President's Blog

In a recent interview with Forbes magazine, Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos.com, said the following about customer service:

“Zappos stands for one thing, the absolute best customer service. We started out selling just shoes online, but today we sell handbags and apparel and even housewares and pots and pans, and hopefully 10 years from now people won't even realize we started out selling shoes. They will just think about Zappos as a place to get the best customer service.”

If you aren’t familiar with Zappos (and believe me, I wasn’t either until I came across Hsieh’s interview), according to their website, the online retailer’s gross merchandise sales exceed $1 billion annually. The company touts its customer service reputation as the main driver behind its business. Zappos seems to know that solid customer service can mean greater profitability and customer loyalty.

Counter sale associates and drivers are many times the first people your customers or potential customers come across. Think about this: are those frontline employees making a good first impression? First impressions are important, last for years, and can make or break someone’s decision about whether or not to do business with your company.

If you’re thinking it couldn’t hurt to have some of your associates brush up on their customer service skills, NAED has an easy way to make that happen through our Achieving Superior Service Every Time (ASSET) course. ASSET covers all of the important elements to providing superior service and gives students an interactive learning experience through role play situations.

Curious about what ASSET can do for your business? Check out an online demo. Contact Customer Service at 888-791-2512 or customerservice@naed.org to order.

I recently read an interesting article in the New York Times about how some manufacturers struggling to find workers they can hire that have the proper skill set. The story focuses on how some factories are adding jobs, but are having trouble filling these openings with qualified workers.

The article states, "Plenty of people are applying for the jobs. The problem, companies say, is a mismatch between the kind of skilled workers needed and the ranks of the unemployed." The problem isn't going to be unique to the manufacturing industry either.

As the economy continues to slowly bounce back, and those with the necessary work experience retire, many other companies will face this same issue. According to the article, some manufacturers in Ohio "project that about 30 percent of the state's manufacturing workers will be eligible for retirement by 2016."

To put it in perspective for you, one manufacturing educator is quoted in the story as saying that "the new worker of tomorrow is in about sixth grade." With the technological advancements and changes happening in all of the trade industries, it's going to be more important than ever for them to have the training and skills to keep the industry's workforce thriving.

So how can electrical distributors be proactive about this problem? Simply put, education is the best way to go. Ensure that your current employees have the educational tools they need to keep learning and growing; and in turn, keeping your company relevant to the industry.

Distributors with a well-trained staff can offer the best ideas and solutions to customers. By stepping up the level of knowledge and help your associates can provide customers, not only are you securing skilled workers, you are also giving your company a competitive advantage.

Read the entire article.  

I think a more appropriate question is, "Why wouldn't I train my employees?" Rapid changes in work-related technologies will require increased training for almost every employee. To survive and prosper in this modern world, organizations will need to be more flexible and better educated than before. Providing training for employees not only helps them develop their skills and knowledge, but it is also motivational and a building block to organizational success.

We understand the obstacles your company faces. Whether training a diverse employee population; having limited staff to administer personalized development plans; combating a limited budget and time restraints; or not having a means to measure effectiveness...NAED has solutions.

We have over 450 companies with 9300 unique users currently active on our NAED Learning Center. The NAED Learning Center is a web-based learning management system that provides a central clearinghouse for employee training and development in the electrical distribution industry. Featuring online NAED courses and manufacturer product training courses, the Learning Center is designed to enhance members’ productivity and help them gain a competitive edge in the marketplace.

Our Customer Service team will guide you every step of the way. We make the process easy.

Step 1 - Consult:  During your free training consultation, our helpful staff will discuss the current state of your training program, your improvement goals, and how NAED can help you meet your goals.

Step 2 - Recommend:  Based on your consult, NAED will provide a customized recommendation for your company. This will include how you can best use the NAED Learning Center and will include the courses and curriculums that target the development needs of your employees.

Step 3 – Execute:  The NAED staff will assist you in all aspects of launching and supporting your training program. We will provide technical support for your online university site, provide user and manager training, and offer online chat and help desk services for all your employees.

Step 4 – Evaluate:  The NAED Learning Center offers a wide range of reports and tools which enable you to easily gauge employee progress. Based on this, you can identify new areas for development, returning you to Step 1 where the partnership continues in a cycle of ongoing improvements and success.

Get started today, contact Customer Service at (888) 791-2512 or email customerservice@naed.org.