Customer Service – thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World

Are You Promoting Responsibility? Are You Sure?

May 4, 2020/2 Comments/in Books, Customer Service, Guest Blogger, Leadership /by Ryan Shaw

Managing a team comes in many different forms and requires a lot of different skills, check your ego at the door and rethink how you’re promoting responsibility in your organization.

Today’s post is by Lonnie Wilson, author of Sustaining Workforce Engagement (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

Several weeks ago, I had two experiences that reminded me of the nature of responsibility; and management’s role in promoting and sustaining a responsible workplace.

First, a student of mine sent me the following email, “Coach, there is next to no sense of responsibility here. Nothing happens when dates are missed, goals are ignored, etc… I may be going bonkers. Can we talk?” We talked.

Second, I was at the 10 am production meeting of yet another client when Dave, the day shift production coordinator made the following report to Mark, the plant manager. “Mark, the critical shipment to Quality Industries went out first thing on schedule. Raul and his crew got it 100% completed. It has been picked up. But Mark, you need to know that Raul had to work 32 hours of overtime.” At which Mark replied, “What is wrong with Raul? Didn’t he read the notice from the home office we got just this week that costs are over budget and for the rest of the year there will be no hiring, no expedited freight and especially no overtime? What is wrong with that guy? Can you get me his home number?” Dave responded, “I knew this would be an issue, so I asked Raul what happened. He told me that 4 of his crew, who carpool together, got into an accident on the way to work, a serious one. None of our guys were hurt, but the other driver was drunk and two of his passengers were taken away by ambulance. The guys said they would be a couple hours late, at least, and probably miss the entire shift, while the police investigated it. So, Raul held over 4 people from swing shift.” Mark replied, “Well let me advise the boss; there will be hell to pay by someone.” Dave interceded and said, “Hold on Mark, before you make that call, you’ll want to know this overtime was not just regular overtime but double time and a quarter. He only had a few minutes to decide and had tried to call you; but said no one picked up. It was 10:50pm.” Mark exploded “Holy shit, how am I supposed to explain that? This may cost Raul his job.”

How often do you move team members around to cross-pollinate skills and culture?

March 12, 2020/0 Comments/in Career, Customer Service, Leadership, Poll /by Ryan Shaw

Our reader poll today asks: How often do you move team members around to cross-pollinate skills and culture?

Rarely: 34%
Occasionally: 30.88%
Never: 18.41%
All the time: 16.71%

Don’t let them get stagnant. Leaving your people in the same role, same location or same team for extended periods of time creates risks and misses opportunities. The risk is they get bored or disillusioned and when that happens, performance drops or they leave the organization. By not moving them around, you’re also missing an opportunity to spread and reinforce culture, build new skills and strengthen co-worker relationships. Granted, there’s a balance of how often you move them, but no movement at all is problematic. Think about how you can create some fresh experiences for the members of your team. These don’t have to be permanent reassignments — projects are a great way to get things moving around.

Do you agree with these poll results? Let us know in the comments below!

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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How frequently do you update your strategic plan?

February 20, 2020/0 Comments/in Career, Customer Service, Leadership, Poll /by Ryan Shaw

Our reader poll today asks: How frequently do you update your strategic plan?

We refresh more than once per year—13%
We update it annually—43%
We update every couple of years—19%
We rarely refresh it—12%
What’s a strategic plan?—13%

Regular strategy review. 56% of you are refreshing your strategic plan every year or even more frequently. The world moves rapidly. Priorities change quickly. Investing the time in regular reassessment is highly recommended. Shifting too slowly in response to market changes can put you at an extreme disadvantage you might not recover from. For those of you who don’t have a strategic plan or aren’t updating them regularly, you should be concerned. Even if you aren’t the owner of the strategic plan, you can still push for the organization to review it. Ask your leadership team if you can help lead the review. Offer to do some of the work. The organization you save might be your own!

Do you agree with these poll results? Let us know in the comments below!

