GAS Up Your Workplace Communication
May 15, 2008
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George Bernard Shaw once wrote that the greatest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place. Many organizations today realize that effective workplace communication is critical to organizational success.
So what do you need to do to improve workplace communication?
First, you need to establish communication Goals. However before you commit these goals to writing you need to make sure that all of your employees know how to achieve both personal and professional goals. Also, you need to determine what are the measurable results that you desire from these goals.
Then you need to look at the Attitudes of your employees as well as those within the culture of your organization. Attitudes are just reflections of strong personal beliefs. For example, one of your communication goals might be to improve customer satisfaction.
Some of your call center employees may have a
Finally, the Self Leadership Skills for all employees need to be assessed and developed where necessary. Communication is an interpersonal skill that resides within the self leadership of each and every individual. Yet, beyond learning how to read and write, most individuals truly have not been taught, trained or developed to fully utilize effective workplace communication.
When the critical elements of goals, attitudes and self leadership skills are applied to improving workplace communication, amazing results will happen. Just try it and see.
Simply speaking, leaders are readers. If you enjoyed this article, you may find The Leadership Audit of interest at http://www.processspecialist.com/od.htm
Call me, Leanne Hoagland-Smith, The Business Coach, at
What Every Supervisor Should Know To Succeed - Set the Example
May 14, 2008
By Shaun Kieran
Your employees experience you by what you say, and what you do. It's not that you have to be perfect, brilliant, or totally know everyone's job, but how you handle yourself at work is huge.
Some bosses are the driven, Type A characters who can be inspiring to work for, especially if their intelligence or creative gifts add up to tangible rewards for everyone else. But most employees find those folks to be ultimately too much. They're too jarring to deal with. Plus, it's hard to sustain trying to get into alignment with a workaholic.
The key example a leader should set is the focus on the work, while at work. Being very determined can be good, bringing high seriousness to the project can be exactly what's needed, but a good manager can also be light-hearted, even funny.
It's possible to have wonderful conversations about kids, baseball, movies - whatever - with relaxed bosses. But good bosses also like to talk about the work - how are we doing, what's been happening, what else can we do, how can I help you?
It's really important to recognize good work, in both senses - be able to know it when you see it, and also say it out loud.
Say "thank you" anytime you reasonably can. Yes, praise can be overdone, especially if it seems too pat or automatic, but it's a critical piece of true human motivation. People need to know you're watching, recognizing what's actually going on, and appreciating the effort.
Integrity is more than not lying; it's about honorable motivation. It's noticed right away if it looks like you're trying to take credit for someone else's work. And, if you actually get caught, that's a major loss of credibility.
Go the other way - convey that you're the fortunate colleague of wonderful workers. Get them the resources they need. Shoulder blame and defend your people from criticism, especially sniping from outside or even from on high.
Being relaxed can make all the difference. The underlying message being conveyed is that the work is not overwhelming: "We're in this to succeed, and we all will if we just stay focused, keep moving forward, learn from mistakes, and trust and support each other."
For more than 30 years, Shaun Kieran has been helping supervisors navigate the often difficult human environment so necessary for success in the modern workplace. Visit his website http://springpointservices.com/blog/ to find more resources on this and other topics of interest. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shaun_Kieran
Time Management and Your Big Rocks
May 13, 2008
In Steven Covey's excellent book, "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" (which, incidentally, is exactly why I am here today and not stuck in my old corporate job - another day, perhaps), he tells a well-worn story about the use of time.
In the story, some professor guy (I think) stands at the front of a class, with a big jar. In the jar, first of all he puts some big rocks, and asks the class, "Is it full now".
Mostly they say, "Yes".
Then he gets some smaller rocks and these fit in quite nicely too, just between the big rocks. Again, he asks the same question, "Is it full now?"
The group, a little more suspicious say, "Yes", because it seems to be.
He then gets out a bag of sand and surprise, surprise, those tiny grains of sand squeeze down beside the smaller rocks, filling up the tinier spaces. "Full?", he asks.
