AD CORE DEVISE DESIGN BLOG Vol.157
As mentioned in my last column, two new staff members joined AD CORE DEVISE' Tokyo headquarters in April of this year. One of them is a recent graduate, marking our first hire in a while. While large corporations and publicly listed companies typically provide intensive training to new employees to equip them with the right mindset and basic etiquette for the workplace, it's difficult for small and medium-sized companies to provide such training. Since most of our new hires are mid-career hires with work experience, we've conducted our new hire training in-house to the best of our ability. However, this year, we decided to outsource business etiquette training to new graduates and those transferring from completely different industries. The reports from the trained staff demonstrate the quality of the training, covering everything from business etiquette to common sense and work attitudes. Therefore, we decided to invite a lecturer to provide business etiquette training to all employees, not just new hires.
Demand for business etiquette courses for new employees (though not just for new hires) seems to be on the rise. The "common sense" that even first-year employees should have is no longer valid. While this may be the case for large companies with specialized departments, it seems difficult for small and medium-sized businesses to teach business etiquette skills through in-house training alone. In today's world, where almost anything can be considered "harassment," it seems best to learn from an objective professional rather than having in-house staff conduct etiquette seminars for employees. This time, our company invited a lecturer from ANA Business Solutions to conduct the training. I myself have never received business etiquette training from a professional, and even though I've been working for a long time, I still believe there are many things about proper business etiquette that I don't understand. This opportunity allows me to ask about those "business common sense" that I'm too embarrassed to ask about. From the proper etiquette for exchanging business cards to bowing, greetings, and facial expressions, the lecturer clearly demonstrated the reasons for doing things and why each technique is necessary. Staff in Osaka and Nagoya also participated via ZOOM meetings, and the training was set up so that they could not only watch the training on a monitor but also exchange opinions. The instructor posed questions to branch office staff, and branch office staff expressed their opinions. By using ZOOM, it felt like the entire company was participating in the training.
The training is scheduled for three sessions, and I recently attended the second one. The first session focused on the very basics of business etiquette. I learned about business behavior, something I had barely given much thought to before. However, even the most basic basics can be incredibly difficult. Learning how to bow and address others, as well as standing posture and how to place your hands, are incredibly difficult when I actually tried them out, and I realized how much I hadn't been able to do them before. I also learned that appearance and behavior are extremely important, conveying a great deal of information to the other person. Apparently, these actions lead to consideration for others and building trust. The second session, based on the basics learned in the first session, focused on hospitality aimed at customer satisfaction. How can we maximize customer satisfaction when interacting with customers, utilizing everything from appearance and behavior to conversational skills? The training included actual role-playing in the showroom. Our staff performed customer service etiquette role-playing among themselves, and they shook off any awkwardness and practiced seriously. They asked so many questions that the training went beyond the allotted time, leading to lively exchanges of opinions, making the training even more meaningful than the first time.
It is difficult to change the mannerisms and behavior that have become ingrained in us without even realizing it, but this training gave me the opportunity to "become aware" of the way I move and respond. I also realized that in order to increase customer satisfaction through everyday interactions, it is not enough to simply follow a manual; it is necessary to hone individual sensibilities and improve each individual's ability to respond. The "brand power" that we often hear about is not just about the quality and design of the product, but the behavior and ability of staff to respond is also an important factor. Improving overall response capabilities will also raise the level of brand power. We have one more training session planned, and while we will have to wait until the day to find out what it will be about, we hope to make it a good training session that will help increase "brand power." (Development, Takeda Nobuo)
