Henry Ford once said, “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at 20 or 80.” ConferenceDirect, one of the world’s fastest growing meeting solution organizations, wants its associates to always be learning. By offering a myriad of both mandatory and optional training programs, ConferenceDirect continually offers skill development opportunities to its associates. The ultimate purpose is to benefit the ConferenceDirect customer by providing them with an associate that has the tools to offer measurable cost savings results when booking their meetings.
Unfortunately, training is a term that is often thrown around loosely by some organizations. How often have we begun a new job having heard “We have excellent training!” only to discover that the “training program” consists of a brief sit-down with someone for a couple of hours, being handed an employee handbook, patted on the back and wished the best of luck?
Today, ConferenceDirect is one of the only companies in its field that has a full-time dedicated executive to oversee and develop its training programs. Joining ConferenceDirect in 2006 as vice president of training and development, Jim VanDevender brought with him years of experience from the hotel industry as well as a passion for seeing others succeed. “Training is about what is ultimately best for the customer. ConferenceDirect’s commitment to training is unparalleled in our industry.”
When an associate is secure with the proper knowledge and appropriate tools to accomplish the job at hand, the customer being serviced by that individual benefits. Upon joining ConferenceDirect, each new associate must successfully complete a mandatory three-day New Hire 101 Training Program. Held every three weeks in various cities across the United States, this program allows ConferenceDirect to train the associate on the fundamentals of customer management, outline expectations and teach the hallmarks of excellence that the company feels are crucial to its continued success. During the program, associates focus on eight core modules including customer relationship skills and contract negotiation. They are tested on each module, must pass each test and must complete role play exercises after each as well.
Associates are offered other training opportunities at ConferenceDirect as well including technology training and the ConferenceDirect University (CDU) program. CDU, held three times a year, is offered to bring associate skills to an even higher level. The course is designed with an “active listening” format, which is a communication method that encourages open discussion of ideas. It enables the trainer to establish trust and rapport with participants. The trainer doesn’t make any value judgments, but carefully adjusts and clarifies the ideas being expressed and reflects these back to the participants.
Looking toward the future, ConferenceDirect will be taking its training opportunities to a new level in 2010. It is developing a rigorous certification program in the area of contracting that will set new industry standards. Demonstrating expertise in handling attrition is an example of one of the competencies that will be measured for demonstrated excellence.
Executive Vice President Cathy Brown states, “ConferenceDirect remains committed to assuring that our associates have the best practices to achieve the best possible results for our customers. Our internal certification program with a defined eligibility requirement will demonstrate that our certified associates are the best in the field.”
ConferenceDirect’s leaders grew up in corporate environments with excellent learning initiatives that can still be found thriving today in a company that is committed to achieving excellence on behalf of its customers. — Jim VanDevender, Vice President of Training (Reprinted courtesy of ConferenceDirect Meeting Mentor, Spring 2010)
