Imagine you’re a student. You’ve been in class a few weeks—paying close attention and taking copious notes, of course—when it’s time for your first exam. You look down at the paper and you’re stunned. None of the questions are based on the course material. There’s no way you could pass with the preparation you’ve been given. While some may attribute your failing grade to a lack of studying, you know that your teacher hasn’t prepared you for success.
Do we make the same mistake with our employees?
Some managers use mystery shopping to measure their ideals: what they’d like their employees to be doing and saying. But without proper training, it becomes a costly and ineffective way to use an otherwise useful tool. You simply cannot measure employee success based upon principles or tasks on which your staff has not been properly trained.
You’ve heard these common adages: no taxation without representation, no smoke without fire. Add another: no payoff without preparation.
Train your employees and train them well. That way, when it comes time for a test (via one of many mystery shopping techniques), they’ll be properly equipped to succeed. And the gaps in the results will show you where your training can be improved in order to maximize employee impact.