Delivering customer care: Italian Post Office

Citation

(2000), "Delivering customer care: Italian Post Office", Journal of European Industrial Training, Vol. 24 No. 9. https://doi.org/10.1108/jeit.2000.00324iab.011

Delivering customer care: Italian Post Office

Delivering customer care: Italian Post Office

Keywords: Italy, Consumer care, Post Office

The Italian Post Office has trained 1,000 employees in customer care skills, in just 22 days, using a multimedia training course from Xebec McGraw-Hill. Following the training, independent research has shown a 40 per cent improvement in customer service and efficiency.

The multimedia pilot, the first for the Italian Post Office, was sanctioned by Cesare Vacigo, General Manager. A total of 1,000 staff in 76 post offices and an area sorting centre in Umbria, near Tuscany, took part in what amounted to a complex logistical exercise.

"Vacigo was keen to try multimedia and asked us to choose an appropriate course", said Massimo Vinciguerra of Individual Training, a multimedia reseller in Italy. "We feel that a customer care course could make the biggest impact in the shortest time, so we recommended 'Front line customer care' from Xebec McGraw-Hill."

Individual Training presented the details of the pilot to 120 middle managers from the Post Office. Also present were the Chief of Police, the Mayor and the Cardinal, as well as local politicians and journalists. The presentation included a video message from Vacigo, who highlighted global competition as the driving force behind the need to improve customer service and efficiency.

As the Italian Post Office is strictly unionised, Vinciguerra also had to gain union buy-in. "The unions were enthusiastic and encouraged their members to take part in the scheme", he said. "They understood that to safeguard jobs in the future, customer satisfaction must be improved."

Seven consultants from Individual Training trained eight Post Office employees in how to use the course and how to cascade the training throughout the pilot group.

"The employees chosen by the Post Office for this role had only ever used very simple computer programmes as part of their work", explained Vinciguerra. "They had never seen a multimedia course. Yet within three days, we had shown them how to use a multimedia PC, how to use the course and how to answer queries and deal with objections."

Vinciguerra pinpoints the role of these employees as a major factor in the success of the pilot. "Multimedia can be very effective but it will not work in isolation", he said. "It needs the backing of senior managers and users need appropriate support. These employees were able to provide this because they had recently been through the course and they could empathise with their colleagues with full knowledge of the potential difficulties."

The entire pilot was undertaken in 22 days. Forty multimedia PCs were shared amongst the 76 offices and the area sorting centre. Feedback among those who took part was very positive. "Ninety-two per cent were very enthusiastic", said Vinciguerra. "Perhaps the most uplifting aspect of the exercise was the support that each member of staff gave to their colleagues. Training took place at the workplace and had to be slotted into allocated times, which meant that some jobs had to be shared. This was unusual given the extent and belief in union rules but people wanted the pilot to succeed and they simply enjoyed using the course."

"Front line customer care" features three stand-alone CD-ROM learning units, which cover the essential knowledge and skills, from customer care fundamentals to the challenges of handling angry customers successfully. The course is sold in seven languages across 18 countries worldwide.

The three composite modules provide around eight hours of training but the course features a short multiple-choice quiz which enables it to recommend which sections will be most appropriate for each user. As a result, the average course completion time on the pilot was less than five hours.

"We were able to demonstrate that a multimedia course can adapt to suit the needs of each individual, taking account of their previous knowledge and experience", said Vinciguerra. "This is a major selling point over more traditional forms of training."

For further information on Xebec McGraw-Hill, visit www.xebec-online.com