"Sure", say the increasingly dubious bunch of students in the audience.
Finally, trump card is the water, smaller than sand, of course and finally, as we aren't getting too sub-molecular about it, the jar is full.
Impressive huh?
The professor then asks,
"What's the moral of the story?"
.Of course the class, thinking they've spotted the trick here, say,
"You can always squeeze a bit more in"
A standard and pretty smart reply. The professor, however, is a step a head (all that professorism does it, of course!).
"The moral of the story is that you need to get your big rocks in first, or all that other 'stuff' gets in, way too soon and takes up all the space."
Cool story?
The point of course, relates to managing your time.
What are your 'big rock' things?
Well, for sure it isn't all the little jobs you do. All the fire-fighting (or it may be in the short-term, but that is another day).
The trick is to create spaces, ring-fenced, as they say, to do the good stuff.
In business, this is a list something like this:-
- Planning for the future
- Time with your people - good, focused one-on-one time preferably
- Coaching your people in their work
- Developing others around you
- Delegating constructively
- Creating Succession Plans
- Building relationships
- Developing new business opportunities
- Fixing problems once and for all
- Making time for a life outside the business
Covey and his big rocks eh?
He calls them Quadrant Two activities. If you don't spend time putting these first into your schedule, truth is, you will never fit them in and things will never evolve and grow.
Enjoy!
Copyright 2006 Martin Haworth is a Business and Management Coach. He works worldwide, mainly by phone, with small business owners, managers and corporate leaders. He has hundreds of hints, tips and ideas at his website, www.coaching-businesses-to-success.com.
…helping you, to help your people, to help your business grow…
"Used by permission of www.coaching-businesses-to-success.com"
Delegating to Gain Employee Engagement
May 13, 2008
By Cynthia Clay
The Gallup Organization surveyed 200,000 individuals in 36 organizations, across 21 industries about their level of engagement. Only 29% of employees reported that they were engaged or highly engaged at work. An astounding 55% reported that they were not engaged (think of their attitude as “wait-and-see”) and an even more revealing 16% reported that they were actively disengaged (think of behavior such as complaining, arguing and actively sabotaging the organization’s efforts).
The same research reveals that employees often join organizations feeling highly engaged. After more than a year on the job, however, the employee often feels less engaged. In fact the longer they hold the job, the less engaged they tend to be. So what’s happening here?
Through 12 key questions, the Gallup Organization has found links to five business outcomes: retention, productivity, profitability, customer loyalty, and safety. Retention was strongly correlated to six items. Simply put, if you want to hang on to your employees these six factors must be in place.
Employees must:
Know what is expected of them
Have the equipment and resources to do the job
Be given the opportunity to do what they do best, every day
Have a manager or supervisor who cares about them
Be surrounded by employees who have a similar drive for quality
Have opportunities to learn and grow
A clearer case for helping managers and supervisors in your organization learn to delegate effectively could not be made. Managers who get the best from their employees are able to retain them longer.
They know how to:
Clarify expectations for tasks and assignments
Provide the equipment and resources necessary to do the work
Hire well and match employees to the appropriate responsibilities
Demonstrate that they care about each employee on their team
Bring on board only employees who demonstrate a commitment to high-quality performance
Consistently offer opportunities for further growth and development
The ability to delegate well is a crucial management skill that touches every one of these essential factors.
Cynthia Clay is the President/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cynthia_
Public Speaking Tips
May 12, 2008
By Mike Bova
I'm going to fess up. Public speaking did not come easy for me. I would get very nervous (which led to dry mouth), lose my train of thought and use a lot of filler words like: and, and um, um, you know etc. I have come a long way from those early days. Public speaking comes a lot easier for me now. If you would like to improve your public speaking skills, this article is for you.
Before I tell you what has worked for me, I'm going to give (just like those weight loss infomercials do) a disclaimer…results may vary. Now, here is what has worked for me.
