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 Give up old habits that are holding you back or making you appear outdated.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?
Monday, November 10, 2008
Lunacy In The Lap Lane
My husband and I were lounging by the pool at our health club when we were rattled out of our revelry by a commotion in the lap lanes.
For ten minutes or so we had been chatting while two women were swimming laps in the pool in front of us. They were in separate lanes. One woman was in her mid-40s and the other woman was around 70. Suddenly, the younger woman stopped swimming, and whacked the older swimmer on the shoulder with her Styrofoam kickboard.
She continued hitting the older woman with her kickboard while yelling at her, "You've bumped into me three times! Why don't you watch where you're going?"
She was yelling so loudly that everyone in the pool stopped what they were doing and stared at her. The older woman was shielding herself from the blows and apologizing. "I...I didn't mean to bump you. I've stayed in my own lane. I'm sorry," she said.
"Well, sorry isn't good enough," the younger woman replied. "I take my swimming seriously, and you should learn the rules." With that, she swam off.
It was like a crazy Saturday Night Live episode. Most of the observers were mildly shocked and angered by this woman's behavior. Some found it quite amusing. A few people sitting by the edge of the pool started laughing at the offending woman. Once again she stopped, looked up at the laughing group and said, "Oh sure, use me as your weekend entertainment why don't you?"
Now the kickboard is light and the woman didn't actually hit hard enough to cause physical harm. But the older swimmer was clearly shaken and upset. After a few minutes, she quietly exited the pool and headed indoors.
Regardless of pool rules, there is no question that the younger woman was way out of line. No one wants to belong to a family-oriented health club where this type of behavior is tolerated. I carefully watched the lifeguards and club staff to see if anyone was going to address the issue of inappropriate behavior with the woman who did the hitting. No one did.
One group of club members was so angry about the incident that they wanted the women's membership revoked. Others talked to the head of the aquatics program and requested that she at least address the issue with the swimmer who did the hitting. The director laughed nervously and said, "I don't know what to say to her. Let's just hope it doesn't happen again."
The health club staff's lack of willingness to act on this matter has caused a great deal of frustration with many members. Some are threatening to cancel their membership. As customers of the club, they feel they have a right to expect all members to adhere to the rules of etiquette and courtesy.
Their lack of ability to take action in this matter will cause the club to lose good members. Ironically, the woman who caused the problem is still there swimming laps as if nothing had happened. I haven't seen the older woman since that day.
Employees need to be trained and empowered to deal with customers who act inappropriately. When the nasty behavior of a single customer is not addressed, it can do considerable damage to the image of a business. It compromises the quality of service that all of the other customers receive. It also lowers the credibility of all employees who are present.
You owe it to your customers to deliver great service in an environment where they feel valued and safe. This means that no behavior that it offensive to other customers can be tolerated. The employees at my health club clearly were ill-equipped to handle this type of situation. Conflict management training is essential for employees who work in organizations where there is considerable interaction between customers.
For ten minutes or so we had been chatting while two women were swimming laps in the pool in front of us. They were in separate lanes. One woman was in her mid-40s and the other woman was around 70. Suddenly, the younger woman stopped swimming, and whacked the older swimmer on the shoulder with her Styrofoam kickboard.
She continued hitting the older woman with her kickboard while yelling at her, "You've bumped into me three times! Why don't you watch where you're going?"
She was yelling so loudly that everyone in the pool stopped what they were doing and stared at her. The older woman was shielding herself from the blows and apologizing. "I...I didn't mean to bump you. I've stayed in my own lane. I'm sorry," she said.
"Well, sorry isn't good enough," the younger woman replied. "I take my swimming seriously, and you should learn the rules." With that, she swam off.
It was like a crazy Saturday Night Live episode. Most of the observers were mildly shocked and angered by this woman's behavior. Some found it quite amusing. A few people sitting by the edge of the pool started laughing at the offending woman. Once again she stopped, looked up at the laughing group and said, "Oh sure, use me as your weekend entertainment why don't you?"
Now the kickboard is light and the woman didn't actually hit hard enough to cause physical harm. But the older swimmer was clearly shaken and upset. After a few minutes, she quietly exited the pool and headed indoors.
Regardless of pool rules, there is no question that the younger woman was way out of line. No one wants to belong to a family-oriented health club where this type of behavior is tolerated. I carefully watched the lifeguards and club staff to see if anyone was going to address the issue of inappropriate behavior with the woman who did the hitting. No one did.
