This morning at the home office we will be holding a “Role Playing” meeting with several Money Matters team members. Studies show that companies that continually engage in role-playing are more likely to outperform their non role-playing competitors. I have already seen first hand the benefits of role playing so, going forward, it will be something our companies practice regularly.
Why do we role play?
- Builds Confidence – When your team role-plays, you can throw any number of situations at them. Role-playing provides a safe environment to encounter these scenarios for the first time, which builds confidence in team members. This is especially vital to new team members.
- Develops Listening Skills – Good role-playing requires good listening skills. In addition to understanding the words the other person is saying, it’s important to pay attention to body language and non-verbal clues. Better to have your team develop these skills while role-playing than when they’re trying to perform in the real world.
- Creative Problem-Solving – No matter how outlandish a situation you create in a controlled environment, generally, something even more bizarre is bound to happen on the job. Role-playing will at least give your team the chance to get some experience in handling difficult situations and in developing creative problem-solving skills.
The fifth component of our Values Statement is “Customer Service”. In order to provide “Championship Customer Service” we feel that it is crucial for our team to regularly engage in role-playing. — Luke
“Every contact we have with a customer influences whether or not they’ll come back. We have to be great every time or we’ll lose them.” ~ Kevin Stirtz