Call Center Cafe

How To Use Succession Planning To Build A Successful Team

gyahner — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 03:22:45 +0000

Here is an article by Martin Haworth on succession planning for our call center managers that are looking to move upward within your companies.

Instances where key positions may become suddenly a gap in your business include, in the most severe case, death, sudden transfers, domestic emergencies, sudden resignations and more.

For this you need to be ready well beforehand with a plan in place to make good the shortfall really quickly.

And another reason for getting your succession plan process in place is where a key employee may need to be released from the job due to certain misdemeanours and dismissal is fast and unplanned.

If someone leaves for retirement you usually have the time to plan accordingly, but not always.

Whatever the cause is, an organization needs to plan the replacement of all key individuals so that when the need arise, everything will be ready and move on smoothly.

Bear in mind that succession planning is contextual. Where it might seem that a senior board member with huge responsibilities is a major corporate loss, for a manager of a team of employees, the loss of a key player in that team can be catastrophic, even at that level.

And since succession planning is neither complicated or expensive, anyone who could at this time be vulnerable to the loss of a vital team member should sit up and take note of this challenging issue and start preparing!

Succession Planning Challenges To Overcome

Planning the successors of key individuals in a company is necessary for business growth. The future can never be accurately determined but it is best to be prepared for it as much as possible.

Planning for succession should be done properly. One good way to go about is to have the senior individuals themselves review who their potential successors might be.

A delegation of potential successor candidates can be formed. It is best if the candidates are not only composed of two or three individuals but more.

It is also important that the organization or the senior employees conduct an extensive examination of each candidates' skills and abilities and prepare the next step to new challenges gradually.

One important factor to take a look into should be the team building skills of the candidates. The plans for succession are after all conducted because the positions involved are the key ones. Disruptions in these positions would lead to possibly disastrous outcomes.

And these key positions are more than likely to involve management of other people and coordinating many things. So team building skills are definitely necessary must-haves of the successor candidates.

The candidates should then undergo a performance management process, where they are observed closely, measuring what they do and how they go about it, with next steps planned carefully.

The guidelines for these observations should be based on the necessary requirements of the potential position(s) in question.

Succession Planning Necessities

When planning for a succession, those managing the process should also prepare relevant development plans for the immediate and long-term future.

The candidates should be exposed to cases and scenarios that would prepare them for handling the position as well as taking on real-world secondments to build experience.

No, not all of them will be chosen in the end and, of course, the experiences they have gone through will definitely improve them. If one outcome of succession planning brings along the improvement of many employees, then so much the better, right?

So without question, all succession plan candidates should undergo beneficial and useful training and development programs. In fact this as a process is the most vital component of making this a worthwhile activity.

If a key employee needs to be released from their position to move onwards and upwards, consider first that employee's suitability and, where possible, future potential.

Planning for a successor can definitely take a good amount of time for best results to be achieved.

So in the first place, ensure that the candidate learns well from the safety (for them and the organization) of their existing position, with the occasional stretching and focused experiences making them ready for more.

Succession planning, as a planned and focused activity for all of your key positions, right down to the lowest level of team, will be a very useful exercise and ensure that your business is at the very least maintained.

And in many cases, as individuals develop and grow - to unprecedented and perhaps unexpected growth.

For more on Succession Planning, check out "The Succession Planning Toolkit"

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.

Constructive Feedback - How to get the Best from Your Employees

gyahner — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 03:05:14 +0000

For our call center team leads and supervisors.

Feedback has become a widely used buzzword in recent years and it's more positive brother, constructive feedback is seen as a more developmental process for employees. But what are the keys to getting the best from constructive feedback. Here are ten…

Giving feedback in a constructive way is beneficial for everyone. Your employee values your experienced and focused input, thus improving their performance. You gain a better motivated team. And your organisation benefits from a gradually evolving skilled workforce, leading to a stronger culture of sustainable performance growth.

