Client Results
Avoid Compliance Issues
Our client was faced with new state marketing laws that dictated how its sales force could interact with their customers.
An online learning module that we designed provided a resource to ensure sales representatives working in different states knew the rules of the game and how to use tracking software to document expenses.
Capture Intellectual Capital Before It Vanishes
Our client had decided to move several of its Finance departments out of state as a cost saving measure. They expected only a small percentage of current employees to relocate in order to remain with the company.
We documented best practices for the performance of close to 300 jobs to enable our client to rapidly relocate these critical departments with minimum impact to the company, its employees and vendors.
Enable New System Adoption
Our client implemented an innovative new software program designed to minimize labor costs without sacrificing customer service in its stores. Unfortunately, the system was not very user friendly and store managers balked at using it. They continued to create paper-based schedules and enter them into the system instead of using the system to create the optimum schedule.
Back office checks of the system showed store managers had laid down their pencils and were using the system effectively and efficiently to create optimum schedules after they attended the training we designed.
Improve Employee Effectiveness
Our client realized that it needed to change its marketing approach. Consumers were no longer excited by innovations in technology. Instead they saw its products as commodities with price being a big consideration in their purchase decisions.
We worked with an external marketing firm to create training and an in-depth case study that taught the Marketing department how to interpret customer data to create marketing campaigns based on customer insights rather than gee-whiz technology.
Increase Sales and Customer Loyalty
The success of a new service our client was rolling out depended entirely on the sales force's ability to explain how a complicated new technology worked and to set appropriate expectations with its customers.
As a result of the training we designed, our client experienced almost 50% less customer churn and beat its new customer add goal by almost 9%. This was in spite of the fact that the sales force lacked basic selling skills. Almost 80% of the dealers never asked the secret shopper qualifying questions.
Increase Work Force Flexibility to Meet Customer Demand
Our client was looking to increase the output of its manufacturing plants to meet a surge in customer demand.
The training curriculum we designed allowed plant employees to be cross-trained so they could fluidly move to wherever within the plant production requirements demanded.
Make New Employees Fully Productive Fast
When our client hired new employees into their manufacturing operation, it took months for them to become fully productive due to the complicated nature of the job. Our client's industry is highly regulated and new hires were required to wade through countless SOPs before they were even allowed on the production floor.
We designed and developed a training process that shaved 15 weeks off the time it took new employees to become fully productive in their jobs.
Reduce Mistakes
Our client was frustrated by product distribution snags caused by plant managers who were fixing scanning errors in the wrong tracking system.
We designed a simulation that showed the flow of merchandise through the various systems. As a result, managers were able to correctly identify which system to make the fix in when mistakes occurred.
Reduce the Payback Period on New Equipment
Our client invested in new equipment to increase the speed with which items were scanned at its major distribution centers.
The training and skill practice (a relay race) that we designed enabled employees to master the use of the equipment so that our client could rapidly begin to realize a return on its investment.
Streamline Job Responsibilities
Our client needed to define job responsibilities and tasks of sales representatives who were selling its recycling services to corporate clients in order to create a training curriculum.
A job analysis that we performed revealed that well-paid sales representatives were spending valuable customer contact time creating flyers for their prospects. Our client immediately reassigned this responsibility to the less costly administrative office staff freeing up the sales force to make more cold calls and schedule additional meetings with interested prospects.
Support the Realignment of Roles and Responsibilities
After receiving disappointing feedback on a customer satisfaction survey, our client decided to realign roles and responsibilities throughout its organization to better meet customer needs.
The curriculum we developed to train both existing and new employees to fulfill their new roles was a vital part of our client's reorganization strategy.
*Over the years we’ve experienced several name changes. We’ve operated as Training Solutions; Training Solutions, Inc.; Applied Learning Solutions, Inc.; and most recently Applied Performance Solutions, Inc.