Leading The Culture Shift
I am always thankful for the opportunity to write for Contact Center Pipeline. The publication provides consistenly relevant information for contact center leaders. I am honored to be a part of the writing team several times each year.
The December issue is filled with great information and includes my article “Leading The Culture Shift.” The article offers nine steps for redefining the vision, mission, strategy, goals and tactics of the organization – along with steps to understand and shift the culture based on those goals. It does not offer a quick-fix but a long-term strategy for success.
“Culture is not what the management team says but what employees say when management is not around. Culture is the “story” they tell friends and family when they talk about their job.”
You can download a free copy of the entire December magazine here: Click Here
My article starts on page 15. There is also a link for downloading a special worksheet to help you put the concepts into practice in your center.
The Little Voice In Your Head
Filed under: Engagement, Leadership, Management, People, Relational Leadership
I heard a speaker today talk about how to lead a productive and happy life. He talked about the need to keep a positive and focused attitude. The angle for his speech was to ask, “what music is playing in your head. Is it a positive song with expectations for positive outcomes or is it a song of negative thoughts?”
I had a friend tell me recently that the “little voice in his head” was nagging him to do something new with his life. Now if you knew my friend you would probably ask the same thing I did – are you sure that it is one voice or many? Because if “you are hearing voices in your head you may have a different problem.” So let me ask you this – what is the little voice in your head telling you? Are you one of those people that starts the day with a positive spin on life or do you tend to look at the negative possibilities.
I watched recently as a supervisor in a call center stood in the middle of the room as people arrived for the morning shift. She greeted each one with a positive comment and a great smile. I heard her say things like “this is gonna be your best day of the week….” and “are you ready for a great day?” The power of this simple act was reflected in the attitudes of the people who sat down to talk with customers and potential customers. I bet if you could look inside her head there is great music playing – maybe some U2 or Creed. It was obvious that she chooses to start each day with positive thoughts.
I have been on a mission lately to help supervisors, managers and leaders narrow their focus for success to three things. I love to ask, “What are the top three things you want agents to do when they talk with a customer?” or “What are the top three things you want employees to do when they greet a customer?” Defining these three things clearly allows the employee to understand your expectations.
So with that in mind – here are the three things about that little voice in your head:
- Be a moti-vator not a moti-sucker. Have you ever been around one of those people that are so negative that they just suck the air at out of the room? Don’t be that person. Start today trying to find the positive spin on things. Do the “Tony Robbins” thing and start out telling yourself that you WILL be more POSITIVE today!
- Compliment someone as the first task of the morning. Create a 10-before-10 rule with yourself. Spend 10 minutes before 10:00 am walking around the office with the express purpose of telling someone that you appreciate their work.
- Read something positive. Make time for yourself. I told a new supervisor last week that they should learn something every day that no one can ever take away. Reading is like that. My recent Amazon.com search showed that there are 2016 items about leadership and 530 about positive thinking. Pick one, buy it, read it and invest in yourself.
And the next time that little voice in your head starts to go negative – tell them you are not listening any more.
Simple Words Seem To Be Hard To Say
As I stood in line for my daily shot of caffeine, a guy walked in the door with a coffee in his hand. He sorta
stepped to the front of the line and said, “I just went through the drive-through and this is not what I ordered.” Being a customer service kind of guy, my expectation was that the lady behind the counter would apologize – nothing big or dramatic but a simple “Oh, I’m sorry – how can I make it right?” But the answer did not include one of the most simple tenants of customer interaction; instead she asked him what he ordered? He told her (I cannot remember the details because it was one of those silly multi-word coffee orders that included “extra hot.”) She then said, “what is wrong with it?” He said he was not sure but that he ordered it almost every day and that in addition to not being extra hot, it did not taste right.
Again – she had the opportunity to apologize but failed again – saying, “OK – I will remake it for you. They must have not included the caramel.”
Now, the funny part was that there were only two people working – she, as the coffee barister and the person working the window – which means she was the “they.” With that, the conversation took another turn. Instead of taking responsibility for the mistake, she was blaming others for the problem.
In a workshop recently I had an employee tell me that she did not think she should ever say she was sorry because that was admitting that the company had done something wrong.
Here’s the question of the day – do your employees feel the same way? Is it OK for them to take responsibility for mistakes? Do they have permission to say they are sorry? If I were your customer – and I walked in and said that my coffee (or product/service) was not the right one, would your employee instinctively say, “I’m sorry” and then attempt to solve my problem? I hope so! You should know so!
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