Here are ten keys points which will enable you to get the best value from your workforce.

1. Instill trust - criticism can be a bitter pill to swallow, so sweeten it by showing that you're trying to help the person, not looking to feed your own ego.

2. Know your aim - work out what you want them to do differently and keep this in mind while you talk to them.

3. Think right place, right time - have the conversation as soon as possible after the incident, so that the events are still fresh. If it's a sensitive issue, take it somewhere private.

4. Set the scene - make it clear from the outset what you need to talk about. If you think the other person knows what you are going to say, then start with a question, such as, "How do you think this morning's presentation went?"

5. State what went wrong – help them get clear what they think happened first, then explain to them the positives of the performance – and the tricky bits too. Don’t miss the chance.

6. Short and sweet – by ensuring that you keep the pain to a reasonable timescale, they won’t feel belittled. Make sure that you make your point and listen to theirs an have done with it.

7. Share the impact – it’s also important to explain what the consequences of their actions will be, especially to the organisation. It isn’t intended to scare them, more a gentle reminder of the bigger picture.

8. Be present – it’s time to make time for them in this moment – they need you to be on their side. That can only happen if you give your full attention, so make every effort to do so.

9. Value them – at the end of the conversation it’s time to let them know how highly you regard them. That they are a great member of your team and that they do great work. This is just one of those things to learn by.

10. Seek solutions together – and you and they are working collaboratively to make this work better in future. You are a team and all for one/one for all etc.

Remember, giving feedback constructively makes for growth in performance, as it is a learning exercise.

Treating people well in this situation is great for building relationships one-on-one, which will make for a developing workforce, and not one that feels constantly criticised.

Martin Haworth

Used by permission of www.coaching-businesses-to-success.com

Start Improving Your Call Center Effectiveness

gyahner — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 03:15:06 +0000

Development managers are busy zeroing in on how to maximize their call center productivity. More often than not their most preferred strategy is on scripting, pitching or specific call center software and solutions. Though these two alternatives are definitely important weapons in your arsenal for operating a successful call center, but by far the priceless asset is none but your employees i.e. your call center agents and team leaders.

To improve the effectiveness of your call center business, start interacting with your callers and customers. They are the lifeline of your company and call center business. To help you get started on the right foot, here are some tips you should consider.

Hire Your Agents and Team Leaders As If You Would Hire Your Development Managers

This is very important. It is not unnatural to see that recruitment officers hire staff just to have sufficient warm bodies around. For instance hiring people from the campus, sometimes on a first come first hired basis and so on. The outcome is that some people would only be there to have a free lunch, some would be present out of obligation and the rest would just follow the bandwagon. The result is that the call center is full of people who are not sure that they want to be there or not.

We never hire our management staff or development officers this way, so we should not hire our call center staff like that either.

Empower Your Callers

Most companies treat their callers like they are some distant humans emerged from nowhere, and lack of communication from the management officers are all the more responsible why some call centers are going out of business. Your Callers and Customers should be treated with respect because they are the ones who bring you the money for you and your business. And perhaps they are the greatest asset in your business arsenal than everybody else combined. Therefore to get them work towards your company’s strategic goals you need them to interact with each contact and develop a rapport with them. If they feel, they have ownership in their roles, they would showcase your company in the greatest light possible to your contacts.

And that would only increase your bottom line, which you are looking for.

Always Show Thankfulness

Calling is damn hard work and most often a thankless job. Productivity is nothing but a barometer for job satisfaction. A manager role in a call center should be to ensure that the callers are contented and excited, not only about the institution but also about their roles in its success. It calls for their involvement. And the simplest way to show your callers that you care is to appreciate every little thing they do or initiate. Say, thank you, make your President visit the institution, giveaway a free pizza treat to everyone, celebrate their birthdays. A genuine appreciation would work like magic for a callers confidence and your customers, as a result it would work wonders for your bottom-line as well.

