These are challenging times in every industry and the economy is seriously impacting job security. That's why it's more important than ever to position yourself as a valuable employee in your organization. Your manager's perception is reality. The higher your perceived value, the more secure you will be in your job. Here are seven simple steps to gain positive notice by your boss and co-workers:
Exhibit a positive attitude at all times.
Attitude is a choice you make every morning when you roll out of bed. Walk into work every day with a smile. Be loyal to your co-workers, even those individuals you don't like. Don't ever gossip or criticize a co-worker. It will erode trust and damage your credibility. Don't view work-related questions as interruptions of your work. Instead, greet your co-workers with warmth and a sincere willingness to help.
Arrive early and leave late.
Always be on time for work and meetings. Better yet, arrive a few minutes early to demonstrate that you are enthusiastic about your job. Don't race out the door at quitting time. Instead, stay an extra five or ten minutes to create a "to do" list for the next day, make some last minute calls and clear the clutter on your desk. It sends a highly professional signal to your boss and will help you to jumpstart your work the following day.
Embrace change.
Change is about the only thing you can count on in the workplace. Demonstrate your commitment to the future by embracing change, not criticizing or reluctantly accepting it. Give up old habits that are holding you back or making you appear outdated. Actively participate in changes by supporting even those initiatives with which you may not agree (see "Exhibit a positive attitude...").
Maintain a professional image.
Dress for success. Wear clean, pressed, appropriate clothing that reflects the image of the top people in your organization. A sloppy image sends a message of unreliability or apathy to your boss. Keep your work area well-organized and free of clutter.
Stay tuned to your manager's priorities.
Don't get hung up performing menial tasks that can take up large chunks of your valuable time. Find out what is most important to your manager and focus your energy on tasks that support his or her priorities.
Increase your knowledge.
Actively participate in training classes and show enthusiasm about developing new skills. Keep up to date on industry and technology changes. Take classes outside of the workplace to learn skills that will help you to become more promotable in other areas of the organization.
Develop strong customer relationships.
Frankly, the more your customers love you, the more valuable you become. Most businesses want to keep their employees who build customer loyalty. Get to know your customers. Listen carefully to their requests and show them that you sincerely care about their concerns. When customers are singing your praises, your boss can see concrete evidence of how you are supporting the bottom line.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Monday, March 02, 2009
One Rude Employee Can Cost a Business Big Money
In spite of winter's frigid temperatures, it's time for a Spring cleaning. These are challenging times and the domino effect of the economic downturn is hurting every industry. Businesses are laying off record numbers of employees. But are the right employees heading out the doors?
Do you have a certain co-worker who always seems to get away with doing the minimum amount of effort each day while the other employees are working hard? Do you find yourself apologizing to customers because of the way a particular employee handled their service requests?
In their book, "How Full is Your Bucket," Tom Rath and Donald O. Clifton write: "It is possible for just one or two people to poison an entire workplace. And managers who have tried moving negative people to other departments to alleviate the problem know that 'location, location, location' doesn't apply to these people; they bring their negativity along with them wherever they go. Negative employees can tear through a workplace like a hurricane racing through a coastal town."
A rude customer service rep greeted me when I called my airline to report that 2,800 miles I had earned on a recent trip had not been credited to my frequent flyer account. She said she could only give me the miles if I provided her with my ticket number. I explained that I no longer had my ticket because the flight attendant at the airport had assured me that the miles had been credited to my account. Her reply? "That's your problem, not mine. You'll just have to call your travel agent and get the ticket numbers. Then you can call back and start over."
The next day I contacted the airline's frequent flyer customer service department. This time, I was greeted by a warm, friendly employee, who proved to be extremely helpful. I happened to mention the negative experience I had with the other rep. She apologized and asked if I knew the rep's name. I said it was Kayla.
At first, my comment was greeted with silence, then, with a sigh she said, "Ah yes. She tends to rub our customers the wrong way. You're not the first person who's complained about her. Everyone else in our department is so nice and we really care about our customers but her attitude makes us all look bad."
When customers and co-workers have attached a negative attitude label to a specific employee, it is time to evaluate that employee's cost to the organization. The cost of a rude employee can be measured in the following ways:
-Cost of losing an angry customer
-Cost of wasting time with re-work caused by the employee's refusal to handle the service properly the first time
-Cost of replacing good employees who leave because they don't want to work with this negative employee
-Cost of negative word-of-mouth advertising
-Cost of time wasted by managers trying to fix the employee's attitude
A rude employee is like a skunk in a field full of cats. She may look like the others but her negative attitude makes her service stink. Not only that, the behaviors of one employee can give customers the impression that the whole department and even the company stinks. Sixty-eight percent of customers leave because of an attitude of indifference by a single employee. Take a look at your field of great employees. Are skunks hiding there? How much damage are they doing to your co-worker and customer relationships? Are they worth it?
Do you have a certain co-worker who always seems to get away with doing the minimum amount of effort each day while the other employees are working hard? Do you find yourself apologizing to customers because of the way a particular employee handled their service requests?
In their book, "How Full is Your Bucket," Tom Rath and Donald O. Clifton write: "It is possible for just one or two people to poison an entire workplace. And managers who have tried moving negative people to other departments to alleviate the problem know that 'location, location, location' doesn't apply to these people; they bring their negativity along with them wherever they go. Negative employees can tear through a workplace like a hurricane racing through a coastal town."
A rude customer service rep greeted me when I called my airline to report that 2,800 miles I had earned on a recent trip had not been credited to my frequent flyer account. She said she could only give me the miles if I provided her with my ticket number. I explained that I no longer had my ticket because the flight attendant at the airport had assured me that the miles had been credited to my account. Her reply? "That's your problem, not mine. You'll just have to call your travel agent and get the ticket numbers. Then you can call back and start over."
The next day I contacted the airline's frequent flyer customer service department. This time, I was greeted by a warm, friendly employee, who proved to be extremely helpful. I happened to mention the negative experience I had with the other rep. She apologized and asked if I knew the rep's name. I said it was Kayla.
At first, my comment was greeted with silence, then, with a sigh she said, "Ah yes. She tends to rub our customers the wrong way. You're not the first person who's complained about her. Everyone else in our department is so nice and we really care about our customers but her attitude makes us all look bad."
When customers and co-workers have attached a negative attitude label to a specific employee, it is time to evaluate that employee's cost to the organization. The cost of a rude employee can be measured in the following ways:
-Cost of losing an angry customer
-Cost of wasting time with re-work caused by the employee's refusal to handle the service properly the first time
-Cost of replacing good employees who leave because they don't want to work with this negative employee
-Cost of negative word-of-mouth advertising
-Cost of time wasted by managers trying to fix the employee's attitude
A rude employee is like a skunk in a field full of cats. She may look like the others but her negative attitude makes her service stink. Not only that, the behaviors of one employee can give customers the impression that the whole department and even the company stinks. Sixty-eight percent of customers leave because of an attitude of indifference by a single employee. Take a look at your field of great employees. Are skunks hiding there? How much damage are they doing to your co-worker and customer relationships? Are they worth it?
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