One group of club members was so angry about the incident that they wanted the women's membership revoked. Others talked to the head of the aquatics program and requested that she at least address the issue with the swimmer who did the hitting. The director laughed nervously and said, "I don't know what to say to her. Let's just hope it doesn't happen again."
The health club staff's lack of willingness to act on this matter has caused a great deal of frustration with many members. Some are threatening to cancel their membership. As customers of the club, they feel they have a right to expect all members to adhere to the rules of etiquette and courtesy.
Their lack of ability to take action in this matter will cause the club to lose good members. Ironically, the woman who caused the problem is still there swimming laps as if nothing had happened. I haven't seen the older woman since that day.
Employees need to be trained and empowered to deal with customers who act inappropriately. When the nasty behavior of a single customer is not addressed, it can do considerable damage to the image of a business. It compromises the quality of service that all of the other customers receive. It also lowers the credibility of all employees who are present.
You owe it to your customers to deliver great service in an environment where they feel valued and safe. This means that no behavior that it offensive to other customers can be tolerated. The employees at my health club clearly were ill-equipped to handle this type of situation. Conflict management training is essential for employees who work in organizations where there is considerable interaction between customers.
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Turn Off Your Toys During Meetings
At a recent sales convention, the CEO of the company walked up to the microphone and stepped into the spotlight to make a speech. The house lights were lowered for dramatic effect. The room became dark, except for an eerie blue glow that could be seen emanating from seats throughout the ballroom. It was the glow of cell phones, PDAs and pagers.
There is nothing more insulting to a meeting facilitator or the other people in attendance, than a co-worker who is pulling out electronic gadgets to check or send messages. Put your toys away. It is not only rude, it sends a clear signal to your boss that your mind isn't 100 percent on your job. Your calls can wait until your meeting is over or until there is a break. Remember, there was a time before we had cell phones.
Turn off your cell phone, pager, palm pilot or Blackberry and laptop before you enter the meeting. Even if your gadgets are turned off, do not leave them hanging on your ear or lying on the table in front of you. Your laptop should be closed. When you are invited to attend a meeting, your focus should be on the discussion taking place in that meeting, not on your toys.
If you must have access to your electronic gadget, you need to explain the reason to the group and request their permission to leave it turned on. For example, others may need a quick way to reach you if you are dealing with a family emergency or there is a potential crisis brewing within the company. If you must turn it on, make sure that is set on the vibrate mode. If a call comes in, quietly excuse yourself from the room before you answer.
Unless you have received permission from the group, turn off all electronic equipment. Better yet, don't even bring it. Glancing at your phone, sending a text message or checking your email during the meeting will communicate that you are uninterested, bored or distracted. But the loudest message you will communicate is, "I am immature and unprofessional."
Setting behavioral guidelines for meetings is an excellent way to eliminate the use of gadgets and other disruptive behavior during meetings. You can learn how to set meeting guidelines and the secrets of planning successful meetings when you order the Teleseminar CD, "How to Manage Effective, Productive Meetings."
There is nothing more insulting to a meeting facilitator or the other people in attendance, than a co-worker who is pulling out electronic gadgets to check or send messages. Put your toys away. It is not only rude, it sends a clear signal to your boss that your mind isn't 100 percent on your job. Your calls can wait until your meeting is over or until there is a break. Remember, there was a time before we had cell phones.
Turn off your cell phone, pager, palm pilot or Blackberry and laptop before you enter the meeting. Even if your gadgets are turned off, do not leave them hanging on your ear or lying on the table in front of you. Your laptop should be closed. When you are invited to attend a meeting, your focus should be on the discussion taking place in that meeting, not on your toys.
If you must have access to your electronic gadget, you need to explain the reason to the group and request their permission to leave it turned on. For example, others may need a quick way to reach you if you are dealing with a family emergency or there is a potential crisis brewing within the company. If you must turn it on, make sure that is set on the vibrate mode. If a call comes in, quietly excuse yourself from the room before you answer.
Unless you have received permission from the group, turn off all electronic equipment. Better yet, don't even bring it. Glancing at your phone, sending a text message or checking your email during the meeting will communicate that you are uninterested, bored or distracted. But the loudest message you will communicate is, "I am immature and unprofessional."
Setting behavioral guidelines for meetings is an excellent way to eliminate the use of gadgets and other disruptive behavior during meetings. You can learn how to set meeting guidelines and the secrets of planning successful meetings when you order the Teleseminar CD, "How to Manage Effective, Productive Meetings."
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