A university of higher education is conducting training sessions for Generation Z students on telephone confidence and etiquette for students with “phone phobia.”
Liz Baxter, Careers Adviser, University of Nottingham college, He said young people “simply lack confidence” in using phones in formal ways.
She currently teaches students the importance of telephone etiquette and how it is used by many employers.
Advisors provide classroom-based lessons in which students practice role-playing common interview questions.
Students were also encouraged to call restaurants to ask about opening hours and to call stores to ask if they had certain items in stock.
In a BBC interview newsLiz, 53, said: “Telephone anxiety is something we encounter on a regular basis.”
Psychological symptoms of phone phobia include delaying or avoiding making calls due to heightened anxiety, feeling extremely nervous or anxious before, during, and after making a call, and feeling anxious about what you are doing. It involves obsessing or worrying about something.
Physical symptoms include nausea, increased heart rate, shortness of breath, dizziness, and muscle tension.
The University of Nottingham is running coaching sessions on phone confidence and etiquette for students with phone phobia. Careers adviser Liz Baxter said young people were “simply not confident” in using their phones in a formal way.
Donna, 16, told BBC News she was “almost nervous” when the phone rang. “It’s normal for our generation to be used to texting.”
“So whenever I get a call, I think it’s an emergency,” she added.
She said she now feels in control when texting because she can think of ways to “approach someone.”
Similarly, 17-year-old Evie said she “hated” receiving phone calls unless it was from a family member.
Furthermore, she added: “But I don’t want other people to call me because it feels very formal and it’s something I’m not used to. We grew up texting each other.”
Another student, Jack Kent, 18, said he leaves his cell phone on silent most of the time because he gets “nervous” when it rings.
According to recruitment guru Victoria Bari, young people entering the workforce today have no experience talking directly to people over a blower.
Instead, they prefer the easy option of sending emails or text messages to communicate with colleagues and customers.
Advisors provide classroom-based lessons where students practice role-playing commonly asked interview questions (stock image)
Bari, head of training at Berry Recruitment Group, said messaging is not as effective as talking to people.
She encourages new employees to pick up the phone and talk to customers because they have a better chance of success.
Although advances in technology have reduced the use of phones, Bari maintains that they are still the best way to sell.
She said: “There is certainly a generational divide, and for younger, less experienced consultants, email and messaging are their first means of communication.”
“But talking to people remains the most effective way to build relationships, which are the fundamental building blocks of selling.
“Finding the right person to talk to and their direct or mobile phone number is also a skill we train new employees to understand.”
“All technology is great and necessary, and Berry Recruitment’s app is proof of that, but it needs to run alongside good old-fashioned phone calls.
“The more conversations we have, the better the relationship and the more likely we are to introduce candidates and clients.
“As recruiters, our product is people, and when our consultants have good talent, we tell them to call the companies and tell them what great candidates they have.
“When new consultants start making calls and realize how effective it is, their confidence increases and making calls becomes a second habit.
“I have been visiting BRG branches and the consultants are very knowledgeable and skilled and the results are improving as the new branch makes more calls.
“Experienced recruiters whose phone calls are the norm are great role models for less experienced recruiters.I often ask younger staff how experienced recruiters talk on the phone. This is a skill.”
Mr. Bali has previously worked as a consultant at a community level, run his own business, and has experience as a trainer.
Lee Gamble, managing director of Berry Recruitment, based in St Albans, Herts, said: “For a certain generation of people, the main use of the phone is to talk to people.”
“For younger people, that’s not necessarily the case, and messaging or email is the first option, but it has to be done at the same time as the call.
“It’s still important to know telephone techniques, telephone etiquette and what words to use.
“We have a great app, but it works best in conjunction with a branch where people can walk in and consultants can make calls.”
According to communications regulator Ofcom, the total time spent on landline calls in 2018 was 44 billion minutes, down from more than 100 billion minutes six years earlier.
Calls from mobile phones increased during this period, but fell by 1.7% for the first time in 2017 as people turned to other forms of online messaging.
In a report from the same year, Ofcom said the decline in call volumes was “a sign of a fundamental change in behavior” as people turned to messaging.
