Steve Shellabear

Some people want it to happen, some people wish it would happen, others make it happen.

We all know that good ideas count for nothing unless they are put into practice. Yet implementing change, at a personal and organisational level, can at best be challenging and even a daunting task. There are many reasons for this: the culture we work in, the pull of the status quo, and daily strategic and operational demands of the business, can all divert our attention and take us off track. Our own blind spots can cloud our vision and cause us to postpone key actions.

Every situation has its own unique opportunities and constraints, however, if you or your managers are spending too much time and energy on chasing results, troubleshooting performance problems and trying to get back on track, something needs to change. So how do you go about it?

Here are some ideas to consider:

Can you sharpen and maintain your focus to make something happen?

The first step requires your concentrated attention, your focus. To focus means: ‘to adapt to the prevailing level of light and become able to see clearly.’ Are you clear where you are starting from? Sounds obvious but an honest assessment of where you/the organisation are now is required before you start action. The organisational conditions may be complex, political and difficult to assess. In which case there are many tools available to help: GAP, SWOT, PEST analysis as well as systems based psychodynamic approaches. The tool you choose should be congruent with your organisation’s objectives and culture.

Is your organisation ready for change?

There will be likely varying levels of support for any change initiative. You will have advocates and supporters as well as undecided people and opponents. But you need to ask: is your organisation ready to receive guidance, instruction and pressure to change? Unless the answer is yes, or you have sufficient support to drive through change you will fall at the first hurdle.

Management competencies

How good are you and your managers at:

• Managing your own time and energy
• Communicating the message
• Allocating tasks
• Delegation
• Monitoring progress

Again, if the answer is variable, then some work should be done in strengthening core management competencies.Failure to address, for whatever reason, will compromise the outcome sought.

Change management competencies

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Are you a Bear Grylls or climbing guide type? If you and your colleagues were attempting to climb a mountain for the first time, or even going on a lengthy hike, unless you are an experienced outdoor type, it would be prudent to enlist the support of a guide. The guide would know the terrain and could recommend the best route as well as vital safety measures. In the same way, when embarking on an organisational change journey the support of an experienced change agent is invaluable in recognising blind spots and weaknesses in change management.

Who you choose as your guide is one of the most important elements in the change management process.

Here are some pointers:

• If you are in business your coach should have a business background. They should understand the organisational environment.
• Have access to a range of change management tools to bypass potential failures up-front.
• Understand people and know the emotional territory that you, the management team and frontline staff, are likely to encounter. This includes the defences people resort to when feeling anxious or threatened.
• Know-how to inspire, motivate, and coach.
• Be available to provide practical support when you need it.

Realise and make the difference you want to see taking place in your organisation

If you are driving the change initiative, people will look to you as a prospective role model. Whilst there is no universal style, it will be important that you:

• Understand, maintain and improve your executive leadership impact through communication and relationship management.
• Know how to become the personal context for change, hold the vision in place and create the conditions whereby possibility is accepted and gives people a purpose to make the change.

Summary

Some final thoughts:

Without effective implementation a goal or objectives are simply words with a positive intention.

If viewed in the appropriate way, the organisational change initiative, whatever the outcome, can be the catalyst for a personal change that will leave you stronger, more knowledgeable, wiser and even fulfilled.

Accomplishing anything of value in life is rarely easy – and if it were we probably wouldn’t value it. The difference between success and failure can often be whether we keep going – and don’t give up before we succeed.

To find out more, please contact:

Steve Shellabear – Director – dancing lion

tel: 0044 (0) 1908 644791

email: info@dancinglion or visit www.dancinglion.com

Recently I was talking to a friend about his experience with a letting agency. What he was talking about is applicable to many companies and industries. If looking after the customer is important to you read on and see if it fits:

He’d rented a house and he was not impressed with the service he had received. I asked why. He said he felt like any time he asked the staff a question he was being a nuisance.

In true trainer style, I said ‘we all know unless you say something nothing will change. Have you given them any feedback?’

He shook his head.  ‘No, it would only make things worse.’

Now my friend is very good at reading people’s responses. Curious to know more I asked, ‘What makes you think that?’

‘It’s just a feeling I get when I’m talking to them.’ He went on ‘I think they wouldn’t be able to handle it, they’d think I was having a go at them and they’d take it out on me.’

Hmmm, interesting I thought. My friend had decided not to say anything and he felt bad about how he had been treated.  I thought the staff were probably unaware they had made that impact upon him. It wouldn’t have been a conscious strategy to have customers feel that way. No doubt management would probably be shocked, even if they were part of the problem.

