For me, job enrichment is all about providing mental stimulation and opportunities to grow professionally so your employees – especially the talented ones that you and your customers appreciate so much – stay both happy and with you.
I just returned from facilitating the classroom portion of our blended Getting to the HEART of Telephone Sales™ training for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Rhodes Island. I was working with a newly formed team recruited from existing customer service reps and it struck me, “Wow, this is a terrific example of job enrichment!”
Before I explain how, I have to commend Diane Camella, Director of Training, and Al Means, Senior Trainer, for the really smart and very effective manner in which they chose to do the training. I know in large part it’s the reason the class was so engaged and excited about their new roles. The class completed one online module a day followed by review and practice of the sales skills and a segment of new product training. Information was delivered in manageable chunks – just like we all know is best for learners but is often not the way things work out due to time and deadline constraints. So Kudos to Diane and Al.
Back to job enrichment… You may have noticed that the course these former customer service representatives took was a telephone sales course – not a standard component of a customer service curriculum. And, no, they aren’t being asked to cross-sell or upsell some unsuspecting member who’s calling with a question about an explanation of benefits. Not at all, the team is moving into a role that requires a more persuasive approach than they were used to. The training fit was natural because our telesales program is about service oriented selling and they’ll be Engagement Specialists charged with proactively working with members to encourage them to take full advantage of their plan’s features that promote good health. Promoting staying healthy – that’s a Win/Win for everyone.
Comments from the class kept bringing me back to why job enrichment is so important. Many mentioned how much they appreciated the opportunity to be a part of the new team. These are excellent customer service reps with plenty of experience who are now ready for a new challenge. They don’t want to jettison all their great customer service skills. What they want to do is grow.
Several participants said the value of the program was “it can be used in all aspects of our lives.” Enriching a job can enrich a life. And then there was the transcendent comment I couldn’t help but love, “I feel as though this program made me a better rep and person!” How much more enriched can you get?
If you have examples about the impact of job enrichment at your organization, please share! Leave a comment.