By Hani Masgidi

Easy To Use Call Center Business Plan and Call Center Directory

Tips on How to Achieve Success in Customer Service

gyahner — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:20:48 +0000

In a call center, good customer service should be a given. Here is an articcle by Hani Masgidi with his tips on achieving success in customer service.

If you are ambitious to be successful in the field of business, you must be aware of the fact that customer service is one of the main factors, which plays a great role in bringing success in the business. Customer service happens to be one of these things that bring about the satisfaction of the customers. It is well known to all that if the customers are happy with the way you deal with them and id the products or the services that you provide to them are of a high quality.

If you want achieve success in customer service, you have to follow some main principles. You have to have a clear idea about how you would deal with the customers. If you are looking for some tips that will help you to attain success in customer service, here are the tips and some suggestions. Follow them and know how to be successful in customer service.

If you are having a conversation with the customer over the telephone or face to face, it is better for you to mention the name of the customer you are talking to. When the customer hears his name from you, he is going to have a different kind of dealing with you. It will also be easier for you to deal with him. End the conversation with a 'thank you'.

If you are already experienced in the field of customer service, you must have had the experience of dealing with customers who are irate. Say 'I apologize' or 'I'm sorry' if you find some customer angry. Do not forget to take a follow-up with the customer. Contact him some time later. When you end the call, thank him. Before ending the call do ask him if you can do anything else for him.

There is a very tricky way to incur the interest in the customer that you deal with. After your conversation with him is over, you can leave a message for him. You may also ask for a feedback about what he or she feels after availing the customer service. The way you ask is also quite important. Instead of asking him how he liked the interaction you should ask him how he would like to rate the customer service that he availed. The answers in the second case are most likely to be more specific.

The most important factor in achieving success in customer service is the way of your dealing with the customer. You have to be very careful about not hurting the belief or faith of the customer. The pleasant features of your behavior of yours will surely impress the customer. One more obvious way to success in customer service is to provide them with the products or services of the best quality so that they have the least scope to feel unsatisfied. If the customers are happy with the products or the services that that are availing, it is much easy for you to gain success in customer service.

Hani Masgidi

Requires a Structured Approach to its Business Operation Excellence

Presentation Skills - Three Points and Your Out!

gyahner — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 03:29:55 +0000

For our call center trainers!

Organizing Your Presentation

Before organizing your presentation keep reminding yourself that Less is More. Also consider that most presentations have far too many concepts, and the concepts far too many details..

You should be able to put the gist of your presentation into one sentence or “headline”. What would the headline of your speech be? Think about it. Start by writing a few full sentences to describe your overall theme. Edit out the superfluous adjectives, and then see if you can combine the sentences all into one. Then make that sentence a phrase. If you can’t put all that into one headline you may have to simplify your idea.

Most presentations end up having too much content, although ironically presenters always fear not having enough to say.

It’s also probable that you’re audience has never heard your idea before. Though old news to you, its very likely something new to your audience. If you’re on a traveling road show giving the speech over and over again, no matter where you go on the whistle-stop tour, it’s always their first time. Don’t forget that.

The Kitchen Sink

Most presenters end up using the “kitchen sink” approach and tell their audiences all they can, about everything they can, in the short amount of time allocated to them. Therefore it becomes a race to spew out as much information as possible as quickly as possible, essentially a self-serving data dump. How disheartening for the audience.

Your presentation is about your audience, not about your finishing everything you want to say as quickly as possible. And its certainly not about your demonstrating the breadth and depth of your knowledge, even if the CEO is in the back of the room. Although we’d like to believe it, nobody can recall everything that you say anyway.

So choose to make your headline important, relevant to your audience, and to the point. Once they have the headline, they have a context into which to put your supporting evidence. But if they’re still trying to figure out what your main point is while you’re trying to offer them proof, the impact of your evidence will be highly diluted.

