January 28, 2025 • 14 mins
What if your training methods could bridge cultural divides and turn challenges into opportunities for growth? Join me, Jeannie Walters, as we unravel the complexities of creating an inclusive and accessible customer experience that caters to the diverse needs of your team. This episode contains insights into overcoming literacy and tech barriers with empathy, transforming potential roadblocks into pathways for success. We'll explore the power of visual aids, adaptable communication methods, and the recognition of individual learning styles to craft an environment where every team member feels valued and empowered.
Throughout our discussion, we'll delve into practical strategies to ensure your training programs and SOPs resonate across cultural and linguistic backgrounds. By embracing the unique challenges of each team member, we can design initiatives that not only acknowledge diverse viewpoints but also harness them to enhance customer experiences. Whether you're developing new procedures or refining existing ones, discover actionable steps that turn ideas into impactful actions, paving the way for an inclusive workplace culture that thrives on diversity and shared success.
Resources Mentioned:
Experience Investigators Website -- experienceinvestigators.com
Want to ask a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail! (And don't forget to follow Jeannie on LinkedIn! www.linkedin.com/in/jeanniewalters/)
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
MC (00:00):
Experience Action.
Let's stop just talking aboutcustomer experience, employee
experience and the experience ofleaders.
Let's turn ideas into action.
Your host, Jeannie Walters, isan award-winning customer
experience expert, internationalkeynote speaker and founder of
Experience Investigators, astrategic consulting firm
(00:20):
helping companies increase salesand customer retention through
elevated customer experiences.
Ready set action.
Jeannie Walters (00:31):
When it comes to customer experience, one size
definitely doesn't fit all,especially when you're leading a
diverse team with differentstrengths, challenges and
talents.
Today, we're tackling aquestion about how to create
inclusive, accessible processesand training that truly set
(00:51):
everyone up for success.
Let's dive in.
Listener Question (00:55):
So I recently quite joined a new company as
the customer experience managerand then I've been looking at
how the process would be and howto structure.
I've been writing on SOPs andplanning out my way to ensure
that this process and structuresare in place.
(01:16):
But my issue is the people thatare supposed to carry these
things out.
Some of them are not quiteliterate, so how do I go about
it?
Jeannie Walters (01:28):
All right, I know that might have been a
little difficult to hear, butessentially, the question that
we're talking about today is howdo you develop customer
experience, standard operatingprocedures and training
materials that ensureinclusivity and accessibility,
especially when literacy orother barriers might impact your
(01:49):
team members' ability to reallydeliver on that experience.
It's a great topic to exploreand it's something that I think
many of us probably grapple withand don't always know exactly
the right way to handle it.
Let's start with empathy andcontext.
When in doubt, this issomething I remind myself, when
in doubt start with empathy.
(02:10):
What would it feel like to meif I wanted to succeed and I had
a barrier in the way?
And, of course, when we talkabout literacy, that could be
things like certain abilities,right, neurodivergence,
understanding, comprehension,all sorts of things.
So, while we're using that in avery blanket term, I want you
(02:32):
to really consider that peoplethat you know that you might be
assuming are handling thesethings well, they might have
certain challenges as well.
We all do so.
Let's start with that empathyand context.
We recognize that you know whatthese barriers are part of
being human.
We all have our own challenges.
We all have our own lifeexperience and our cultures and
(02:55):
everything else.
That's how we frame the world.
So if we are looking at thingslike reading and writing as the
only way to communicate aroundthese procedures, processes,
training, all of those things,then we have to think of things
like language and are we able to, you know, really make sure
(03:16):
that we're speaking in alanguage that everybody does
understand?
There could be barriers aroundtech familiarity.
Are we positioning things in away that maybe aren't accessible
to everybody because of thetechnology or because of their
comfort level with thetechnology?
We also might have some thingsgoing on with cultural
understanding and norms.
There are certain ways that weinterpret language that can be
(03:40):
different.
