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Watch out, HRD! The jaundiced eye of budget cutting is looking in your direction. Are you vulnerable? We hear a lot about the failure of HRD to demonstrate the value [...]

Telebility, a variety of techniques for serving customers over the telephone, is vital, as research indicates that 90% of initial business contacts are made over the phone. Employees' telephone skills are important, and companies can benefit from a training program that teaches telebility techniques to all employees using the phone and performs follow-up evaluations that ensures that the new skills are utilized. The telebility of employees can turn telephone contacts into sales opportunities by teaching employees to record basic information on all contacts. Employees should be encouraged to become active message takers: paper and writing equipment should be provided for each phone, employees should be instructed to verify all numbers and the spelling of names, and employees should be required to request telephone numbers from all contacts.

Many banks have attempted to develop a selling culture among their staff only to have efforts fail because the staff lacked coaching from supervisors. Coaching to develop support when a sales program begins calls for expertise in preparation, debriefing, and observation. Coaching to maintain sales efforts on a daily basis, however, calls for needs analysis, rewards for performance, and evaluation. Most supervisors do not have these skills, but they can be learned through executive training and maintained by encouragement from bank management.

Interactive laser discs offer an effective and flexible mode of training for bank employees, offering advantages in the areas of cost, utilization of time, and operations. Interactive video training is superior to classroom training in that it: takes less time for an employee to learn; is more task oriented, leading to better on-the-job performance; and offers a variable pace to training. Traditional classroom programs need to be planned in advance, but interactive video training can be scheduled for employee off-peak time at the manager's discretion. An interactive laser disc system should: offer a wide variety of relevant topics and support materials; have simple and low-cost hardware requirements; and be user friendly.