Digital Skills Inc. (DSI) has existed for almost 25 years. DSI is a company that develops software for organizations that want to own and use a digital learning environment (Learning Management System) for their employees. The company operates out of Toronto.
DSI had experienced some lean years during its existence. One such time was eight years ago when the company struggled to survive and banks even threatened to cut off the credit flow. At the time, management had to lay off some employees to reduce costs. This created some ongoing fear of future layoffs among the staff who were present at that time and still work at DSI now. Recently however, DSI has seen an upsurge; the company is growing, revenues and profits are increasing and the results are promising. The company has succeeded in tapping into a new market and seems to have sufficient orders for the coming year to be able to provide work for the talent base within DSI. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way people and companies work. The hybrid model is now widespread, and most companies are investing in online solutions to keep their employees' skills and knowledge up to date wherever they work from.
Nevertheless, just like any growing company, there are issues to address. While the hybrid model being applied at clients' companies has brought in new business to DSI, it has also created a dilemma within the company itself. Senior management believes that nothing beats a face-to-face interaction between staff and clients. The company prides itself on adding that personal touch that distinguishes it from its competitors. At the same time, the staff, having experienced working from home for extended periods of time during the COVID-19 lockdown, have come to expect an increased level in flexibility in their work environment. The misalignment between the two points of view is leaving the staff frustrated and unmotivated to do their jobs. The company needs committed and passionate employees, and in this respect, DSI does not seem to be wholly successful.
Another issue that seems to have appeared recently is that the new clients DSI is signing up, appear to be not very satisfied with the service and the talent supporting the products. This is a point of concern for management since in order to keep growing the company needs to
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maintain its client base and build on that success by keeping its current and future clients satisfied. A client satisfaction survey conducted recently indicated that in the clients' opinions, the software training and customer service, which is offered as part of the package, does not fully support the implementation and easy usage of the software. The survey also indicated that workload pressures at the clients' companies appear to have increased after software deployment, which is surprising and the opposite of the intended effect of a learning management system (LMS).
The Meeting
During a recent management meeting, there were three items on the agenda. The first item was addressing the survey findings. An after-sales department manager expressed an opinion that the decrease in client satisfaction is primarily due to the quality of newly hired trainers. The executive believes that the trainers do not have the needed knowledge/experience to support software deployment for the clients. As a cost-reducing measure, many of these trainers are on short-term contracts and are hired once a new contract is signed with a client or shortly afterwards. Having the Certified Professional Trainer (CPT) designation for trainers is not listed as an essential job requirement on job ads. The manager suggests that only certified trainers should be hired and allowed to deliver trainings, but the HR director is unsure whether this will be the correct and only solution to the problem. 

1. Are the trainers to be blamed for the issue? What about consultants who sit down with clients to determine how the software implementation is conducted?
2. Don't the trainers and consultants both have a responsibility to improve customer relations? Additionally, don't the account managers have a responsibility to support the trainers?
3. Is it possible that client satisfaction is only addressed by making sure trainers have the CPT designation?

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

The issue of client satisfaction in Digital Skills Inc DSI is complex and involves multiple stakeholders including trainers consultants and account ma... View the full answer