In November, I was lucky enough to attend the WICSEC 2022 Annual Training Conference, which was held in New Mexico’s capital, Santa Fe. I was asked to do a presentation on Motivational Interviewing (MI), which (if any of you have been paying attention), is my go-to customer experience tool!
I love the Southwest, so I was excited to head to New Mexico, but it was the conference agenda that truly sold me on the trip. Over half of the 40 workshops (plus four plenaries), dealt with topics I consider to be included under the umbrella of customer experience:
As you can see, I wasn’t the only one talking about MI at the conference. A team from Maximus gave a presentation the first day about ‘Trauma Informed Care Through a Motivational Interviewing Lens,’ and they did an amazing job by focusing on their personal experiences to illustrate the effectiveness of MI.
To be honest, I was a bit intimidated by their powerful stories and expertise, but I realized that our two presentations were complementary – they had the experience with Child Support, but I had the nuts & bolts of how MI is done, and recommendations about how to implement it.
After my presentation, I had several people ask me about implementing MI in their offices, and in January I’ll be providing an online overview of MI techniques for Minnesota’s Child Support Supervisors and Case Managers.
Beyond the fantastic conference itself, I also found time to check out Santa Fe’s beautiful architecture, museums, and restaurants. Did you know that Santa Fe is the oldest capital in the United States? It also boasts the oldest church (San Miguel Chapel to the right). If you ever get the chance, Santa Fe is a wonderful destination!