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Sandi Philips Associates began operations in 1975 as The Think Tank. The name was changed when colleagues joined the firm to broaden its services to business and non-profits. As a more action-oriented consulting group, we changed the name to Sandi Philips Associates – no longer content to model ourselves exclusively after the Rodin “Thinker” statue!
The first training program we offered was Bob Conklin’s Adventures in Attitudes. People of all ages and persuasions found the course a life-changing experience. We are delighted to bring this experience in personal growth to the work place today. Where once again companies are using it to improve the lives of their employees
Customer Service became the next learning system we offered. Morrisons Cafeterias was our first client. We educated 56 managers who conveyed the service philosophy to hundreds of front-line workers across the steam table. Even for people who couldn’t read the workbook, the message of how to treat customers was received loud and clear. Employees carried trays to tables for customers and Morrisons added a hook under each table so ladies could hang up their purses. Now that’s customer service!
A few years later, the YMCA chose our firm to customize the retail version of the training program, “Feelings.” It looked like an original course when in fact it was based on a version that had been given to thousands of front-line employees at other organizations. This adaptation led to a great cost savings, which allowed the widespread use of “YMCA Member Service: Making our Caring Power Known.” Caring Power was implemented by 400 YMCAs and 23,000 staff over a 12-year period. It was later reduced from six hours to two for brush-up. In the years that followed, the Y added sales courses to its library. Sandi Philips developed “Influence Systems” for the Executive level and later authored “The Magic of Persuasion,” a course that became the Member Service Director’s program of choice.
Having introduced one business course in the non-profit arena, another was sure to follow. Noel Levitz Centers, consultants to the college admissions market, used the proven course concepts to produce a version to their college-specific market. They were awarded Client of the Year by Sandi Philips Associates and the publisher, Service Quality Institute. Over 900 schools have used “Connections” to train faculty and personnel in the finance and administrative offices.
PacifiCare of California, a popular HMO, decided to offer Customer Service training to healthcare providers. The focus on educating staff to care for their customers -- patients and their families -- led to a 40% decrease in complaints. More than 3,500 staff experienced The Art of Caring each year. You guessed it. It came from the same "Feelings" program from Sandi Philips Associates and Service Quality Institute!
These are just a few examples of how Sandi Philips Associates works to help organizations improve the effectiveness of managers and employees through training and development.