The need to train your teams doesn’t assume they are incompetent or clueless. If your people are incompetent or clueless, they may be volunteering in the wrong area. People who are wired to create a welcoming atmosphere for your guests have an intuitive sense for treating people well. They are people-people after all.
You can’t train personality. You can’t train common sense. You can’t train giftedness. You can call out the best in personality. You can inform common sense. You can hone giftedness.
So once you have the “right” people on your team, train for these reasons:
- Remove assumptions. Even though you have the “right” people on your team doesn’t mean that everyone has reached their apex in treating guests excellently. Don’t assume.
- Communicate Vision. People may understand what to do. They need to hear again why.
- Establish your “brand.” Create consistency in how you treat and respond to your guests.
- Inform. Make sure everyone on the team has been equipped with information, allowing them to answer questions and assist your guests.
- Identify best practices. Excellence occurs when best practices are identified, communicated and practiced. Not by a few people, but by the entire team.
What your training looks like will vary from church to church. Here are some quick ideas to get you started:
- Serve food. Chips and salsa. A full meal. Dessert. Feed them and they will come. It’s true.
- Invite experts. You may have customer service experts in your church who are leading businesses and/or training in the marketplace. Tap their experience. Let them help you.
- Role play. Develop scenarios that your people will encounter. Ask them to play it out. Coach them. Call out best practices. Suggest alternative responses.
- Keep it simple. Present a short outline. Make it memorable. Ask: could anyone repeat this to a peer? For a short training outline check out chapter seven of First Impressions: Creating Wow Experiences in Your Church (Group Publishing) (or here).
