Running head: PHASE IV 1

Instructional Plan - Phase IV

Kim McIntyre
CUR/516
June 2, 2014
Diane George
PHASE IV 2


Phase IV
Phase I

Name and Title of training session
Establishing Empathy to Retain Valued Customers

Description of training session
The training course is organized for five-day period with each day consisting of 60 minutes each
day until the course is completed and each employee demonstrates proficiency for each goal. The
instructional methodologies include assessment of active listening skills, peer scripting,
completion of handouts, employees effectively demonstrate verbal empathy skills and provide
correct assessments of customer needs. The training course will comply with any American with
Disabilities Act (ADA) needs. The recommended class size for the training course consists of 15
or fewer employee participants with one trainer allotted. The course involves problem-based
learning activities in an open-ended learning environment.

The target audience
The target audience is current organizational adult employees ranging from 18 to 60 years of age,
who converse or interact with existing organizational customers addressing a variety of issues
(billing, closing accounts, and problem solving).

Delivery modality and length of training session
The delivery modality is a face-to-face environment located in the training room. The course will
consist of a five-day period consisting of 60 minutes per each training session.

Four goals for training session based on training session description
Four goals for the training session involve:
1. Provide accurate information regarding active listening skills
2. Effectively demonstrate skills that build trust with the customer
3. Demonstrate the process of taking ownership of a customer issue without assuming the
blame
4. Effectively demonstrate a negotiated solution that complies with customer needs


Phase II

Course or training session title
Defining Empathy and Identifying the Related Behavioral Skills

The defined goals
Defining empathy provides clear guidelines for each individual attending the course to follow
during the call fielding process. The course is designed to improve the understanding of empathy
and active listening skills while providing each employee the opportunity to discuss perceptions
involved with application of empathy while assisting customers experiencing a variety of
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emotional behaviors during a fielded service call.

The objectives for each goal written in the A-B-C-D format
Objective #1: Each employee will take part in a discussion involving the definition of
empathy and share the trainees existing knowledge within a collaborative training environment
that provides a current assessment to be obtained for the employees understanding of empathy.

Objective #2: Employees will be provided a handout listing five scenarios involving active
listening skills in order to identify the correct behavioral approaches involved to apply the
desired empathy skills for each scenario with a successful evaluation from peers four out of five
times during practice.

Explanation for Objectives
The explanation for these objectives involves collaborative learning and the encouragement of
critical thinking skills. The objectives utilize current employee knowledge while employing other
employee perceptions to provide awareness of information based on other peer experiences. The
objective allows each employees current empathy and related active listening skills to be
evaluated.

Instructional Descriptions, Strategies, and Activities
Instructional methods involve peer perceptions, a handout list that provides the definition of
empathy, space is provided for each employee to write down associated information provided
through the collaboration process. The strategy involves identifying current knowledge and
increased knowledge obtained during training. Employees will break into groups of five
individuals or less to discuss the handout scenarios within the group environment to practice and
then correctly produce four effective empathy simulations out of five using simulated customer
calls.

Descriptions of Instructional Technologies
The instructional technologies for this session include the use of an overhead projector to provide
a PowerPoint presentation involving the definition for empathy. Handouts designed to provide
the employee a method of listing current empathy skills and newly learned information from
other employees perceptions. A handout listing five call scenarios involving common empathy
application for customer call simulations.

Phase III

Training Course Length and Anticipated Start Date
The total time length of the training course will take approximately five hours in total. The
anticipated start date is approximately one week after the conclusion and evaluation of pilot
testing is completed using both formative and summative evaluations procedures,
implementation of any necessary design changes are implemented, and finally, Organizational
management approval is given to proceed.

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Individuals Involved with Implementation
Individuals involved with the implementation process involve a trainer, 15 employees, a team of
training designers (Including a subject matter expert, a training evaluator, and a quality assurance
manager.), and the organizational management.