Open with a joke or say something funny. This is a good ice breaker. Being funny will loosen up the audience and you as well. Make sure "the funny" is tasteful, and if it goes over well, your confidence will immediately build.
Be prepared. You will of course prepare before you speak. Use the internet (which is an incredible resource by the way) to do some research. If you type an outline, this will help you prepare your delivery. Just like when you took notes in school, write down your main points and your secondary points. You can definitely ad lib, but try not to create too many rabbit trails. Rabbit trails will cause you to lose your train of thought and cause you to forget where you left off. Stick to the outline, rehearse as many times as needed to know your outline by heart. Being well prepared will boost your confidence.
Create a distraction. If it's possible, make a handout and give it to each member of the audience. Doing this will take the audiences mind off you somewhat. The handout will be similar to what you're speaking about and you could leave some blanks the audience would have to fill in. This would be more of a teaching than a preaching.
Continue to be funny. If you can think of funny stories (either your own or someone else's) that are related to the topic and can drive a point home, use them.
Give examples. Again using stories or situations (funny or not) that your audience can relate to. These are real crowd pleasers.
Be as animated as you can. Raise and lower your voice. Walk back and forth. Make your public speaking engagement interesting. This leads me to my next tip.
Make what you're speaking about interesting. If what you are speaking on is boring, or if what you have prepared is boring, find a way to…. "BAM, SPICE IT UP A LITTLE!"
Use props or other visual effects. Overheads and power point presentations are good. Any props you can use are will help you as well.
Encourage audience participation. You can do things like dividing the room in two and on cue one side of the room says, "ooh" and the other side says, "ah" or use audience members to help you with illustrations.
Close with a question and answer session. This will allow for a nice finish.
Being a great public speaker, like anything, takes practice. If you have a video camera, set it up on a tripod and tape yourself. Try to be conscience of those filler words. Work on your joke telling and story telling. Practice being animated. After reviewing your videos, make any necessary adjustments. I wish you all the best with your public speaking engagements. Have fun & "break a leg."
Mike Bova is the Madison County Advertising Director & Business Columnist for Eagle Newspapers in
Crisis Management
May 11, 2008
In an ideal world, we would never have crises. Yet in the real world we do. Managing crisis is quite a challenge, so here are some thoughts on how to make it work best for you.
Crisis management is about focus, pure and simple.
It's about getting into a frame of mind where you entirely focus on those things which are vital in the circumstances in which you find yourself and your business.
The things that must happen - and ditching those things that don't need to do right now, until a better day.
For me, customer or client focus has always been the place to start. What would those most important to your business people expect from you?
They are not, quite rightly, concerned with what your problems are - they just expect to be looked after as well as ever. This is your top and if you want, only goal, on a day when everything seems to be going wrong. It's actually a great place to go if you need focus and freedom!
Priority One - Focus all your attention on the most vital thing your customers will want from you today and park the rest.
They want the usual high levels of attention they usually get - and this must be your total focus. Many bureaucratic jobs can be postponed - so be the skilled manager you are and take a position to be brave and do just that. Ditch anything unimportant.
Priority Two - Communicate quickly, simply and personally to those at the sharp end about what they must do and those balls they can drop during the crisis.
This is time for you to show your face on the shopfloor and help out. Now it doesn't mean that you do everything yourself, because you have to be able to get above the crisis and focus on the big picture.
Priority Three - Be with your people, recognise what they are doing and tell them how proud you are with what they have achieved. Praise, thanks, encouragement and pride in them. Right here, now!
Finally and just as importantly as the challenges you have overcome, it's time for Reflection.
Start with working out what went well during the challenge you've had and also about what could have gone better. Fit that into a clear plan for the next time.
Reflect also on the capabilities of your people and let them know more formally how well they did. Celebrate in some tangible way with them. It's a two-way street.
It's also time to reflect on a bigger strategic plan over how to prevent such crises happening in the future. There is no time like the present to do this. Learn while it's still fresh in your mind. And in the minds of your people.
It is possible to be crisis free.
