If you were to ask me what it is I like most about what I do, I’d say THE VARIETY!
I’m currently the program manager on a client-side team. This means I am the day-to-day contact for several vendor partners who are developing 45 courses. It’s a switch for me, as normally I am the partner.
It’s been fun to see how other learning companies approach their work. I’m learning some new tricks. AND, I have a front row seat to some of the things we do in this industry that DRIVE OUR CLIENTS CRAZY. So, I am starting a new category on the blog called: Stop Driving Your Clients Crazy.
Installment 1: Late to a conference call… again (#!*%)
How we drive them crazy: Listing phone numbers and conference call pins without useful formatting. For example:
Conference line: 8553347654
Pin: 5632847
Why this is a problem: Clients with dispersed workforces likely dial into at least six conference calls a day. And, many times they are using different platforms: BlueJeans, GoTo Meeting, WebEx, direct dial, FreeConferenceCall.com, etc.
As they shift from call-to-call, they open the invite and then look back and forth from computer to phone. Computer to phone. Computer to phone. And if they are dialing on their smartphone, they don’t have the tactile benefit of moving across the number keys without looking down.
The result… Misdialing and having to hang up and start over (sometimes more than once). Thus, being late to the call and having to crack some joke about fat fingers. (For the record, my fingers are normal sized… and so are your’s. I promise.)
Who cares: This might seem inconsequential, but if you are doing this six times a day–that works out to 30 times/week or 120 times/month and 1,440 times/year. We are potentially annoying our clients 1,440 times a year! And why, when the solution is so easy.
How we can help: When we list numbers, chunk them in sets of 2-4 numbers. Ya know, like we do on credit cards, social security numbers, and how we are supposed to with phone numbers. And, while we are at it. Include the hash or star requirements on pin numbers (because every platform is different. Ugh!).
Conference line: 855-334-7654
Pin: *563 2847*
And yes, I know there are technology solutions here that can make people’s lives better, like using voice recognition like Siri or auto programming standard dial in numbers as contacts. Go ahead and try it. But, in the meantime, add the spaces/hyphens/periods when you set up your invites. Please.
Why it works: Our eyes get lost when we are switching from computer screen to phone because of something called the “crowding effect” where individual letters or numbers are easier to figure out than characters in a group. Meaning, it’s easier to recognize end letters on a line of characters than the ones in the middle. So smaller chunks of characters create more beginnings and ends.