Collaboration moves from meeting manpower needs to deepening of skill
- e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) and Orchard Turn Developments, which manages the iconic ION Orchard shopping mall at the heart of Orchard Road, are collaborating again. This time round, the focus is to equip tenants with intuitive skills to understand the tourist segment, further raising the service standards of tenants in the shopping mall through a pilot run of a customised customer service course. The Service Excellence Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) course is targeted at service staff that have regular contact with tourists from China and India. The first class of 25 participants from 16 mall tenants such as Hugo Boss, Larry Jewellery and Omega will attend a two-day course on 29 and 30 March 2010.
- e2i and ION Orchard recognise that there is an increasing number of tourist arrivals from China and India. To help tenants and service staff at the shopping mall adapt to the changing profiles of shoppers, Service Quality Centre was roped in to adapt the existing WSQ “Offer Customised and Personalised Service” course to include content on understanding Chinese and Indian culture, customs and etiquette. Participants will learn how to make recommendations to meet customers’ personal needs and exceed their service expectations. They will also be taught how to provide a more personalised service to customers from these countries.
- e2i and ION Orchard first worked together in 2009 to help tenants at ION Orchard shopping mall recruit workers to fill over 3,000 job vacancies in the retail and food and beverage outlets. The partnership this time round has advanced to helping the workers deepen their service skills. Response has been overwhelming. Till date, there will be three classes running in April; with additional runs lined up for other tenants who have expressed interest as well as Concierge Officers and staff from ION Orchard.
- “We want to deepen the skills of our service staff so that they can quickly and effectively respond to the demand of new markets. Working with ION Orchard on this initiative is a cinch, as they have been setting the benchmark for high service standards in the retail sector. On our part, e2i will continue to be at the forefront of identifying industry needs, and tailoring training programmes to meet the needs of our workers and employers,” said Mr Ang Hin Kee, Chief Executive Officer of e2i.
- “Customer care is important to us at ION Orchard and we are very happy to continue our partnership with e2i in this area to further improve our level of service to our shoppers,” said Ms Soon Su Lin, Chief Executive Officer of Orchard Turn Developments Pte Ltd. “Leveraging on e2i’s expertise and resources in meeting the requirements of the retail industry’s service sector and through this pilot WSQ course, our tenants and staff will be able to better understand and cater to the needs of the tourist segment, in particular, the key growth tourist markets, India and China. We have received good participation from our tenants, from new retailers like Havaianas and Li Ning Sports as well as established retailers like Omega, Armani Exchange and Guess for this programme and expect more tenants to participate in the coming weeks.”
- Companies who are interested to find out more about the course can call the e2i hotline at 6474 0606 from 9.00 am to 6.00 pm, Mondays to Fridays.
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About e2i (Employment and Employability Institute)
e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) is a one-stop, skills-based institute for jobseekers, employers and training providers. It has a job vacancies bank of over 12,000, and has assisted over 50,000 jobseekers through training and finding new and better jobs in 2009. To ensure that jobseekers meet the hiring requirements of employers, e2i conducts employment coaching, career coaching and conducts employability and skills training. e2i serves all segment of workers, from rank and file to professionals, managers, executives and technicians. e2i an initiative of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), supported by the Workforce Development Agency (WDA), the Singapore Labour Foundation (SLF), and the Singapore National Employers’ Federation (SNEF).
For more details on e2i, please visit www.e2i.com.sg.
About the Orchard Turn development
The Orchard Turn development is a prime retail-cum-super-luxury-residential landmark project located at the gateway of Orchard Road in Singapore. Jointly owned and managed by CapitaLand Limited and Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited, the iconic development is strategically situated above the Orchard Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station and will enjoy underground connectivity to nearby buildings. The Orchard Turn development boasts over 1 million square feet of retail space (www.ionorchard.com) and super luxury homes (www.theorchard.com.sg).
With a 56-storey residential tower measuring 218 metres, the development will be the tallest building along Singapore’s premier shopping street, offering spectacular panoramic views. Along with its excellent frontage and high visibility along Orchard Road, the shopping mall has become the shopping district’s "centre of gravity". The architect of the Orchard Turn development is RSP Architect Planners and Engineers, while Benoy Ltd is the form architect and retail planning consultant. Other major consultants involved include Squire Mech Pte Ltd and Davis Langdon & Seah Singapore Pte Ltd.
The development has won several international major awards to date, including the MIPIM Asia’s 2009 Best Shopping Centre Award; the Gold award in the business-to- business marketing category at the ICSC Asia Shopping Centre Awards in 2008, as well as the two prestigious MAPIC 2006 awards - ‘Best Retail Development over 20,000m2’ and ‘Best Architectural Entry’ at the British real estate periodical Estates Gazette's EG Retail & Future Project Awards. In addition, the development was also presented the 2007 BCA Gold Awards.
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ANNEX A
Offer Customised and Personalised Service (customised course outline)
Operations Level
2-day (16 hours) programme
COURSE OUTLINE
| Topic | Content |
| I. KNOW YOUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES Study and update own knowledge on organisation's products and services | - Source relevant and accurate information on the organisation's products and services to enhance personal knowledge.
- Develop and maintain knowledge of the organisation's products and services to enhance service delivery.
- Record and share product and service information learnt with colleagues, where appropriate
|
| II. KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER Develop knowledge that addresses information commonly sought by organisation customers. | - Identify information commonly sought by organisation customers.
- Profile of our customers : Emphasis on Chinese and Indian customers
- Understand the society and culture of India and China
- Cultural norms
- Superstitions and belief
- Acquire and maintain knowledge to address information commonly sought by the organisation's customers.
- Share information acquired with colleagues to assemble a shared database of commonly sought information.
|
| III. OFFER CUSTOMISED AND PERSONALISED SERVICE Identify and act upon opportunities to offering customised and personalised service | - Identify customers requiring personalised service.
- Common likes and dislikes of Indian and Chinese tourists
- E.g. Common food preferences - E.g. Common dressing and colour preferences
- Examples of scenarios in which tourists may require personalised ervice
- Note of caution : Avoid stereotyping
- Apply appropriate methods to provide customers with personalised services as required.
- Meeting etiquette of Chinese and Indian tourists
- Relationship building and communication techniques
- Gift giving etiquette
- Non-verbal communication cue
- Recognise and act upon opportunities for providing customised and personalised service according to organisational guidelines and procedures.
- Take initiative to personally provide additional service to customers, where required.
- Extra tips in building relationship and communication with Chinese and Indian tourist
- Seek information or advice to meet customer requirements outside own area of responsibility or knowledge, or refer customer to relevant personnel, where required.
- Common questions asked by Indian and Chinese tourists, which you should know
- Follow-up professionally with customers according to agreed timelines.
- Communicate customers' unique requirements to colleagues, where necessary, in accordance with organisational procedure.
|
COURSE DURATION
2 days
METHODOLOGY
Experiential methods of learning will be applied to enable participants to learn and practice the concepts and skills taught during the programme:
- Mini Lectures
- Activities
- Role Plays
- Group Discussions / Exercises / Presentations
- Written Assessment
- Work Place Assessment