Employees are to take 'Warm Welcome' training in all Colten Care homes

Colten Care team members are taking part in the training to ensure that a consistent approach to customer care is being provided from across all of their 19 care homes.

The care group, which provides residential care for people across the south coast, will be making sure that all 1,500 employees, irrespective of job role, will complete the in-house course during 2013.

Kim Atkinson, training officer, said: “We are inviting teams to engage with customer service on many levels. It is not only residents who are our ‘customers’. Anyone who walks through the door of a Colten Care home is also a ‘customer’.

“They may be a relative, friend, volunteer, medical professional or supplier but all of them take away an impression of the service they receive.”

There will be over 50 group sessions attended by all employees, where the training will include a ‘smile, stop and speak’ approach when addressing people, as well as informing staff on how to maintain courtesy while managing enquiries and complaints.

Colten Care’s HR and Learning Developments teams will be rolling out the course and highlighting the importance of active listening, offering thanks and maintaining eye contact in face to face situations.

Anneli Daniels, head of people and talent, said: “We know we deliver great care but this is about delivering great customer care too. We want to drive customer care from the first day of a member of staff’s induction right through every element of their work. The brand standards are being developed across the component parts of our entire customer offering. It’s about ensuring a consistency of approach and a framework for assessment. Ultimately, there shouldn’t be a part of our business that isn’t covered by a brand standard.”

The course is designed to ensure a high delivery of quality customer care is delivered to residents and their families, to make sure that their needs are met and that staff are able to deliver the quality of care Colten Care expect from all staff.

After successfully completing the training, graduates will be entitled to wear ‘Warm Welcome’ lapel badges to highlight that staff have passed the evaluations from the training.