MichaelSullivan
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May 4, 2010, 11:48 AM
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Improving Telephone Effectiveness with Older Adults
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By Michael P. Sullivan
50-Plus Communications Consulting: www.graymoney.biz
Because most retirement community residents are in their 50s, 60s, 70s and older, communications issues arise that interfere with effective customer service, especially on the telephone. Compared to younger adults, older adults, starting in their early 50s, are apt to have two types of deficits that get in the way of productivity and customer satisfaction – hearing and information processing deficits.
The problem can be characterized this way: Each older adult needs a certain amount of information in order to be able to make a decision or satisfy a need to understand some product or service feature. Hearing and information processing deficits interrupt the receipt of information.
The older adult may not be able to make a decision or answer his or her question. He or she must then try to get more information, resulting in more time spent on the telephone. Frustration and annoyance on the part of the older adult may occur.
While communications deficits are worse with advancing age, they are not insignificant even among adults in their late 40s and early 50s because of the combination of natural biological aging and inherent characteristics of the telephone, sound distortion and lack of visual cues. In any case, because of the disproportionate importance of adults in their 60s and 70s to retirement communities, failure to deal directly with communications deficits must inevitably lead to lower levels of customer satisfaction.
According to the National Institute of Health, one-third of those over age 65 have some actual hearing loss, while 60% of men at that age are “hearing-impaired.” The problem is less at younger ages and worse at older ages. There is a modest loss in hearing for the entire audible spectrum beginning at age 25; it is most severe at high pitches. Discrimination of pitch decreases steadily from 25 to 55 and then decreases rapidly thereafter.
Symptoms of hearing deficits include difficulty hearing on the telephone; sound distortion and increased sensitivity to loud and extraneous noises; misunderstanding what others are saying and responding inappropriately.
Other issues are difficulty hearing vowel sounds in the lower notes and consonant sounds in the higher range; loss of high frequency makes some words unintelligible; and reduction in ability to distinguish two sounds in close succession.
Add to those, the inability to distinguish among similar sounds, even if the volume is increased, and difficulty understanding specific sounds, such as s, sh, ch, th, and f.
For staff associates, louder is not necessarily better in dealing with these symptoms, even though it is a natural reaction. Hearing aids are only electrical amplifiers of sound that may or may not correct a hearing impairment. As people age, they are unable to judge how loudly they speak, and may shout without realizing it. There is a tendency for the pitch of the voice to increase with advancing age.
A key factor in hearing deficits is the slowing of the central nervous system as one ages. Just as a 50-year old cannot run as fast as a 25-year old, he or she cannot hear as fast either. Sounds pile up in the ear before they can be transmitted to the brain. Because they pile up, sounds overlap, distorting or obliterating other sounds. Hence, the listener’s brain correctly receives only a portion of the sounds transmitted.
A number of techniques are available to counter the symptoms described above. For example, slowing the staff’s normal speech will have the effect of reducing sound pile-up in the ear. Specific training in these techniques will enable telemarketers to recognize hearing deficits and take appropriate action to improve customer receipt of information.
My firm’s telephone training for retirement communities includes three areas of information processing in training resident housing staffs to deal with older adults. First, there are general concepts -- what staffs need to know about communicating effectively with older residents. Second, general applications -- how to create explanations and descriptions that are easier to process and comprehend. Third, training on specific applications - scripted answers to frequently-asked questions.
If you would like a free copy of 10 Telephone Tips for Retirement Communities, email me at Mps50plus@aol.com.
Michael P. Sullivan, President, 50-Plus Communications Consulting, Charlotte, North Carolina, (704) 554-7863. Mike consults and trains staff at retirement facilities, home care living firms, financial services and health care organizations. His book, “101 Easy Ways to Increase Business with Boomerplus Clients” is available on his website, www.graymoney.biz. Contact him at mps50plus@aol.com.
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(This post was edited by MichaelSullivan on May 5, 2010, 10:54 AM)
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