DiMaio Development Training and Consulting Website

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Disciplinary Grounding

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This training and development website is grounded in course work from the Gonzaga University Master of Arts in Communication and Leadership program, primarily through the following courses and content:

• COML 595-Theorizing Communication:  Systems Theory, Rhetorical Theory

• COML 510-Comm Teaching & Pedagogy:  Creation of a teaching portfolio, teaching philosophy, lesson Plans, and syllabus; Auditing University and Community College Communication classes

• COML 599-Content Creation & Strategy:  Digital Storytelling audio visual creations; presentation skills coaching; digital portfolio design

• COML 511-Comm Consulting & Training:  Skills in creating and delivering training; design of a training portfolio (Active Training; Flawless Consulting); Identifying qualities and skills of effective communicators

• ORGL 550-Team Building & Leadership: Conducting interactive, memorable training activities; identifying belonging cues (Culture Code); creating an environment of psychological safety and fostering a sense of purpose (Rituals Roadmap)

 

Systems Theory

Key Systems Theory principles state that: “the whole is more than the sum of its parts” and “systems must adapt, or they perish” (Conrad & Poole, 2005, p. 38). Conrad and Poole further describe this idea by writing, “To thrive, and sometimes survive, organizations must adapt to their environments.  If the environment changes, or if they move into a new environment, the organization must change as well” (Conrad & Poole, 2005, p. 38).

 

The recent pandemic and how companies responded to this new business reality is one example of addressing unexpected challenges that arise while doing business. More employees are working from home and companies are having difficulty engaging current employees as well as filling open positions. Training employees in new operating procedures and how to respond to unique customer needs strengthens the company more than the combined individual improvement of each employee.

 

Rhetorical Theory

Rhetorical Theory is connected to the website project design. In rhetorical criticism, internal forms of proof are comprised of three areas: Ethos-appeal to the speaker’s character or credibility, Pathos-appeal to emotions and feelings; and Logos-appeal to logic and reason (Cunningham, 2018). The individual pages contained on the website were designed with these three areas in mind:

• Ethos: The About Us and About the Trainer pages appeal to the trainer’s character and credibility.

• Pathos: The Personal Statement and Community Engagement pages appeal to emotions and feelings

• Logos: The Teaching Philosophy and Testimonials pages appeal to logic and reason.

 

Significance/Rationale

In many organizations there a variety of roles where effective and professional communication is essential. The skill level required for each person differs depending on the individual’s role, frequency of interaction, and people with whom they are interacting. Whether they are employed as a receptionist, delivery driver, warehouse worker, salesperson, account manager, branch manager or even Vice President of the company, they all can positively or negatively impact a company’s success through their communication efforts.

 

For example, one of the most critical roles in a sales organization is the Account Manager, which may also be known, as the Outside Salesperson.  These individuals typically generate significant amounts of sales, income, and gross profit for a company through their professional relationships with clients and customers. Some Account Managers bring in millions of sales dollars throughout the year, so it is important for companies to make sure they are trained to effectively communicate with customers to represent the company and the products being sold in the most impactful way. They use their communication skills to develop new customer relationships and strengthen existing ones.

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Since this role has such a powerful impact on the success of a company, this training and consulting initiative would target this group for continued communications training to further improve upon their skill level in relationship building, active listening, self-confidence, sales presentations, negotiation, conflict resolution, and non-verbal communication. To determine the level of need, baseline aptitude, and competency level of each participant an internal assessment would first be conducted by having the salespeople complete a self-assessment, and a sales proficiency test designed by an outside organization and expert in measuring sales competencies. These types of tests “can be especially helpful in determining whether the cause of a recognized problem is a deficiency in knowledge or skill or, by elimination, attitude” (Silberman & Biech, 2015, p. 33). In addition, interviews with the Account Managers’ direct supervisors as well as the next level District Manager will likely uncover additional areas of concern on which the training would need to focus. A voice of the customer survey would also be conducted to gauge the customer’s level of engagement and satisfaction with the service the organization and their salesperson is providing. This data would identify both strengths and areas for improvement that would be targeted in the development and execution of the recommended training program.

 

This training would be a series of trainings taking place over a 3-to-6-month period so that each salesperson could learn a new skill, apply it in their customer interactions, and report back on the success of the technique or challenges faced in implementing the learning material. Even in a situation where the salesperson may have considered the customer interaction as a failure, they will be coached to view the experience as feedback, rather than failure. They just identified a way that did not work for them in that situation and learned not to use that method again.

 

Objectives/Intended Outcomes

The objective of this project is to develop a unique and comprehensive website to promote the training, consulting, and professional background, skills, and services of the organization and the primary trainer. This website will also serve as a tool for developing training strategies and career plans for employees in my organization within the electrical wholesale industry.

 

The goals for employers utilizing the training services for its employees is to improve retention, employee engagement, and corporate culture. The goals for employees are to promote a sense of fulfillment, psychological safety, work-life balance, and reduce stress and anxiety. Mutual goals for both the employer and employees are to strengthen relationships and build trust among the team members.

 

 

Project Outline

Context

The potential audiences for this website are employees and individuals whose careers are being developed by corporate Human Resources Training and Development departments, sales leaders, high level executives, meeting professionals, and conference planners.

 

Participants

The employees attending the training will be those identified for additional training needed to excel at their current role while building additional skills for advancing into roles of greater responsibility within their organization.

Design

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This DiMaio Development consulting website will consist of the below web pages:

• About Us

• About the Trainer

• Personal Statement

• Training Philosophy

• Testimonials

• Community Engagement

• COML 602 Capstone

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