“The pivotal point of attending a three-day seminar with Dianne Durkin as part of my MBA studies at Plymouth State University, was realizing I was not what I perceived myself to be as a supervisor. I took the class because I needed to learn how to deal with two employees who were having performance issues – the seminar provided me with concrete, results-driven management style directions and made me realize that my management was as much a problem as my staff.

“The class ended on Sunday – and by Tuesday I had the HR escort those two employees out of the building. The change has been tremendous in this 271-bed hospital which provides both in and out-patient services -- it is paradise here now. The internal change within me as a supervisor has changed everything around me. The staff takes me more seriously because I have established authority. I am respected – and employees respect each other. This has transformed the workplace to a 100 percent positive workplace – free of any negative behaviors.”

Marcelo Castro, RRT-NPS, RN, BSN
Caritas Holy Family Hospital
Supervisor of Respiratory Care/PFT Lab 70 East Street, Methuen MA 01844

Video Testimonials

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Client comments from our various training programs:

"I've been to a lot of these programs, this was the best I've ever attended. Dianne has an incredible knowledge base and gave me new techniques that I've not learned before. Excellent program."

"Good material for coaching us, making us change our way of thinking in order to become effective, successful managers."

"Coaching techniques were very useful."

"I found some of the coaching techniques to be quite effective. I want to stress that all sections covered are useful and I will use on a continuous basis."

“We hired Loyalty Factor to restructure our organization and prepare for sale. With their help, we achieved our goals and objectives.”

"Basing the class exercises on the 'real world' at our organization had a significant impact. The fact that you took the time to understand our needs and wants made for a win-win situation. This class far surpassed the multitude of other supposedly 'customer excellence classes' I've attended.”

"Highly motivating course that can be put into practice immediately and show results."

"One of the best programs I ever attended was with Tom Peters. This program is definitely on par with it. You are right up there with Tom Peters - Congratulations! Excellent!“

“I liked this training because it brought the entire group together, meeting new people, understanding others and working together. Brought about new tools to enhance customer service.”

"Was very helpful in understanding customer's needs and wants - the best training attended ever."

"I enjoyed this training class and learned so many useful skills that I intend on applying to my everyday communication with customers and co-workers."

"This was an extremely informative course. The tools are very helpful. I'm glad to have been a part of it! Superb program!"

 

Ensuring a Successful Merger or Acquisition

It is estimated that 80% of mergers and acquisitions that occur today fail to meet their initial expectations. This failure rate has been attributed to a lack of concentration on a key aspect of the integration process, cultural integration. Loyalty Factor works with firms undergoing a merger or acquisition to address this critical aspect of the integration process and ensure the growth and prosperity of the new entity.

Situation:

A large New Hampshire-based architectural firm wanted to grow its business by expanding its geographic base to include a fast-growing metropolitan area. The firm decided to acquire a smaller architectural practice located 1,500 miles away in northern Florida. The southern company had been owned and run by a sole proprietor for 32 years and was well respected in the area.

Challenges:

Integration issues were everywhere. Challenges included employee fears of decreased job security, concerns about operations and procedure changes, and vulnerability about their place and importance within the newly combined company. Aging employees worried that new managers would not value their tenure with the company. Younger employees were concerned about changes in their pay scale and benefits packages. Many employees felt uncomfortable and socially out of place with their new colleagues. Customers wondered if the work quality would remain intact and if they would receive the same level of service to which they'd grown accustomed.

Solution:

Loyalty Factor was retained to insure a smooth management transition and the development of a unified corporate mission and culture. Loyalty Factor consultants interviewed all of the managers within both firms and conducted employee focus groups, bringing employee concerns and suggestions for improvement and integration into the forefront. From the information gleaned, Loyalty Factor compiled a detailed summary of each company's strengths and areas for improvement and worked with management teams from both companies to outline a plan to capitalize on the strengths and ensure future growth and prosperity in both locations.

Within the integration process Loyalty Factor consultants provided support for all involved, acting as an objective source of information and working to help employees and managers develop improved policies and procedures while bonding as members of a new, unified team with one solid corporate value system. This process helped employees from both companies understand that the managers and new leadership valued their ideas and roles within the company. As employees saw their suggestions for program integration accepted by executives, they felt secure, regained enthusiasm for their jobs and worked to help the combined entity prosper.

Results:

Loyalty Factor consultants returned for two follow-up visits at the six-month and one-year marks. The results showed a unified, thriving firm that had maintained its most talented architects and managers, increased productivity at all levels of the corporate structure, and was serving a growing and loyal customer base.

Services Revenue Increases by 70%

Situation:

A $200 million software company hired a new vice president of customer service to manage a 700-person customer service department that had been without significant leadership or strategic direction for more than a year. The new executive was faced with a need to build morale and a goal of increasing services revenues by 50% within 18 months.

Challenges:

The new VP knew that in order to increase revenue, he must first increase the quality of customer service his employees were providing to existing customers. Existing customers who are impressed with the service they receive are not only more likely to purchase additional products and services, but can also be depended upon to refer others to the company. Unfortunately, without senior management over the past year, staff training had fallen to a minimal level and employees had lost their customer focus. This resulted in mediocre productivity and average customer service.

Solution:

Loyalty Factor was brought in to determine the core issues impacting productivity and employee morale. Loyalty Factor held focus groups and interviews with employees across the US as well as executives and employees from other departments to obtain a full understanding of the present level of pride and commitment within the organization, the strengths of the organization and the primary areas needing improvement. From these interviews Loyalty Factor developed a comprehensive report highlighting their findings and outlining recommendations for the future. Management prioritized these recommendations and a number of employee-based teams were created to address the areas needing improvement.

One of the recommendations springing from these team initiatives was to implement customer service training for all employees within the organization. Loyalty Factor designed training programs to meet the respective needs of each segment within the customer service organization, Professional Services, Applications Engineering, Technical Support and Field Services. While these programs were customized to reflect the particular situations encountered by employees within each segment, the programs all shared core philosophies and themes, providing everyone within the organization with a common language and a shared experience. Individuals attending the training gained a clear understanding of their role and responsibility in keeping the existing client base well served and loyal. The process both helped them understand how they could make a difference in the profitability and growth of the company, and gave them the skills and tools to do so.

Results:

Within six months of implementing Loyalty Factor's customer service training, customer satisfaction increased from 3.4 to 4.0 on a 1-to-5 scale. The VP continued to invest in Loyalty Factor's customer service and management training for the entire Customer Service organization. Services revenue grew from 30% to 50% of overall corporate revenues.