And speaking of points: Keep it to three. Humans have an amazing ability to remember things that come in three, and forget things more complicated. The rule of three is a principle in writing that suggests that things that come in threes are inherently funnier, more satisfying, or more effective than other numbers of things.

No matter what your topic, either break your supporting data apart or put them together to form three main components. Repeating those three components often will lead to not only greater comprehension, but much greater retention, too.

So an argument that is broken down into three concepts, each supported by three solid sources of evidence, becomes an argument that your audience will find very easy to buy into, even it they don’t see the simplicity of the symmetry.

Remember FDR’s advice: “Be sincere, be brief, be seated.”

J. Douglas Jefferys is a principal at

PublicSpeakingSkills.com

, an international consulting firm specializing in training businesses of all sizes to communicate for maximum efficiency. The firm spreads its unique knowledge through on-site classes, public seminars, and high-impact videos, and can be reached through the Internet or at 888-663-77

Deal With Difficult Customers

gyahner — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 03:13:24 +0000

For our new call center managers out there!

Here is a Quick Way For New Managers to Deal With Difficult Customer

Want a great career – then you need to know how to deal with difficult customers

During your career as a manager, you will have to deal with a number of difficult customers. Those customers who are unhappy with the service you and your staff provide. The ‘unhappy’ customer will want to talk to the person in charge – you, the manager.

So how do you deal with difficult customers?

Well this is what it takes.

Providing great customer service to a difficult customer or client can feel like walking a diplomatic tightrope. But if you handle a customer’s complaint the right way, you can turn the situation around and even turn that person into a happy, satisfied and loyal customer. Here are some tips to help you when faced with a difficult customer.

Don’t Take It Personally

How you handle the first contact with a dissatisfied and unhappy customer is critical to diffusing the situation. If a customer or client approaches you with an adversarial attitude, voice raised, he isn’t seeing you as an individual at that moment - only as a representative of your company. Try to remain objective, and don’t take it personally. If your first reaction is to become defensive, you’re already well on your way to losing control of the situation. Let him/her do most of the talking initially, and just listen.

Try Honestly To See Things From Your Customer’s Point Of View

Show respect for your customer’s opinions. Whether he’s (she’s) justified or not in being upset, it’s important to put yourself in your customer’s shoes for a moment. Use phrases like, “I can certainly understand why you’d feel that way.” Draw on your own experiences as a dissatisfied customer. You may have been more diplomatic in the way you asked to have your complaint resolved, but you did expect to be treated with respect and taken seriously. If you can do this for your difficult customer, in most cases he’ll begin to calm down at this point.

Call Attention To A Customer’s Mistake Indirectly

It’s seldom a good idea to directly tell anyone that they’re wrong. Such a direct accusation causes embarrassment, builds resentment and hardens someone’s attitude, and makes it less likely that the person you’re talking to will want to listen to what you have to say.

If you think that your customer or client has made a mistake, begin by using phrases like, “Well, I thought otherwise but I might be wrong. Let’s look at this together.” Being willing to admit that you could be wrong will make it easier for your customer to admit that he might be wrong, too. Even if you know for a certainty that he’s wrong, begin by using diplomacy so that your customer can ’save face’ if he’s proven wrong. If he feels humiliated, you’ve probably lost any chance for future business with him.

If You’re Wrong, Admit It

If you or someone at your company has made a mistake, admit it and apologise, sincerely and in no uncertain terms. If you’ve missed a deadline, mixed up an order or delivered a product or service below your usual standards, there really is no acceptable excuse to a customer who was depending on you.

If you agree that your client has a right to be upset, you’ve effectively removed any grounds for argument and you can begin to negotiate a resolution. When a customer complains, sometimes what they’re really saying is, “How are you going to make this right?” In effect, they’re giving you another chance. The customer you’ve truly lost is the one who doesn’t complain, but simply never returns.

Decide If You Really Need The Business

The only way to win an argument is to avoid it. But there will be times when, despite your best efforts, you will have to decide if the difficult customer’s business is worth the time and emotional strain it costs you. Fortunately, these situations are the exception.