Preparation of Resources, Materials, and Activities for Support Strategies
The instructional materials preparation involves handouts regarding the use of active listening
skills, commonly scripted empathy occurrences (handouts will include and be compliant with
American with Disabilities Act requirements). Additionally instructional materials will include a
developed PowerPoint training presentation regarding empathy definition, and the application of
empathy towards customer service calls.

Course Implementation Plan
Plan communication at the managerial level will consist of the design team meeting with
management or organizational leaders, providing a course outline and the intended
implementation process. The design team will discuss any suggested changes and the path for
possible change implementation on a weekly basis during the design, pilot testing,
implementation phase, and at the completion of training to discuss all gathered data and
evaluation information analysis. At the training course level, the environment will be a face-to-
face communication design. A designated trainer will convey all relevant information regarding
empathy procedural expectations to employees. To improve motivational engagement from
learners the training will ask learners to discuss a personal experience each individual
encountered that he or she felt empathy from a service provider employee, the business could
have retained the individual as a valued customer. This process will build interest from learners
and help each identify with issues related to active listening procedures and skills.
Participants will consist of any employees that field incoming customer service requests.

Formative Course Assessments for Training
Formative course assessments for training will consist of questionnaires regarding what the
trainees like or disliked about the course. At the end of the first class each individual you be
asked to provide a written assessment regarding the course involving provided content, relevant
information, and understandability procedures related to identifying empathetic behaviors.
Finally, trainees will be asked to complete an assessment regarding any information the trainee
feels should have been provided or applied differently to assist learners in developing further
understandability regarding empathy procedures.

Phase IV

Identified Goal Criteria
The identified criteria for determining if the overall goals, objectives, and outcomes are met for
the training session consist of mock customer situations with peers. The process utilizing a
Quality Assurance (QA) mentor who will assess each employees effective application of
empathy on a 4-point scale; (4) rates as exceeds expected objectives, (3) rates as meeting
expected objectives, (2) rates as meeting some of the expected objectives, and (1) rates as not
meeting expected objective. In addition to the mock session and QA assessment, a questionnaire
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regarding application of active listening and empathy skills with short essay explanations are
provided to trainees to provide insight into how each feels regarding the application process of
these two skills. Successful completion of training objectives for each employee consists of a
combined score of 12, gathered from each evaluated peer-involved QA monitored mock
sessions.

Evaluation Instruments
Evaluation instruments consist of a study of the needs analysis for employees gathered prior to
attending the training course. The needs analysis provides a survey form related to the
understanding the use of empathy using a 4-point scale. An analysis of active listening skills is
also gathered with another 4-point scale. Additionally the same 4-point scale surveys are
provided at the end of the training to ascertain if changes have occurred for each employee.
These 4-point scale surveys consist of (4) Excellent understanding (3) Proficient understanding
(2) Partial understanding (1) Limited understanding. The scoring measures also provide an
added description area for each employee to describe his or her current perceived knowledge
level. The behavioral actions involving utilization of new skills are identified for each employee
are assessed by providing a short essay style questionnaire that allows employees to provide
information regarding personal application of empathy in his or her real-world experience during
the training process and how those employees might utilize the new information in the future.
The use of Smile sheets allow employees to anonymously describe his or her likes, dislikes,
and suggested improvements for the course design that aid in understandability. The evaluation
process can be further developed within QA recording sessions between the employee and
customers and providing a polling for customers after providing services. Finally, the program
evaluator will be able to compare customer attrition rates before training was implemented and
compare those rates to attrition rates after program implementation to provide organizational
management with statistical data regarding training effectiveness.

Evaluation Overview of Efficacy
The evaluation overview provides the organization the ability to collect data that is useful for
training purposes for employees. Training employees improves the organizations ability to
retain valuable customers thereby improving cost involved problems. The company becomes
more efficient in handling incoming service requests based on the improvement and engagement
of active listening and identifying empathetic replies when required. Each training course
provides evaluations that assist with improving course designs to meet and apply new
information that is relevant for improving knowledge and skills of existing or new employees.
Finally, the evaluation process allows management to verify the effectiveness of training
offerings for future use and development of new training courses.