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

Did you enjoy this post? If so, I highly encourage you to take about 30 seconds to become a regular subscriber to this blog. It’s free, fun, practical, and only a few emails a week (I promise!). SIGN UP HERE to get the thoughtLEADERS blog conveniently delivered right to your inbox!

What portion of your time do you work from home?

February 13, 2020/0 Comments/in Career, Customer Service, Leadership, Poll /by Ryan Shaw

Our reader poll today asks: What portion of your time do you work from home?

100%: 7.6%
75-99%: 8.2%
50-74%: 5.4%
25-49%: 8.2%
1-25%: 54.7%
0%: 15.8%

Time from home. 85% of you spend a decent amount of time working from home. Only a small portion go to the office every day. As an employee, be sure your home environment is conducive to being productive and actively manage staying connected with your office coworkers. It can be easy to leave people off meeting invites or forget to check in with them when they’re out of sight. If you’re leading a team with remote workers, find ways to involve them in team events and conversations. This takes deliberate effort on your part. Team members who feel disconnected find it easier to “mail it in” and also have less attachment to your organization. This puts them at higher risk for looking for greener pastures elsewhere.

Do you agree with these poll results? Let us know in the comments below!

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

Did you enjoy this post? If so, I highly encourage you to take about 30 seconds to become a regular subscriber to this blog. It’s free, fun, practical, and only a few emails a week (I promise!). SIGN UP HERE to get the thoughtLEADERS blog conveniently delivered right to your inbox!

When someone does something differently than you would, how do you react?

February 6, 2020/0 Comments/in Career, Customer Service, Leadership, Poll /by Ryan Shaw

Our reader poll today asks: When someone does something differently than you would, how do you react?

I encourage people to try ways different than the way I would do something. 39.6%
I accept their way and try to learn new approaches. 50.9%
I accept their way but still think mine was better. 8.3%
I tell them they should have done it my way. 1.2%

Different isn’t wrong. The vast majority of respondents are open and encouraging of doing things differently than they’d do it themselves. For those who are challenged by seeing someone do something differently, you’re missing an opportunity to grow (and possibly do things better than you ordinarily would). When you have that moment of “I wouldn’t do it like that…” please pause, inquire, and seek to understand why they’re doing things differently. They might see risks or opportunities you’re not aware of. You might learn something new. You might help your organization perform better. You owe it to yourself and your colleagues to constantly learn new ways of doing things.

Do you agree with these poll results? Let us know in the comments below!

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

Did you enjoy this post? If so, I highly encourage you to take about 30 seconds to become a regular subscriber to this blog. It’s free, fun, practical, and only a few emails a week (I promise!). SIGN UP HERE to get the thoughtLEADERS blog conveniently delivered right to your inbox!

How do you handle impatient customers (both internal and external customers)?

December 12, 2019/0 Comments/in Career, Customer Service, Leadership, Poll /by Ryan Shaw

Our reader poll today asks: How do you handle impatient customers (both internal and external customers)?

I bump them up on my priority list since they’re asking for a response: 45%
I keep them in their spot on my priority list and let them know other issues are ahead of them in line: 39%
I immediately respond to their needs and drop everything else: 12%
I respond slowly to get them to slow down and be more patient: 3%

Their emergency isn’t your emergency. I hear many people have challenges with time management. 57% of you are making your own lives more difficult. One of the biggest issues they face is unexpected interruptions. When someone calls or drops by with something important to them, it’s tempting to put them at the top of your priority list. That can cause several issues. First, you condition them to bother you if they want action. Second, it delays others waiting patiently ahead of them. There’s nothing wrong with telling someone “I’m working on a few things ahead of your request and will get to it as soon as I’m able.” Most reasonable people understand and accept that and doing so gives you back control over your priorities and your work. Give it a try — you might be surprised by how easy and effective that approach is.

Do you agree with these poll results? Let us know in the comments below!

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

Did you enjoy this post? If so, I highly encourage you to take about 30 seconds to become a regular subscriber to this blog. It’s free, fun, practical, and only a few emails a week (I promise!). SIGN UP HERE to get the thoughtLEADERS blog conveniently delivered right to your inbox!