Handling difficult customers can be challenging, but it’s well worth mastering the negotiation skills required to win their loyalty. When they’re satisfied with the way you handle their complaints, they can also be among your biggest sources of referrals. And since customers are the lifeblood of any business, the more you can rely on regular customers and referrals then the less time and money you’ll have to spend to get new business.

Andrew Rondeau transformed himself from a $4 an-hour petrol-pump attendant to a highly successful Senior Manager earning $500k every year. Discover 7 Amazing and Powerful Secrets That Will Double Your Productivity And Reduce Your Working Week At The Same Time by receiving Andrew’s free Career Course and report

Use Your Influence: Nine Tips to Combat Tough Boss Syndrome

gyahner — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 03:28:33 +0000

At one time or another most of you have had to deal with an unpleasant boss…even in the call center industry! Take a look at this article by Alan Vengel for his tips on dealing with a tough boss.

Do you have a boss who…
Changes priorities often, giving you one direction then suddenly sending you off in a different direction entirely?

Changes priorities but doesn’t inform you? When you finish a project, do you often hear, “Oh, no. You shouldn’t have done THAT. That changed.”

Doesn’t give you timely feedback on your work, so you don’t even know if you have been successful? Doesn’t have the time to show you appreciation with a “Thank you” or a “Hey, good job”?

Micromanages every little thing to the nth degree? Is a “Big Picture” type, giving you a sense of what needs to be done but no real direction?

If any of these sounds familiar - or if you have a different, difficult scenario with your boss - you are experiencing Tough Boss Syndrome. Don’t despair! You can empower yourself to get what you want and need.

The key is influence, which is not manipulation, but rather the ability to shape someone’s behavior positively. You can get the results you want and simultaneously build a better relationship with your boss when you influence him or her to be more communicative with you, shaping behavior in a way that improves the relationship.

Most tough boss problems center on communication. With better communication, you can influence your boss more effectively and with less effort. Consider the following questions and actions. All of them will not fit every boss, so choose those you think would be most appropriate for your situation.

1. How does my boss like to receive information?
How much information does your boss like to have? And what’s the best way to deliver it? Is he or she detail-oriented or more interested in The Big Picture?

Some bosses prefer e-mails; others favor hard copies of reports. Still others want face-to-face daily, weekly, or bi-weekly meetings. The easiest way to find out what your boss prefers is through straight forward communication, asking, “How do you like to receive information? When? And how much detail do you like?” Or ask peers who already have successful relationships with the same boss.

2. How much should I involve my boss?
Some bosses feel they need to be included in all decision-making while others are more hands-off. Micromanagers, for example, have a strong need for control, and while you can’t change their personalities or argue away their tendencies, you can find ways to influence them to tell you exactly what they need to know in order to feel comfortable without infringing on your need for autonomy.

An influencing conversation with a micromanager might sound like this: “These are the projects I’m doing and the decisions I am likely to make over the next six weeks. I know you’d like to know some of my decision-making criteria, so I will send you an e-mail every Friday that details the decisions I have made and why I’ve made them. If I do that, will you allow me to make those decisions as I assess the information?”

3. How can I solve my boss’s problems?
Like it or not, your boss’s problems are your problems. If you can figure out what keeps your boss awake at night and then find ways to help solve these problems, you will be a better influencer.

Though you can’t force your boss to disclose problems, you can offer: “If there’s something you want to talk to me about, I’m available for that, and I have the skills to help you in those areas. If you think so, too, the door is open for you to talk to me.”

4. How can I make clear to my boss what I want?
Don’t be shy about asking for what you want. When your boss can give it to you - more responsibility, coaching, or a corner office - ask for it. You may initially have to work up your nerve, but you will earn the respect of your boss, even a tough one.

