Restart – again….
It has been a while since I posted here on my blog. Life has a way of getting in the way what is important. In my new role at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital I find my days (and often nights) filled with new work and new opportunity.
I tell myself often that I need to devote time each day or each week to writing again – and then I forget to eat the frog (see previous post) and another day and week and month goes by with nothing. But, this post hopefully the beginning of more – and hopefully a new day of consistent posts. Thanks for reading!
Passion Produces Passion
Filed under: Engagement, Leadership, Management, People, Relational Leadership
I recently had a conversation with one of my colleagues in the industry. We talked about why one company struggles with turnover and low morale while another company flourishes? We came to the conclusion that the answer is often leadership! As we continued to talk, this story unfolded.
He told me a story of how a CEO was recently talking to a group of his customer service folks about how important they were to the success of the company. After the meeting, one of the frontline people approached him afterwards and was “beaming.” She told him that he made her want to run from the meeting and solve all customer problems. I asked him what the CEO said that would have that kind of impact on an employee. He said it was pretty basic – in fact, the CEO said he was sure he had said much of it before in other management meetings – but that somehow the message was not getting through to the frontline.
He said that in the meeting he discussed how important every customer interaction was to the success of the company. He thanked them for their attitude of service and challenged them to do even better.
The employee said that she had “no idea how passionate he was about customers” and that she just felt so special now.
Wow – let’s think about that for a moment. The CEO did not give the agent a raise, he did not change any policies, he did not adjust her work schedule – he just spent some time talking about his vision and his thoughts about how important customer service is to the company.
Ask yourself this, how long has it been since you told your people how important they are? How long has it been since you found a way to show your passion for the customer first-hand? It does not matter if you are CEO or a frontline supervisor – your vision – your passion for excellence is a motivator like no other. It is important that your people feel the passion – that they WANT to follow you… that they trust their leader…
Schedule some time to share your vision with your people and don’t be afraid to show your passion for excellence!
People are Valuable
Filed under: Engagement, Leadership, Management, People, Relational Leadership
About 15 years ago, I had a manager tell me that I would never go anywhere because I cared too much about the people that worked for me. He said that I needed to pay more attention to the business and less attention to whether people were happy. Well, here I am 15 years later still espousing the concepts of “loving people.” I have worked in the call center industry now more than 30 years (which is really hard to believe). And, throughout all that time, the one thing that is a constant for all successful managers is this one concept – “they loved their people!”
If you are new to the customer service or call center industry, and either a new manager or thinking about becoming a new manager – ask yourself this question – do you love people? Do you love watching them succeed? Do you love the feeling that comes with a successful coaching session? Do you love the people part of your job? If not, it is not too late to find another profession…
As a buddy of mine likes to say, no one walked to the front of the room in 2nd grade holding a headset and telling the class, “when I grow-up I want to work in a call center.” But if you find yourself there now, I believe you are in one of the most rewarding jobs in America. I don’t care what my manager named Ravi told me 15 years ago – you cannot love your people too much!
Bob Furniss
As founder and President of Touchpoint Associates, Inc., Bob Furniss has more than 25 years of experience in the customer service field - assisting organizations to increase productivity and profits by bringing out the best in their people. He has shared his experience in the areas of leadership and service with some of the top companies in America - companies like FedEx, Corporate Express, DePaul University, Delta Airlines, Hanley Wood and more.
Click here to email Bob direct
