We knew an off-the-shelf training program wouldn’t fit in with City of Newcastle's diverse teams. We focused on creating a tailored customer experience training program that was authentic and could be applied right across the organisation, from planners to outdoors staff.

Our approach was hands-on and collaborative from the get-go. We spent time on the ground with staff to understand the challenges and opportunities in delivering on their existing customer service commitments.

With these insights in hand, we developed three different levels of training modules . This included embedding TRUST principles to guide behaviours and provide clues for staff on what wowed vs let customers down.

Key here was making sure that the exercises and real life examples we used allowed each part of the organisation to see how they could apply the TRUST principles. It's why we piloted the approach before scaling to over 1000 staff, along with follow up coaching to embed the learning.