In fact, when asked, a majority of bosses say that they wish that their employees would just come right out and ask for what they want instead of being evasive, timid, or passive aggressive about their needs and wishes.

5. Do I need more responsibility or less?
Do you feel like you’d enjoy more responsibility, in order to have a sense of accomplishment and to make your job more interesting? Or are you overburdened and stressed out so you’d like less responsibility or a different type of responsibility? Either way, you’re in an influence situation and need to ask for what you want.

Responsibility also means not being a victim; responsible people make changes when they find themselves in a situation they can change. They don’t blame a boss for never talking to them, for example, but instead influence him or her to talk to them more when they need it. When you don’t take responsibility for making a change or getting what you need, you end up blaming your boss, the organization, or your co-workers. Ask yourself, “What can I do about this?”

6. How can I make my boss’s job easier?
Influence and negotiation are very similar; basically, everything’s a trade-off. You can make your boss’s job easier by doing something you know he or she isn’t very skilled at or feels burdened by, such as putting together PowerPoint presentations, for example.

Offer to help by doing this for a few hours every week, while influencing your boss to relieve you of work you don’t want to do. “I’ll be glad to put together those PowerPoint slides,” you might offer, “and what I need from you is to take some of my filing work and give it to someone else.” Create a win-win situation when you offer your boss a mutually
beneficial deal.

7. How can I make my boss look good?
One of the best ways to improve your relationship with your boss is to find ways to make your boss look good in the eyes of his or her boss and customers. If you can do this, your boss will be much more likely to listen to you and grant your requests.

For example, if your boss rarely lets others in the company know about the great things your team is doing, tell him or her that you believe that is important. Show that you’re willing to take on some PR for the boss and the team by offering to talk to other teams for five minutes at their staff meetings or to put a little blurb in the company newsletter about some of the great things that your team is doing.

8. How can I offer my boss feedback?
As people move up in an organization, the amount of feedback they receive lessens. In fact, upper managers and CEOs often feel as if they work in a void because they rarely receive clear, honest assessments of their actions.

Notice when your boss’s work is particularly strong or beneficial to the organization and give positive feedback and encouragement to continue. Be prepared to offer constructive criticism if asked, but remain aware that sometimes bosses need a simple, sincere statement of praise for a job well done, just like you do.

9. What’s the best way I can influence my boss?
Most communication problems with a tough boss result from not understanding. Influencing your boss requires a good pair of ears and some patience, so really listen to your boss’s expectations and challenges. On a regular basis, ask your boss what he or she expects from you, then summarize back what you’ve heard.

You may feel silly at first, but you will experience far fewer misunderstandings and missed connections. Your boss will know that you have correctly heard what;s been said.

Don’t stop with your boss
Everybody loves to work with somebody who listens, who cares, and who understands. Its an essential part of being a great influencer. Listening in a purposeful, skilled way will give you the opportunity to really know what your boss is about.

Though these tips are specifically for tough bosses, you can easily use them in all of your relationships, including those with your colleagues, customers, spouses, kids, parents, and friends. When you practice your influence skills and experience the positive changes, you’ll want to use your influence to turn all of your relationships from tough to terrific!

Alan Vengel is a consultant in management training and organizational development and
author of The Influence Edge - How to Persuade Others to Help You Achieve Your Goals. He offers
cutting edge training and skill building workshops on influence and negotiation.
http://www.vengelconsulting.com.

Call Center Trainings

gyahner — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 02:02:55 +0000

Hani Masgidi

Training is the key for any business success, as it prepares you to take-on the challenges with a lot more skill and belief and when its matter of creating good impression on the customer who is of other nationality, other culture and creed, the role of training gets even more pivotal.

Call centre training is the most crucial part to make the experience of your caller rewarding and to get repeat on sales, otherwise, you won't get a second chance to create your first impression. The key areas which need strenuous training are product knowledge, technology and speaking soft with skill.