There are certain things aroundculture and assumptions that we
want to make sure we areacknowledging.
So our goal within this idea ofshowing empathy and context, is
to show up where somebody is.
So, first things first, keep itsimple.
If you have a long list of SOPs, as we like to call standard
(04:02):
operating procedures, if youhave a long list of those things
and it's like the old binderthat you used to get with all
the pages, people most likelyare not going to read that and
really consume all thatinformation, internalize it and
know what to do.
So replace these long textinstructions with some visual
(04:22):
help.
So things like icons can bevery helpful.
Flow charts, process charts,infographics those types of
things can really help peopleinterpret the information.
Now, regardless of ourbackgrounds, our culture, our
language, all of us interpretinformation differently.
Some of us are more visuallearners, some of us really
(04:45):
require auditory to learn, someof us are really interactive.
We need to get our hands in itand do it.
All of us have all three ofthese ways of learning.
So I always encourage people tothink about what are the senses
that maybe we aren't using.
I've mentioned before how, indoctor's offices, sometimes they
call your name, but there's novisual cue of when it's your
(05:07):
turn, and so if somebody hasissue with hearing, then they
might not know when it's theirturn because there's no other
way to do that.
Same thing happens in airports.
They're very, very loud, and soif they're only using
announcements to get informationacross, it's very easy to miss
that.
We want to make sure that we'reusing visual, audio, whatever we
(05:29):
can get, to really help peopleinternalize the information.
So look for things like videowalkthroughs.
How can you make sure that youare showing somebody how to do
something, not just telling them, not just relying on them to
read this information, but showthem?
And I like to remind everybodyto connect with the why.
(05:51):
If we're only talking aboutprocess and procedures and we're
not really explaining why wehave these, it's very easy for
people to kind of disengage withthat information.
But if we tell people, if wefollow these procedures, we know
that it will make a moreefficient workplace and
everybody will be able to gettheir jobs done easier, faster,
(06:13):
more conveniently.
Not only that, we know itprovides a better experience for
the customer, so it's going tobe a win-win.
We have to really articulatethat over and over again.
We also want to look for waysto engage them in the moment,
because if we're relying onpeople to just understand our
standard operating proceduresand have those moments in time
(06:37):
where they have to remember orrecall exactly what to do,
that's not exactly fair either.
So what I would say is look forthe moments where you can guide
them within the context of theactual scenario.
So that means things like stepby step guides, that can be very
helpful.
Color coding, using icons thattype of thing can really help
(06:59):
people understand when to applythings.
And then I really like when itis within the moment.
Now we worked with a client whohad a lot of restaurants, a lot
of fast serving restaurants and,of course, in the back in the
kitchen there are all sorts ofthings to remember.
How much of this goes in asalad, what do we do to get this
(07:21):
out to the customer, all ofthose things.
And so what they really thoughtthrough was how do we do this
in a way that at the station, weare giving them exactly the
information they need?
Well, if it's a lot ofinformation and you don't want
to put everything up there incharts or posters or things like
that, we have tools now.
(07:42):
Use QR codes.
Somebody can scan it rightthere, say okay, that's right,
that's how much I have to put in, or that's the next step in
this process.
Whatever it is, but keep it assimple and contextual as you
possibly can to help peoplereally connect with the
information they need when theyneed it.
(08:02):
Proactive, hands-on training,interactive training that can
all help too, because if we areagain relying on people just to
consume information and knowexactly what to do with it at
the right time, that is not fair.
That's not what happens withhumanity.
We get very distracted.
We have things going on.
Maybe we read something, weunderstand it, but then we don't
(08:23):
have a use for it for threemonths.
We can't be expected to recallall the details of that.
So really look for hands-oninteractive training.
Apprenticeship, shadowing, thattype of thing but also
role-playing scenarios can bevery, very helpful when you're
practicing in a safe environment.
Games or simulations orrewarding people when they
(08:46):
follow these things in themoment as well, can be really
great.
