Have You Had Your Laugh Today?
May 15, 2008
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Jody Urquhart
Deep laughter lowers our levels of stress hormones, raises our pain threshold, increases our ability to fight upper respiratory diseases, relaxes muscles and reduces anxiety. Cracking up even has cardiovascular benefits. Studies done at
Anybody can use laughter as therapy. There are no limitations in how often it's done, and there's no cost involved. It doesn't even have to be a real laugh. The body doesn't know the difference. If you pretend to start laughing, then you start really laughing. The following is only a partial list of the benefits of Laughing:
Laughter takes the focus off your problems
A sense of humor helps us gain a fuller and more realistic perspective of the world
Laughing invokes feelings of happiness and joy. Instead of being gloomy and frustrated
It’s easier to think creatively around a problem when our mind is lighter from laughter
Shared laughter promotes bondage and unity within the group.
Laughter also opens the door to more real and risky communication.
Humor can dramatically change the quality and outlook of our lives. Humor is an easy way to get in touch with your feelings, and control them in difficult situations.
Laughter is not the same as humor. Laughter is simply the physiological response to humor.
Laughing makes us feel good for a reason. The physiological effects on our body do some pretty amazing stunts. For instance:
Laughter appears to reduce levels of certain Stress Hormones
Laughter boosts the Immune System and Lowers Blood Pressure
Laughter may lead to hiccuping and coughing, which will clear the respiratory tract by dislodging mucus plugs.
Laughter also gives your diaphragm and abdominal, respiratory and facial, leg and back muscles a workout.
There also has been some belief that laughter may help prevent some life-threatening diseases
Share some humor today. Give yourself permission to REALLY
LAUGH!
Jody Urquhart is a professional speaker who for the last ten years has motivated and inspired professionals to use humor to change there lives. Please contact us to see how we can recognize and inspire professionals at your next event.
Remember life doesn't care whether you are having fun or not. You should. The only person stopping you from having more fun is you.
Delighting Customers
May 6, 2008
They are your lifeblood. And through Delighting Customers frequently and often, you will drive success to your business or organisation.
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.
"Every business is built on friendship."
J. C. Penney
So, it is more, much more than creating a successful transaction. It is about a relationship that is far stronger.
Top Ten Things About Delighting Customers
Think of a time when you went 'Wow - that experience was something…'. It could have been a call centre, a store or at your doctor's receptionist. Sometimes, just sometimes, you get such memorable service you want more - and that place is special.
The very best places at Delighting Customers…
Have Confidence
They have people who are at the top of their game because they have the right training and use it in an enlightened culture.
Have Fun
By encouraging fun with each other, their people have fun with their customers and build happy relationships. This builds for the future.
Do More
By 'going the extra mile', their people show they care - not just superficially - but truly care for their customers
Put Customers First
No distraction gets in the way of being there for the customer. Great places have people who, come what may, have their customers needs first.
Empower Their People
In this way, their people are allowed to do anything that gets the very best outcome for their customers. They are encouraged to make sensible decisions to exceed the expectations of their customers.
Workaround Processes
They realise that whilst processes and systems are important, they are secondary to the needs of their customers.
Are Very Aware
They sense well. Meaning that they take in behaviours, words, moods and other signs to appreciate customer needs - in the moment; straight away, which strengthens the bond between them.
Follow Through
They do what they say they will do. Promises are always kept and everyone understands that as a given.
Respond to Feedback
And as the people are aware, they also pick up signals and signs. Where change is necessary, they respond urgently. They understand accountability and nothing slips by.
Treat Their Own People Very Well
In such organizations, their people are always treated well and there is a culture of trust and honesty. No one is ever blamed, though lessons are learned and in a supportive and generative way. This is reflected in their work with customers
Ten Ways to be Better at Delighting Customers
- Empower Your People
Give free rein to all of your people to do anything that makes your customer service special. - Don't 'Sell' - Offer Solutions
Be flexible in your approach - sometimes don't make a sale. But offer solutions in the best interest of your customer. Be really nice people! - Do Something More
And when you've offered the solution, do even more. One last act; one extra mile - think it through - let your people own their unique solutions. Trust them. - Be Interested in Them
Listen well to your customers - get interested in what's important to them - even if it's not related to a sale. But do it very, very well with sincerity. - See Their Point of View
Get to the bottom of what issues your customer has - and however challenging it might be, see their point of view - put yourself in their position. - Watch from a Distance
Truly experience your customers journey in your business. Actually experience it! Call the call centre, pay at the till, observe the service standards - then get to the source of issues you uncover - the true source and fix it. - Bend the Rules
Give your people license to include customers in bending the rules a little. Let your people 'cheat' your systems a bit, and let the customer in on it! - Fix Things
When you are hearing or seeing things that are wrong, respond positively and quickly and let your customers know what you've done. Thank them for their involvement. Use complaints as a really exciting and positive thing to help you grow and improve - celebrate them! If it fits, reward them somehow. - Follow UP
Keep in touch with customers - check if their products or services are OK and provide people who can help them if not. Profit in comes from repeat orders. - Open Your Culture
Hear what your people are saying - ask them if they are happy - if not, what you can do to help them. Dissatisfied customers come from dissatisfied employees - only you, as the boss can make this better.
