Career Growth Through Client Excellence: Best Practices for Success at Riva
This guide outlines proven strategies for building credibility and fostering strong client relationships at Riva Consulting. While these practices naturally accelerate career advancement, our primary focus is helping you excel in your current role by demonstrating excellence, establishing trust, and exhibiting leadership in all client interactions. By implementing these recommendations consistently, you'll not only deliver exceptional value to clients but also position yourself for professional growth opportunities.
Riva Onboarding Expectations
This is our client facing onboarding template that must align with your expectations. Abby and our support team at ops@mbcpartners.co are available any time prior to onboarding, and throughout your entire engagement.
Commitment and Hard Work Early On
The foundation of any successful client relationship is built during the initial engagement period. Investing extra effort during this critical phase establishes trust and credibility that pays dividends throughout the engagement:
Exceptional Work Ethic: Be willing to dedicate additional hours beyond standard expectations to thoroughly understand your client's business needs, operational workflows, and preferred communication styles.
Proactive Responsiveness: Demonstrate reliability through consistent, timely communication that shows your commitment to the client's success.
Key Performance Indicator: Respond to all client emails within 4 business hours and acknowledge receipt of time-sensitive requests within 1 hour.
Initial Contact - Create a strong first impression by establishing clear communication expectations and response protocols.
Familiarization Phase - Invest extra time to deeply understand client objectives, business processes, and communication preferences.
Trust Development - Solidify credibility through consistent response times and prioritization of urgent client requests.
Establishing a Communication Style
Developing a clear, professional communication framework with your client is essential for building a strong, productive working relationship.
Identify Client Preferences: Proactively discuss with your client how they prefer to be contacted for routine updates versus urgent matters. Some clients may favor email for documentation, while others might prefer instant messaging via Teams, Slack, or direct phone calls for time-sensitive issues.
Define Urgency Parameters: Collaborate with your client to establish clear definitions of urgency. Determine whether an urgent task requires attention within an hour, by end of day, or within 24 hours. This clarity helps both parties manage expectations and prioritize effectively.
Create a Structured Escalation Protocol: Once urgency levels are defined, formalize an escalation process that respects the client's workflow:
Initial Contact: Communicate through the client's preferred primary channel (Teams/Slack/Email).
Intermediate Follow-up: If no response is received within the agreed timeframe, proceed to a secondary method such as text messaging.
Critical Escalation: For truly urgent matters requiring immediate attention, utilize direct phone contact only after attempting previous methods.
1
Determine Preferences
Establish communication method preferences during your initial onboarding meeting.
2
Document Preferences
Create a detailed record of communication protocols for consistent reference.
3
Establish Escalation Process
Formalize a tiered escalation procedure for urgent matters within the first week.
Best Practices for Emoji Reactions
Streamline Acknowledgments: Utilize 👍 or ✅ instead of sending brief text replies like "Got it" or "OK" to reduce notification fatigue.
Recognize Achievements: Employ 🎉 or 🙌 to celebrate team accomplishments and highlight positive developments.
Signal Importance: Apply 🚀 or 🔥 to designate high-priority messages requiring prompt attention.
Maintain Consistency: Adhere to the standardized emoji reactions outlined above to ensure clear, unambiguous communication.
Adherence to Client Processes
Successful consultants and virtual assistants recognize that following established client processes is fundamental to building trust and delivering exceptional service:
Follow Protocol: Consistently adhere to the client's established processes, systems, and documentation workflows. This demonstrates your commitment to excellence and significantly reduces operational friction.
Initiative Within Boundaries: While respecting their protocols, strategically identify opportunities to suggest thoughtful improvements without overstepping professional boundaries. Always secure explicit approval before implementing any changes.
KPI: Achieve 100% compliance with client-specified processes within the first month of engagement.
Master Their Protocol
Diligently learn and implement the client's established processes, systems, and preferences to demonstrate your professionalism and attention to detail.
Eliminate Friction
By meticulously following client protocols, you'll prevent potential misunderstandings, minimize conflicts, and ensure consistently smooth operations.
Suggest Strategic Improvements
Thoughtfully identify opportunities to enhance existing processes, but always present recommendations respectfully and seek approval before implementing any changes.
Ensure Full Compliance
Strive for 100% compliance with all client-specified processes within the first month to establish a foundation of reliability and professional trust.
Meeting Management
Masterful meeting management demonstrates professionalism and leadership capability. When collaborating with clients, ensure all meetings are strategically structured and laser-focused on achieving tangible outcomes.
Crafting Effective Agendas - Develop comprehensive, well-structured meeting agendas that clearly outline priority topics, specific goals, and expected deliverables. Customize each agenda to address your client's unique priorities, ensuring it facilitates productive discussions and decisive action.
