Christchurch franchise owners Rajinesh Prasad, Monisha Lata, and Kumaran Nair completed their Aspire2 Workplace Communications course in August last year. Six months on, they’re putting their new skills to good use in their CrestClean business.
The three-month course ran once a week online for three hours and brought together franchisees from different regions for a collaborative learning experience.
For husband-and-wife team Rajinesh and Monisha, accepting CrestClean’s offer to take the course was an easy decision. As full-time business owners managing a variety of customers, including schools and offices, Rajinesh and Monisha recognised the value of refining their communication skills.
“When CrestClean offered the course to us, we thought, why not?” says Monisha.
“We’re the face of the business and we talk to our customers all the time, so it was a good way to polish up our communication skills. I learned a lot from the course in three months.”
Since completing the course, Monisha has been applying her learnings to their daily business operations. Beforehand, she admits their communication was quite informal, but now she has the skills to engage professionally.
“When we used to write in the communication book, it was very short and simple. Now it’s much more professional,” she says.
One of the things Monisha found most helpful was learning how to write professional emails. All of the trainees also got a handy booklet with practical tips they can use anytime they need a refresher.
Monisha also really enjoyed meeting franchisees from different regions – something she’s never had the chance to do. She loved getting to know everyone and hearing about what was going on in their areas.
With their 10-year milestone as CrestClean franchisees coming up this June, Rajinesh and Monisha are looking back on how the course has helped them grow. From refining emails to understanding tone and pace in conversations, Monisha says they now have an in-depth understanding of their own communication styles.
To round off the course, CrestClean’s Regional Managers, Master Franchisees, and Managing Director Grant McLauchlan joined in on the final session to hear everyone’s speeches and share their feedback.
“It showed that they really cared. They came to listen to what we had to say on our last day, and it was really nice of them to do that,” says Monisha.
Monisha encourages other franchisees to jump at the chance to take the course if they get the opportunity, saying it’s a great way to build confidence and improve communication skills for their business.