5 Simple Actions You Can Take Today!
Target three customers a day where you do something unexpectedly positive for them. Next step - find out from your people what they might do in this way.
Enable your people to make every possible customer delighted. Turn off the blame and fault buttons in your organization!
Talk to your customers and show real interest - ask them more about what turns them on - be very sincere - checkout Communication
Find out what irritates your customers and fix it fast. If you can, let them know.
Get to know what is getting in your people's way from Delighting Customers. Make the changes needed openly and be prepared to make changes in yourself first.
Read some great books like:-
"First Break All the Rules (especially Chapter 4 - Rules of Thumb - Rule 4) - this is a brilliant book anyway, so buy the thing! - Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman
"Delivering Knock Your Socks off Service" - Ron Zemke
"Customer Centered Growth" - Richard Whiteley & Diane Hessan
"Used by permission of www.coaching-businesses-to-success.com"
Call Center Morale Boosting Strategies
February 20, 2008
Call Center Games Will Improve Employee Morale and Boost Performance. Check it out and get 2 Free Samples.
Call Center Morale Boosting Strategies
By Michael Russell
Morale is deceptively important in the running of an efficient call center. The reason it is deceptive is because while most bosses acknowledge the relationship between morale and productivity, few call center bosses are able to accurately pin down a decrease in productivity as being directly related to a lowered morale. The reason it is important is the same; namely that a higher morale means happier workers, which in turn leads to an overall increase in call center productivity.
What does it mean to have high productivity in a call center? Well for starters it means a higher level of customer focus, as call center agents with higher morale are going to sound more pleasant over the phone. It is human nature to unconsciously let feelings show through and in a job that involves a large amount of telephone conversation, it becomes easy to see how an unhappy worker can result in customer complaints and unnecessary headache further on down the road.
More than just customer focus, high morale in a specific worker can lead to that worker contributing to a more relaxed working environment, which in turn can have a positive morale effect on another worker. This worker then contributes to an even more relaxed working environment and so forth. Morale boosting can create a positive feedback cycle that benefits the whole staff of a call center, thereby making things easier for everyone involved.
So how can one increase the morale of their call center staff? The first step is in understanding what causes morale drops in the first place. Call center employment, as far as front line services go, is the ultimate emotional roller coaster ride. A worker can receive a compliment from one customer that makes them feel great and thirty seconds later be in tears from an angry client using harsh words against them. While it is impossible to avoid angry clients, attentive bosses can take steps that diminish the impact angry clients and other potential obstacles have on the morale of their staff.
The best morale boosters are ones that understand how humans work and think. Incentives are a good way to start; a bonus for achieving a milestone (such as working a certain number of hours without receiving a complaint) is something that will make a worker feel special, as well as let them know that their boss is looking after them directly.
Recognition is another important form of morale boosting that is frequently overlooked by call center administrators. Human nature is such that even a simple thank you can last a long time. Call center staff that have been working the phones a long time develop a confirmation bias that magnifies one type of call and diminishes another in their memory. If their bias is toward positive phone calls, then half the battle if done. If however it turns out to be toward negative phone calls, they will need help to keep their morale high.
And that is where recognition comes in. Finding a way to recognize workers on a regular basis for a job well done can really keep them in high spirits, allowing them to get through that next bad day with less effort than otherwise. Remember what I said above about the positive feedback high morale can generate? Recognition is a simple way to start that loop.
In conclusion, a good way to view call center morale is to think of it as a tool of the trade that is used to increase worker productivity. Call center administrators need to be savvy enough to realize the important relationship between worker morale and worker productivity. High morale is one of the most important aspects of a good call center and with it the sky is truly the limit to what workers can accomplish.
Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Call Centers
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Russell
http://EzineArticles.com/?Call-Center-Morale-Boosting-Strategies&id=456718
