The receptionist plays a very important role in communicating with clients. Most of their time is dedicated to contacting pet parents, either in person or by phone, and they can deal with a range of scenarios, from bookings and appointments to speaking with distressed clients. Therefore, effective communication skills are essential for receptionists.
In acknowledgement of their important role, in January we held a training session at one of our group's centres, the IMVA (Álava Veterinary Medical Institute). The session was delivered by Jaime Díaz, Marketing Director of UNAVETS, and was attended by an enthusiastic and committed group of receptionists from UNAVETS’ centers in the Basque Country and surrounding regions.
During the session, we reviewed the importance of verbal and non-verbal communication, communication barriers, telephone communication, how to handle an upset customer and questioning techniques.
The day ended with a review of our customer journey, the identification of opportunities for improvement and how we can deliver an even greater experience for our customers. The session was a great success and our training department, led by Manuel Amador, is already looking at new dates and locations so we can repeat the day.
Training is an integral part of UNAVETS’ commitment to offering all our team members excellent continued professional development opportunities. In 2022, we held over 100 theoretical and practical courses. Going forward, OneAcademy, the UNAVETS training platform, is providing in-person training opportunities as well as additional classes via online videos and webinars. The OneAcademy platform is being offered to more than 1,000 UNAVETS team members across Spain and Portugal.