The crux of the matter was my friend had judged the staff as being unable to handle feedback and he could have been right.

We all pick up on each other’s vocal tones and body language. My friend had done this. It was what was not said to him. Everyone he had spoken to had said the right words, they’d called him ‘sir’ but the underlying impact he got was ‘if I ask too many questions I’m a nuisance.’

Not good for business.

He told me the name of the Letting Agency. I won’t share it here, but I know it. Now he’s told me I cannot unknow it.  Yes, I could check it out and see if I agree, but will I? What we say to each other as customers has an impact.

Have you ever had bad service and not said anything about it?

I expect we all have.

The reasons we don’t say something could be many:

• Fear of upsetting someone or making them uncomfortable
• Apathy – it’s just too much effort to raise it at the time, it’s not worth it.
• Fear of retaliation – My friend thought they couldn’t handle a direct customer communication without seeing it as an attack against them.

In my view, whether my friend was right about the impression the staff made is not the issue. Whether he should have given feedback is also not the issue. That is his choice.

I think the learning point here is how he perceived the service he received, the impact the staff made, their company feedback mechanisms (or lack of them) and the impact of a negative customer experience on the company’s brand and reputation.

In customer experience, we know that perception is everything. We can’t expect our customers to give us feedback unless we demonstrate we seek it, hear it, value it and act on it.

Not receiving negative feedback doesn’t mean you have a happy customer!

A couple of final questions for you to consider…

How do you cultivate an ability to receive customer feedback in your team?

How would a customer judge the service they receive?

Anyone responsible for team performance can increase productivity by using dancing lion’s training programmes because they give your people the confidence and skills to get results!

Every day new products and services are being developed and introduced in the world. The market is ever growing, ever evolving at a staggering pace, and with it, companies and its employees are struggling to keep up with the times. Customer expectations are harder to meet, more than ever before with the rise of information and online accessibility fueling individual needs, wants and demands. This means even employees who have strong customer service backgrounds need to put in the extra effort to understand each customer and their individual requirements. In this environment, as managers, our job is to instill in all of our front liners and customer service staff how having a customer service-oriented mindset is vital in delivering a positive experience.

So what are the 3 steps?

1. Instill a positive outlook and attitude

We know everyone has days where going to work with a confident disposition can seem just too difficult! But what every employee needs to understand is that bringing in negative energy to your work often translates to unenthusiastic responses, poorly worded conversation and potentially destructive behavior to the brand.

Customers come to a shop or call a contact centre for help for a reason: they need the front liner to assist them with their query and to help solve their problem with the product or service. They may have attempted to solve their problem online before they make contact. Many customers are already irate even before they begin to explain what they need.

It’s a test of your team’s customer service capability to manage the situation, be patient, empathise, understand and guide the customer to a positive, satisfying experience.

2. Be in the moment

Have your team been doing their jobs for a while? If so, they may have they slipped into automatic behavior. Being in the moment is particularly important to remember especially for veteran employees.

Customer service professionals don’t just go through the motions of asking routine questions. They listen to what the customer is actually trying to say, not just with their words but look at body language in face to face encounters and listen to paralinguistic and verbal cues. Is the customer rolling their eyes? Do they seem bored or annoyed? Are they tapping their foot out of impatience or habit? Does their voice seem high-pitched because they’re irritated? If they cut in mid-explanation does it mean they’re rude or eager to finish with the problem?

Team members may need to practice making eye contact and engaging rather than just nodding their head nonchalantly as they tick off the problems. Do your team show genuine concern and smile when appropriate? Are they confident to take the lead in the conversation and respond to your customers in an authentic way? Being in the moment, pausing and responding rather than reacting will reap dividends.

3. Treat every experience as a learning opportunity

Encourage team members to go into every customer interaction with a fresh perspective. Every customer encounter is unique. The problems or needs may be similar but how they connect with each individual customer will change how they respond. Whilst, not every encounter may end up with a positive outcome encourage them to take note of what was said, how they reacted to the customers response or gestures and learn from each experience.

Ask them to discuss what happened with you or their colleagues and receive inputs on what worked and could be done differently Task them to apply their insights and learning the next time they encounter a similar situation, share what happened and celebrate successes!

Whether you’re a manager of a new or established customer service team the challenge is the same, how to ensure your customers consistently receive the best possible customer experience.  Whilst these pointers may seem like common sense, are they common practice and default ways of working in your team? If not, encourage your team to keep in mind these 3 steps and it will help them have a better perspective of your customers, their role as a representative for your product or service and a better understanding of the behaviors the company they work for value.