There was a grocery store thatwas having trouble with their
shelves getting all messed upand they realized that they had
a lot of their workers would begoing to stock shelves or going
through the store and walk rightpast it, not even realize it
was a problem.
So they started hiding certainthings in the shelves.
(09:10):
It was a little icon andessentially, when somebody
walked by and proactivelystraightened out a shelf, if
they found that thing, then theywould get a little reward.
So there are all sorts of waysto add fun and gaming and all
sorts of ideas to this, so thatit's not just about you must
understand our procedures.
(09:30):
It's about we're all in thistogether.
We want to recognize you for ajob well done, and there are
certain things that we want tobe standard.
We want protocols.
There are processes that arevery, very important.
Checklists are another thingthat sometimes can help.
It sounds so simple, I know,but checklists have been found
(09:52):
to be incredibly effective atgetting people to understand and
do things again and again andagain.
There was actually a studyyears ago with doctors and what
they realized was checklistshelped them more than anything
else when it came to making surethat everything was ready in an
operating room, making surethat certain procedures were
being followed.
Checklists can really help.
(10:13):
There are all sorts of ways todo this.
Now, with technology, you cando it with your phone, you can
have reusable things, so it'snot necessarily paper on a
clipboard.
It's really about making surethat, to get through to that
next step, things get unlockedbased on the checklist.
And then I also likepeer-to-peer training.
This is because sometimes, whenthings come from on high as
(10:36):
standard operating procedurefrom the boss, it's easy for
people to think, well, yeah, youdon't understand.
You don't understand what it'slike here and why that's a
cumbersome process and why weshouldn't do that and all those
things.
So, leveraging peer-to-peertraining from the beginning
meaning, as you're developingthese procedures, invite people
(10:56):
in who are the ones who willhave to deliver on it and say
will this work?
What can we do?
Let's try this out.
Let's run a pilot program,let's do some A-B testing,
whatever it is, but bring peopleinto the process.
Once you have that peer group,then they can help you actually
train and get others involved.
That can be incrediblyeffective as well.
(11:19):
And then there are things likelooking for plain language.
Make sure that we're notovercomplicating things.
Make sure we're not usingacronyms all the time that we
assume people understand.
Make sure that we are lookingat can we make this easier for
multilingual teams, if you havethem.
Make sure your digital contentis ADA compliant and that's here
(11:41):
in the United States.
Really, that's about makingsure that you have the right
kind of accessibility for thecommunication that you're using
digitally.
It's a great way to just checkin and see are we being as
inclusive and accessible as wecan be.
And then, of course, when peopledo this right, when you see
certain results because peopleare following these standard
(12:04):
operating procedures, it's timeto celebrate.
Let's make sure we arecelebrating those small wins.
We are celebrating the big winsand everything in between.
These are important.
When we talk about proceduresand processes.
Those are important for many,many reasons.
We have to make sure that thepeople we're asking to execute
those actually are also involvedin the why, that they
(12:28):
understand that this is becausewhen we do these things well, we
all win.
We all do better, we have aneasier place to work, we have
better camaraderie, we havebetter customer experiences that
lead to better results.
So keep weaving in that why.
Your customer experiencemission statement is a great way
(12:48):
to do that.
So I hope these ideas encourageyou to really think about how
inclusive and accessible are youbeing with your procedures,
your processes, your technology,your tools and your training.
The more inclusive we can behere, the more that we can make
it a place that people likeworking, that they feel
(13:10):
competent and comfortable intheir role, that they know they
are contributing.
Because, as we've said, CX is ateam sport.
We need everybody involved, somake sure that you are
committing to being as inclusiveand accessible as you can be.
Great question.
I love this question.
Please keep your questionscoming.
(13:31):
Askjeannievip is where you canleave me a voicemail about
anything and guess what?
I want to hear about your smallwins.
So please let us know what'sgoing well for you with customer
experience this well.
What are your challenges?
