WINDHOEK – Forty three Agra staff members from the Agra retail branches, Safari Den, Rosenthal and Auas Vet Med have successfully completed a detailed customer service programme.
The programme contributed much more to their lives than just knowledge and skills and was the result of an objective of Arnold Klein, Agra’s General Manager: Retail and Wholesale, took to improve Agra’s customer service across the whole range of Agra’s retail and wholesale business. Klein involved Ena Göttert of the Institute of Retail and Business Training and since 2013 they have been busy putting a programme together to equip Agra staff with knowledge and skills to deliver excellent customer service and train Agra staff members. The process started with observation of Agra’s businesses and services at all branches by Göttert, after which the contents of the programme were put together.
The course consisted of two modules that were covered during courses of two weeks each. After each module, participants were evaluated and received practical assignments. Only participants who successfully completed the first module continued with the second module. The total duration of the programme was ten months during which a relationship was built between course leader, Ena Göttert, and each of the employees on the course. The top performers of the programme gathered in Windhoek to receive their certificates. During the certificate handover event, they had the opportunity to give feedback to Agra’s Executive Committee and the Board of Directors. For some of the staff members this was the first time they were exposed to public speaking. It became clear during the feedback session that the programme did not only take a lot of hard work from the participants, making them worthy recipients of their certificates, but that it was a life changing experience for each of them.
They learned a lot about seeing the bigger picture, overcoming fears and challenges and improving not only their customer service attitude and execution thereof, but their relationships and their personal lives. Each one of the top achievers vowed that they are committed to carry across what they have learned to make a difference in the business of their branches and the lives of their colleagues.
In Agra, the training of staff entails more than just complying with its corporate social responsibility. Agra’s vision is to be a resource for growth and one or their values is to grow people. Besides this big group of retail staff members that were equipped with valuable knowledge and skills, Agra supports employees as part of a formal talent management programme, with various training and mentoring inputs as well as a formal professional development programme that supports staff members who choose to equip themselves through further studies.
A group of eight staff members of the livestock division in the central region also recently successfully completed a First Aid Class A course presented by the Emergency Management Training & Specialist Services, including the theoretical and practical evaluation.