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!
Social Media – Are You Ready?
What a great day. I spoke this morning at the ACCA group (Austin Contact Center Alliance) annual meeting. ACCA is one of the best-run local call center groups in the country. Jewell Parker and the board do a great job. And I don’t say that because they have asked me to speak three years in a row – but because it is true! I was honored to be on the agenda again this year.
My topic was Social Media in the Call Center (Contact Center, Interaction Center, Social Media Center – whatever you call it). The key learning that I attempted to share was that social medial is happening already for most companies. The question is how is the call center engaged in the experience. Customers are probably talking about your company on the web – blogs, Yammer, Twitter, YouTube, FaceBook, and many other social places. So, if the noise is out there, my question is, “what are you doing about it?”
The most asked question for me is, “so what do we do first?” I think there are two basic first steps – #1 – listen. Then once you know what is there, you can decide if #2 – engage – is necessary.
Listening means putting processes and technology in place to listen to what people are saying. It can be as simple as checking search.twitter.com for words that fit your company. TweetDeck is also a simple and free option for tracking tweet-words or tweet-phrases. Of course there are many other types of technology to help you track and listen. If you need more details, click over to the resources page and download the Social Media Resource List from the session.
The second step is where the fun begins – ENGAGE. This is where you begin to work with your marketing team or PR team and make the call center relevant into the conversation with customers.
I look forward to sharing additional Social Media “how-to” ideas over the next weeks…
The bottom line is that we are all learning as we go – and even the experts have only been doing this for 12 to 18 months. So, jump in – listen first – and read everything you can get your hands on – to prepare you for what is coming. Social Media is our next channel – are you ready?
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
