures ensure that things get done right, every time. A procedure is a system or process by which things get done. Procedures, when properly implemented, ensure that things are done properly, and that no customers, employees, or situations, “fall through the cracks”. Properly executed procedures “seal the cracks” and ensure complete and accurate communication between departments, employees, supervisors and customers. Once established, procedures should always be followed, and exceptions should never be made.

Your Company’s Mission In order to articulate, and ultimately execute, your company’s policies with confidence, clarity and integrity, it is important to understand how these policies contribute to the company’s mission statement or core values. If you do not know your company’s mission statement or core values, find out what it is and write it down. You will need it for the worksheet later in the lesson.

Setting the Tone Why is it important? How you articulate the policies that effect your customers has an impact on how your customers will perceive the policies and sets the tone for the entire interaction. If you understand and believe in your company’s policies, you will be able to help your customer accept and work within the policy guidelines. Connecting with why each policy is important to both the company and the customer will help you internalize these guidelines and maintain consistency for all your customers.

Articulating Your Policies What Policies do you work with? Return/exchange/refund Booking/cancelation policies Billing/shipping policies Deadlines or timelines when you need information from you customer in order to get your job done? Do you have any policies or procedures set up to comply with state or federal laws or regulations?

You will need to know your company’s mission statement or core values. You will need to have a good understanding of at least 3 of your company’s policies that directly effect the customer, or that you articulate directly to the customer. Before coming to The Gym: Click the blue link above to Download and complete the Articulating Your Policies Worksheet and bring it with you to the practice session. Before coming to The Gym: Click the blue link above to Download and complete the Articulating Your Policies Worksheet and bring it with you to the practice session. Preparing for The In-Class Session:

Practice Regimen Repeat your 3 policy statements from the worksheet several times each day. Expand you practice to include all policies that you deal with on a regular basis. You will articulate your 3 policy statements at the practice session and receive feedback from the coach and other participants.