How to Manage Attrition Levels
May 11, 2008
By Julia Mcvey
One of the biggest costs for most employers in today’s market place is recruitment of quality staff. In order to reduce this cost every organization should have in place ‘staff retention action plans’. To achieve this detailed trend analysis will be required specifically looking at:
• The time line – at what point in a career do people want to move on
• What is the leavers profile – age range – position – lifestyle - ambitions
• Exit interviews – detailed questioning of the employees reasons for leaving (not by a line manager)
• Is there a particular time of year when attrition levels are high
• What is the skills base of the leaver and how did this match their role
• identify a profile of employees who stay for more than two years
From this analysis organizations can:
• Introduce career planning and coaching before a valued employee thinks of moving on
• Review values and culture of organization to improve environment
• Crank up recruitment plans when required in preparation for any seasonal factors
• Review recruitment process to ensure that the right skills base is being recruited and match to profiles of employees who are add value to the organization.
Finding the right person is less than easy and many organizations forget that the process of recruitment involves selling the organization to the prospective employee.
What benefits will the employee get from working for the organization? Surprisingly, money is actually way down the priority list for many people once they can cover what they need to live. Martin Seligman author of Authentic Happiness writes “Law is now the most highly paid profession in
Seligman goes on to explain that people are most happy when they have a calling or vocation - something to do that provides gratification for its own sake. This gratification can come from any type of task if it is viewed as being valued by an individual or an organization. For example, answering call after call in a busy call centre may seem repetitive and valueless to an employee. If the task can be reframed to focus on the assistance and quality service which is viewed as valuable by the customer and organization, the sense of gratification will become important to the employee and thus happiness will ensue.
Julia McVey is a professional coach with many years experience working at senior management level. Her passion in life is to release the hidden potential in people. http://www.u-canlifecoaching.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Julia_Mcvey
Motivation - 7 Tips To Keep Your Motivation Fire Burning!
May 11, 2008
By Jeanne May
Motivation is an essential part of everything we do … it governs whether or not we will successfully achieve our goals and dreams throughout life.
Motivation is our desire or level of energy to do something. Our motivation comes from within us, it is our drive based on our desire to achieve something, to do something, or to become something. Motivation also comes from outside us e.g. other people, events, actions of others.
Motivation isn't a constant — it's normal to experience fluctuations in our motivation level at different times… sometimes our motivation is strong and at other times it's hard to find!
When our motivation is strong, we complete tasks easily, successfully achieve our goals… we feel more positive about ourselves and what we are doing. Everything feels good.
When we struggle to find our motivation, things become more difficult… tasks take longer to complete, we find ourselves easily procrastinating, our confidence and self belief takes a hammering… our energy and vibration levels are low!
Although we can be motivated by others or external events, it is the motivation that comes with in us that really makes the difference in being successful.
There are many things we can do to keep our motivation going… to give ourselves a much-needed boost… to keep our motivational fire from going out:
Set a goal that's important and meaningful for you… a goal that will improve your life… a goal that excites you just thinking about it. Outline the necessary steps you need to take to achieve your goal and keep on that path! The more detailed your goal, the easier it is to keep motivated and on track
If your motivation has taken a vacation, you feel lethargic and unable to get anything done, you are aware you're procrastinating… set yourself a time limit to achieve something, to do something and stick with it until you have it completed. Make this a short time period e.g. 10 minutes, and stick with that task for the entire time. It's important to set small time periods for yourself when experiencing low motivation
Read motivating books — read autobiographies of people you admire, look up to, people who have succeeded in some area of life. There are many motivational writers and motivational books are easily found on the net, library or bookshops
Listen to motivating audios — Some of my favorites include: Bob Proctor, Brian Tracy, Tony Robbins, Jack Canfield… download your favorites onto your IPod or burn a CD… and listen to them in the car while you're driving, doing exercises, while you're waiting on queues or for appointments… any time you have spare, play your motivational audio!