What are some of the thingsthat maybe you've overcome or
you have an idea for ourlisteners?
We would love to hear thosethings and share those with our
(13:53):
listeners as well.
In the meantime, thank you somuch for being here.
Don't forget to check out ourLearning Center at
experienceinvestigatorscom.
Thanks so much for being hereand I'll talk to you again soon
To learn more about ourstrategic approach to experience
.
Check out free resources atexperienceinvestigatorscom,
(14:14):
where you can sign up for ournewsletter, our year of CX
program and more, and pleasefollow me, Jeannie Walters, on
LinkedIn.
Experience Action.
Let's stop just talking aboutcustomer experience, employee
experience and the experience ofleaders.
Let's turn ideas into action.
Your host, Jeannie Walters, isan award-winning customer
experience expert, internationalkeynote speaker and founder of
Experience Investigators, astrategic consulting firm
(00:20):
helping companies increase salesand customer retention through
elevated customer experiences.
Ready set action.
Jeannie Walters (00:31):
When it comes to customer experience, one size
definitely doesn't fit all,especially when you're leading a
diverse team with differentstrengths, challenges and
talents.
Today, we're tackling aquestion about how to create
inclusive, accessible processesand training that truly set
(00:51):
everyone up for success.
Let's dive in.
Listener Question (00:55):
So I recently quite joined a new company as
the customer experience managerand then I've been looking at
how the process would be and howto structure.
I've been writing on SOPs andplanning out my way to ensure
that this process and structuresare in place.
(01:16):
But my issue is the people thatare supposed to carry these
things out.
Some of them are not quiteliterate, so how do I go about
it?
Jeannie Walters (01:28):
All right, I know that might have been a
little difficult to hear, butessentially, the question that
we're talking about today is howdo you develop customer
experience, standard operatingprocedures and training
materials that ensureinclusivity and accessibility,
especially when literacy orother barriers might impact your
(01:49):
team members' ability to reallydeliver on that experience.
It's a great topic to exploreand it's something that I think
many of us probably grapple withand don't always know exactly
the right way to handle it.
Let's start with empathy andcontext.
When in doubt, this issomething I remind myself, when
in doubt start with empathy.
(02:10):
What would it feel like to meif I wanted to succeed and I had
a barrier in the way?
And, of course, when we talkabout literacy, that could be
things like certain abilities,right, neurodivergence,
understanding, comprehension,all sorts of things.
So, while we're using that in avery blanket term, I want you
(02:32):
to really consider that peoplethat you know that you might be
assuming are handling thesethings well, they might have
certain challenges as well.
We all do so.
Let's start with that empathyand context.
We recognize that you know whatthese barriers are part of
being human.
We all have our own challenges.
We all have our own lifeexperience and our cultures and
(02:55):
everything else.
That's how we frame the world.
So if we are looking at thingslike reading and writing as the
only way to communicate aroundthese procedures, processes,
training, all of those things,then we have to think of things
like language and are we able to, you know, really make sure
(03:16):
that we're speaking in alanguage that everybody does
understand?
There could be barriers aroundtech familiarity.
Are we positioning things in away that maybe aren't accessible
to everybody because of thetechnology or because of their
comfort level with thetechnology?
We also might have some thingsgoing on with cultural
understanding and norms.
There are certain ways that weinterpret language that can be
(03:40):
different.
There are certain things aroundculture and assumptions that we
want to make sure we areacknowledging.
So our goal within this idea ofshowing empathy and context, is
to show up where somebody is.
So, first things first, keep itsimple.
If you have a long list of SOPs, as we like to call standard
(04:02):
operating procedures, if youhave a long list of those things
and it's like the old binderthat you used to get with all
the pages, people most likelyare not going to read that and
really consume all thatinformation, internalize it and
know what to do.
So replace these long textinstructions with some visual
(04:22):
help.
So things like icons can bevery helpful.
Flow charts, process charts,infographics those types of
things can really help peopleinterpret the information.
