How to measure success in professional/personal life?
It seems as though most people would agree, in their own way, as to the measure; Are you happy? If so, then you just may be successful.
My professional life and personal life are one and the same. I have found a career path that I love to be in and have made and continue to make a difference in. It fits my personality, knowledge, skill set, and the experiences I have had in life. It also helps me achieve my goals by providing for my family and the future.
Small Tidbits:
Don’t worry about things. If you can do something about it, then do it. If not, then worrying will not help.
Don’t have a care in the world what others think about you. Just be yourself and the best you can be, and that will be enough. If not, then you are not very good at what you do and you should move on to something you are good at.
CD
The Indiana Chapter of SOCAP next meeting is coming up. Mark your calendars.
Please mark your calendars for our next SOCAP – Indiana Chapter – webinar and networking event. Preliminary information for this event may be found below.
Riding the Wave of Customer Experience
Are you riding the customer experience wave? What tools or resources does your company use to meet your consumers’ expectations and maximize customer satisfaction? Where does Web 2.0 fit into this equation?
Get answers to these questions and more at SOCAP International’s next webinar on July 21 at 3 pm ET on “Riding the Wave of Customer Experience”. This lively webinar discussion will examine ways to manage the customer experience as a strategy and the role of social media in helping customers better engage with customers. You will also hear practical examples of the impact the customer care function is making within companies in promoting the customer experience and how this impact can even gain the ear of senior management.
Webinar Presenters:
• John Goodman, Vice Chairman, of TARP and Author of Strategic Customer Service: Managing the Customer Experience to Increase Positive Word of Mouth, Build Loyalty and Maximize Profit
• Rick Clancy, former Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications and Executive Champion for Social Media Initiatives at Sony Electronics
Hosted by: Revelant Technologies
Here is a link to our address: HERE
Training Spend – How has your company’s investment in training changed since the recession started?
During hard financial times training should be the very last area to make cost reductions just for the sake of reducing spend rate. The more qualified people that you hire and train; the more productive they will be and in turn increase revenue.
Our company has not specifically cut back on our training spend. However we did realign our training department and the way we identified what training was needed and for whom. This did in effect reduce our training costs which is a good thing in these times.
One easy method for reducing training costs is to implement PIPs (Performance Improvement Plans). By utilizing PIPs in your business it allows for you to identify areas of improvement for each employee and commits the employee to not just sit back and wait for training but to also participate and agree to where they need to be and what THEY are going to do to get there. This puts a lot of the onus back on the employee to better themselves and alleviate the need for the training department to get involved.
Is it OK to say “I don’t know”?
“In the professional world I do not believe it is OK to say “I don’t know”.
Reasoning; Business professionals need to take the time to identify (read: self assessment) the items/areas in their corporation where they are not an expert at or have knowledge of, then seek out those around them that do have the knowledge, it would be better to refer the question to the correct individual with the correct knowledge.
In other words; you do not need to be an expert at everything but you need to surround yourself with those that are the experts. Not necessarily one person but a team of people to help you accomplish your goals and objectives.”
Recruiting/Staffing Companies – Lessons Learned (short version)
The answers below represent experiences over the last 10 years with different recruiting/staffing agencies we have done business with.
What do you wish a recruiter had told you?
I wish several of the agencies would have told me that they really didn’t care about the quality of employees that they sent us. They were just shooting for quantity and hoping for the best.
What do you think about Recruiters?
I believe that a good recruiter is an invaluable asset to an organization. However, a recruiter has to be selected based upon the business and its needs and not just any recruiter can fill the role. The recruiter must be able to understand the business model, goals, needs and take 100% ownership over ensuring staffing requirements are met with each and every new hire.
How would you choose the Best Recruitment Company?
We currently let any available staffing company come in to our business and meet with each team to understand what each area is charged with doing. Including work flow, skill sets, team mentality and overall business model.
What do you look for in a Recruitment Company?
We look for a recruiting company that is willing to be as vested in our business as our own internal recruiter is. They must understand every aspect of all positions that they recruit for. They are also held 100% accountable for all new hires they bring in. If the person is found not to be qualified or is underperforming then they must replace free of charge.
Customer Care vs. Customer Service
Often times I get asked what the difference is between Customer Care and Customer Service. Below is the best way I have found to describe the difference between the two terms.
Customer Care can be seen as the ‘How’ of carrying out business. It requires the development of quality systems and processes to achieve business objectives.
Customer Service can be seen as the ‘What’ of carrying out business. Customer Service describes the actual process of dealing with customers and customer requests.
Both are an integral part of providing quality service to the customer. A breakdown in either area can be detrimental to customer satisfaction and brand recognition.
What Makes Good Customer Service?
Below is an excerpt from the winner of our essay writing contest we sponsor each year in our call center.
What Makes Good Customer Service?
Penny Garrity
Customer Care Agent
Since customer service is the backbone of any business, a good customer service representative, like a good Boy or Girl Scout is courteous, helpful and always prepared. They have knowledge of their products; the resources needed for the job, the cooperation of the other departments and must be willing to go that extra mile to insure quality and customer satisfaction.
A customer’s perception of a company is greatly influenced by the representative with whom they speak and word of mouth is a powerful weapon. The priority job for any employee is reaching a satisfactory solution for the customer. Without them there would be no need for customer service.
When a customer calls Telamon whether it be Customer Care, Helpdesk, Broadband or Dispatch, that person is seeking our help in one form or another. Often, depending on the company they are calling and the reason for their call, they have been shuffled from one department to another and are feeling extremely anxious, frustrated and often helpless. It’s an unfortunate fact that they often take those feelings out on the person who answers the phone. A representative has to remember that the customer needs their help…not their anger. In many instances there is no second chance to correct a poor first impression.
If you can get every agent in your call center to understand and truly believe this then you will be on top of the world and your customers are guaranteed to return.
June Customer Service Executive Leadership Networking Event – Indianapolis
The Indianapolis chapter of SOCAP will be holding our monthly meeting on June 30th beginning at 2:00pm at the offices of Revelant Technologies located at 5875 Castle Creek Pkwy N Dr, Suite 300 Indianapolis, IN 46250.
If you are interested in attending please feel free to drop by and Network with other Customer Service leaders from a variety of industries.
The Google maps link to Revelant Technologies’ office is: HERE