Write out a whole lot of motivational quotes… and put them throughout your home, workplace, and on your computer. When you find your motivation is low, read the quotes
Mix and socialize with people who themselves are motivated. It's important to surround yourself with people you find motivating… when you do, your energy and vibrational level increases and this gives you the extra charge you need to achieve what you desire
Learn more information or new skills on subjects that inspire you — when you learn more about subjects you find enjoyable and inspiring, your motivation increases and you become more confident and self-reliant
Do you have difficulties at times getting motivated?
Jeanne May works with spiritually minded people providing them information, inspiration, guidance and support to achieve their goals and dreams… subscribe to Aspirations Plus and receive updates and a complimentary copy of "#1 Ingredient To Fast Track Your Success!" I invite you to discover more about the difference confidence makes in your life, and learn easy to use techniques to develop Unstoppable Confidence. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeanne_May
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What's New This Week on Call Center Cafe` May 9th, 2008
May 9, 2008
With so many new articles and features, it might be hard to keep up with all the great articles on Call Center Cafe. We thought we would make it a little easier on you.
Enjoy!
The Call Center Cafe` Staff
Hands Off Management - Frying Pan, Fire or Neither?
In this posting we are reminded that being a manager doesn't mean we have to be the one to fix everything. We can and should take the 4S Method of managing- Show, Supervise, Stand Back and Succeed
How tempting is it to fix things? You know, you are passing by one of your teams cubicles and they are doing something you know all about. So you give a hand…
Push that Agent from the Nest!
In today's posting by Gail Yahner, you will find 7 ways to tell if you have left a newbie in the nesting area just a bit to long. We hope you enjoy this slightly humorous look at
Fed Up? Lighten Up! – This is a light hearted reminder that the average person spends eight hours each day at work and we should lighten up and do what we can to enjoy our time while on the job. If that means a little less grumbling and a little more fun, then so be it! Enjoy!
How to Help a Boss Who Holds Bad Meetings – do you have a boss that holds meetings that don't seem to have a purpose, have no real direction, or are a complete waste of time? If so, then this article by Steve Kaye might just be your ticket to helping your boss …and you! Steve gives 10 suggestions that might just get your bosses meetings on track.
Ten Top Ways for Managers to Motivate Their People We hope you'll find this post by Martin Haworth to be both entertaining and enlightening. Martin gives us 10 down to earth suggestions for motivating your teams. His advice to "Get Out of Their Way" when delegating brought back a few memories. Let us know what you think of Martin's suggestions via the comment section below the post or through our "Contact Us" form
Delighting Customers – In this posting from the team at Coaching Businesses to Success, you'll find ways to delight your customer. They are your lifeblood. And through Delighting Customers frequently and often, you will drive success to your business or organization.
The key to understand here is that Delighting Customers is just that - it is more than satisfying, it is delighting them. Making their journey to you memorable. So, sorry, OK is not enough from now on - ever.
Push that Agent from the Nest!
May 9, 2008
7 ways to tell if you have left a newbie to long in the nesting area.
By Gail Yahner
Call Center Nesting: 1. The transition period between class room training and graduation to a production floor team. During this time, new agents take calls in a "sheltered" environment with additional support staff to assist and provide feedback.
It's time to push that agent from nest!
2. When you hear the agent tell a newer employee to, "hang in there, it all clicked for me weeks ago and I still hang out here with the newbies."
3. When the agent organizes a pot luck for all the newest "nest members."
4. When the agent has had enough time to knit ear muffs for all the other newbie's headsets.
5. When brand new agents approach him for call approvals.
6. When you know more about his life than you ever wanted to—which means he has too much time to talk.
7. When you get to work–he is already there–calling you over to his desk so he can show you the new updated policies.
Gail is a contributing writer for Call Center Cafe, the Community for Call Center Professionals. As the self professed Call Center Quality Queen, Gail shares her experiences in Quality and Training with readers. If you are would like to read more of Gail's articles please visit: http://www.callcentercafe.com While you are on the site, sign up for the free e newsletter: The Call Center Café Newsletter at http://www.callcentercafe.com/call-center-newsletter/