Special soft skills trainings would be highly required for your call center team before handling international customers. Starting with the accent, make the heavy and localized accent affordable for the US or other developed nation caller, who are money rich and time-poor, they do not want to take too longer in understanding the alien accents. You will need to train your call center team through accent-neutralization and by arranging smooth and easy to adopt monikers. With this you can overcome the challenges faced by your call center with your international customers.

The difference in cultures, should be highly considered as it is the most difficult challenge call center team might come across. Customers always have high expectations on the customer service representatives. They are in some sort of problem while they are calling, some credit card payment issue, discrepancy on a bill, want to get assistance for computer problem or are seeking delay in their already bookings for airlines, they are all calling you with high level of frustration and the agent ahs to be trained to handle such situations with cool head and a lot of common sense.

These already offended callers are not ready to relieve anyone who is short of words, solutions and way-out for their everyday problems, all the agents should go strenuous in-house training before they are exposed to callers that how compliance can be achieved. US based customers expects the rep to offer a certain level of empathy, put thoughtful questions across, use relevant words and get hold of the problem smartly. Whereas, reps of under developed countries show sympathy which is offending for the callers who are expecting sincere support.

Training can give customer service raps more word choice and way forward to lead the conversation ahead, they can present a confident gesture about offering sincere responses in the manner that echoes with your customer base. The more technology savvy your customer service reps are, the more their chances of converting a call into long-term relationship exist. Train the reps with all the innovative technologies to make them feel good about everything. This will improve their confidence and they will show better performance.

As a crux, the rep should be given adequate knowledge of the content they are supposed to handle, they should be given ample training in receiving calls in safe-simulated environment to get confidence and skills, a detailed perspective of the country which has most potential prospects for the call centre and last but not the least, an ongoing coaching to make their skill, their excellence.

Your One Stop Call Center resources and call center trainings

Too Busy? Think About This

gyahner — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 03:00:38 +0000

This is an older piece by Don Blohowiak with useful thoughts on how to simplify your busy call center work life.

The banner over the advertisement reads:
"Innovative Thinking? We Don't Even Have Time for Bad Thinking."

Ain't that the truth!

The solution, according to IBM's ad, is two-fold: Untangling your business processes. And buying its On Demand Innovation Services.

Could be. But before that's all behind you, try this:

Schedule some unscheduled time. Go ahead. Block out a chunk of "protected time." And protect it jealously.

Then, when that delicious oasis arrives in the middle of your day, give yourself permission to just sit there. Resist the tremendous temptation to ignore your own appointment directing you to do nothing.

All those pressing matters will still be there waiting for your executive brilliance in another 60 or 90 minutes. But you'll be more energized and better enabled to tackle them after your respite.

So, go ahead. Just sit there. Don't type an email. Don't read a memo.

Just sit there.

Stare out the window.

Contemplate the pictures on your desk. (That you cherish but never really look at.)

Get up and stroll. To nowhere in particular.

Try this as well: Give yourself the gift of quiet time.

Suggestion: Drive to and from work at least one day a week in complete silence. Stereo off. Cell phone on silent.

Once you're no longer uncomfortable with that stranger named Quiet, your mind will pleasantly drift. And wonderful new thoughts will bubble up.

Tip: Here's an easy way to capture those unexpected eurekas that you'll inevitably liberate:

Have your assistant's voicemail (or your own) on your cell phone's speed dial. When the muse comes a tickling, call and dictate your brilliance for transcription. And action, when you are—all too soon—back in the frenetic fray.

Lead Well® helps organizations to improve measurable results by developing their current and future leaders. For more information, please contact us. By phone, toll-free in the USA: 1-888-LeadWell (532-3935), or 1-609-716-9490. By email, Info@LeadWell.com.
Don Blohowiak, a management consultant and popular conference speaker, is the author of several business books. The executive director of the Lead Well® Institute in Princeton, NJ, he may be reached at http://www.LeadWell.com/.