Now, regardless of ourbackgrounds, our culture, our
language, all of us interpretinformation differently.
Some of us are more visuallearners, some of us really
(04:45):
require auditory to learn, someof us are really interactive.
We need to get our hands in itand do it.
All of us have all three ofthese ways of learning.
So I always encourage people tothink about what are the senses
that maybe we aren't using.
I've mentioned before how, indoctor's offices, sometimes they
call your name, but there's novisual cue of when it's your
(05:07):
turn, and so if somebody hasissue with hearing, then they
might not know when it's theirturn because there's no other
way to do that.
Same thing happens in airports.
They're very, very loud, and soif they're only using
announcements to get informationacross, it's very easy to miss
that.
We want to make sure that we'reusing visual, audio, whatever we
(05:29):
can get, to really help peopleinternalize the information.
So look for things like videowalkthroughs.
How can you make sure that youare showing somebody how to do
something, not just telling them, not just relying on them to
read this information, but showthem?
And I like to remind everybodyto connect with the why.
(05:51):
If we're only talking aboutprocess and procedures and we're
not really explaining why wehave these, it's very easy for
people to kind of disengage withthat information.
But if we tell people, if wefollow these procedures, we know
that it will make a moreefficient workplace and
everybody will be able to gettheir jobs done easier, faster,
(06:13):
more conveniently.
Not only that, we know itprovides a better experience for
the customer, so it's going tobe a win-win.
We have to really articulatethat over and over again.
We also want to look for waysto engage them in the moment,
because if we're relying onpeople to just understand our
standard operating proceduresand have those moments in time
(06:37):
where they have to remember orrecall exactly what to do,
that's not exactly fair either.
So what I would say is look forthe moments where you can guide
them within the context of theactual scenario.
So that means things like stepby step guides, that can be very
helpful.
Color coding, using icons thattype of thing can really help
(06:59):
people understand when to applythings.
And then I really like when itis within the moment.
Now we worked with a client whohad a lot of restaurants, a lot
of fast serving restaurants and,of course, in the back in the
kitchen there are all sorts ofthings to remember.
How much of this goes in asalad, what do we do to get this
(07:21):
out to the customer, all ofthose things.
And so what they really thoughtthrough was how do we do this
in a way that at the station, weare giving them exactly the
information they need?
Well, if it's a lot ofinformation and you don't want
to put everything up there incharts or posters or things like
that, we have tools now.
(07:42):
Use QR codes.
Somebody can scan it rightthere, say okay, that's right,
that's how much I have to put in, or that's the next step in
this process.
Whatever it is, but keep it assimple and contextual as you
possibly can to help peoplereally connect with the
information they need when theyneed it.
(08:02):
Proactive, hands-on training,interactive training that can
all help too, because if we areagain relying on people just to
consume information and knowexactly what to do with it at
the right time, that is not fair.
That's not what happens withhumanity.
We get very distracted.
We have things going on.
Maybe we read something, weunderstand it, but then we don't
(08:23):
have a use for it for threemonths.
We can't be expected to recallall the details of that.
So really look for hands-oninteractive training.
Apprenticeship, shadowing, thattype of thing but also
role-playing scenarios can bevery, very helpful when you're
practicing in a safe environment.
Games or simulations orrewarding people when they
(08:46):
follow these things in themoment as well, can be really
great.
There was a grocery store thatwas having trouble with their
shelves getting all messed upand they realized that they had
a lot of their workers would begoing to stock shelves or going
through the store and walk rightpast it, not even realize it
was a problem.
So they started hiding certainthings in the shelves.
(09:10):
It was a little icon andessentially, when somebody
walked by and proactivelystraightened out a shelf, if
they found that thing, then theywould get a little reward.
So there are all sorts of waysto add fun and gaming and all
sorts of ideas to this, so thatit's not just about you must
understand our procedures.
(09:30):
It's about we're all in thistogether.
