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D. Telephone skills and customer-care training course

More and more companies are setting up customer helplines as the quickest and most convenient way of establishing customer contacts. Call centres and mail order are the fastest-growing operational departments for UK organizations. It is essential that all employees represent their organization in a professional and friendly way. Clear and effective communication is essential to ensure that the business is not lost. If your staff are not trained properly on telephone skills, how much business are they losing your company?

Look through the texts and find words or phrases in each paragraph with these meanings.

1.a good understanding of someone and an ability to communicate well with them (course A)

2.communication without using words (course A)

3.give an impression of ( course A)

4.essential (course B)

5.staff who deal with customers (course B)

6.place where people do their jobs ( course B)

7.people telling each other about your product or business (course C)

8.ability to deal with people (course C)

9.keep clients (course C)

10.deal with difficult clients (course C)

Case study

The company you work for has been losing important customers to your competitors. You have been asked by your manager to find out why this has been happening and prepare a proposal to say how you can win these customers back. Discuss the situation together, and decide:

-why, in general, companies lose customers

-how you will find out why customers are leaving your company

-what actions you might be able to take to win back the lost customers

Useful language

Expressing causes

These phrases can be used in spoken and written English:

The reason why companies lose customers is often poor service. Poor service often causes companies to lose customers.

Poor service often leads to / results in companies losing clients. In written English, we can use these phrases:

Companies lose customers due to / owing to / because of / as a result of poor service.

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Wordlist

Unit 1 The role of management

Part 1 What is management?

to run (v)(the organization) – to be in charge of and cause to work

critical (adj) – of being very important because of a sudden change to a better or worse conditions in something

to utilize (v) – to make use of something; to use

specific (adj) – detailed and exact; clear in meaning and explanation

asset (n) – something belonging to an individual or a business that has value or the power to make money

accounts receivable (n) – money owed to a business by its clients and shown in its accounts as an asset

accounts payable (n) – money that a company owes to survive (v) - to continue to live or exist

to outperform (v) – to work better; to be ahead of competitors; to outrank to shape (v) – to form

to implement (v) – to carry out; to put something into practice

Part 2 What is managing?

to supervise (v) – to keep watch over (a job, performance or the people doing it) as the person in charge

to monitor (v) – to carefully watch and check a situation in order to see how it changes or progresses over a period of time

to cover costs – to pay for something

to meet deadlines – to finish something at or before the time which was meant to be finished

to allocate resources – to decide officially that a particular amount of money, time or people should be used for a particular purpose

to schedule work – to plan that something will happen at a particular time

to measure performance – to find out and calculate the amount or level of work to be performed

outcome (n) – an effect or result

to liaise (v) – to make, have or keep close relationships with someone to spot (v) – to see or recognize something esp. with effort or difficulty

Unit 2 Company Culture

rigid (adj) – fixed; not easy to change

to facilitate (v) – to help; to make easy or easier

facilitating culture – flat hierarchy, i.e. the organization where people can take initiative, make their own decisions, closely cooperate with each other bureaucratic culture - steep hierarchy, i.e. the organization where people have to follow strict rules, do not have power to make their own decisions

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to empower (v) – to give the power or legal right to do something, eg. make one’s own decisions

autocratic (adj) – with unlimited power, authoritative a tool (n) – a method or instrument for doing something

to be committed to – to be highly responsible for doing something

commitment (n) – a responsibility or promise to follow certain beliefs or a certain course of actions

seniority (n) – the condition of being higher in rank or older

sensitivity (n) – the ability to be conscious of the feelings and opinions of others to identify with – to share the ideas, problems and feelings with someone

integrity (n) – strengths and firmness of character or principle; honesty; trustworthiness

lead time – the time it takes to prepare, make, and deliver something vague idea – not clear, indistinct

reluctant (adj) – unwilling, slow to act

assertive (adj) – showing a confident belief in one’s own abilities to avoid (v) – to keep away from doing something

uncertainty (n) – doubtfulness; the state of being unable to decide something to prevail (v) – to be widespread; to exist everywhere

Unit 3 Organizations and their structures expertise (n) – skill in a particular field; know-how

to be accountable to – to provide a satisfactory record or account for something to disperse (v) – to spread in different directions; to place at different points emergency (n) – unexpected and dangerous happening

to duplicate (v) – to copy exactly

to deploy (v) – to move workers to different departments for affective performance to experience (v) – to gain new knowledge through practice

priority (n) – something that needs attention, consideration, service before others

Unit 4 Changes: reorganizing a company to improve performance evolution (n) – gradual change and development

to collaborate (v) – to work together for a special purpose; cooperate to handle (v) – to deal with; control

autonomy (n) – the right of self-government or management of one’s own affairs to result in (v) – to lead to

Unit 5 Managing organizations: company development

to dominate (v) – to have the most important place or position in awareness (n) – understanding

to overcome (v) – to fight successfully against; defeat emphasis (n) – special attention given to something

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Unit 6 Staffing problems

to staff (v) – to provide the workers for an organization

approach (n) – a method of doing something or dealing with a problem to nurture (v) – to develop

tangible (adj.) – something that can be clearly seen or touched obsolete (adj.) – no longer used; completely out of date

academic qualification (n) – a skill, personal quality, or type of experience that makes you suitable for a particular job

to appraise (v) – to judge the worth or the quality of something; evaluate reward (n) – a return for doing something good or valuable cohesiveness (n) – close relationships

Unit 7 Motivation

fringe benefits (n) – additional advantage or service given with a job besides wages

glass ceiling (n) – upper limit a person can achieve in his career

severance package (n) – an amount of money and other advantages (such as finding a new job) given to a person when he has to leave a company

incentive (n) – something which encourages a person to greater activity; stimulus

Unit 8 Strategies and decision making

contingency plan (n) – a plan for dealing with a future event or situation that might cause problems

bargaining power (n) – power that one person or group has during discussions to get an agreement in their favor

entrant (n) – a company that starts selling goods or services in a market where they have not sold them before

to diversify (v) – to increase the range of goods and services

Unit 9 Decision making and SWOT analysis to anticipate (v) – to expect

to assess (v) – to evaluate; judge the importance of something

to generate (v) – to do something that will increase profit, income or sales

to capitalize on (v) – to take as much advantage out of the situation as you can

to exploit (v) – to use something fully and effectively in order to gain a profit or advantage

to extend (v) – to increase the period of time; to increase the range of goods to expand (v) – to increase something in size, amount or number

Unit 10 Customer Relationship Management (CRM) bond (n) – something that unites two or more people together vendor (n) – seller

to exceed (v) – to be more than a particular number or amount bottom line (n) – the figure showing a company’s total profit or loss

Sources

1.Professional English in Use, Arthur Mckeown, Ros Wright, Cambridge University Press, 2011.

2.Business Advantage, Almut Koester, Angella Pitt, Michael Handford, Martin Lisboa, Cambridge University Press, 2012.

3.Business Result (Pre-intermediate level), David Grant, Jane Hudson, Oxford University Press, 2009.

4.Business Result (Intermediate level), John Hughes, Jon Naunton, Oxford University Press, 2009.

5.Business Benchmark, Guy Brook-Hart, Cambridge University Press, 2007.

6.Longman English Dictionary, Pearson Education Limited, 2007

7.English-Russian Dictionary of Advertising and Marketing, В.Б.Бобров, 1999.