Client Representation - Study and internalize your client's preferred communication style. When representing them, meticulously mirror their approach and expectations, preparing thoroughly for every interaction.
Advance Distribution - Provide a detailed agenda for 100% of client meetings, distributed to all participants at least 24 hours in advance to ensure alignment and comprehensive preparation.
Email Example: Sync on QBR Planning
Subject Line: Abby & Doug Sync | QBR Planning
Hi Doug,
I'd like to schedule a focused discussion regarding our upcoming QBR. Here's a proposed agenda for our conversation:
Venue Options: Evaluate the shortlisted locations meeting our specifications, including budget parameters, available amenities, and booking timelines, to finalize our selection.
Agenda Preparation: Align on the optimal session structure for each SLT member to ensure cohesive and impactful delivery.
Catering Options: Review and select appropriate catering options for the event.
Additional Topics: Address any supplementary items requiring attention before the event date.
Next Steps: Establish a clear action plan with accountability measures to maintain momentum.
Please advise if you'd like to incorporate additional topics or modify the existing agenda items.
Best regards,
Abby
Building Trust and Credibility
Establishing deep-rooted trust with clients forms the foundation for exceptional long-term partnerships:
Proactive Communication: Anticipate client needs by sharing meaningful updates about progress, potential challenges, and strategic solutions before they have to ask.
Thoughtful Follow-Up: Within 24 hours of every interaction, send comprehensive summaries that outline specific action items, clear responsibilities, and precise timelines to demonstrate accountability and transparency.
Unwavering Professionalism: Exemplify excellence in every interaction by arriving early to meetings, thoroughly preparing materials, and meticulously attending to details that matter to your client.
KPI: Consistently achieve a minimum 4.5/5 client satisfaction rating during quarterly reviews, measured across three critical dimensions: communication effectiveness, professional conduct, and performance outcomes.
Trust
Cultivate enduring relationships through consistent reliability and delivering on promises without exception.
Proactive Communication
Strategically inform clients about relevant developments, emerging issues, and innovative solutions before concerns arise.
Follow-Up
Deliver concise, actionable summaries with clear ownership and deadlines after every client interaction.
Professionalism
Demonstrate exceptional standards through timeliness, comprehensive preparation, and meticulous attention to both obvious and subtle details.
Continuous Learning and Improvement
Elevate your client relationships through ongoing professional development and a commitment to excellence:
Seek Feedback: Proactively solicit client input on your performance, creating opportunities for genuine dialogue about what's working and where you can improve.
Upskill Strategically: Leverage Riva's training resources to strengthen your professional toolkit, particularly in critical areas such as client communication, project management methodologies, and emerging technology platforms.
KPI: Formally request comprehensive client feedback at least quarterly and implement meaningful improvements based on their suggestions within a two-week timeframe.
Seek Feedback
Initiate structured feedback conversations with clients on a quarterly basis, ensuring you gather actionable insights.
Analyze Feedback
Carefully evaluate feedback to identify patterns, priorities, and opportunities for meaningful improvement.
Implement Improvements
Transform feedback into concrete action items and implement changes within two weeks to demonstrate responsiveness.
Upskill
Invest in continuous professional development through targeted training that directly enhances your client service capabilities.
Measuring Your Success & Impact
At Riva, we believe in transparent performance evaluation through meaningful metrics. Track your effectiveness using these key performance indicators (KPIs) that align with our commitment to excellence and client satisfaction. These benchmarks not only measure your individual performance but also contribute to our company's reputation for exceptional service.
Consistently meeting these standards demonstrates your commitment to professional excellence and positions you for growth opportunities within Riva.
Supporting Your Growth and Development
When you embrace these best practices, you naturally forge strong client relationships and consistently exceed expectations. This creates meaningful pathways for both personal and professional advancement within Riva—whether deepening expertise in your current position or exploring new opportunities across the organization.
Diverse Career Paths
Our team members have diverse success stories. Take Abby, who transitioned from general assistance to Operations and Resource Management, developing leadership skills at her own pace.
Advancement Opportunities
For those interested, we offer pathways to profit sharing and expanded responsibilities. Equally, we value and support those who prefer to continue excelling in their current roles as subject matter experts.
Your Professional Journey
At Riva we invest in your unique professional journey. Whether you aim to sharpen specialized skills or pursue leadership positions, we honor your career aspirations and provide the resources you need to succeed.
Our commitment to excellence and continuous improvement means you'll have the flexibility and support to develop at a pace that aligns with your personal goals and strengths.
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