More is Said Than Done About Improving Customer Service

gyahner — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 02:58:14 +0000

Excellent customer service is a goal of every call center manager I have ever met. Below is an article by Jim Clemmer concerning his views on the topic.

"Customer demands are getting harder and harder to meet. That's great because it's getting tougher for our competition to survive." — Comment from the CEO of a very successful company

Effective teams, organizations, and leaders exist to serve others. And those who provide the highest levels of service/quality enjoy the richest rewards. That's not just some platitude or warm and fuzzy theory; it's become a well-proven fact. In Firing on All Cylinders I reviewed much of this evidence. I showed that those organizations with the highest service/quality levels have the highest levels of growth in revenue, customer satisfaction and retention, market share, productivity, safety, and employee morale while also reducing costs. So it's not surprising that the best service/quality leaders are also profitable leaders.

Since writing Firing on All Cylinders, the research continues to pour in. My files are bulging with study after study showing that outstanding service/quality performance is one of the key contributors to outstanding financial performance.

It's nothing new. Peter Drucker has been reminding us for decades now that the only reason for the existence of any business is to get and keep customers. Winston Churchill once said, "If you aim to profit, learn to please." A century ago, Russell Conwell would conclude his famous "Acres of Diamonds" speeches by urging his listeners to start their search for riches by "first knowing the demand." He continued, "You must first know what people need, and then invest yourself where you are most needed."

Understanding and managing to current customer expectations means having both the will and the way. We must first agree that our customers' expectations and perceptions of the value they receive from us is a key driver of our business. Then we need to systematically turn soft customer expectations and perceptions into hard, manageable data. That calls for the discipline of a rigorous management system and process.

A service/quality improvement system can be boiled down to three major steps: (1) Identify Current Customers/Partners; (2) Prioritize Expectations; and (3) Gap Analysis. These steps are part of the rigorous goals, measurements, and standards we need to continually improve our current products and services to our existing customers.

But these management steps need to be counterbalanced with the leadership actions of exploring, searching, and creating tomorrow's markets and customers, innovation, and organizational learning.

Lots of Customer Talk, Little Action

"Ninety-five percent of managers today say the right thing. Five percent actually do it." — James O'Toole, leadership professor, quoted in the Fortune article "The New Post-Heroic Leadership"

We have spoken to, or worked with, hundreds of management teams interested in becoming more "customer-driven." Many aspire, some understand, but only a few truly do. Despite all the proclamations, catchy advertising slogans, and customer service publicity, service levels have improved only marginally in the last few years. As Harvard Business School professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter puts it: "Despite the recent media coronation of King Customer, many customers will remain commoners…most businesses today say that they serve customers. In reality, they serve themselves."

Jim Clemmer’s practical leadership books, keynote presentations, workshops, and team retreats have helped hundreds of thousands of people worldwide improve personal, team, and organizational leadership. Visit his web site, http://jimclemmer.com/, for a huge selection of free practical resources including nearly 300 articles, dozens of video clips, team assessments, leadership newsletter, Improvement Points service, and popular leadership blog. Jim's five international bestselling books include The VIP Strategy, Firing on All Cylinders, Pathways to Performance, Growing the Distance, and The Leader's Digest. His latest book is Moose on the Table: A Novel Approach to Communications @ Work.

Call Center Cafe

How To Use Succession Planning To Build A Successful Team

More Related Topics…

Constructive Feedback - How to get the Best from Your Employees

More Related Topics…

Start Improving Your Call Center Effectiveness

More Related Topics…

Tips on How to Achieve Success in Customer Service

More Related Topics…

Presentation Skills - Three Points and Your Out!

More Related Topics…

Deal With Difficult Customers

More Related Topics…

Use Your Influence: Nine Tips to Combat Tough Boss Syndrome

More Related Topics…

Call Center Trainings

More Related Topics…

Too Busy? Think About This

More Related Topics…

More is Said Than Done About Improving Customer Service

More Related Topics…