As a professional in your industry it is wise to invest time in your own development and driving instructors are no different. We have around 39,000 driving instructors on the DVSA register yet less than 200 attended the DIA conference a few days ago. If you are taking the trouble to read this blog I rather suspect you are not in need of having this point emphasised as you will recognise the relationship between inward investment and the benefit to your customers. But if you do want a quick resume of the main speakers feel free to click through > HERE <
One of the essential ingredients that was unfortunately MISSING from the DIA conference was customer feedback. I have attended other conferences and events from the other driving instructor associations and the DIA are by no means alone in making this most fundamental of errors. This issue is deeply rooted in our industry; it is a cultural failing. When I bumped into one of the trainers who ran my BTEC Level 4 award in Coaching for Driver Development course in 2016 he asked me what my thoughts were on the course. Despite a whole year having passed, that was the first time that his organisation had actively sought customer feedback from me.
The subject of Customer Feedback is so important to the long term health of an organisation that it is one of the 5 BIG TOM Foundation Blocks in the driving instructor training that we provide. The idea that as the head of an organisation you have no systemised means by which you gain feedback from your paying customers would tell me there are fundamental limitations requiring some immediate personal development.
The reason that I say it is cultural though is partly to do with the nature of our work with customers. Unlike other trades where repeat business from satisfied customers is a must, with driving training, when the driving licence is obtained, they do not have a 'need' for your services any more. And that mindset seems to me to permeate through all aspects of the industry - even organisations that really ought to pay more attention to this, as there definitely would be the potential for repeat business.
Our own governing body, the DVSA are really getting to grips with this point and showing positive change. It may be that they had a bit of a wake up call with the public outcry over driving test availability but that is not really for me to speculate on. Only last week, an enquiry that I initially made on the DVSA "help me" desk on Twitter and ended with a lengthy conversation with a DVSA employee was concluded with them asking me to complete a survey of my experience. Top marks - a form of systemised customer feedback.
We go into this in more detail in our training, but 'systemised' means that it is firmly set in the processes of the organisation and occurs regardless of customer experience. This is distinctly different to what is prevalent in our industry, customer reviews. Customer reviews have an important part to play in the marketing effort of a business but they are entirely different to customer feedback. When a business attempts to obtain customer feedback it does so because it has a desire to continually improve. It is not requesting confirmation of how wonderful it is, it is ready and willing to hear of ANY feedback that will help it improve. In the driving training industry there is a cultural problem with organisations being unwilling to request feedback that helps them monitor ALL customer feelings. It is an arrogant stance to take, very unhealthy from a business point of view and unattractive to witness.
The reason why this is important regarding my experience at the conference last week is the bit that these organisations are either ignoring or perhaps unaware of. When you are at the 'coal face' in the industry as my driving school is, you are aware that you are a very small (albeit vital) cog in a very large machine. What these driving instructor associations provide for the likes of my business is a channel by which our voice can be heard. So the service they are providing is the combined 'weight' of a significant proportion of the driving instructors out there. But what they absolutely must ensure they do is REPRESENT those driving instructors (in the case of the DIA it currently stands at 11,500 members). If the driving instructors do not feel that their voice is being heard, then no longer is that association providing any meaningful service to them.
Any business can go about their work with little regard to the thoughts of their customers, but boy is it not smart!
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