We want to recognize you for ajob well done, and there are
certain things that we want tobe standard.
We want protocols.
There are processes that arevery, very important.
Checklists are another thingthat sometimes can help.
It sounds so simple, I know,but checklists have been found
(09:52):
to be incredibly effective atgetting people to understand and
do things again and again andagain.
There was actually a studyyears ago with doctors and what
they realized was checklistshelped them more than anything
else when it came to making surethat everything was ready in an
operating room, making surethat certain procedures were
being followed.
Checklists can really help.
(10:13):
There are all sorts of ways todo this.
Now, with technology, you cando it with your phone, you can
have reusable things, so it'snot necessarily paper on a
clipboard.
It's really about making surethat, to get through to that
next step, things get unlockedbased on the checklist.
And then I also likepeer-to-peer training.
This is because sometimes, whenthings come from on high as
(10:36):
standard operating procedurefrom the boss, it's easy for
people to think, well, yeah, youdon't understand.
You don't understand what it'slike here and why that's a
cumbersome process and why weshouldn't do that and all those
things.
So, leveraging peer-to-peertraining from the beginning
meaning, as you're developingthese procedures, invite people
(10:56):
in who are the ones who willhave to deliver on it and say
will this work?
What can we do?
Let's try this out.
Let's run a pilot program,let's do some A-B testing,
whatever it is, but bring peopleinto the process.
Once you have that peer group,then they can help you actually
train and get others involved.
That can be incrediblyeffective as well.
(11:19):
And then there are things likelooking for plain language.
Make sure that we're notovercomplicating things.
Make sure we're not usingacronyms all the time that we
assume people understand.
Make sure that we are lookingat can we make this easier for
multilingual teams, if you havethem.
Make sure your digital contentis ADA compliant and that's here
(11:41):
in the United States.
Really, that's about makingsure that you have the right
kind of accessibility for thecommunication that you're using
digitally.
It's a great way to just checkin and see are we being as
inclusive and accessible as wecan be.
And then, of course, when peopledo this right, when you see
certain results because peopleare following these standard
(12:04):
operating procedures, it's timeto celebrate.
Let's make sure we arecelebrating those small wins.
We are celebrating the big winsand everything in between.
These are important.
When we talk about proceduresand processes.
Those are important for many,many reasons.
We have to make sure that thepeople we're asking to execute
those actually are also involvedin the why, that they
(12:28):
understand that this is becausewhen we do these things well, we
all win.
We all do better, we have aneasier place to work, we have
better camaraderie, we havebetter customer experiences that
lead to better results.
So keep weaving in that why.
Your customer experiencemission statement is a great way
(12:48):
to do that.
So I hope these ideas encourageyou to really think about how
inclusive and accessible are youbeing with your procedures,
your processes, your technology,your tools and your training.
The more inclusive we can behere, the more that we can make
it a place that people likeworking, that they feel
(13:10):
competent and comfortable intheir role, that they know they
are contributing.
Because, as we've said, CX is ateam sport.
We need everybody involved, somake sure that you are
committing to being as inclusiveand accessible as you can be.
Great question.
I love this question.
Please keep your questionscoming.
(13:31):
Askjeannievip is where you canleave me a voicemail about
anything and guess what?
I want to hear about your smallwins.
So please let us know what'sgoing well for you with customer
experience this well.
What are your challenges?
What are some of the thingsthat maybe you've overcome or
you have an idea for ourlisteners?
We would love to hear thosethings and share those with our
(13:53):
listeners as well.
In the meantime, thank you somuch for being here.
Don't forget to check out ourLearning Center at
experienceinvestigatorscom.
Thanks so much for being hereand I'll talk to you again soon
To learn more about ourstrategic approach to experience
.
Check out free resources atexperienceinvestigatorscom,
(14:14):
where you can sign up for ournewsletter, our year of CX
program and more, and pleasefollow me, Jeannie Walters, on
LinkedIn.
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