What type of businesses offer programs to teach customer service, project management, or team-work?

Hi Brandon!

I don't know about Project Management, but I will tell you that Customer Service and Teamwork are taught in every job, and this starts with fast-food, retail, and restaurant jobs that you get while in high school. The key to customer service is to treat everyone the way you would want your Grandmother to be treated. Simple really, but not everyone can master it. For teamwork, I'd encourage you to look to sports or ROTC programs. By the time you get your first professional job, you should already have these two skills.

Hope this helps!
Kim

Hi Brandon. Great question! So you want to know about organizations that teach enhance customer service, project management skills, and team work. I'll see if I can touch on all of these because in a way relate. Customer service used to be solely related to how well a customer facing employee treats customers during their interaction. While that's still important, it is equally important that those customer facing employees have the tools they need to accomodate a customer. Think about some of your experiences in a retail store, educational facility, or government office. Are the lines too long? Are the employees you interact with equipped to answer your questions? All of this plays a role in customer service. While each individual organization will have it's own philosophy about customer service, degrees that can help you with the overall experience include business administration, psychology, and industrial engineering. These degrees will provide some component that will help with the overall process of servicing customers and identify employee roles that will facilitate teamwork. Check out your local colleges and universities for these majors.

Project management involves bringing a new element to a business that isn't a part of the normal day to day function while managing for time, costs, and quality. Since we are talking about customer service, an example of a project may be installing an inventory management system to a retail store that allows the store to have just enough of a product to service the customer but not too much where there is a waste of inventory. If a bakery is in the business of making cakes, it's normal operations wouldn't be installing an inventory management system but this sytem will make sure there are enough ingredients to make cakes that will service the customer. A project manager will seek a consensus with all key stakeholders and set an agreed upon budget, scope, and timeline for this project to get done. The project manager is essentially the point guard of the team.

Thanks for your question Brandon. i hope this gives you some insight into the relationship between project management, customer service, and teamwork.

I have had great experience learning all of these things in the printing industry. I started my career as an entry level customer service representative and moved up the ranks. If you find yourself a great mentor, you will go far. It is a great industry that a lot of college grads don't always consider. Best of luck with wherever you choose to go.

Hi Brandon,

I don't know which businesses offer all of these programs. If the businesses don't offer these programs, I believe they may send someone out for training, if found worth doing it.

I will recommend that you start with Project management. Aim for a PMI - PMP cert. It will set the foundation for you to excel in all these areas. Project management forces one to think from a 360 degree perspective. So you can develop yourself in other areas too.

In my career, I have learnt that training is nice to have but it is experience that helps you go a long way. Also in your career path, identify some folks who you follow and consider them as your mentors or guides.

Hope this helps. Thanks for posting this question. Wish you good luck!

For Project Management, I would recommend you visit the PMI.org website. There is tons of information related to Project Management and how to obtain a PMP certification. The site will also lists where you can sign up for PM courses in your area to work towards a PMP certification.

Hi Brandon

In my experience much of my project mgmt. experience has come from learning from my peers. As you think about the next step in your career you may wish to seek out opportunities in companies that have a strong PM focus.

Also, as a longer term goal, the project management institute offers very specific PM certifications that are internationally recognized. You can read a little bit about the process in the link below.

https://www.pmi.org/certifications

Some employers seek out folks with this qualification OR may help you to earn it in the first place