Response to challenges can define a company. The classic example is Johnson & Johnson’s reaction to the never-solved 1982 Tylenol murders, when cyanide-laced capsules were found in eight bottles of Extra Strength Tylenol. Seven people died as a result.
The poisonings did not originate in the manufacturing or distribution process. Investigators showed that they were the work of a person who tampered with bottles taken from supermarkets and drug stores. Johnson & Johnson stopped production, distribution, and advertising of the product. They issued public warnings, and instituted a highly publicized and very costly product recall. When the product was re-introduced, it featured triple-sealed packaging, which was not standard or required at the time. This response positioned Johnson & Johnson as more concerned with the safety of its customers than with short-term financial losses.
Just as the reaction to a difficult situation can define a company, a major challenge can also be a catalyst for defining your internal e-Learning team. When your organization’s relationship with its customers changes, you have an opportunity to shine by providing a swift and targeted response.
Customers are key
Your company’s customers are the key to its success or failure. Whether your e-Learning development department focuses on customers, staff, or both, changes in the relationship between your company and its customers have implications in the e-Learning that you develop. Customers are not just those who spend money with your company – customers include everyone who wants something from the company.
Naturally, you already know your customers as a function of your training analysis and design. However, when the business climate changes in sudden or drastic ways, your existing customers may have new needs, and you may acquire new customers.
A team that is ready with viable learning solutions for meeting these new needs will be well positioned while the organization evolves to meet the new challenges. We all know training functions tend to be seen as disconnected from the bottom line and expendable. However, you avoid that image when you are providing leadership in ways that help the company build new, positive relationships with potentially nervous or even hostile customer groups.
Four rules
In my career, I have been involved with several companies at times of major shifts in the perceptions of customers. From what I have seen, there are four rules for being able to successfully respond and lead in these times: know your business, know your culture, forget history, and be considered but quick.
Rule 1: Know your business
Knowing your business is the key to successfully anticipating a major change in your company’s relations with customers. As learning functions strive for recognition as business development partners, it’s not enough for us to be proficient with the applications of adult learning theory. We also must become experts in the field in which we are employed.
Only if you are knowledgeable about your industry, and follow the news related to it, will you be able to recognize when major changes are occurring. A pivotal court case, a scientific discovery, a scandal, an economic shift, a new law or regulation, a disaster, or even a popular movie can cause or signal a change in the zeitgeist that affects the business climate. The change may apply to your entire industry or just your company. You must have enough understanding of your field to see that change coming.
The first indications of a business shift may be in trade publications or legal reviews. One of the more obvious signals is that your industry, company, a major product, or even a major product ingredient appears as a topic in the news media and on the Web more often. There could be mentions in comic strips, talk show monologues, or TV shows. Are there new blogs devoted to the topic? Are your help systems getting more inquiries? Has a politician mentioned it in a speech? If you’re well-versed in your business, you’ll pick up on it in the early stages.
Rule 2: Know your culture
Knowing your company’s culture is the key to figuring out how you will introduce your new e-Learning ideas for affecting customer relationships in light of the rapidly changing landscape. If you know your company’s culture, you can probably predict the response to the shift in your business pretty accurately.
Some companies are very proactive, while many are rather ponderous when it comes to making changes. Some companies pride themselves on being early adopters; others are more risk-averse. But just because your company moves deliberately, and would prefer to stay away from risk, doesn’t mean you can’t propose new solutions. You might just need to do it carefully. Of course, in any company, you must have good relationships so that your team is known and trusted, because your team’s reputation will make or break your proposal.
Here are some ideas for introducing solutions for the needs of new customers and new needs of current customers, according to four different company types:
Proactive, early adopters
Your challenge with this group is to be ready to go soon after you propose your solutions. If you can convince leadership that your reasoning is solid, they will want to move fast. It’s a good idea to have a prototype ready to pilot before you make your solution proposal, so that you can launch something quickly. Proposing an idea that is accepted, but then having an implementation time frame that is much longer than anticipated will undermine your credibility.
Proactive, risk-averse
This might seem like an oxymoron, but it isn’t. This type of company wants to respond to a stressful situation quickly, but also wants to make sure that the response is tried-and-true. That doesn’t mean your response needs to be limited to your current solution set. Before you make your proposal at this company type, do some quick benchmarking. If you can cite great results at other organizations for the response you propose, you will be much more likely to get a green light to move forward.
Ponderous, (relatively) early adopters
This type of company wants to consider all the options and ramifications before it will try something new, but once you have shown that you have considered all the possibilities from many angles, you can get the support you need. Benchmarking is a good tactic in this situation. It is also a good idea to bring in other teams as partners. If IT thinks the proposed reaction is feasible and secure, and Communications thinks that your message strategy is sound, you are much more likely to see your proposal go ahead.
Ponderous, risk-averse
With this company type, it is important not to go too far before seeking approval for your solution concept. Even if you have benchmarked and you have buy-in from other teams, appearing to have moved ahead without approval will be viewed with a very jaundiced eye. Having a high-level champion for your customer relationship solution proposal is a good idea in any case, but with this type of organization it is crucial. You should encourage your company sponsor to introduce your proposal, with you in the room to answer questions, show samples, and present benchmarking information.
Rule 3: Forget history
The first two rules focus on what you know, but forgetting history is the key to freeing you and your e-Learning team to look at new possibilities. Your business has changed. Just because your company never did something before doesn’t mean it won’t now. Things that you proposed unsuccessfully in a previous climate may now, in the new climate, get the support that was previously lacking. This is not the time to bring something up that company leadership perceives as a bee in your bonnet – then you will look opportunistic. The important thing is to make sure that what you propose is appropriate to the needs of the customer group. If you can show that it is an effective solution for that population, then you should make your proposal with confidence, and not let history hamper you.
Rule 4: Be considered but quick
A team can shift more quickly than an entire organization. When your analysis of your company’s position indicates that a major shift is the offing, you need to start preparing. You are in a position to get out ahead, and even help lead the organizational response when it comes. You need to balance the timing, so have a solidly researched solution ready to propose as the company is seeking ways to react. It’s worth extra effort and some late nights to analyze the situation, define new needs of current customers and the needs of new customers, research viable solutions, and prepare proposals. Then you are ready to volunteer your team’s expertise.
