Why Rep Training Should Look More Like the TV Show “Chopped”

I’m a food lover.

I love to cook and have been known to glean inspiration from the Food Network.  Watching their programs gives me ideas that I might not otherwise conceive, plus it demonstrates how being flexible and able to adjust on the fly can still produce great results.

One show that highlights contestants’ ability to adapt is Chopped.  The show features four chefs competing for a US$10,000 prize that’s awarded to the chef that creates the best meal through three cooking competitions.

Here’s the rub:

Contestants are forced to use four “mystery basket ingredients” that are presented just seconds before each round begins; rest assured that the ingredients don’t match well together and at least one of the ingredients is incredibly odd!  One upcoming episode challenges the chefs to use strawberry shortcake ice cream bars, ground lamb, caviar, and empanada dough in the appetizer round.  (Good luck, chefs!)

Each round, the chef that struggles to overcome the challenge of assembling the basket ingredients into a coherent dish is eliminated (or “Chopped”) and the lone competitor that remains at the end wins the prize.

For those of you that have read this far and are asking, “What does this have to do with service organizations?”, here’s the analogy I’ve been pondering: Are we as service leaders preparing our frontline staff to win the Grand Prize or to be Chopped?

Stick with me for just a minute more.

You see, the show could simply compare the chefs’ talent by asking each one to prepare their best dish, with no odd ingredients tossed their way.  But the reality of most careers, be it the food industry or the contact center, is that the best performers succeed in both unique, once-in-a-while situations as well as in the repetitive scenarios.

On Chopped, the chef that delivers a superior dining experience regardless of the odd ingredients achieves the prize, and this success is a combination of:

1. talent (innate or learned) and;
2. resilience and composure in the face of adversity.

(Now, let’s get back to the service world)

You, as a frontline leader, have the ability to (1) teach and coach the talent to boost their performance and to (2) enable the resilience and composure needed to face the challenges of life in the service organization.

Teaching soft skills and coaching on performance is equivalent to chefs preparing for Chopped by continually cooking using their favorite and most comfortable ingredients.  Instead, you should teach Baggage Handling and Experience Engineering skills, and coach on the behaviors in need of reinforcement and improvement.

And staying cool in the kitchen?  Well that’s all about enabling a culture where reps feel:

1. Trusted;
2. Aligned to common goals, and;
3. Are encouraged to share with and learn from their peers.

So you’ve reached the end (thanks for sticking with me on this one).  Now, the question to you?

Have you prepared your reps to succeed or be Chopped?

CEB Resources

1. Embedding Experience Engineering in Frontline Staff Behavior
2. Effortless Experience™ Capabilities Builder
3. Building a High-Quality Staff Coaching Plan
4. Effortless Experience ™ Coaching Capabilities Builder
5. The Control Quotient (CQ)
6. Implementing Baggage Handling in Your Service Organization
7. Signal Trust in Reps
8. Aligning Reps to Common Goals
9. Virtual Collaborative Forum