Day one began with a discussion on why building trust and credibility are key parts of successful conversations. The group talked about specific phrases and words they can say to build their listening credibility and then were given real-life scenarios, like a customer calling back for the third time, to practice what they learned.
“I was able to learn to communicate better with our technicians as well as new ways to communicate with an unhappy customer,” said Amber Poso’a (Oahu Air Conditioning, Honolulu). “In this activity, we were all able to see that we all go through the same challenges as dispatchers.”
Guest speaker Steve Thomas closed the first day with a large group discussion on understanding your personality and how to work with a team of different personalities, how to fill your tank so you’re the best version of yourself, and how to be a team leader worth listening to.
The second day of the conference was centered around the processes of communicating information between different departments and the prioritizing skills required to make things run smoothly. Each table spent the morning sharing their best processes for handling start up requests from construction, dealing with small project requests from the sales team, obtaining job status updates from the field, and answering new client requests.
“I enjoyed this part of the conference the most,” said Alison Kelley (Atlantic Constructors, Richmond, Va.) “It was fascinating to hear how other companies operate.”
In the afternoon, the tables were then given a “Mission” to prioritize a series of incoming requests from current clients, from different departments like sales and construction, and a prospective client calling in for the first time. Different curve balls, like a technician calling in sick, were thrown to each of the tables half way through the group activity to make it even more challenging.
“This was perfect real-life sharing of what you would do in these situations,” said Ryan English (Baker Group, Des Moines, Iowa).
In the end, each table shared with the whole group how they were going to prioritize their week, why they made those choices, and what they would be communicating to each person.
“This was my first time doing anything like this and I loved it,” said Dani Fox (Pacific Rim Mechanical, San Diego). “The fact that it was geared so much towards dispatching and what we do and deal with on a daily basis was perfect and kept me engaged. This can be a very high stress position and listening to the other dispatchers and how they deal with situations was very enlightening and I really enjoyed it.”[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]
